LING 150 University of Michigan New Words and Reflection Linguistic Essay

Description

total word count 250

Task:

Identify

two different words

being used on a podcast, TED talk, the news, the radio, etc. for which you are unsure of the meaning or didn’t know them before.

Use each of these words in your own real-time conversations this week.

(There is no specified format that these conversations must take—remotely, on social media, over the phone, etc. are all fine formats.)

In a one page essay format

(for the two words together), do the following four (4) things with each word:

Provide the two words you used in conversation, along with a morphological parse and gloss (i.e., analysis) of each word. Both words can be presented parsed and glossed before the writing portions of the assignment for clarity. Since you can chose any two words you want for this assignment, they may or may not contain elements from the Morpheme Sets in this course. However, you should now have skills for researching what morphemes are contained in the words.

Discuss the history of each word (remember to provide citations for your sources). As part of your discussion, comment on any morphemes found in the words that have undergone allomorphic processes discussed in Unit 2.

Then explicitly describe the steps you went through to research the meaning, form, and morphological composition of the words.

Example questions to answer:

Did you use an etymological dictionary? Did you compare the word to other words you knew that shared some aspect of meaning or form? Did you consult the textbook first?

Then describe how you went about using these in

actual conversations

. (It is not sufficient to just imagine how you might use them — describe how you actually have used them.)

Example questions to answer:

Was it natural? Did the word ‘pop’ into your head? Did you know how/when to use it in conversation? In order to use it did you have to steer the conversation towards a particular topic area? Did you feel awkward about using the word? Why do you think that was? (Hint: was there a different degree of formality of the conversation and the word you used, perhaps?)

To see the purpose and skills this assignment is designed to address, see attached file.

Written Assignment 2(B):
New words & Reflection
Purpose:
Content matter: This assignment aligns to the following course content objectives:
–
Be able to look at an English word that you have never seen before and have
some idea or build knowledge of what it could mean
Understand how the lexicon of a language reflects its history
Increase your use and command of English vocabulary
Skills: This assignment will help you practice the following skills:
Course skills:
1. Morpheme analysis of new words (parsing, glossing, etc)
2. Understanding and synthesizing the etymology of words
General skills:
1. Engage in the reflective process of learning
2. Analyze the steps involved for arriving at a solution
3. Grow vocabulary & use it in real conversations
4. Take the content outside of the course to real life situations
Knowledge:
1. Etymology
2. Morpheme analysis
3. Reflection on your learning process
Task:
1. Identify three different words being used on a podcast, TED talk, the news, the radio,
etc. for which you either are unsure of the meaning or didn’t know them before.
2. Use each of these words in your own real-time conversations this week (there is no
specified format that these conversations must take—remotely, on social media, over
the phone, etc. are all fine formats)
3. In a one page essay format (for all three words together), do the following four (4)
things with each word:
a. Provide the three words you used in conversation, along with a morphological
parse and gloss (i.e., analysis) of each word. All three words can be given parsed
and gloss before the writing portions of the assignment for clarity.
b. Discuss the history of each word (remember to provide citations for your
sources)
c. Then explicitly describe the steps you went through to research the meaning,
form, and morphological composition of the words.
Example questions to answer: Did you use an etymological dictionary? Did you
compare the word to other words you knew that shared some aspect of meaning
or form? Did you consult the textbook first?
d. Then describe how you went about using these in actual conversations.
Example questions to answer: Was it natural? Did the word ‘pop’ into your head?
Did you know how/when to use it in conversation? In order to use it did you
have to steer the conversation towards a particular topic area? Did you feel
awkward about using the word? Why do you think that was? (Hint: was there a
different degree of formality of the conversation and the word you used,
perhaps?)
Criteria for success:
–
–
Meets length requirement
Completes analysis and discussion of etymology::
o Three words are present, all parsed and glossed
o Discussion of the history of the word
Clearly engages with the process of reflecting on both your process of breaking down
the word (analysis) and how you went about using it in conversation.
See the rubric for detailed indications of criteria for success!
LING 150
Writing Assignment 2B – samples with grading comments
A. Written Assignment 2B: Good example (worth 9.5 points)
1. pervasive
Parse: per- / vas / -ive
Gloss: ‘through, thorough’ / ‘go’ / A
This word is defined by the Oxford dictionary as “existing in all parts of a place or thing;
spreading gradually to affect all parts of a place or thing”. It is the adjective form of the verb
pervade, which derives from Latin pervadere ‘to go through’.
2. encroachment
Parse: en- / croach / -ment
Gloss: ‘in’ / ‘hook’ / N
This word is defined by the Oxford dictionary as “the act of slowly affecting or using up too
much of somebody’s time, rights, personal life, etc.” It is the noun form of the verb
encroach, which, according to the Online Etymology Dictionary, derives from the Old French
word encrochier, literally ‘to catch with a hook.’ It took on additional meanings over time, such
as ‘to seize wrongfully’ or ‘to trespass’, before eventually reaching its modern definition.
3. multilateral
Parse: mult- / (i) / later / -al
Gloss: ‘many’ / filler / ‘side’ / A
This word is defined by the Oxford dictionary as “in which three or more groups, nations,
etc. take part” and “having many sides or parts”. It was originally a geometry term, used in the
second more literal meaning. In the 1800s, its figurative meaning was invented for the
purpose of describing political or social matters.
These words were all fairly difficult to work into a “live” conversation. However, I found an
opportunity for all three last weekend as I was talking with my parents about the pandemic.
I described the virus as pervasive as it has spread throughout the world, stating that we need
multilateral action to combat it, and that it has been encroaching on our lives due to the
quarantine. The way I used these words was admittedly pretty similar to the contexts in
which I heard them in the first place (on news broadcasts or news-related podcasts).
Sources Used:
Online Etymology Dictionary | Origin, History and Meaning of English Words,
www.etymonline.com/.
Oxford Learner’s Dictionaries,
www.oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com/us/.
LING 150
B. Written Assignment 2B: Less good example (worth 5.5/10 points)
delineate
De / lin / e / ate
Reverse / line / filler / possessing
To describe or portray
The word comes from the Latin word “dēlīneātus” which means to trace the outline of
To research the morphological meaning of the word, I remembered “ate” is a suffix we discussed
in class, so I looked in our textbook to find it, then checked on all of the pages with roots and
prefixes. I couldn’t find “lin” so I had to look up the meaning online, but I knew that “e” was just
a filler. I have yet to find the time to use delineate in a live conversation, but I will make sure to
use it this week and into the future
Apoplectic
Apo / plex / t / ic
Away from / allied (root) / filler / derivational suffix
To be enraged
Apoplectic comes from an old greek word that means “to be disables by a stroke”
I researched this word in much the same way I did Delineate, but this time, I had trouble finding
the root word for “plect” which I eventually found that the root word is actually plex and it is
used for multiple morphemes that use different letters, I found the word while watching my
favorite youtube channel. This week I used the word while playing an online game with my
friends, we were losing and I said “If we lose this round, i’m gonna go apoplectic.”
Intransigence
Intra / n / sign / ence
Within (prefix) / filler / to call attention to (root) / ence (suffix)
To refuse to change once views
I still don’t fully understand how to use this word so I haven’t used it in live conversation yet.
Intransigence comes from the word intransigent, which was taken by English speakers from the
Spanish word “intransigente” meaning uncompromising, before that the word comes originally
from the Latin word “transigere” which itself means transact or transaction.

Purchase answer to see full
attachment