Sunday, July 12, 2020
AP Language 2020: Sample Essay Helps
AP Language 2020: Sample Essay HelpsThe AP Language 2020 is a way for most schools to evaluate the students' ability to converse in the language. Each individual school will decide on which test they would like to administer. Some of the popular tests include ASL, French, Hebrew, Spanish, German, and Japanese.In order to succeed in this test, you need to know the language before you even arrive at the class room. It is important that you take practice tests so that you are prepared when you actually arrive. There are many places where you can get samples of these tests.You can also contact an instructor for extra help. It is good for you to get their opinion when it comes to interpreting the exam. You may find it useful to go online and read tips on how to take the test. This is the best way to get an idea of what to expect.While you are looking for AP essay samples, it is good to understand that the English writing sample you are provided is not your final result. Some test centers will use a different type of assessment. This means that you need to take more than one test. The sample that you receive will determine the outcome of your test.In general, the subject matter for English Essay samples includes grammar and punctuation. You may be asked to write about various different subjects including geography, history, politics, religion, current events, literature, and many others. Many students prepare for this kind of test by preparing a vocabulary lesson or some kind of lesson.One of the most common topics is the present tense. You will be asked to analyze different topics and write about how you would change the past tense. Other types of essay samples will include the usage of past participles and personal pronouns.It is good to know that your score is based on the scores from all of the essay samples. It will help you know that your score is going to be lower if you took tests in other subjects. However, if you took a test that included the same kind of s ample essay, then your score will be higher.The curriculum for the Language test is different for each test center. Since they are highly competitive, they all have a different idea of what is going to be required. If you want to study for this test, then it is good to do so with an experienced instructor. It will allow you to study with someone who knows what they are doing.
Wednesday, May 20, 2020
Pornography Should Not Be Distributed Out The World
Producing and distributing pornography has been a controversial issue from the beginning of its existence. Some people might see pornography as a piece of entertainment and argue it is harmless, while other people, especially the feminists, argue that it is harmful to the society where it objectifies women as a ââ¬Å"pleasure relief toyâ⬠for men. From a contractualist point of view, pornography is considered as immoral for its dehumanizing, degrading, and sexist representations. Therefore, pornography should not be distributed out the world. According to T.M. Scanlon, the central idea of contractualism in relation to its account of moral reasoning is ââ¬Å"An act is wrong if its performance under the circumstances would be disallowed by any system of rules for the general regulation of behavior which no one could reasonably reject as a basis for informed, unforced, general agreementâ⬠(qtd. in Williams 75). Contractualism accounts wrongness by determining whether the act is right or wrong in regard to principles that others could not reasonably reject. Moreover, it also concerns with what reasons are justifiable. Scanlon offers an account both of ââ¬Å"(1) the authority of moral standards and (2) what constitutes rightness and wrongnessâ⬠(Ashford). The first part comes from mutual recognition where one rationally justifies and accepts the otherââ¬â¢s moral reasons and principles. As to the second part, wrongness consists in unjustifiability. Commonly, wrong acts cannot be justified to others;Show MoreRel atedEssay about The Harmful Effects of Pornography 1626 Words à |à 7 Pages Whether pornography is an excuse to make acts of violence public? A big number of famous scholars, no matter men or women, have given their opinions. Each of them has their own view, but we can sort them into two groups, which are against to serious censorship and willing to convict and uproot pornography. Because of pornography, womenââ¬â¢s status can never be equal to menââ¬â¢s. Recently, a revolution about the perception of moral values comes out in the world, which refers to how deep the changes ofRead MoreThe Negative Impact of Pornography on Society Essay924 Words à |à 4 Pages Pornography is tearing apart the very fabric of our society. Yet Christians are often ignorant of its impact and apathetic about the need to control this menace. Pornography is an $8 billion a year business with close ties to organized crime.The wages of sin are enormous when pornography is involved. Purveyors of pornography reap enormous profits through sales in so-called adult bookstores and viewing of films and live acts at theaters. Pornography involves books, magazines,Read MoreNegative Effects Of Pornography1180 Words à |à 5 Pagesand 60% of young girls have been exposed to pornography before the age