Answer booklet for William B. McGregor, 2009
Linguistics: an introduction
(London: Continuum)
This booklet contains answers to the questions at the end of each chapter of the book. It is intended for use by instructors; please do not distribute it to students.
While some problems have relatively clear-cut solutions, others are more or less open-ended. For the former I provide indication of a solution; often there is more than one possible solution, though some are much better than others. If a solution works I always accept it, but rank it against other solutions in terms of complexity and generality. For the open-ended questions I provide some brief remarks on the problem and possible answers, and sometimes remarks on the point of the question.
I do not provide model answers, as I presume that lecturers will have their own ideas on what model answers should look like (a model answer to a phonological problem on the website for the book shows what I regard as a model answer).
Note that you will probably need to download the font Doulos SIL (see website for the book for a link) in order to read the phonetic symbols correctly.
Please send corrections and suggestions for improvements to me at [email protected].
Chapter 1
Issues for further thought and exercises
1. Depicted below are the forms of various signs in everyday use. What are their meanings? Is the sign an icon or a symbol? Justify your answers.