Deck 2: The Elements of Language

Question 1

The plural "S" is an example of a __________morpheme.

Answer 1

(bound)

Question 2

Syntax is the study of how meaning is attached to words.

Answer 2

False

Question 3

Phonology is the study of:

A) how language is used in social interaction.
B) the sound system of language.
C) how meaning is applied to words.
D) how words are put together to form sentences.

Answer 3

B

Question 4

The word "sailboats" consists of__________ morphemes.

Question 5

phoneme may be defined as, "the small linguistic unit that carries meaning."

Question 6

Which of the following words does not conform to the phonotactic constraints found in the English language:

A) brub
B) rlpx
C) plab
D) drun

Question 7

Phonology is the study of the sound system of language.

Question 8

According to the semantic component theory of semantics, all words have certain features and __________restrictions.

Question 9

According to semantic theory, the words "colorless" and "green" can not appear together because they violate:

A) phonological rules.
B) phrase structure rules.
C) the relation principle.
D) selection restrictions.

Question 10

Phrase structure rules are the only kind needed to describe the syntax of a language.

Question 11

Morphological rules govern how words are formed.

Question 12

When a teacher says, "Can you sit down" to a child who is out of their seat, the teacher is using an __________speech act.

Question 13

The study of how people vary their language in different conversational situations is called "speech acts."

Question 14

The element of language concerned with how words are put together to make sentences is:

A) syntax.
B) morphology.
C) semantics.
D) pragmatics.

Question 15

Which of the following phrase-structure rules best describes the following sentence: "The fat cat chased the dog."

A) NP= Art + Noun; VP= V + DO; DO=Art + Noun
B) NP= Art + Adj+ Noun; VP= V
C) NP= Art + Adj+ Noun; VP= V + DO; DO=Art + Noun
D) NP= Noun; VP= V + DO; DO= Noun

Question 16

The smallest linguistic unit that carries meaning is a:

A) speech act.
B) phoneme.
C) performance.
D) morpheme.

Question 17

Transformational rules operate on the__________ of an utterance to arrive at the________________.

Question 18

Eric's teacher said to him, "Can you raise your hand?" after Eric called out an answer. Eric answered, "Yes." Eric's response violates a rule of which aspect of language:

A) semantics.
B) syntax.
C) pragmatics.
D) morpho-phonology.