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. A sentence in context






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






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






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






5. Meaning components






6. The rise and fall of sentences






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






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






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






10. The meaning derived from flouting






11. The set of sentences that must be true for the sentence to be true






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






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






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






15. Deals with the sounds of a language






16. Actually saying a word - what you can do






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






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






19. The set of sentences that must be true for the sentence to be true






20. All aspects of meaning that go beyond the sense of the word - or the literal meaning






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






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






23. The situation in which a sentence is uttered






24. Mental representation of a word






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






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






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






28. Deals with how the sounds are organized






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






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






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






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






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






34. A sentence in which no transformation has been applied






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






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






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






38. A word that has died out






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






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






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






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






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






44. A sentence in which no transformation has been applied






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






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






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






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






49. The science that studies language






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