of 18â⬠(Watson, 2014, para.1). Viewing pornography at such a young age when the mind is still developing can lead to long-lasting impacts on the brain (How Exposure to Pornography Affect Children, 2015, para.18). The issue is not necessarily whether pornography is right or wrong, it is about what viewing it will do to consumersââ¬â¢ brains and the way they view and interact with the world. Some people have been exposed to porn andRead MoreThe Social Communication Era1478 Words à |à 6 PagesThe internet have opened up more opportunities of communication and socializing at vast distances across the world. People are able to send and receive information at their convenience which made the internet the habitat of social communication. Millions of people are using various web-based social networking ser vices such as Facebook, twitter, Instagram, My space, Whatââ¬â¢s app, Skype; just a few to mention, to communicate, stay connected and as a source of freedom of expression. The use of theseRead More Internet Censorship Essay - Censoring the Internet740 Words à |à 3 PagesNow that our world is entering into a new technology era, the Internet is now in the middle of the censorship issue. Internet access is now one of the fastest ways to communicate with others, obtain information on virtually anything, and purchase items without having to leave your home. As more and more people get connected to this cyber superhighway, concern for the content of material has become a big issue. Since so many children are exposed to the Internet, some material should not be accessibleRead MoreThe Worst Computer Crime Of Children1870 Words à |à 8 Pagesexpected, for a tool that has the power to transmit information, video and much more to any other person in the world is an invaluable one, b ut the damage it has done isnââ¬â¢t able to be calculated, for the realm of activity encompasses multitude areas including theft, hacking, terrorism and much more. However, what is able to be easily agreed on is the worst computer crime of them all: child pornography. The textbook for this class, Human Sexuality by Roger Hock (2012), paints a clear picture on this, statingRead MoreEducation, Discourse, And Discourse1371 Words à |à 6 Pagesnever been so available in a public venue. With the participation of real life couples (like Jake and Scarlett) in the webcam performance world, there is a wider-ranging platform for honest, truthful communication on healthy sexual relationships than in any other medium of sex on screen. Audiences of traditional modern pornography have recently been called out in condemnation due to the influence of abusive acts present both on screen and newly within the modern audience members bedroom. ââ¬Å"I haveRead MoreAn Article On The Internet1473 Words à |à 6 Pagesturning the worlds internet eyes on them as a form of pressure. They also hate general shitty humans. In October, of 2012 this same infiltrated and knocked some 40 child pornography Web sites offline. The group also said it published the names of visitors to one of the sites. The list, Anonymous said, is fair game for authorities to use in cases against illegal child pornography sites and their visitors. Heres what they said: If the FBI, Interpol, or other law enforcement agency should happen toRead MoreEssay about Mass Media and Popular Culture1491 Words à |à 6 Pagesdiscuss the impact of mass media on enculturation, examine the relationships among media, advertising and the formation of normative cultural values, and discuss the impact of the internet on popular culture and the way we communicate today. Real world examples of this impact will be provided to prove our point of view and the overall effect mass media has on popular culture. Enculturation is defined as ââ¬Å"the process by which an individual learns the traditional content of a culture and assimilatesRead MorePrivacy : Privacy And Privacy1504 Words à |à 7 PagesPrivacy advocates warn that many Websites try to collect personal information from online users, but few guarantees how that data will be used. They say the federal government should establish standards to protect privacy online. But Internet businesses and others contend that they can safeguard users privacy without resorting to government interference. Law-enforcement agencies, meanwhile, favor government limitations on the use of sophisticated encryption technology, which makes online communications
Wednesday, May 6, 2020
War of the Roses - 1118 Words
War of the Roses For my research project I chose the war of the roses because it is interesting and relates to us and where we live. I visited York, England this past Thanksgiving and learned some background on this during our trip. York, England is about 3 hours north of London and is an interesting medieval city with small narrow streets and modern living at the same time. The war of the roses started on May 22, 1455 with the battle of St. Albans and ended on June 16, 1487 with the battle of Stoke. King Henry VI and the Duke of Somerset, Edmund Beaufort, tried to keep the Duke of York, Richard IV, out of politics. King Henry VI became ill and Richard IV took over power and by the time King Henry VI became healthy again, Richard IVâ⬠¦show more contentâ⬠¦King Henry VI was defeated and captured by the