EMPLOYMENT DISCRIMINATION.

The English plural morpheme s is written the same regardless of its pronunciation: cats, dogs. This is a morphophonemic spelling. If English used a purely phonemic orthography, these would instead be spelled cats and *dogz, because IPA: /s/ and /z/ are separate phonemes in English.

To some extent English orthography reflects the etymology of its words, and as such it is partially morphophonemic. This explains not only cats /s/ and dogs /z/, but also science /saɪ/ vs. unconscious /ʃ/, prejudice /prɛ/ vs. prequel /priː/, chased /t/ vs. loaded /ɪd/, sign /saɪn/ signature /sɪɡn/, nation /neɪ/ vs. nationalism /næ/, and special /spɛ/ vs. species /spiː/, etc.

http://www.worldlingo.com/ma/enwiki/en/Morphophonology

Task 2. Answer the questions

1. Analyse the examples and say what phonic modifications happen to morphemes when they are combined.

2. How is the language typology connected with its morphophonology? Why doesn’t English have much morphophonology?

3. What is the difference between morphophonemic and phonemic orthography? Give English words to exemplify the both.

Text 2. Allomorphs and morphemic rules

Task 1. Compare definitions of the term allomorph as it is used in chemistry and linguistics. What do these concepts have in common?

allomorph (Chemistry) – any of several different crystalline forms of the same chemical compound.

allomorph (Linguistics) – one of a set of forms that a morpheme may take in different contexts

Task 2. Read the text.

Just as phonemes have predictable variants, called allophones, morphemes have predictable variants called allomorphs. Allomorphs are semantically similar but phonetically different. They have variants due to different conditioning environment and are said to be in complementary distribution. Allomorphs are predicted, or “conditioned”, in one of three ways:

1. the appearance of a particular allomorph is predictable from the phonetic environment, hence phonologically conditioned;

2. the appearance is unpredictable phonologically but is determined by the grammar of the language, hence grammatically conditioned; or

3. the allomorphs are used interchangeably in all environments, hence in free variation.

Let’s consider the following example involving regular plural formation in nouns in English, as shown in the table

Table 1. Regular Plural Formation in Nouns

Although the orthographic form of the plural is s or es in all cases, you will notice that the phonological form of the plural morpheme in column A is /əz/, in column B /s/, and in column C /z/. Thus, there are three allomorphs of the plural morpheme. These allomorphs are semantically similar, all expressing the concept ‘more than one’.

A speaker of English knows which of these three forms to choose in any particular case. For the made-up noun, prat, the speaker would know to add the /s/ plural, whereas with the made-up noun stad, the speaker would add /z/. Thus, the particular endings, or allomorphs, are predictable – but how? If they are phonologically conditioned, there must be something about the phonetic environment of the noun which determines the choice of allomorph. In fact, it is the final sound of the root of the noun which is the determining factor. Note that in column A, all of the nouns end with a fricative or an affricate, in column B, with a voiceless consonant, and in column C, with a voiced consonant or vowel. We can refine this information and state it in terms of a morphemic rule. We must first recognize that the sounds found in column A /s, z, ∫, ʒ, t∫, ʤ/ constitute a natural class called sibilants. It would be inaccurate to say that /əz/ occurs after fricatives, since certain fricatives such as /f/ take the /s/ allomorph while others such as /v/ take the /z/ allomorph. Once we recognize the class of sibilants, we can state the rule as follows:

The allomorphs of the plural form of nouns have the orthographic form – s/es, but phonologically they are [əz], [s], and [z].

The [əz] allomorph follows roots ending in sibilants; the [s] allomorph follows roots ending in voiceless consonants, and the [z] allomorph follows roots elsewhere.

This morphemic rule may be given as a scheme:

{pl} → [əz] / sibilants —

[s] / voiceless consonants

[z] / elsewhere

Remember that the rule is read downward, so that “voiceless consonants” in the second line would exclude any voiceless consonants already included in the first line among sibilants.

We specify one allomorph as “elsewhere”. This is the form with widest distribution or the one found in the most diverse phonetic environments, in this case, after voiced consonants and vowels.

