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. The overall meaning of a text






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






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






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






5. Deals with the sounds of a language






6. Having more than one meaning (polysemy)






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






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






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






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






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






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






13. Mental representation of a word






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






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






16. Affix after the root






17. Deals with how the sounds are organized






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






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






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






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






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






23. Aspects of meaning evoked by cultural or literary codes






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






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






26. Provides information about the group to which individuals belong






27. Meaning components






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






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






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






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






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






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






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






35. The science that studies language






36. Morphemes that can appear alone (cat)






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






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






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






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






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






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






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






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






45. The meaning derived from flouting






46. The branch of pragmatics that studies deictic words






47. A word that has died out






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






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






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