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 principle of cooperation that requires relevance






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






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






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






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






6. The overall meaning of a text






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






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






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






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






11. Affixes - need to attach to another morpheme






12. A new word






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






14. The ability to produce language - what you know






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






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






17. Having more than one meaning (polysemy)






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






19. Affix after the root






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






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






22. The vocabulary of a speaker/language






23. One who knows many languages






24. Deals with the sounds of a language






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






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






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






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






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






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






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






32. Provides information about the group to which individuals belong






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






34. Having more than one meaning (polysemy)






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






36. The meaning of a sign






37. An utterance produced by a speaker






38. Actually saying a word - what you can do






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






40. A sentence in context






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






42. Deals with how sentences are formed






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






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






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






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






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






48. Morphemes that can appear alone (cat)






49. Deals with the sounds of a language






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