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






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






4. The meaning derived from flouting






5. Mental representation of a word






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






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






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






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






10. An utterance produced by a speaker






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






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






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






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






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






16. The word that connects the meaning and the referent






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






18. A sentence in which no transformation has been applied






19. The overall meaning of a text






20. Mental representation of a word






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






22. Morphemes that can appear alone (cat)






23. One who knows many languages






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






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






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






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






28. One who knows many languages






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






30. A sentence in which no transformation has been applied






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






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






33. The sequence of sounds that make up a word






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






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






36. The vocabulary of a speaker/language






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






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






39. Aspects of meaning evoked by cultural or literary codes






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






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






42. The rise and fall of sentences






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






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






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






46. The rise and fall of sentences






47. The meaning derived from flouting






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






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






50. Affix after the root