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. Affixes - need to attach to another morpheme






2. The science that studies language






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






4. The sequence of sounds that make up a word






5. Mental representation of a word






6. Morphemes that can appear alone (cat)






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






8. A sentence in context






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






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






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






12. The word that connects the meaning and the referent






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






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






15. The Principle of cooperation that states that one does not say what is false or what you lack evidence for






16. Actually saying a word - what you can do






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






18. Shortening a longer word (phone - auto) to create new words






19. The object which you can see - touch - hear - or smell






20. Blending two existing words (motel - brunch)






21. The word that connects the meaning and the referent






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






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






24. A word that has died out






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






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






27. Affixes - need to attach to another morpheme






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






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






30. The overall meaning of a text






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






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






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






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






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






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






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






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






39. The sequence of sounds that make up a word






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






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






42. A black and white - right and wrong approach to language - traditional - seeks to impose outside arbitrary rules






43. The connection between shape and meaning is arbitrary






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






45. Deals with how sentences are formed






46. The property of the surface structure of the text to 'hold together'






47. The meaning derived from flouting






48. The vocabulary of a speaker/language






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






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