Test your basic knowledge |

Linguistics Basics

Subject : humanities
Instructions:
  • Answer 50 questions in 15 minutes.
  • If you are not ready to take this test, you can study here.
  • Match each statement with the correct term.
  • Don't refresh. All questions and answers are randomly picked and ordered every time you load a test.

This is a study tool. The 3 wrong answers for each question are randomly chosen from answers to other questions. So, you might find at times the answers obvious, but you will see it re-enforces your understanding as you take the test each time.
1. Shortening a longer word (phone - auto) to create new words






2. Associations that an individual/small group may develop through everyday experiences (inside joke)






3. Two words of different meanings that differ in only one phoneme (bit and pit - dog and dock)






4. Affixes - need to attach to another morpheme






5. The situation in which a sentence is uttered






6. Core meaning - corresponds to a sign's sense or intension - the literal meaning of a word






7. The set of sentences that must be true for the sentence to be true






8. Change the meaning of a word - or part of speech (ex. child -> childhood)






9. Aspects of meaning concerning other meanings of an expression that may be activated when irrelevant (cock)






10. Change the meaning of a word - or part of speech (ex. child -> childhood)






11. The word that connects the meaning and the referent






12. Adding derivational morphemes to create new words (to fax)






13. A syntactic phenomenon where a given constituent is in a constituent of the same kind






14. Actually saying a word - what you can do






15. What can be deduced from the sentence's literal meaning






16. The effect an utterance has on its audience (speech act)






17. Actually saying a word - what you can do






18. A transformation in which you shift the object of a sentence (Mary gave a book to John --> Mary gave John a book)






19. Adding derivational morphemes to create new words (to fax)






20. A transformation in which you divide the phrasal verb (Mary stood up John --> Mary stoop John up)






21. Purposefully violating one of the principles/maxims of cooperation






22. Used by linguists to represent sounds in the languages of the world






23. Noam Chomsky's idea that the principles that govern grammar are genetically programmed in human beings






24. A transformation in which you add a negation word to the sentence






25. The meaning derived from flouting






26. Describes how language words today or at any given moment in time - not concerned with origin/history






27. 1. Representations 2. Directives 3. Expressives 4. Commissives 5. Declaratives






28. The branch of pragmatics that studies deictic words






29. Affix in the middle of a word






30. A transformation in which you change the voice of the sentence (Mary stoop up John --> John was stood up by Mary)






31. The principle of cooperation that states to avoid obscurity and ambiguity - be brief and orderly






32. The meaning derived from flouting






33. The meaning of a sign






34. Moving parts of a sentence into different positions for emphatic purposes






35. Affix in the middle of a word






36. Deals with how sounds are put together to form words






37. Describing the facts - Tries to determine why people use language the way they do - seeks to find the rules that govern spoken language






38. A transformation in which you add a negation word to the sentence






39. Words that depend on the context of a sentence for meaning (I - here - now)






40. The meaning of a sign






41. How sentences and texts are used in the world(context)






42. A sentence in context






43. The vocabulary of a speaker/language






44. Deals with how the sounds are organized






45. The effect an utterance has on its audience (speech act)






46. Moving parts of a sentence into different positions for emphatic purposes






47. Affix before the root






48. Required by syntax - mark grammatical categories (plurality - tense - comparative - etc) suffixes only






49. Core meaning - corresponds to a sign's sense or intension - the literal meaning of a word






50. 1. Quality or timbre 2. Volume 3. Length 4. Pitch or tone