Assignment #4 Name:

Ling 101, Spring 2019 Score: ______ /10

1. Transcribe the following English passage into IPA. You can use this website to find the
symbols: http://ipa.typeit.org/full/. (3)

"Insofar as it is possible to divide people into categories, the surest criterion is the deep-
seated desires that orient them to one or another lifelong activity. Every Frenchman is
different. But all actors the world over are similar - in Paris, Prague, or the back of
beyond. An actor is someone who in early childhood consents to exhibit himself for the
rest of his life to an anonymous public. Without that basic consent, which has nothing to
do with talent, which goes deeper than talent, no one can become an actor. Similarly, a
doctor is someone who consents to spend his life involved with human bodies and all
that they entail. That basic consent (and not talent or skill) enables him to enter the
dissecting room during the first year of medical school and persevere for the requisite
number of years."

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 2. The following passage is in IPA. Read it, and then in the space below, write the whole
passage in English. (3)

[ðɪs fɔɹm ɔf mætəɹ, hawɛvəɹ, wɪθ ɪts məltɪtjud ɔf ʃejps ænd tɛkst͡ʃəɹs ænd ɪts kɔmplɪkɛjtɪd
mɔlɪkjuləɹ ɑɹkɪtɛkt͡ʃəɹ, kæn ɛkzɪst ownlɪ əndəɹ vɛɹɪ spɛʃəl kəndɪʃəns, wɛn ðə tɛmpɹɛt͡ʃəɹ ɪz nɔt tu
hɑj, sow ðæt ðə mɔlɪkjulz dʊ nɔt d͡ʒɪgəl tu mət͡ʃ. wɛn ðə θəɹməl ɛnəɹd͡ʒɪ ɪnkɹizəz əbawt ə
həndɹɛdfowld, æz ɪt dəz ɪn mowst stɑɹz, ɔl ætɔwmɪk ænd mɔlɪkjuləɹ stɹəkt͡ʃəɹz ɑɹ dɛstɹɔjd.
mowst ɔf ðə mætəɹ ɪn ðə junɪvəɹs ɛkzɪsts, ɪn fækt, ɪn ə stejt wɪt͡ʃ ɪz vɛɹi dɪfɹɛnt fɹɔm ðə wən d͡ʒəst
dɪskɹɑɪbd. ɪn ðə sɛnəɹ ɔf ðə stɑɹz ɛkzɪst lɑɹd͡ʒ ækjumʊlɛjʃəns ɔf njuklɪəɹ mætəɹ, ænd njukɪəɹ
pɹɔsɪsiz wɪt͡ʃ əkəɹ ownlɪ vɛɹɪ ɹɛɹlɪ ɔn əɹθ pɹɪdɔmɪnejt hjəɹ. ðɛj ɑɹ ɛsɛnʃɪəl fɔɹ ðə gɹejt vəɹɑɪʔɪ ɔf stɛləɹ
fɛnəwmɪnə əbsəɹvd ɪn æstɹɔnəmɪ, mowst ɔf wɪt͡ʃ əɹɑɪz fɹɔm ə kɔmbɪnɛjʃən ɔf njuklɪjəɹ ænd
gɹævɪtɛjʃənəl ɛfɛks.]

3. Mark True or False for each of the parts below. (4)

a. Female rabbits use the white of their tail as a flag to lead their young to the safety of
their burrows.

b. The design feature of Productivity refers to the ability of an agent to produce and
understand completely novel messages by combining discrete items in new ways.

c. No animal communication system till date has been identified to have all nine design
features.

d. (Assuming bird songs have 4 kinds of phrases: A, B, C, and D)

If a bird is singing A, it knows the next phrase must be C, no matter what.

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e. Sue Savage-Rumbagh’s work with Kanzi is the closest we have come to teaching a
primate human language.

f. Most human language teaching projects have been conducted on chimpanzees since
they are both more easily available and one of the most intelligent of the great apes.

g. Rhesus monkeys are unable to recognize the correspondence between a particular call
and the appropriate facial expression.

h. The European robin is creative is being able to use the same units of the system to
express many different tunes, each with a different meaning.