In an invented word history, lume first means any lamp and later means oil lamps only. What change does this show?

• The meaning becomes more restricted.
• The meaning extends to more objects.
• The spelling changes but meaning stays.

Which method gives the strongest language-based support for estimating a text's period?

• Guess the author's age from the passage's mood.
• Compare several features with dated examples.
• Choose a year from the passage's total length.

Trade, printing and migration can contribute to language change, but they are not its only possible influences.

Circle one:   True   False

A historical dictionary gives earliest surviving examples of sense A in 1500 and sense B in 1800. Which conclusion follows?

• Sense B has the earlier surviving example.
• Sense A has the earlier surviving example.
• Sense A was first spoken in exactly 1500.

An invented archive places a passage's verb ending mainly in 1600-1750, and its vocabulary and spelling support that range. What conclusion is justified?

• The passage was written in exactly 1600.
• The passage must contain a printing error.
• The passage may belong to 1600-1750.

One old spelling is enough to establish the exact year when a passage was written.

Circle one:   True   False

A passage has recent vocabulary but spellings associated with much older texts. What should an analyst do next?

• Date it using only the older spellings.
• Discard its spellings without checking.
• Check its source and weigh both clues.

An invented archive records new trade with another language community, followed by trade terms from that language. Which explanation is best supported, pending further checks?

• Trade contact may have supported the borrowing.
• Printing alone must have created the new terms.
• The sequence proves that contact had no effect.