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. An utterance produced by a speaker






2. Having more than one meaning (polysemy)






3. The meaning derived from flouting






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






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






6. The connection between shape and meaning is arbitrary






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






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






9. Meaning components






10. Deals with how sentences are formed






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






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






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






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






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






16. Deals with how the sounds are organized






17. Affix before the root






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






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






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






21. Having more than one meaning (polysemy)






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






23. Deals with the sounds of a language






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






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






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






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






28. Mental representation of a word






29. Mental representation of a word






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






31. Deals with how sentences are formed






32. When a public body decides which language will be taught in schools - what languages public employees must know - etc






33. Affix in the middle of a word






34. The rise and fall of sentences






35. Provides information about the group to which individuals belong






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






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






38. The vocabulary of a speaker/language






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






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






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






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






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






44. Morphemes that can appear alone (cat)






45. Actually saying a word - what you can do






46. Using a word from another language to create a new word (cafe - deja-vu)






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






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






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






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