Words in English public website
Ling/Engl 215 course information
Rice University
Prof. S. Kemmer

Study Guide: Midterm #2 Review

Fall 2010

Midterm #2 will cover chapters 4, 5, 6, and 7, class discussions, and web pages linked to course schedule. It focuses on these topics: allomorphy and types of allomorphy, phonetics, semantic change and its various types, etymology, dictionarie/lexicography, the OED, plus parsing, a small amount on loanword sources, and neologism types (since these are continuing topics through the course).

The midterm will build on concepts introduced in the previous chapters, particularly concepts relating to morphology and phonetics and identification and parsing of words introduced or discussed in class and quizzes.

Here are some skills the second midterm will test:

understanding of the nature of allomorphy and reasons it comes about

A deeper understanding of the relation of spelling and pronunciation and how spelling can diverge from pronunciation

recognition of types of allomorphy

ability to recognize and produce examples of various types of semantic change

understanding of the cognitive processes underlying semantic change, particularly metaphor and metonymy

knowledge of some specific word histories discussed in class and on web links

understanding of the nature of dictionaries

ability to read complex dictionary entries such as those in the OED, and extract information about etymology, polysemy, and semantic change.

Allomorphy

allomorphs, allomorphy            assimilation
ablaut                            metathesis
rhotacism                         deletion 
weakening                         insertion

Phonetics

consonants                        fricative
voicing                           affricate
larynx (voice box), vocal chords  nasal
place of articulation             liquid
lips, bilabial                    approximant
labiodental                       lateral
interdental                       voicing assimilation
alveolar, alveolar ridge          place assimilation
palatal-alveolar                  manner assimilation
  ( = alveo-palatal)              partial & total assimilation
hard palate, palatal              vowels
soft palate (velum), velar        vowel frontness: front/central/back
glottis, glottal                  vowel height: high/mid/low
manner of articulation            diphthong
stop (plosive)

Semantic change

polysemy                          widening (broadening, generalization)
metaphor                          narrowing (specialization)
metonymy                          taboo
eponymy                           euphemism
synechdoche                       cycle of euphemism
amelioration (melioration)
pejoration (degeneration)

Dictionaries and etymology

etymology
relation of etymology and parsing
folk etymology, false etymologies, hoax etymologies
authoritative sources
lexicography
citations (quotations)
the OED (Oxford English Dictionary)
relation of definitions and semantic change in OED

Parsing

Review Parsing page Review Sound terminology page

Word formation

Review word formation types, for purposes of recognizing examples. Neologisms discussed in class might be asked about.

derivation

zero-derivation 

back-formation 

compounds, compounding

folk etymology
       
blends, blending
       
clipping
                                         
acronym

(unknown)