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. Affix before the root






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






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






4. The situation in which a sentence is uttered






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






6. The word that connects the meaning and the referent






7. The science that studies language






8. The sequence of sounds that make up a word






9. Having more than one meaning (polysemy)






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






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






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






13. Affixes - need to attach to another morpheme






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






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






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






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






18. A new word






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






20. The vocabulary of a speaker/language






21. A sentence in context






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






23. Morphemes that can appear alone (cat)






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






25. Actually saying a word - what you can do






26. The meaning of a sign






27. The principle of cooperation that requires relevance






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






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






30. Having more than one meaning (polysemy)






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






32. The branch of pragmatics that studies deictic words






33. A sentence in which no transformation has been applied






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






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






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






37. Aspects of meaning evoked by cultural or literary codes






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






39. Morphemes that can appear alone (cat)






40. Provides information about the group to which individuals belong






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






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






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






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






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






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






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






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






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






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