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






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






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






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






5. The principle of cooperation that requires relevance






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






7. Deals with how the sounds are organized






8. Blending two existing words (motel - brunch)






9. A word that has died out






10. An utterance produced by a speaker






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






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






13. Affixes - need to attach to another morpheme






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






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






16. The meaning derived from flouting






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






18. Provides information about the group to which individuals belong






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






20. The word that connects the meaning and the referent






21. A sentence in which no transformation has been applied






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






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






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






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






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






27. The branch of pragmatics that studies deictic words






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






29. Affix in the middle of a word






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






31. The meaning of a sign






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






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






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






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






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






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






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






39. A sentence in which no transformation has been applied






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






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






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






43. Actually saying a word - what you can do






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






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






46. A transformation in which you add a negation word to the sentence






47. Aspects of meaning evoked by cultural or literary codes






48. The meaning of a sign






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






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