Yorkists and spent 7 years in the Tower of ââ¬ËKingmakerââ¬â¢. Edward IV, son of Richard IV, became the new king of England and one year later the elderly King Henry VI was murdered at the hands of Richard V Duke of Gloucester Richard IVââ¬â¢s son. (Weir, Battle of St Albans, 2012) Four years prior to the battle of Towton, the Battle of Wakefield, occurred and it had looked as though the Yorkists were going to dominate this war. During the Battle of Wakefield the Yorkists received a devastating blow with the loss of their leader, Richard IV, and other commanders during this battle. The Yorkist seamed defeated until the capture of King Henry VI. The deciding factor in the war was during the battle of Edecote Moor when the Yorkists made a new alliance with France and the King of England was also on their side. The new alliance with France and the power of the king would prove to be the deciding factor in this war and would win the war for the Yorkists. (Weir, Battle of Wakefield, 2012) During the Battle of Bosworth Field King Edward IV died of an illness and his son Edward V became King at the age of 12. Richard V, the Duke of Gloucester, held the throne until Edward the V became of age. This battle took place in a small town called Market Bosworth and was the second to last battle of the war. (Weir, Battle of Bosworth, 2012) The last battle was the Battle of Stoke; however there is some dispute byShow MoreRelatedThe War of the Roses700 Words à |à 3 PagesThe War of the Roses were a series of dynastic wars fought between supporters of two rival branches of the royal house of plantagenet,the house of Lancaster and york. This wars were fought in several sprordartic espisodes beteen 1455 and 1487. In my opinion this war was not necessary for the history of Europe because they could only had had talked and solve it in a simple way. The War of the Roses is called The War of the Roses because the two houses are represented by two roses, the House of LancasterRead MoreThe War Of The Roses1581 Words à |à 7 PagesHistory I 31st October, 2017 The War of the Roses The War of the Roses was a thirty three year long civil war that necessitated the lives of more than 50,000 people. The series of bloodshed was for the throne of England between two contending factions of royal English blood: the White Rose of York and the Red Rose of Lancaster. What began as a simple passing of an entire generation of the royal princes of Edward IIIââ¬â¢s sons lead to one of the bloodiest series of wars in Britainââ¬â¢s history. In the endRead MoreThe Wars Of The Roses1181 Words à |à 5 Pageset was a decisive engagement in the Wars of the Roses, a dynastic conflict of 15th-century England. The military action, along with the subsequent Battle of Tewkesbury, secured the throne for Edward IV. On 14 April 1471 near Barnet, then a small Hertfordshire town north of London, Edward led the House of York in a fight against the House of Lancaster, which backed Henry VI for the throne. Leading the Lancastrian army was Richard Neville, 16th Earl of Warwick, who playe d a crucial role in the fateRead MoreThe War of the Roses3308 Words à |à 14 PagesBritish Studies THE WAR OF THE ROSES â⬠¢ Introduction â⬠¢ Name of The War of the Roses â⬠¢ Famous people in The War of the Roses â⬠¢ Causes of The War of the Roses â⬠¢ The War of the Roses â⬠¢ The result and impact of The War of the Roses â⬠¢ The summary â⬠¢ Bibliography I. INTRODUCTION T he Middle Age considers one of the most exciting periods in English history. One of the most historical events of medieval era is the Wars of the Roses in the fifteenth centuryRead MoreThe War of the Roses and Shakespeare742 Words à |à 3 Pages There are two sides to every issue. The Wars of the Roses went from 1455-1485 AD, which were fought between the Lancastrians and the Yorks. The Lancastrians was a house descended from John of Gaunt, this sides symbol was a Red Rose. The Yorks was a house descended from the second and fourth son of Edward III, their symbol was a White Rose. Shakespeare wrote a play about Richard III, taking place three months after the Wars of the Roses ended. Shakespeareââ¬â¢s play is summing up Richard doing anythingRead MoreThe War Of The Roses And Ends With Last English1476 Words à |à 6 PagesCovering a period which starts with the Hundred Years War already in full swing, contains the start of the Wars of the Roses and ends with last English king t o die in battle the level of participation of the aristocracy and the roles which they fulfilled is a natural continuation of the topic, especially given how kings can be lauded or vilified for their participation or non-participation in military matters but it was the nobility who functioned as military commanders or otherwise notable figuresRead MoreHip Hop Wars By Tricia Rose3817 Words à |à 16 PagesWhen Tricia Rose speaks to the concept of ââ¬Å"hip hop warsâ⬠in her writing, she is referring to a broad range of different conflicts that are taking place in all areas of hip hop. In the introduction to her book, she begins to explain her multitude of concerns surrounding certain topics in hip hop. She begins by saying that the most financially successful hip hop has become a way of caricaturing ââ¬Å"black gangstas, pimps and hoesâ⬠(p. 1). She goes on to explain that