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






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






3. A word that has died out






4. The situation in which a sentence is uttered






5. The principle of cooperation that requires relevance






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






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






8. The principle of cooperation that requires relevance






9. The science that studies language






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






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






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






13. The sequence of sounds that make up a word






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






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






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






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






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






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






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






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






22. Mental representation of a word






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






24. An utterance produced by a speaker






25. Deals with how the sounds are organized






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






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






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






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






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






31. The branch of pragmatics that studies deictic words






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






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






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






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






36. Affix in the middle of a word






37. The meaning derived from flouting






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






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






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






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






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






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






44. Deals with how sentences are formed






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






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






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






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






49. Aspects of meaning evoked by cultural or literary codes






50. Meaning components