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. Morphemes that can appear alone (cat)






2. The principle of cooperation that requires relevance






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






4. Affix after the root






5. A sentence in context






6. The meaning of a sign






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






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






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






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






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






12. Affixes - need to attach to another morpheme






13. The rise and fall of sentences






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






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






16. One who knows many languages






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






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






19. One who knows many languages






20. The branch of pragmatics that studies deictic words






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






22. Combined phonemes - the smallest unit of language with a distinct meaning






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






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






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






26. Provides information about the group to which individuals belong






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






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






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






31. Aspects of meaning evoked by cultural or literary codes






32. The science that studies language






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






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






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






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






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






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






39. Deals with how sentences are formed






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






41. A sentence in which no transformation has been applied






42. Provides information about the group to which individuals belong






43. A new word






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






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






46. Deals with how sentences are formed






47. Deals with the sounds of a language






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






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






50. A word that has died out