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. Deals with how the sounds are organized






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






3. Deals with the meaning of words - sentences - and texts






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






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






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






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






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






9. The rise and fall of sentences






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






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






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






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






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






15. A new word






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






17. Affix after the root






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






19. Actually saying a word - what you can do






20. The principle of cooperation that requires relevance






21. Affix in the middle of a word






22. Having more than one meaning (polysemy)






23. Affixes - need to attach to another morpheme






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






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






26. Aspects of meaning evoked by cultural or literary codes






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






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






29. The meaning derived from flouting






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






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






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






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






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






35. Deals with how sentences are formed






36. Deals with the sounds of a language






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






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






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






40. Provides information about the group to which individuals belong






41. The connection between shape and meaning is arbitrary






42. Having more than one meaning (polysemy)






43. The overall meaning of a text






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






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






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






47. The science that studies language






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






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






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