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. The ability to produce language - what you know






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






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






4. The sequence of sounds that make up a word






5. Mental representation of a word






6. Deals with the sounds of a language






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






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






9. The connection between shape and meaning is arbitrary






10. The situation in which a sentence is uttered






11. The meaning of a sign






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






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






14. Affixes - need to attach to another morpheme






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






16. The vocabulary of a speaker/language






17. The meaning derived from flouting






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






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






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






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






22. The overall meaning of a text






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






24. Meaning components






25. The branch of pragmatics that studies deictic words






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






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






28. A word that has died out






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






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






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






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






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






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






35. The overall meaning of a text






36. Adding derivational morphemes to create new words (to fax)






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






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






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






40. The principle of cooperation that requires relevance






41. Affix after the root






42. The principle of cooperation that requires relevance






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






44. Deals with how the sounds are organized






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






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






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






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






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






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