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. An utterance produced by a speaker






2. The overall meaning of a text






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






4. Provides information about the group to which individuals belong






5. Aspects of meaning evoked by cultural or literary codes






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






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






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






9. The principle of cooperation that requires relevance






10. A sentence in context






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






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






13. The connection between shape and meaning is arbitrary






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






15. Affix before the root






16. Aspects of meaning evoked by cultural or literary codes






17. The ability to produce language - what you know






18. The meaning derived from flouting






19. Mental representation of a word






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






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






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






23. The situation in which a sentence is uttered






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






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






26. The branch of pragmatics that studies deictic words






27. The word that connects the meaning and the referent






28. The science that studies language






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






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






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






32. Affix after the root






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






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






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






36. A sentence in which no transformation has been applied






37. The rise and fall of sentences






38. Affix in the middle of a word






39. Deals with how sentences are formed






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






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






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






43. An utterance produced by a speaker






44. The meaning of a sign






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






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






47. The meaning derived from flouting






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






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






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