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






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






3. Having more than one meaning (polysemy)






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






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






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






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






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






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






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






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






12. The meaning of a sign






13. The science that studies language






14. Affix after the root






15. The sequence of sounds that make up a word






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






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






18. The rise and fall of sentences






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






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






21. The word that connects the meaning and the referent






22. The connection between shape and meaning is arbitrary






23. One who knows many languages






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






25. A sentence in which no transformation has been applied






26. Aspects of meaning evoked by cultural or literary codes






27. A sentence in context






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






29. Using a word from another language to create a new word (cafe - deja-vu)






30. Meanings of the same word that are unrelated (bank)






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






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






33. The ability to produce language - what you know






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






35. The principle of cooperation that requires relevance






36. The branch of pragmatics that studies deictic words






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






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






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






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






41. The vocabulary of a speaker/language






42. Aspects of meaning having to do with feelings or attitudes of speakers (liberal - terrorist)






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






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






45. The rise and fall of sentences






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






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






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






49. The situation in which a sentence is uttered






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







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Can you answer 50 questions in 15 minutes?


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