homophobia, hypersexism, antisocialRead MoreEssay on Henry VI and the Wars of the Roses2506 Wor ds à |à 11 Pagesminority and the time that he was the titular king laid the groundwork for the Wars of the Roses. Had Henry been an intelligent king, with at least some political acumen, and the ability to win the respect of his nobles, their may have never been any Wars of the Roses. But his weakness in allowing government by favorites and governing foolishly on his own, at the very least directed his country down the road to a bloody civil war. Henry VI was born on December 6, 1421, and became king of England onRead MoreThe World War II By Kenneth D. Rose1642 Words à |à 7 PagesIn the decades since World War II, there have been many attempts to glorify this generation through the media. Myth and the Greatest Generation: A Social History of Americans in World War II by Kenneth D. Rose, attempts to pare back the delusions of grandeur that often characterize histories of the World War II generation to show society as it was rather than how we have come to perceive it. Rose claims that often times when commentators focus on wars, they choose stories that are meant to make theRead MoreThe Cold War By Kenneth Rose s One Nation Underground1320 Words à |à 6 PagesThe Cold War, which was considered the ââ¬Å"years of maximum danger,â⬠lasted from 1949-1962. This period brought an increasing sense of danger to America because the Soviet Union came into possession of an atomic bomb in 1949; an idea many Americans thought t o be impossible unless the Soviet Union had a spy in the United States, which they did. Because the Soviet Union had an atomic bomb, a nuclear war became a reality. In Kenneth Roseââ¬â¢s ââ¬Å"One Nation Undergroundâ⬠he told of rising issues associated with
Electoral College (2055 words) Essay Example For Students
Electoral College (2055 words) Essay Electoral CollegeWho is really voting, the people or the selected few. The recent election involving Bush and Gore has heated up a fifty year old debate. The debate is about whether the Electoral College is still an effective system considering the circumstances the United States now faces compared to when it was created by the founding fathers. The Electoral College is an outdated system of election that misrepresents the people of the United States today. The college was created in a time where communication was limited. Treason, tyranny, and oppression from foreign countries were still a serious threat. In order to protect the people and the institution of America, the government created an election system that allowed the final vote to rest in the hands of a trusted and respected few. These selected few could disregard the popular vote because there was and still is ââ¬Å"no Constitutional provision or federal law requiring electors to vote in accordance with the popular vote in their states (National Archives and Records Administration).â⬠For about one hundred and fifty years the United States has used a system that does not coincide with the most popular opinion, but yet, it has been the prevailing system that has not substantially changed with the evolution of American society. By the definition given by The New Lexicon Websterââ¬â¢s Dictionary Encyclopedic Edition, Democracy is a ââ¬Å"Government by the people, usually through elected representatives. â⬠People elect representatives to represent them in the in the overall government. For example, if the people of the state of Florida vote in the election between the two candidates Bush and Gore, and the majority of the people vote for Gore and the representatives, meaning the twenty-five electors of the state, vote for Bush, then there has been a misrepresentation. How is this country a Democracy when such a flaw would destroy the sole purpose of a democracy, which is to represent the majority of the people? According to William C. Kimblerling, Deputy Director FEC Office of Election Administration, the founders created a system that has performed its function for over 200 years and any alternatives to it appear more problematic than is the College itself. This system has performed its function of electing a President and does fully represent the selected few who get to actually vote, but the nation of citizens who think they are voting are being mislead. When the founders created this system of election, they accounted for the many problems faced by a new nation with new citizens. Because of the pristine age of the country, the founders knew they faced different problems of creating a system compared to the older powers of the world. The influence from other world powers was a foreseeable problem, so the founders had to limit the public vote in order to protect the new nation. The Electoral College was a brilliant 18th century device to solve the problem of electing a president with states ranging in size. The problems faced by the founders were the difficulty of travel and the absence of political parties during the 18th century. Because traveling and communication from one state to another took days and sometimes months, it was almost impossible for any normal farmer or shop owner to make an educated guess with lack of up to date information. Also, considering there were no political parties at the time, no person