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. Blending two existing words (motel - brunch)






2. The science that studies language






3. A sentence in context






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






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






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






7. Two linked turns by different speakers which make sense only taken together (How are you? Fine. How about you?)






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






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






10. A sentence in which no transformation has been applied






11. Occurs when words have been disambigued and a sentence has a clear meaning






12. The sequence of sounds that make up a word






13. Figurative use of meaning (Bob is a pig)






14. 1. Airstream 2. Phonation 3. Nasalization 4. Articulation






15. Affix in the middle of a word






16. The overall meaning of a text






17. Putting two old words together to make a new word (railway)






18. Provides information about the group to which individuals belong






19. The situation in which a sentence is uttered






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






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






22. The meaning derived from flouting






23. Meaning components






24. A sentence in context






25. The meaning of a sign






26. Affixes - need to attach to another morpheme






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






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






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






30. The situation in which a sentence is uttered






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






32. A word that has died out






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






34. Two linked turns by different speakers which make sense only taken together (How are you? Fine. How about you?)






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






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






37. Breaking a word down by the way it looks and adding morphemes (workaholic - veggieburger)






38. 1. Vowels (no obstruction) 2. Stops (complete obstruction) 3. Fricatives (Partial occlusion)






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






40. A sentence in which no transformation has been applied






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






42. An utterance produced by a speaker






43. The vocabulary of a speaker/language






44. Affix before the root






45. Breaking a word down by the way it looks and adding morphemes (workaholic - veggieburger)






46. Deals with how the sounds are organized






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






48. The ability to produce language - what you know






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






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