The assignment is to develop the syntax and semantics of your language.
Part 1: Syntax
1.1. What is the basic word order in your language: SOV, VSO, SVO, etc.? Provide an example sentence with a transitive verb something like this: The squirrel buried the acorn. (5 points)
Subject-object-verb (SOV) 41% Subject-verb-object (SVO) 35%
Verb-subject-object (VSO) 7% Verb-object-subject (VOS) 2%
Object-verb-subject (OVS) 0.8% Object-subject-verb (OSV) 0.3%
No dominant order 14%
1.2. Provide Phrase Structure Rules of the type
NP (AP) N
and examples in your language with translation for all ten structures below. (3 points each; 30 total). Please follow the examples carefully, and note if your language is different from the patterns in English below.
1.2.1. Provide the rule and a glossed and translated example of a Determiner in relation to the Noun (e.g. a dog)
So, write your answer like: NP Det N /u ʃɑ̃w̃/ ‘the dog’
1.2.2. Provide the rule and a glossed and translated example of a Degree (Intensifier) word in relation to the Adjective (e.g. very good)
1.2.3. Provide the rule and a glossed and translated example of an Adjective in relation to the Noun (e.g. green bananas).
1.2.4. Provide the rule and a glossed and translated example of an Adposition (Preposition or Post position, or possibly a case marker) in relation to the Noun Phrase (e.g. from the store).
1.2.5. Provide the rule and a glossed and translated example of a transitive Verb in relation to the Noun Phrase Direct Object (e.g. heard the doorbell; kicked the ball).
1.2.6. Provide the rule and a glossed and translated example of Verb Phrase that takes a Complementizer Phrase (or S) as its complement (e.g. [they] believe (that) life is beautiful)
1.2.7. Provide an example of a conjoined Noun Phrase (I love apples and oranges)
1.2.8. Provide an example of a conjoined Verb Phrase (She drinks coffee and eats breakfast at 5:00).
1.2.9. Provide an example of conjoined main clauses. (She eats apples but he prefers pears).
1.2.10. Provide an example of complex verb phrase with infinitival complement (He wants them to leave now).
1.3. Provide examples and glosses of the following statement/question pairs. (2 pts each; 34 total).
1.3.1. The woman is here. Is the woman here?
1.3.2. The woman is not here. Is the woman not here?
1.3.3. The man is there. Who is there?
1.3.4. The boy’s dog chases cats. Whose dog chases cats?
1.3.5. The teacher saw her student. Whom did the teacher see?
1.3.6. The mother gave her child a hug. To whom did the mother give a hug?
1.3.7. The mother gave her child a hug. What did the mother give her child?
1.3.8. They went to the store. Where did they go?
For reference, here are some of the Phrase Structure Rules of English. Remember, your language can have a different linear order.
S NP (AUX) VP AUX = Auxiliary Verbs like can, will, might, should, infinitival to etc.
NP (Det) (AP) N (PP)
AP (Deg) A (PP) Deg = Degree or Intensifier like very, rather, quite, somewhat
PP P NP
VP V NP
VP V S
S COMP S COMP = Complementizer like that, if, whether
NP NP CONJ NP CONJ = Conjunction like and, or, nor, but
VP VP CONJ VP
S S CONJ S
Part 2. Semantics. (31 points)
2. Develop one coherent part of the lexicon in detail. Describe as necessary and list 25 terms in your language in phonemic transcription and accompanying translations, with glosses as necessary. For example, you could develop the kinship system based on the type of society you have. In English, we have the term grandfather that applies both maternally and paternally. Does your language have a unique lexical item for each kind, or is a phrase used (maternal grandfather)? Does your language have different single words for ‘older brother’ and ‘younger brother’? In English, aunt describes both a sister of the mother (or father), as well as the wife of a parent’s brother; does your language have different words for each kind? Are kinship terms the same for each gender, or do males and females use different vocabulary items for certain relationships, e.g. ‘dad (used by a female)’ vs. ‘dad (used by a male)’? You could instead choose to develop the terminology for foods unique to your culture—have fun if you’re a foodie. Or what are all the terms for types of camels or horses and their care, if they play a significant role in your society? For example, here is a link that describes many words (and some phrases) for camels in Arabic:
https://medium.com/@chrisneil/just-how-many-words-does-arabic-have-for-camel-da5b58022564
Choose any domain that interests you: breeds of dog, types of weapons, genres of literature, types of book, desserts, coffee drinks, speech acts (like promise, threaten, declare, proclaim), emotions, etc. One point per word (25) plus 6 points for clarity of explanation, presentation, and creativity