could chose a candidate with common beliefs of their own unless they had some form of information that would be distributed to every citizen. The founders agreed that the best way to select a president would be to elect responsible trusted people of the government to become apart of the Electoral College. Each state is allowed a vote for the ââ¬Å"total number of senators and representatives it sends to the U.S. Congress (National Archives and Records Administration). â⬠With this system in place, each state would have fair representation. The system would hopefully have trusted and educated Electors who would be unaffected by partisan politics. The problems faced were more numerous than just travel and communication during the 18th century, William C. Kimberling explains why the Electoral College was created. Holy Year of Jubilee Essay There are many flaws in the Electoral system that backers of the system refuse to acknowledge. If they do acknowledge the flaws, they answer them by saying that the current system is better than any others out there. But there are better systems out there that could be used. This is where the major flaw in the Electoral College is: the mere fact that the elected are not required to represent the people that they work for. Kimberlingââ¬â¢s response to this flaw is that ââ¬Å"Proponents of the Electoral College point out that it was never intended to reflect the national popular will.â⬠In other words, representatives were never intended to represent. An example would be found in the Benjamin Harrison and Grover Cleveland race for the presidency in 1888. Microsoft Encarta Online Encyclopedia, states that the ââ¬Å"defeated candidate (Grover Cleveland), polled 5,540,050 popular votes to 5,444,337 for Benjamin Harrison; however, Cleveland received only 168 electoral votes to Harrisonââ¬â¢s 233. â⬠The reason given for this upset by Kimberling is that ââ¬Å"Democrat Grover Cleveland, ran up huge popular majorities in several of the 18 States which supported him while the Republican challenger, Benjamin Harrison, won only slender majorities in some of the larger of the 20 States which supported him (most notably in Clevelandââ¬â¢s home State of New York).â⬠Clevelandââ¬â¢s majority of the popular vote throughout the population of the nation did not matter to four hundred and one electors who decided that Harrison should win. Because of cases such as Cleveland vs. Harrison, the country has tried to fix and even abolish the Electoral system. One idea to abolish the Electoral system came from Steven Hill, a writer from the Christian Science Monitor. He believes that the U.S. should incorporate the use of an ââ¬Å"instant runoffâ⬠system. This system is used in the United Kingdom, Australia, and Ireland. ââ¬Å"An instant runoff allows voters to rank their top, second, and third choices on the same ballot.â⬠By doing this, a voter has allowed the government to use their second and third choices as votes if the party candidates do not meet a required majority for presidency. At the same time you could eliminate the Electoral College and let the people vote directly for the presidency. Another fix the critics of the Electoral College would push for would be the elimination of the ââ¬Å"winner-take-allâ⬠system of the Electoral College. This system of which presidential candidate that wins the most popular votes within a state wins all of that States Electors ( Kimberling, 6). In Microsoft Encarta, an article that describes the overall view of the Electoral College, the critics of the ââ¬Å"electoral method contend that the true sentiments of the voters are distorted by the winner-take-all system, as well as by the fact that population and voter turnout are not accurately reflected.â⬠Critics agree that this system is unfair and should be replaced with a direct popular election and thus eliminating the winner-take-all system is a step in that direction. After considering all of the proââ¬â¢s and conââ¬â¢s, I still believe that the Electoral College is an outdated system. All of the backers of the system are still paranoid of presidential take over from extreme parties because they believe the public is not educated enough to make the proper choice. Maybe it is true, many people do not know the first thing about politics. Personally, I believe I am to inexperienced in the field of politics to be voting for candidates that would put them in the most powerful seat in the world, but whether I am experienced or not, I believe the selected few should not decide the future of the whole. Because many people like myself are inexperienced, does not mean the entire United States is inexperienced. There are many politically inspired and educated people besides the elected 538 that should decide the future of this nation. The future should be left to the open mind of the entire population, and not to the limited mind of the few. Politics Essays
Thursday, April 23, 2020
My Hair Turned Green Essays - Canadas Next Top Model,
