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CD 415 SPEECH AND LANGUAGE DEVELOPMENT
FINAL EXAM REVIEW TEST BANK 250 QUESTIONS
WITH CORRECT ANSWERS AND RATIONALES
LATEST 2026 UPDATE – COMPREHENSIVE REVIEW
FOR FINAL EXAM SUCCESS
SECTION 1: FOUNDATIONS OF LANGUAGE DEVELOPMENT (Questions 1–40)
1. What is the difference between speech and language?
A) Speech and language are the same thing
B) Speech is the verbal production of sounds; language is a rule-governed symbol system
for communication
C) Language is only written; speech is only spoken
D) Speech includes grammar; language includes only vocabulary
Answer: B
Rationale: Speech refers to the physical production of sounds to form words. Language is a
socially shared code using arbitrary symbols (words, signs) that are rule-governed. You can
have language without speech (e.g., sign language).
2. Which of the following is a component of language form?
A) Phonology, morphology, syntax
B) Semantics
C) Pragmatics
D) Social communication
Answer: A
Rationale: Bloom & Lahey (1978) identified three major components of language: form
(phonology, morphology, syntax), content (semantics), and use (pragmatics).
3. What does the term "phonology" refer to?
A) The rules for combining words into sentences
B) The sound system of a language and rules for combining sounds
C) The meaning of words and sentences
D) The social use of language
Answer: B
Rationale: Phonology is the study of the sound system of language, including phonemes
(distinct units of sound) and rules for how they combine to form words.
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4. What is a phoneme?
A) The smallest unit of meaning in a language
B) The smallest unit of sound that distinguishes meaning
C) A single letter of the alphabet
D) A rule for combining sounds
Answer: B
Rationale: A phoneme is the smallest unit of sound that can change meaning. For example,
/b/ and /p/ in "bat" vs. "pat" are phonemes.
5. What is morphology?
A) The study of sentence structure
B) The study of the internal structure of words and how meaning is changed
C) The study of speech sounds
D) The study of language in social context
Answer: B
Rationale: Morphology examines morphemes (smallest units of meaning) such as roots,
prefixes, and suffixes, and how they combine to form words.
6. A free morpheme is defined as:
A) A morpheme that cannot stand alone as a word
B) A morpheme that can stand alone as a word (e.g., "cat")
C) A grammatical ending like -ed or -ing
D) A sound that changes meaning
Answer: B
Rationale: Free morphemes can stand alone as words (e.g., "dog," "run"). Bound
morphemes must attach to a free morpheme (e.g., "-ed," "un-").
7. What is syntax?
A) The rules for combining sounds into words
B) The rules for combining words into sentences
C) The meaning of individual words
D) The social rules of conversation
Answer: B
Rationale: Syntax is the system of rules governing how words are combined to form
grammatical sentences in a language (e.g., subject-verb-object order in English).
8. What is semantics?
A) The sound system of language
B) The study of sentence structure
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C) The study of meaning in language
D) The study of language use in context
Answer: C
Rationale: Semantics is the study of meaning in language, including word meanings (lexical
semantics) and sentence meanings (compositional semantics).
9. What is pragmatics?
A) The grammatical rules of a language
B) The social use of language in context
C) The meaning of words
D) The sound system
Answer: B
Rationale: Pragmatics involves how context influences the interpretation of meaning,
including conversational rules, turn-taking, and use of nonverbal cues.
10. At what age do children typically produce their first words?
A) 6-8 months
B) 8-10 months
C) 10-12 months
D) 12-15 months
Answer: D
*Rationale: First words typically emerge around 12 months, with a range of 10-15 months.
