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






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






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






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






5. One who knows many languages






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






7. Having more than one meaning (polysemy)






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






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






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






11. The sequence of sounds that make up a word






12. Invent new words from scratch (Xerox - Kleenex)






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






14. An utterance produced by a speaker






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






16. The meaning derived from flouting






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






18. Blending two existing words (motel - brunch)






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






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






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






22. The ability to produce language - what you know






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






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






25. Mental representation of a word






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






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






28. Deals with how the sounds are organized






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






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






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






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






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






34. The overall meaning of a text






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






36. The branch of pragmatics that studies deictic words






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






38. Deals with the sounds of a language






39. One who knows many languages






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






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






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






43. The meaning of a sign






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






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






46. Invent new words from scratch (Xerox - Kleenex)






47. A sentence in which no transformation has been applied






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






49. Deals with the sounds of a language






50. The science that studies language