The table above gives the forms of noun plural in English that are phonologically conditioned, but certain noun plurals are grammatically conditioned:

Table 2. Irregular Plural Formation in Nouns

These endings are not productive: they are either linguistic fossils (remnant forms from an earlier stage of English) or foreign borrowings.

Finally, it is interesting to note that bound roots may show root allomorphy; for example, ‑cept is a predictable variant of ‑ceive before ‑ion, as in conception, perception, reception, and deception.

Generally, English is not rich in allomorphy, though this language has inherited quite a lot of it with the Latin vocabulary that was borrowed.

Task 3. Some terms in the text are italicized and underlined (e.g. allophones). Match these terms with definitions given below.

1. __________ – one of the phonetically distinct variants of a phoneme.

2. __________ – the use of different allomorphs of the same root in various morphosyntactic constructions.

3. __________ – the set of phonetic environments in which a sound occurs.

4. __________ – the occurrence of sounds in a language such that they are never found in the same phonetic environment.

5. ______ – neighboring sounds of a given sound that cause it to undergo a change.

6. __________ – a principle or regulation accounting for the allomorphs of a morpheme, giving their conditioning environments, e.g. setting phonological conditioning of the allomorphs /t/d/id/

7. __________ – the occurrence of sounds in overlapping environments but causing no distinction in the meaning of their respective words.

8. __________ – retention in the language of some old and unproductive forms

9. __________ – a word taken from one language for use in another.

10. __________ – a consonant produced by the forcing of breath through a constricted passage (such as /f/ or /s/ in English). Also called spirant.

11. __________ – a consonant sound that begins as a stop (sound with complete obstruction of the breath stream) and concludes with a fricative (sound with incomplete closure and a sound of friction). Examples of these sounds are /t∫/ in English chair, which may be represented phonetically as a /t/ sound followed by /∫/; the /ʤ/ in English jaw (a /d/ followed by the /ʒ/), sound heard in French jour or and the ts sound often heard in German and spelled with z as in zehn, meaning ten. Also called semiplosive.

12. __________ – a consonant sound that is made by vibrating the vocal chords.

13. __________ – a consonant produced without sound from the vocal cords.

14. __________ – a fricative consonant sound, in which the tip, or blade, of the tongue is brought near the roof of the mouth and air is pushed past the tongue to make a hissing sound. In English /s/, /z/ /∫/, /ʒ/ are sibilants.

15. __________ – a speech sounds in the articulation of which the oral part of the breath channel is not blocked

Definitions are taken from:

quizlet.com

www.britannica.com

www.thefreedictionary.com

www.teachingenglish.org.uk

www.merriam-webster.com

Task 4. Give Russian equivalents to the terms from Task 3.

Task 5. Use some terms from Task 3 to fill in the gaps.

When linguists find that the same morpheme has more than one form (or ______¹), they often seek to set up a single underlying representation for the morpheme and to formulate ______ ² that will derive the appropriate pronunciation for any particular context. To see how this works, let us consider in more detail the _______ ³ in which the different allomorphs of the English plural morpheme occur (see Table 1 in Text 2).

As you can see, the choice of plural allomorph is determined by the final segment of the base. Bases that end in a ______ ⁴ take the voiceless /-s/ allomorph. Bases that end in a ______ ⁵ or a voiced consonant take the voiced /-z/ allomorph. And bases that end in a ______ ⁶ consonant occur with the /-əz/ allomorph.

In selecting the underlying representation of a morpheme, it is common to choose the allomorph with the widest ____ ⁷. This happens to be /-z/ in the case of the English plural morpheme because it occurs after most voiced consonants and after all vowels (which are also voiced). This is no accident, of course, since /-z/ too is a _____ ⁸.

Based on Contemporary Linguistics: An Introduction

Practice

Ex.1. Examine the following past tense forms in English:

hated

pulled

oared

walked

raided

opened

hugged

pushed

faded

groomed

robbed

missed

fitted

mowed

bruised

hoped

mated

cried

loved

fetched

loaded

paid

judged

laughed

(a) Determine the allomorphs of this inflectional suffix.