By 18 months, children have approximately 50 words.*
11. What is the "holophrastic stage" of language development?
A) The stage of two-word combinations
B) The stage where one word conveys a full sentence meaning
C) The stage of babbling
D) The stage of complex sentences
Answer: B
*Rationale: Around 12-18 months, children use single words to express complex ideas (e.g.,
"juice" might mean "I want juice" or "That is juice").*
12. What is the "vocabulary spurt" or "naming explosion"?
A) A period of slow vocabulary growth
B) A rapid increase in vocabulary, typically around 18-24 months
C) The loss of vocabulary due to brain injury
D) The first production of consonant sounds
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Answer: B
*Rationale: Around 18-24 months, children's vocabulary growth accelerates dramatically,
often adding 5-10+ new words per week, reaching 300-500 words by age 2.*
13. What is overextension in child language?
A) Using a word too narrowly (e.g., only calling the family dog "dog")
B) Using a word too broadly (e.g., calling all four-legged animals "dog")
C) Using incorrect grammar
D) Not using words at all
Answer: B
Rationale: Overextension occurs when a child uses a word in a broader context than adults
do (e.g., calling all round fruits "apple"). Underextension is the opposite.
14. What is underextension in child language?
A) Using a word too broadly
B) Using a word too narrowly (e.g., only calling the family pet "dog")
C) Using a word incorrectly
D) Using a word with correct meaning
Answer: B
Rationale: Underextension is when a child restricts a word's meaning to a specific referent
(e.g., "doggie" only for their own dog). This is less common than overextension.
15. At what age do children typically combine two words into simple sentences?
A) 12-15 months
B) 15-18 months
C) 18-24 months
D) 24-30 months
Answer: C
*Rationale: Two-word combinations typically emerge around 18-24 months (e.g., "more
milk," "daddy go"). This marks the beginning of syntactic development.*
16. What is telegraphic speech?
A) Speech that uses only nouns and verbs, omitting function words
B) Speech that is produced very slowly
C) Speech that is whispered
D) Speech with perfect grammar
Answer: A
*Rationale: Telegraphic speech (around 24-30 months) consists of short sentences lacking
function words (e.g., "mommy go store" instead of "Mommy is going to the store").*
CD 415 SPEECH AND LANGUAGE DEVELOPMENT
FINAL EXAM REVIEW TEST BANK 250 QUESTIONS
WITH CORRECT ANSWERS AND RATIONALES
LATEST 2026 UPDATE – COMPREHENSIVE REVIEW
FOR FINAL EXAM SUCCESS
SECTION 1: FOUNDATIONS OF LANGUAGE DEVELOPMENT (Questions 1–40)
1. What is the difference between speech and language?
A) Speech and language are the same thing
B) Speech is the verbal production of sounds; language is a rule-governed symbol system
for communication
C) Language is only written; speech is only spoken
D) Speech includes grammar; language includes only vocabulary
Answer: B
Rationale: Speech refers to the physical production of sounds to form words. Language is a
socially shared code using arbitrary symbols (words, signs) that are rule-governed. You can
have language without speech (e.g., sign language).
2. Which of the following is a component of language form?
A) Phonology, morphology, syntax
B) Semantics
C) Pragmatics
D) Social communication
Answer: A
Rationale: Bloom & Lahey (1978) identified three major components of language: form
(phonology, morphology, syntax), content (semantics), and use (pragmatics).
3. What does the term "phonology" refer to?
A) The rules for combining words into sentences
B) The sound system of a language and rules for combining sounds
C) The meaning of words and sentences
D) The social use of language
Answer: B
Rationale: Phonology is the study of the sound system of language, including phonemes
(distinct units of sound) and rules for how they combine to form words.
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4. What is a phoneme?
A) The smallest unit of meaning in a language
B) The smallest unit of sound that distinguishes meaning
C) A single letter of the alphabet
D) A rule for combining sounds
Answer: B
Rationale: A phoneme is the smallest unit of sound that can change meaning. For example,
/b/ and /p/ in "bat" vs. "pat" are phonemes.
