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 sentences are formed






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






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






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






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






6. Meaning components






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






8. Affix after the root






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






10. Blending two existing words (motel - brunch)






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






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






13. Affix before the root






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






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






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






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






18. Affixes - need to attach to another morpheme






19. The branch of pragmatics that studies deictic words






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






21. Affix in the middle of a word






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






23. Adding derivational morphemes to create new words (to fax)






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






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






26. Morphemes that can appear alone (cat)






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






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






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






30. The meaning derived from flouting






31. A new word






32. The science that studies language






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






34. Blending two existing words (motel - brunch)






35. The sequence of sounds that make up a word






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






37. The situation in which a sentence is uttered






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






39. A sentence in context






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






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






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






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






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






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






46. The connection between shape and meaning is arbitrary






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






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






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






50. Aspects of meaning evoked by cultural or literary codes