Inf1-CG: First assessed coursework

Henry S. Thompson
22 January 2013

1. Opposites in derivational morphology

English appears to have at least eight different prefixes which convert an adjective into a new adjective with the opposite meaning. Here are examples of four of them:

At least two of these can also be used to form new verbs from old, again with the opposite meaning. Here are some examples of one:

And there are at least two other prefixes for verbs which appear to have the same function. Here are some examples of one:

Task: Write a three-to-five page report on the ways in which some language of your choice expresses these kinds of adjectival and verbal opposites. Non-native speakers of English are encouraged to write about their native language. English speakers may write about English, or another language they know well.

1.1. For those writing about a language other than English

It is suggested that you approach this task as follows:

  1. Identify the relevant morphemes in your language that combine with adjectives and/or verbs to express the notion of oppositeness. If there are no such combining morphemes, or only a few, you can include stand-alone words for negation as well.
  2. Collect a dozen or so examples involving each of these, for example new words formed using the relevant prefix or whatever. You might want to collect data either from your own linguistic knowledge, or from dictionaries or online word lists.
  3. Once you have your data, think about how you would cluster them to capture important generalisations about how and when each particular affix or morpheme can be used.

Some things to think about are:

  1. Where the opposites are formed using a prefix or suffix, are there any restrictions on the stems that these can be attached to?
  2. Is the meaning of a particular prefix or suffix constant, or does it differ depending on the kind of word it joins onto?
  3. If your language does not express this kind of contrast using derivational morphology (i.e. prefixes or suffixes), what does it do?
  4. Try and take into account the way in which linguistic discussion is presented in chapters 1 and 2 of Words and Rules, when you are writing up your report.

1.2. For those writing about English

It is suggested that you approach this task as follows:

  1. Identify the rest of the English morphemes that combine with adjectives and/or verbs to express the notion of oppositeness.
  2. Collect a dozen or so examples involving each of these, as well as more examples of the ones given above. You might want to collect data either from your own linguistic knowledge, or from dictionaries or online word lists.
  3. Once you have your data, think about how you would cluster them to capture important generalisations about how and when each particular affix or morpheme can be used.

Some things to think about are:

  1. Where the opposites are formed using a prefix, are there any restrictions on the stems that these can be attached to?
  2. Is the meaning of a particular prefix constant, or does it differ depending on the kind of word it joins onto?
  3. How else does English express this kind of contrast, aside from using derivational morphology (i.e. prefixes)?
  4. Try and take into account the way in which linguistic discussion is presented in chapters 1 and 2 of Words and Rules, when you are writing up your report.

2. Mechanics

Please use online submission to file your work. Any form of electronic document is acceptable, from plain text up through pdf.

Online submission is done on DICE machines via the submit program, as follows:

> submit inf1-cg 1 [your file]

You should all have DICE accounts by now. If not, see the ITO to pick up your password.

To protect against unforeseen accidents, save an electronic copy somewhere and don't touch it, so the date is preserved.

The assignment is due by 1600 on Monday 11 February. It's worth 10% of your overall course mark. The policy on late submissions is pretty strict, so try to get your work in on time.

And finally, although it's obviously a good thing to discuss this topic in general terms with your fellow students, and to read anything you can on the subject, please make sure that everything you submit is your own work, in your own words. If you use material from something published elsewhere, be sure it's clearly identified as a quotation and include a citation of the source.