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






2. The science that studies language






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






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






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






6. A new word






7. An utterance produced by a speaker






8. Parts of a word are translated from other languages to create a new word (Fernsprecher)






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






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






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






12. Deals with how sentences are formed






13. Aspects of meaning having to do with different levels of formality






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






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






16. The vocabulary of a speaker/language






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






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






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






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






21. Morphemes that can appear alone (cat)






22. Having more than one meaning (polysemy)






23. Historical - shows how language has changed through time - traces the etymology of words






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






25. Mental representation of a word






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






27. Affixes - need to attach to another morpheme






28. All aspects of meaning that go beyond the sense of the word - or the literal meaning






29. Deals with the sounds of a language






30. What we say in a literal sense (speech act)






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






32. The connection between shape and meaning is arbitrary






33. A sentence in which no transformation has been applied






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






35. Blending two existing words (motel - brunch)






36. What we say in a literal sense (speech act)






37. All aspects of meaning that go beyond the sense of the word - or the literal meaning






38. Meaning components






39. Deals with the meaning of words - sentences - and texts






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






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






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






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






44. A new word






45. Deals with the meaning of words - sentences - and texts






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






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






48. The situation in which a sentence is uttered






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






50. Affix before the root