Solution 11-1

  1. The sentence is incomplete. The complete form of the sentence would be Have you got some change, mate?
  2. The beggar uses the form some, not any.
  3. The beggar uses the form (Have you) got…?, not Do you have…?
  4. The beggar addresses the passer-by as mate, not as Sir.
  5. The word change is used to mean `money’, not ‘alteration’. It is used instead of money.
  6. The sentence has the form of a question, but it isn’t meant as a question.
  7. The vowel in change and mate is pronounced        not
  8. The word some is pronounced        not
  9. The word got is pronounced        not
  10. The words are separated in writing, but not in speaking.
  11. The letter <e> at the end of some, change and mate is not pronounced.

Now try answering the following questions:

  1. Why do speakers make incomplete sentences? In which cases are incomplete sentences particularly frequent? How do you think incomplete sentences are viewed in linguistics?
  2. It is sometimes believed that some is used in affirmative sentences andany in negative or interrogative sentences. This is an interrogative sentence. What do you think justifies the use of some?
  3. Although occasionally there is a difference between Have you got…? andDo you have…?, the beggar might as well have chosen the form Do you have…? In this case, if there is no difference in meaning, what do you think induces the beggar to use Have you got…?
  4. How would you describe the difference between mate and Sir?
  5. Why does the beggar use change, not money? How does the passer-by know which meaning of the word change is meant? Is it unusual for a word to have more than one meaning?
  6. If the question is not a question, then what is it? How does the passer-by know it’s not a question if it is a question? What does this say about how communication works?
  7. What could be the reason for the beggar not to pronounce the words change and mate the way you would probably hear them on the BBC? What does this tell us about language in general?
  8. Why is some pronounced
  9. Where in the English-speaking world would you expect to hear the form / / and where would you expect to hear the form / /
  10. If the words are not separated in speaking, what does this mean for the passer-by, the addressee of the utterance?
  11. What do you think may be the reason why there are letters which are not pronounced at all?

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