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






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






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






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






5. A word that has died out






6. A transformation in which you shift the object of a sentence (Mary gave a book to John --> Mary gave John a book)






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






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






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






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






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






12. The science that studies language






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






14. Affix before the root






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






16. Morphemes that can appear alone (cat)






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






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






19. The connection between shape and meaning is arbitrary






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






21. Blending two existing words (motel - brunch)






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






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






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






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






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






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






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






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






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






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






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






33. Deals with how sentences are formed






34. A transformation in which you shift the object of a sentence (Mary gave a book to John --> Mary gave John a book)






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






36. The vocabulary of a speaker/language






37. A sentence in which no transformation has been applied






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






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






40. A sentence in which no transformation has been applied






41. An utterance produced by a speaker






42. The meaning derived from flouting






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






44. Meaning components






45. The overall meaning of a text






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






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






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






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






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