(b) Determine the conditioning environments for each of the allomorphs.

(c) Write a morphemic rule.

Ex. 2. Examine the following past tense forms.

sang

bought

cut

went

rang

fought

put

were

(a) How are they conditioned? How are they realized?

(b) How do you account for the following variants: learned/learnt, dreamed/dreamt, burned/burnt?

Ex. 3. Examine the following words:

illegal

ineligible

inactive

irrelevant

intolerant

indeterminate

immature

impossible

insecure

illogical

irregular

immoral

infamous

imbalance

injudicious

impatient

injury

ingrate

incongruous

(a) Determine the allomorphs of this derivational prefix.

(b) Determine the conditioning factors for each of the allomorphs.

(c) Decide on the underlying (or "elsewhere") form of this morpheme. Justify the base form.

(d) Write a morphemic rule.

(e) State the meaning of the morpheme.

Ex. 4. Examine the following words:

collect

cohabit

collide

correct

coalesce

corrode

connect

collate

confess

commute

commend

cohere

combat

contend

coexist

compute

consent

coincide

compare

condemn

(a) Determine the allomorphs of this derivational prefix.

(b) Write a morphemic rule, specifying the underlying form, allomorphs, and conditioning environments.

(c) State the meaning of the morpheme, if possible.

Ex. 5. Examine the following pairs of words:

sign signature

design designation

resign resignation

(a) What is the root allomorphy exhibited by all of the forms?

(b) Write a morphemic rule for the first set of words.

Exercises 1 – 5 are taken from The Linguistic Structure of Modern English by Laurel J. Brinton and Donna M. Brinton// http://benjamins.com/series/z/156/workbook/exercise

EMPLOYMENT DISCRIMINATION.

Pre-reading tasks. Discuss the following questions.

1. Employment discrimination can be based on age, gender and race—are there other categories you can think of?

2. Are women and men employed as equals in your country, in terms of pay and conditions?

Read the text and do the after-reading tasks.

The US Supreme Court today hears a case which could have a big impact on the size of damages paid by US employers in employment discrimination lawsuits. The court agreed to hear the case, Carole Colstad vs. the American Dental Association (ADA), to clarify what kind of employer conduct will give rise to punitive damages—damages awarded to punish and deter an offender—in lawsuits involving sex discrimination. However, law employment experts said that the suit was also likely to have a knock-on effect on race, age and other employment discrimination suits brought under Title VII of the 1991 Civil Rights Act.

The case involves a female lawyer employed as a lobbyist for the ADA, a professional trade association. A jury found that Ms Colstad was denied promotion because of international sex discrimination. The issue before the court is not whether this is so, but whether such discrimination must be a ‘egregious’ before punitive damages are awarded.

Title VII permits such damages where there was ‘malice or … reckless indifference to the federally protected rights of an individual’. But in Ms Colstad’s case an Appeals Court found that the ADA’s conduct was neither ‘egregious’ nor ‘truly outrageous’ enough to merit punitive damages.

At the moment there is confusion over the standard of conduct necessary to attract punitive damages, with the various circuits courts applying differing standards to define ‘reckless indifference’. If the Supreme Court upholds the Appeals Court’s decision in Colstad—that the conduct did not meet this standard of ‘egregious’—this would set a new standard nationwide that could limit the size of both jury awards and pre-trial settlements.

Conversely, if Ms Colstad wins, jury awards and settlements could shoot up. Her lawyers argue in their brief that ‘egregious’ is too high a standard, and that employees need only show that their employers knew or should have known their conduct was probably unlawful in order to have claims for punitive damages put before a jury.

“if adopted, this standard would subject employers to punitive damages virtually every time an employee engages in international discrimination against another’’, the US Chamber of Commerce argues in a brief field to support in ADA. “Our concern is that punitive damages would become the norm, not the exception’’, says Stephan Bokat of the National Chamber Litigation Centre, which has also backed the ADA.

