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






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






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






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






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






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






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






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






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






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






11. Having more than one meaning (polysemy)






12. The principle of cooperation that requires relevance






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






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






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






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






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






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






19. Mental representation of a word






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






21. A sentence in context






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






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






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






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






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






27. The principle of cooperation that requires relevance






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






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






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






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






32. Meaning components






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






34. Deals with how the sounds are organized






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






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






37. The situation in which a sentence is uttered






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






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






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






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






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






43. The vocabulary of a speaker/language






44. The overall meaning of a text






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






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






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






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






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






50. A sentence in context