1. If you were a linguist helping to produce an orthographic system for a local language, what are two different issues you would want to consider carefully in relation to the local community and its needs? (2 pts)

1) Ease of use (keyboard-friendly, etc.)
2) Whether it will be used primarily by second-language learners or native speakers
3) Local identity issues in relation to other tribes and their writing systems
4) Whether English-based or Phonetic/Phonemic-based will be more acceptable.

2. Give examples of two different pidgins or “jargons” that have developed in North America (other than Hawaiian Creole English) involving Native American languages. (2 pts)

Mobile Trade Language; Delaware Jargon; Chinook Jargon; Trader Navajo

3. How does the sound system of Lake Miwok differ from all the other Miwok languages? How did the sound system apparently arise? (2 pts)

It has phonemes not present in the other Miwok languages (glottalized consonants, for ex.). These were borrowed into the language along with borrowed words, evidently in a situation of extensive bilingualism.

4. What is meant by saying that Plains Indian sign language was “iconic”? Give examples of two different signs which illustrate iconism (explain exactly what the sign represents). (3 pts)

The sign itself suggests what it means (unlike a spoken word, normally). Dog = travois being dragged, house = interlocking logs, pronoun = point at person, etc.

5. Explain what a “creole” is. (1 pt) Give examples of two grammatical features of Hawaiian Creole English which are clearly different from standard English. (2 pts)

Creole is a mixed language occurring due to contact, which becomes a native language of some children. HCE has 'went' as the only past tense marker, 'stay' as the imperfective marker, 'going' as the only future marker, 'one' used in place of 'a' to indicate indefiniteness, 'for' in place of 'to' to mark infinitives, etc.

6. What are four of the five different ways a language can come up with new words? (4 pts)

Borrow/loan, redescribe using own vocabulary, loan translation, loan blend, extend existing vocabulary to new meaning

7. How does local Andean Spanish differ from “standard” Spanish in South America in at least one way (showing the influence of indigenous languages on Spanish there)? (1 pt)

Has different evidential system, more extensive than regular spanish.

8. What is a syllabary? Give two examples. (3 pts)

Syllabary symbols represent syllables --multiple sounds, rather than a single sound. Two examples (from North America - I assumed that would be obvious) are Cherokee, Great Lakes, Cree/Ojibwa, Unifon, etc.

9. What is one indigenous language or language family which has contributed a large number of words (several dozen) directly to American English? What is another language or language family which has contributed many words to American English indirectly? (2 pts)

Algonquian has contributed by far the most words to American English. Another (indigenous - again, I assumed that would be obvious) family would be Aztecan (through Spanish).