Uni Bremen>FB10>Introduction to Linguistics
Introduction to (Applying) Linguistics
  

Javascript Tree Menu

 

You can also check out the list of KEY CONCEPTS here!!!
 
The EXAM... some topics
 

Here are some things that you should know and be able to do for the exam:

  • be able to do both rank-based constituency and phrase-structure based constituency trees (e.g., pdf)
  • know the difference between the ideational, interpersonal and textual grammatical functions
  • know basic phonetic descriptions and what phonetic distinctive features are
  • be able to relate phrase structure trees with phrase structure rules
  • know what the basic dimensions of language variation are (gif)
  • know how the 19th century linguists went about reconstructing the ancestors of modern languages
  • know where English comes from and some of the major features of its development
  • know how historical change and social change might be related
  • know how to describe the differences, if any, between accent, dialect and language
  • know some of the major kinds of semantics and ways of describing them
  • know the basics of logic and how it is used to represent semantics
  • know how compositional semantics works
  • know the basics of how first language acquisition works

And here are some phrases that you should never write in a linguistics exam!

  • "This grammar does not work because it does not contain the information"
what information?
  • "The sounds changed."
how did they change, when and why??
  • "There was a sound shift, so that means the words were pronounced differently."
 in what way differently?
  • "An NP is a participant"
which NP ??
  • "They have different functions"
 which functions??
  • "It does not work with this rule"
 why not ??
  • "The meaning is very different."
 how is it different, in what way??
  • "Phonemes are letters that make a difference in meaning"
 'letters' have nothing whatsoever to do with phonetics and phonology!!! Never describe sounds and phonemes as letters!
  • "No."
 No, what? how? where? why? Because what?
  • "Yes, it does"
 Yes, what? how? where? why? Because what?

In general, all indefinite articles and vague quantifiers, like some, many, several, are your mortal enemies and you should practice avoiding them like the plague. They make you think that you have given an answer when you haven't.