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






2. Blending two existing words (motel - brunch)






3. Aspects of meaning evoked by cultural or literary codes






4. The branch of pragmatics that studies deictic words






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






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






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






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






9. The fact that saying something commits you to it (vow - promise - swearing) (speech act)






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






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






12. The meaning derived from flouting






13. A sentence in which no transformation has been applied






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






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






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






17. Invent new words from scratch (Xerox - Kleenex)






18. A single sound. K - d - t - e






19. When a public body decides which language will be taught in schools - what languages public employees must know - etc






20. Aspects of meaning having to do with the linguistic environment in which the expression occurs (cease and desist)






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






22. Combined phonemes - the smallest unit of language with a distinct meaning






23. The overall meaning of a text






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






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






26. A transformation in which you add an auxiliary verb and switching to question format






27. The word that connects the meaning and the referent






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






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






30. Deals with the sounds of a language






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






32. Using the initial letters of a set of words (NFL - NASA)






33. Affix before the root






34. When a public body decides which language will be taught in schools - what languages public employees must know - etc






35. Multiword units - the meaning of which is not the sum of its parts






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






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






38. Mental representation of a word






39. Actually saying a word - what you can do






40. A transformation in which you add an auxiliary verb and switching to question format






41. Shift in meaning (drink a glass of water)






42. The meaning derived from flouting






43. The science that studies language






44. Provides information about the group to which individuals belong






45. A word that has died out






46. The principle of cooperation that requires you be as informative as required but not more than that






47. Morphemes that can appear alone (cat)






48. The fact that saying something commits you to it (vow - promise - swearing) (speech act)






49. A new word






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