5. What is morphology?
A) The study of sentence structure
B) The study of the internal structure of words and how meaning is changed
C) The study of speech sounds
D) The study of language in social context
Answer: B
Rationale: Morphology examines morphemes (smallest units of meaning) such as roots,
prefixes, and suffixes, and how they combine to form words.
6. A free morpheme is defined as:
A) A morpheme that cannot stand alone as a word
B) A morpheme that can stand alone as a word (e.g., "cat")
C) A grammatical ending like -ed or -ing
D) A sound that changes meaning
Answer: B
Rationale: Free morphemes can stand alone as words (e.g., "dog," "run"). Bound
morphemes must attach to a free morpheme (e.g., "-ed," "un-").
7. What is syntax?
A) The rules for combining sounds into words
B) The rules for combining words into sentences
C) The meaning of individual words
D) The social rules of conversation
Answer: B
Rationale: Syntax is the system of rules governing how words are combined to form
grammatical sentences in a language (e.g., subject-verb-object order in English).
8. What is semantics?
A) The sound system of language
B) The study of sentence structure
,3|Page
C) The study of meaning in language
D) The study of language use in context
Answer: C
Rationale: Semantics is the study of meaning in language, including word meanings (lexical
semantics) and sentence meanings (compositional semantics).
9. What is pragmatics?
A) The grammatical rules of a language
B) The social use of language in context
C) The meaning of words
D) The sound system
Answer: B
Rationale: Pragmatics involves how context influences the interpretation of meaning,
including conversational rules, turn-taking, and use of nonverbal cues.
10. At what age do children typically produce their first words?
A) 6-8 months
B) 8-10 months
C) 10-12 months
D) 12-15 months
Answer: D
*Rationale: First words typically emerge around 12 months, with a range of 10-15 months.
By 18 months, children have approximately 50 words.*
11. What is the "holophrastic stage" of language development?
A) The stage of two-word combinations
B) The stage where one word conveys a full sentence meaning
C) The stage of babbling
D) The stage of complex sentences
Answer: B
*Rationale: Around 12-18 months, children use single words to express complex ideas (e.g.,
"juice" might mean "I want juice" or "That is juice").*
12. What is the "vocabulary spurt" or "naming explosion"?
A) A period of slow vocabulary growth
B) A rapid increase in vocabulary, typically around 18-24 months
C) The loss of vocabulary due to brain injury
D) The first production of consonant sounds
, 4|Page
Answer: B
*Rationale: Around 18-24 months, children's vocabulary growth accelerates dramatically,
often adding 5-10+ new words per week, reaching 300-500 words by age 2.*
13. What is overextension in child language?
A) Using a word too narrowly (e.g., only calling the family dog "dog")
B) Using a word too broadly (e.g., calling all four-legged animals "dog")
C) Using incorrect grammar
D) Not using words at all
Answer: B
Rationale: Overextension occurs when a child uses a word in a broader context than adults
do (e.g., calling all round fruits "apple"). Underextension is the opposite.
14. What is underextension in child language?
A) Using a word too broadly
B) Using a word too narrowly (e.g., only calling the family pet "dog")
C) Using a word incorrectly
D) Using a word with correct meaning
Answer: B
Rationale: Underextension is when a child restricts a word's meaning to a specific referent
(e.g., "doggie" only for their own dog). This is less common than overextension.
15. At what age do children typically combine two words into simple sentences?
A) 12-15 months
B) 15-18 months
C) 18-24 months
D) 24-30 months
Answer: C
*Rationale: Two-word combinations typically emerge around 18-24 months (e.g., "more
milk," "daddy go"). This marks the beginning of syntactic development.*
16. What is telegraphic speech?
A) Speech that uses only nouns and verbs, omitting function words
B) Speech that is produced very slowly
C) Speech that is whispered
D) Speech with perfect grammar
Answer: A
*Rationale: Telegraphic speech (around 24-30 months) consists of short sentences lacking
function words (e.g., "mommy go store" instead of "Mommy is going to the store").*
