Report on the Word "Sound"

Term Paper , 2015 , 12 Pages , Grade: 1,0

English Language and Literature Studies - Linguistics

Bei der vorliegenden Arbeit handelt es sich um einen linguistischen Report, den ich während meines Auslandsaufenthaltes an der Birmingham City University verfasst habe. Dabei wurden grundlegende linguistische Phänomene anhand eines Wortes ("sound") wie bspw. Morphologie oder Syntax untersucht. Der erste Teil der Arbeit beschäftigt sich mit der Wortherkunft (Etymologie) sowie den verschiedenen Bedeutungen und Flexiven. Aufbauend auf diese grundlegenden Informationen untersucht der zweite Teil die unterschiedliche Flexive im Bezug auf ihre benachbarten Wörter (Kollokationen). Mit Hilfe des British National Corpus werden sowohl mehrere Beispiele herausgestellt als auch Diagramme und Tabellen verwendet, um die Ergebnisse hervorzuheben. Das kurze Fazit stellt noch einmal die wichtigsten Punkte zusammen.

Nachfolgend die Einleitung aus der Arbeit:

The following report is dedicated to investigate the word “sound” (/saʊnd/) with regards to some of the main linguistic features: meaning, morphology, syntax, collocation. First of all, this brief introduction will look at the word in its common meaning as well as its etymology. If one hears the word sound, one will automatically associate it with noise. According to the Oxford Dictionary of English sound relating to noise has its origin in two other languages: Anglo-Norman French and Latin. The former includes the noun soun and the verb suner, the latter the noun sonus. The word entered the English language for the first time in the Middle English period. At that time it was written soun like the Anglo-Norman French version and the -d was added in the Early Modern English period (Oxforddictionaries.com, 2014).

The next section will present other main senses of the word as well as their etymology (meaning). Afterwards, the section on morphology will focus on the word classes and inflec- tions of the word “sound” (morphology). Based on these introductory sections, the analysis of this report will be examined with the help of the British National Corpus in the last two sec- tions. Therefore, it will be outlined how the word operates in English syntax as well as the regular lexical phrases it enters. Ultimately, the conclusion will discuss the results that have been discovered in the analysis.

Inhaltsverzeichnis

• Introduction
• Meaning
• Morphology
• Syntax
• Collocation - Sound as a Noun
  • Collocation - Sound as a Verb
  • Collocation - Sound as an Adjective
• Conclusion
• Works Cited
• List of Figures

Zielsetzung und Themenschwerpunkte

This report aims to provide a comprehensive analysis of the word "sound" in the English language, focusing on its meaning, morphology, syntax, and collocation. The analysis utilizes the British National Corpus (BNC) to illustrate the word's usage in various contexts.

• The various meanings of the word "sound" and its etymology.
• The morphological features of "sound," including its inflections and word classes.
• The syntactic functions of "sound" in English sentences, including its role as subject, verb, object, complement, and adverbial.
• The collocations of "sound" as a noun, verb, and adjective, analyzing the words that frequently occur with it.
• The overall findings of the analysis, highlighting the word's versatility and significance in the English language.

Zusammenfassung der Kapitel

The introduction provides a brief overview of the word "sound," its etymology, and its common meaning as noise. It also outlines the report's structure and methodology.

The "Meaning" section explores various senses of the word "sound" beyond its association with noise, including its use as an adjective to describe something in good condition, its role in measuring water depth, and its geological meaning as a waterway.

The "Morphology" section delves into the inflections and word classes of "sound," listing its various forms and grammatical functions. It highlights the eight inflectional morphemes and eight word classes in the English language, demonstrating the word's versatility.

The "Syntax" section examines how "sound" operates in English syntax, focusing on its syntactic functions as subject, verb, object, complement, and adverbial. It provides examples from the BNC to illustrate these functions and explores the complexities of constructions involving "sound" and "of."

The "Collocation" section analyzes the collocations of "sound" as a noun, verb, and adjective, examining the words that frequently occur with it. It uses charts to illustrate the top five words by frequency and the five strongest collocations based on Mutual Information (MI).

Schlüsselwörter

The key terms and focus themes of this report include the word "sound," its various meanings, morphology, syntax, collocation, and the British National Corpus (BNC). The analysis explores the word's versatility in the English language, its grammatical functions, and its common lexical phrases.

• College: University of Birmingham (School of English)
• Course: Grammar & Vocabulary
• Grade: 1,0
• Author: Tim Ballschmiede (Author)
• Publication Year: 2015
• Pages: 12
• Catalog Number: V288976
• ISBN (eBook): 9783656892267
• ISBN (Book): 9783656892274
• Language: English
• Tags: Linguistik, Report, Sound, Morphology, Syntax, Ethymology, Derivation, Inflection, Collocation, Grammar, Vocabulary, Linguistics, Morphologie, Etymologie