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. Mental representation of a word






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






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






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






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






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






7. Affix before the root






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






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






10. Deals with how sounds are put together to form words






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






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






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






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






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






16. An utterance produced by a speaker






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






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






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






20. Affix before the root






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






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






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






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






25. Deals with how sentences are formed






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






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






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






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






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






31. Affix after the root






32. One who knows many languages






33. A sentence in context






34. Deals with how sentences are formed






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






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






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






38. The situation in which a sentence is uttered






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






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






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






42. Meaning components






43. The meaning of a sign






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






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






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






47. Affixes - need to attach to another morpheme






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






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






50. The vocabulary of a speaker/language