2. The scientific method in morphosyntax
Chapter 2 practice exercises
Data analysis
Exercise 1. Consider the following sentences. Some of them are prescriptively incorrect and some are descriptively ill-formed. Which are which?
| a. | I didn’t say nothing. |
| b. | Who should I pass the present to? |
| c. | The cat black chased the mouse. |
| d. | My daughter seems to happily go wherever we take her. |
| e. | Is supper ready yet? |
Exercise 2. In Section 2.1, we used the scientific method to identify the difference between we and us. In this exercise, we will use the scientific method to identify the difference between our and ours.
a. Come up with some sentences that use the words our and ours.
b. Make an observation about your sentences. Do you notice any patterns?
c. Turn your observation into a hypothesis.
d. Check to see if your hypothesis is falsifiable. What would be the necessary and sufficient evidence to support your hypothesis? What is the opposite hypothesis? What would be the necessary and sufficient evidence to support the opposite hypothesis?
e. Come up with some sentences that test your hypothesis. Make sure you use both positive and negative evidence.
f. Do you need to revise your hypothesis? Why or why not?
Communication and study skills
Exercise 3. The following paragraph misuses scientific terminology. Rewrite the paragraph using terminology correctly.
Hint: If you’re stuck, re-read the subsection on word choice in scientific writing from Section 2.6.
There is a significant distinction between the pronouns we and us. The following examples prove that they are not interchangeable.
| (1) | a. | We are happy. |
| b. | *Us are happy. | |
| c. | Joni saw us. | |
| d. | *Joni saw we. |
From looking at the examples in (1), it’s obvious that we and us are used differently.
Exercise 4. Write a paragraph describing your language background. Some questions you may answer in your response include:
a. What language(s) do you speak?
b. What language(s) did your ancestors speak?
c. Do the language varieties you speak have prestige in your society?
d. How is your identity connected to your language(s)?
e. How did you and your family come to speak the languages and language varieties you speak?
f. How do prescriptivist attitudes affect you, your family, and your community?
Research and application
Exercise 5. In this exercise, we will compare a dictionary with your mental lexicon.
a. Think of a word you know that you expect to not be in the dictionary. Why not? Then look it up in a dictionary and see if it’s there.
b. Find a word in a dictionary that is not in your mental lexicon. Why do you think is it not in your mental lexicon?
Language Journal
Exercise 6. Research the prescriptivist attitudes of your language. Here are some questions to guide you. Not all of them will be applicable to all languages.
a. What are some of the different language varieties of your language? Is one more prestigious than the others?
b. How was your language affected by colonialism? Has it been a colonial language? Is it in contact with a colonial language?
c. Is there a language academy that determines what is “proper” use of the language?
Exercise 7. What pronouns are used in your language? Does your language use different pronouns in subject and object position?
A hypothesis which is possible to be proven wrong by some test.
Evidence that must be the case if your hypothesis is true.
Evidence that demonstrates your hypothesis is true.
Evidence that something is not possible, does not occur, or is absent.
