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






2. Deals with the sounds of a language






3. An utterance produced by a speaker






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






5. One who knows many languages






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






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






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






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






10. Deals with how the sounds are organized






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






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






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






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






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






16. Affix after the root






17. Mental representation of a word






18. Having more than one meaning (polysemy)






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






20. Meaning components






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






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






23. The overall meaning of a text






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






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






26. The rise and fall of sentences






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






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






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






30. The meaning derived from flouting






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






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






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






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






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






36. The meaning of a sign






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






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






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






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






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






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






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






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






45. The connection between shape and meaning is arbitrary






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






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






48. A sentence in context






49. A sentence in context






50. Affix in the middle of a word