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 word that has died out






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






3. Deals with how sentences are formed






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






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






6. Affix before the root






7. Blending two existing words (motel - brunch)






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






9. Morphemes that can appear alone (cat)






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






11. Deals with how sentences are formed






12. The situation in which a sentence is uttered






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






14. Actually saying a word - what you can do






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






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






17. A sentence in context






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






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






20. The branch of pragmatics that studies deictic words






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






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






23. The rise and fall of sentences






24. The connection between shape and meaning is arbitrary






25. The science that studies language






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






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






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






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






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






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






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






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






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






35. Shortening a longer word (phone - auto) to create new words






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






37. Affix in the middle of a word






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






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






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






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






42. The science that studies language






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






44. The ability to produce language - what you know






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






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






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






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






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






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