Deck 1: Language and Linguistics

Question 1

Which of the following is TRUE about language variation?

A) Languages vary grammatically and orthographically, but not lexically
B) Every speaker of a dialect uses the same set of linguistic features
C) Languages vary phonologically and lexically, but not orthographically
D) Speakers can only have one variety of a language in their idiolect
E) Linguistic changes that occur within different groups of speakers often lead to language variation

Answer 1

E

Question 2

Using the word language as your example, define and describe the concepts of associative meaning and conceptual meaning.

Answer 2

No Answer

Question 3

Define, compare, and contrast language, dialect, and idiolect.

Answer 3

No Answer

Question 4

Compare and contrast the terms dialect, grammar, and linguistic features.

Question 5

Which of the following is an accurate morphological analysis?

A) The word sunset is formed through the process of clipping
B) The word houses contains one free morpheme and one bound morpheme
C) The word antidisestablishmentarianism contains only free morphemes
D) The word butterfly is formed through the process of blending
E) The verb judged contains an inflectional prefix

Question 6

Which of the following is true about phonology?

A) Phonology is the study of the underlying rule system or structure of speech sounds as they are used in a particular language or dialect
B) Examples of phonological rules include nasalization, derivation, and blending
C) While IPA is used to represent phonetics, orthography is used to represent phonology
D) Phonological rules prove that individual phones must be articulated in ways that do not affect or influence one another
E) Phonological rules prove that without standardization, speakers would not be able to understand each other

Question 7

Which of the following is true about dialects?

A) They may be associated with regional but not social varieties
B) They each develop from a more pure, standard form of the language
C) They can be defined as the sets of phonological rules that underlie accents
D) Even though the public may view them differently in terms of their social status, all dialects are linguistically equal
E) Linguists use the term dialect to refer only to linguistic varieties that have not been standardized

Question 8

Which of the following is NOT true about an idiolect?

A) An idiolect contains all of the ways one person speaks, including formal and informal styles
B) An idiolect can include one or more than one dialect
C) An idiolect contains grammatical speech and syntactic structures
D) One's idiolect can no longer change after he/she enters school and learns a standard form
E) An idiolect can include one or more than one language

Question 9

An Englishwoman runs screaming into an Atlanta police station: "There's a dead body in my boot!" Officer Johnson looks at her askance and turns his attention to her feet: "Lady, you're wearing flip flops!" Aggravated, she drags him out to her car to introduce him to the corpse in her car trunk, which she again calls her boot. The breakdown in communication here that required visual clarification was caused by which type of linguistic variation:

A) Lexical
B) Phonetic
C) Syntactic
D) Phonotactic
E) Orthographic

Question 10

In our definition of language, the term conventional means:

A) Language change is inevitable
B) Language structure is based on the spoken, not written, form
C) Language is governed by a set of complex, grammatical rules
D) Even though there is no one-to-one correlation between sound and meaning, speakers of a language implicitly agree to use the same words to refer to the same concepts
E) Even though linguistic rules are random, linguists are still able to diagram sentences to show grammaticality

Question 11

The use of "arbitrary" in our definition of language refers to which of the following?

A) Phrase structure rules are meaningless without their associated lexical rules
B) Standardized forms can come from any linguistic variety and may even be pieced together from multiple dialects
C) There must be a consensus by a majority of speakers to determine whether or not a statement is grammatical or ungrammatical
D) There is no naturally-determined correlation between the sound and meaning of words
E) Whether or not someone understands your dialect may only be a reflection of their language attitudes

Question 12

The set of phonological rules that are associated with a specific linguistic system (language or dialect) is known as a(n):

A) Shibboleth
B) Sociolect
C) Idiolect
D) Dialect
E) Accent

Question 13

Which of the following is TRUE about language change?

A) Language is change is best describe as a clock and not a lava lamp
B) Language change regularly occurs because of contact with other linguistic systems
C) Language change stops completely within isolated communities
D) Language change occurs when a language is broken and needs to be fixed
E) Language change goes against the natural, inactive state of language

Question 14

The International Phonetic Alphabet:

A) Despite its name, only presents the phones used in American English
B) Is good for expressing vernacular dialects in writing, but should not be used for standard dialects
C) Is not as accurate as the Latin alphabet for representing the sounds of English
D) Allows for only one phone per symbol as well as only one symbol per phone, unlike English orthography
E) Includes symbols for all consonants, but has symbols for only the vowels that are voiceless

Question 15

Consonants are described phonetically by each of the following categories EXCEPT:

A) Place of articulation
B) Manner of articulation
C) Frontness/Backness
D) Location of the blockage of air
E) Voicing

Question 16

Explain the concept of derivation as a word formation process. Then name and describe one other word formation process. Give at least one example for each.