My Hair Turned Green Title- My Hair Turned Green Three girls were in school talking about Spring Break. After school the 3 girls their names are Melissa, Abigail, and Julia they went to their meeting spot for their club called the 3p.m. club. Then the girls stared talking about how they needed money because they were going into highschool and they wanted the boys to see them. Opinion- I liked this chapter because the girls have a club and their goal is to make money. From the title of the book I think one of the girls hair will turn green. I think it would be kind of neat to have green hair. I also think that the girl that is trying out for the play will get the part because probably the one who's hair turns green will get it because they think it is probably the right look for their play. Chapter 2 The girls went downstairs from their meeting spot and saw Abigail's aunt Abbey was down their. She gave them a book on how to make their own make up. The next day at school the girls decided to go into the make up business. Where they would make it then sell it. So they done some research on it. Opinion- I liked this chapter because the girls are going to start their own business with old recipes from 1902. I don't think the recipes will be very good I think it will make the girl's face break out and the girls face will turn all red But I think they will make a little bit of money because there are probably girls stupid enough to by it. Chapter 3 The girls made all of the stuff then they tried out some of it after they took a shower they put on the after body stuff and their was a ingredient missing so they thought they could just use peroxide instead it made their body sting so they had to get back in the shower and they just put moose in their hair and all of that came out. Then they started calling girls to see if they wanted to buy any of it but they only got one order. So the next day they decided to call the girls and tell them to come over and see their new make up and stuff. They got 15 girls to come over then all the girls were talking about how they liked Melissa's brother Walt so the girls said that Walt liked all of the stuff so the girls would buy it. They made $46 the girls thought they would make more. Opinion- I liked this chapter because the girls made up the story to get the girls to buy the stuff. I think they will get Walt to be a salesman for they can sell more stuff. I thought $46 was good for their first day. Chapter 4 The girls decided they would go to the mall to try on wigs to see how they would look. They tried on a lot of wigs. But none of them looked good on them. Then as they were walking out they seen Melissa's sister Walt. They knew he shouldn't of been there because he was grounded then they went down and talked to them. When they got ready to leave Walt's friend John asked Melissa out on a date again. Opinion- I liked this chapter because the girls are going to hold that Walt was there when he was grounded against him in case they ever do anything they aren't supposed to do. I think Melissa will go out with John. I think they will earn enough money to do what they want to with their hair. Chapter 5- The girls start getting ready to open up their hair salon. They done all of the stuff they needed to do to Julia's garage. Then they had a problem they didn't know who's hair they could cut then they decided to black mail Walt. So they went to Melissa's house. Then they told John and Walt to come downstairs. So then they told them their deal. Then John asked Melissa out again and she said yes. Opinion- I liked this chapter because the girls are going
Tuesday, March 17, 2020
Imagine walking
Imagine walking into a dance club and feeling like you are floating through the door and hovering over the crowd. As you enter the dance floor the music and the lights slam your senses and send your body into overload. The music sounds more real, as if it was inside your head playing only for you. The lights are unbelieveably bright and they seem to hypnotize you. You step on the dance floor and the crowd swallows you in. Your body begins to move to the music without you even thinking about it. The music seems to be perfect and the crown around seems to be in perfect harmony with you and the music and lights. You dance with many people and you seem to have the perfect moves to go with any song that is played. Your mouth in constantly dry and you find yourself drinking gallons of water to keep from dehydrating. You dance all night long, loving every minute of your roll. Your senses are in a state of complete magnification and you love every minute of it. This is ECS! There is a new drug taking over in this millennium. This drug is different than drugs of the past. It is used by the younger generation, by clubbers, and generally by young people looking for a good time and a great high. Ecstasy has changed the way we look at drugs. Its not physically addictive and for the most part it is only used when people go out, to a party or a dance club. This drug is very popular and it has many people worried. No one really knows what it does to the body yet, and there are always rumors of death from taking these pills. Throughout this paper I will give the facts on ecstasy, its role in society, and its effects on human body. First off Im going to tell what ecstasy really is. The chemical makeup of ecstasy is, (C11H15NO2). The name for this compound is Methylenedioxy Methamphetamine or MDMA. One of the most challenging things that law enforcement is facing is the fact that this drug is easy to make and distribute. ...
