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 set of sentences that must be true for the sentence to be true






2. The word that connects the meaning and the referent






3. Breaking a word down by the way it looks and adding morphemes (workaholic - veggieburger)






4. The branch of pragmatics that studies deictic words






5. Actually saying a word - what you can do






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






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






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






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






10. Blending two existing words (motel - brunch)






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






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






13. Having more than one meaning (polysemy)






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






15. Deals with the sounds of a language






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






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






18. Deals with the sounds of a language






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






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






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






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






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






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






25. The connection between shape and meaning is arbitrary






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






27. Meanings of the same word that are unrelated (bank)






28. The sequence of sounds that make up a word






29. Meanings of the same word that are unrelated (bank)






30. The meaning derived from flouting






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






32. A new word






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






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






35. Deals with how the sounds are organized






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






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






38. Occurs when words have been disambigued and a sentence has a clear meaning






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






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






41. Mental representation of a word






42. Affix before the root






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






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






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






46. The vocabulary of a speaker/language






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






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






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






50. The rise and fall of sentences