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. Affix before the root






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






3. The sequence of sounds that make up a word






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






5. The principle of cooperation that requires relevance






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






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






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






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






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






11. The ability to produce language - what you know






12. Morphemes that can appear alone (cat)






13. A sentence in which no transformation has been applied






14. Having more than one meaning (polysemy)






15. Affixes - need to attach to another morpheme






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






17. The word that connects the meaning and the referent






18. The rise and fall of sentences






19. The situation in which a sentence is uttered






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






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






22. A new word






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






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






25. Aspects of meaning evoked by cultural or literary codes






26. A transformation in which you change the voice of the sentence (Mary stoop up John --> John was stood up by Mary)






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






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






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






30. Morphemes that can appear alone (cat)






31. Affix before the root






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






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






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






35. A word that has died out






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






37. Affix after the root






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






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






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






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






42. A transformation in which you change the voice of the sentence (Mary stoop up John --> John was stood up by Mary)






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






44. Provides information about the group to which individuals belong






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






46. Deals with the sounds of a language






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






48. The vocabulary of a speaker/language






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






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