Sunday, March 1, 2020
Definition and Examples of Inflectional Morphology
Definition and Examples of Inflectional Morphology Inflectional morphology isà the study of the processes (such as affixation and vowel change) that distinguish the forms of words in certain grammatical categories. In comparison to many other languages, the inflectional system of Modern English is fairly limited.à Inflectionalà morphology is customarily distinguished from derivational morphology (or word formation). As A.Y. Aikhenvald points out, Derivational morphology results in the creation of a new word with a new meaning. In contrast, inflectional morphology involves an obligatory grammatical specification characteristic of a word class (Typological Distinctions in Word-Formation in Language Typology and Syntactic Description, 2007). This distinction, however, is not always clear-cut. Examples and Observations Inflectional Categories and Derivational CatgeoriesThe prototypical inflectional categories include number, tense, person, case, gender, and others, all of which usually produce different forms of the same word rather than different words. Thus leaf and leaves, or write and writes, or run and ran are not given separate headwords in dictionaries. Derivational categories, in contrast, do form separate words, so that leaflet, writer, and rerun will figure as separate words in dictionaries. In addition, inflectional categories do not, in general, alter the basic meaning expressed by a word; they merely add specifications to a word or emphasize certain aspects of its meaning. Leaves, for instance, has the same basic meaning as leaf, but adds to this the specification of multiple exemplars of leaves. Derived words, by contrast, generally denote different concepts from their base: leaflet refers to different things from leaf, and the noun writer calls up a somewhat different concept from th e verb to write.That said, finding a watertight cross-linguistic definition of inflectional which will let us classify every morphological category as either inflectional or derivational is not easy. . . . [W]e define inflection as those categories of morphology that are regularly responsive to the grammatical environment in which they are expressed. Inflection differs from derivation in that derivation is a lexical matter in which choices are independent of the grammatical environment.ââ¬â¹(Balthasar Bickel and Johanna Nichols, Inflectional Morphology. Language Typology and Syntactic Description: Grammatical Categories and the Lexicon, 2nd ed., edited by Timothy Shopen. Cambridge University Press, 2007) Dictionaries and Inflectional Morphology[I]t is not correct to say that dictionaries never have anything to say about inflectional morphology. This is because there are two reasons why a word form such as pianists does not have to be listed, and these reasons are interdependent. The first is that, once we know that an English word is a noun denoting a kind of thing that can be counted (if the noun is pianist or cat, perhaps, but not astonishment or rice), then we can be confident that it will mean simply more than one X, whatever X may be. The second reason is that, unless otherwise specified, we can be confident that the plural form of any countable noun will be formed by adding to the singular form the suffix -s (or rather, the appropriate allomorph of this suffix); in other words, suffixing -s is the regular method of forming plurals.That qualification unless otherwise specified is crucial, however. Any native speaker of English, after a moments thought, should be able to think of at least two or three nouns that form their plural in some other way than by adding -s: for example, child has the plural form children, tooth has the plural teeth, and man has the plural men. The complete list of such nouns in English is not long, but it includes some that are extremely common. What this means for the dictionary entries for child, tooth, man and the others is that, although nothing has to be said about either the fact that these nouns possess a plural form or about what it means, something does have to be said about how the plural is formed.(Andrew Carstairs-McCarthy, An Introduction to English Morphology: Words and Their Structure. Edinburgh University Press, 2002) Eight Regular Morphological InflectionsThere are eight regular morphological inflections, or grammatically marked forms, that English words can take: plural, possessive, third-person singular present tense, past tense, present participle, past participle, comparative degree, and superlative degree. Most have phonologically sensitive realizations. . . .Modern English has relatively few morphological inflections in comparison with Old English or with other European languages. The inflections and word-class clues that do remain help the listener process incoming language.(Marianne Celce-Murcia, Donna M. Brinton, and Janet M. Goodwin, Teaching Pronunciation: A Reference for Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages. Cambridge University Press, 1996)Irregular Inflectional MorphologyThe so-called irregular inflectional morphology or morphological processes (such as internal vowel change or ablaut (sing, sang, sung)) today represent limited historical remnants of former grammatical inflectional systems which were probably semantically based and are now acquired lexically for frequently used lexical items rather than as grammatical systems (Tobin 1993:Ch. 12).ââ¬â¹(Yishai Tobin, Phonology as Human Behavior: Inflectional Systems in English. Advances in Functional Linguistics: Columbia School Beyond Its Origins, ed. by Joseph Davis, Radmila J. Gorup, and Nancy Stern. John Benjamins, 2006)
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