ENG 227 Final, Spring 2004

ae Yost as ENIVE | LIBRARY i OF BEINCT Engl 227 — May 31, 2004 Spring 2004 Prof. Lina Choueiri Final Exam Remember to pace yourself. Answer ALL the questions. PartI Short Answer Questions 1. Define the following terms and provide an example where it is relevant: (78 pss) Natural Selection, Standard (dialect), dyslexia . Hubert says, ‘My sister Melba never eats any green vegetables.’ (P.S. Answer does not require explanation) (6 pts) a. Does this entail or presuppose that Melba would not eat spinach if it were offered to her? b. Does this entail or presuppose that Hubert has a sister? . What's the difference between the relationship of (ia) and (ib) on the one hand, and the relationship between (ila) and (ib) on the other? Explain briefly. (5 pis) i. a. Mary used to swim a mile daily. b. Mary no longer swims a mile daily. it. a. After Hans painted the walls, Pete installed the cabinets. b. Hans painted the walls. . The following are some popular myths about slang. Explain what about them is misconceived from the viewpoint established in class discussions on the topic. (10 pis) a. Only young people use slang. b. There are languages that have no slang. . Identify one metaphorical expression in the following sentence, then indicate its literal meaning and the appropriateness of its extension to the context of use. (5pts) De Gaulle, father of the Fifth Republic, used to cite France’s prodigious number of cheeses. . The following utterances were made either by Broca’s aphasics or Wernicke’s aphasics. Explain briefly why you think which utterance is made by which type of aphasic. (8pis) a. yes, I, uh, can’t hill all of my way. I can’t talk all of the things I do, and part of the part I can go alright, but I can’t tell from the other people. b. Lower Falls, uh, Maine, uh, paper. Four hundred tons a day! And, uh, sulphur machines, and, uh, eight hours, uh, no! twelve hours, fifteen hours, uh, workin’, uh, workin’, workin’! 7. Some aphasic patients, when asked to read a list of words, substitute other words for those printed. The data give below are from an actual aphasic patient. (6 pts) Printed word Word spoken by Aphasic table chair eipow knee fork fung chip plick ceiling leasing What type of aphasia leads to such symptoms and what do the words above reveal about how words are likely to be stored in the brain? . For each of the following excerpts name a (Gricean) maxim that has been violated and explain how. What is the intended meaning in each case? (7 pts) (a) A: Did you get hold of Carl yet? B: I tried to call him yesterday. (b) In an American Courtroom A: Please state the location of your right foot immediately prior to impact. B: Immediately before impact, my right foot was located at the end of my right leg. Part II Long Answer Question (35pis) Learnability and creativity are two design features that characterize human language. Briefly define and illustrate those features. Are they found in naturally occurring animal languages? Discuss why you believe or don’t believe that apes show these linguistic abilities? Do apes need to have linguistic abilities to support a theory of gradual evolution of the human language instinc?