According to Jury Verdict Research, which tracks jury awards, 40 % of verdicts in gender discrimination cases in the last six years have included punitive damages. The law caps damages at $50,000--$300,000 per plaintiff, depending on the size of the employer.

A lower court jury awarded Ms Colstad back pay after a male employee in the same office was, according to her lawyer’s brief, ‘preselected’ for a promotion for which he was less qualified than she was.

A. Understanding main points.

Answer the questions.

1. What is the case about?

2. Where is the case being heard? Who brought the appeal—the ADA or Ms Colstad?

3. What types of discrimination are mentioned in the text?

4. Why did Ms Colstad sue the ADA?

5. Was there any dispute about the facts of the discrimination against Ms Colstad?

6. What was the lower Appeals Court’s decision?

7. Which organisation is mentioned that supports the ADA?

8. If the Supreme Court decides in favour of Ms Colstad, how much may she receive in damages?

B. Understanding expressions.

Choose the best explanation for each of these words or phrases from the text.

1. Knock-on effect

a) Blow to the body b) wider consequences c) entry requirement

2. Malice

a) Friendliness b) with bad or cruel intention c) international

3. Reckless indifference

a) Driving without care b) heartless and cruel c) not caring about consequences

4. Upholds

a) Reserves b) agrees with and supports c) sets a standard

5. Brief

a) Short letter b) legal document c) kind of case

6. Caps

a) Sets an upper limit b) interferes c) is the head

VOCABULARY TASKS.

Use an appropriate word or phrase from the box to complete each sentence.

1. The amount of money awarded to a victim has a …………………………………. .

2. The courts are in session at different times during the year in different places, so that the ………………………………………… can work in a variety of places.

3. When Parliament votes to pass a Bill it becomes an ………………………………… .

4. There is no …………………………….. on the liability of owners in a private partnership.

5. Many people think there should be a specialist …………………………………. for complex fraud cases.

6. American citizens should study their ………………………………….. so that they know what laws protect them from abuse.

7. Damages set very high in order to deter others are called …………………………….. .

8. A special term for very bad behaviour in the US is ………………………………….. behaviour.

9. Every court decision may be sent for …………………………………… if circumstances justify it.

10. An out-of-court …………………………………… is desirable if possible.

11. Anyone can bring a …………………………………….. against someone else if they feel they have suffered a wrong that cannot be settled easily.

12. A barrister cannot work in a court without a ………………………………….. from a solicitor.

Opposites. Match the opposites.

Prepositions. Complete these sentences with a preposition from the box.

1. If she wins this case, awards and settlements could shoot …………………… .

2. The suits are brought …………………………………. Title VII of the 1991 Civil Rights Act.

3. There may be a knock-………………… effect: other types of discrimination suits will be affected.

4. The decision will have a major impact……………………….. employers nation-wide.

5. Some companies may be subject……………………….. enormous claims.

6. The law caps damages …………………………… a certain sum of money, depending ………………………. the size of the company.

7. According …………………………. the researchers, juries often award punitive damages in cases where there has been discrimination ………………………… women in the workplace.

8. What kind of conduct could give rise ………………….. punitive damages?

Different outcomes. Use an appropriate word or phrase from the box to complete each sentence.

1. The court could decide to award punitive damages for any justified complaint …………………………… , if that happened, companies would soon go bankrupt.

2. On the one hand, the lower court may decide in favour of the plaintiff; …………………………….. , the appeal court may decide differently.

3. The verdict may be to limit all types of damages …………………………. , the verdict may be to award the maximum possible to deter others.

4. ………………………… they had not complained about the award, there would not have been an appeal.

5. A successful outcome for the company involved would be a limitation on the damages, ………………………………. a worst-case scenario would be that they have to pay punitive damages.

6. ………………………………… the worst come to the worst, the ADA …………………….. find themselves paying Ms Colstad punitive damages—and others too, if they file suit!

Home task. WRITING.

Check what the law in your country says about employment and equal opportunities. How do these effect disabled people? Write a brief report.

Date: 2014-12-28; view: 1587