LING 200 Midterm Exam Questions and 100% Correct Answers 2026/27
Latest - UW
Due May 6 at 3:30pm
Points 38
Questions 40
Available May 6 at 1:30pm - May 6 at 3:30pm 2 hours
Time Limit 60 Minutes
Instructions
The midterm will be available from 1:30pm until 3:30pm Wednesday, May 6th PST. You will have 60
minutes to complete it during the 2-hour window. No makeups or extensions are possible.
There is a total of 38 questions, plus 2 bonus questions.
This exam is open-book and open-note, but please do not discuss the exam contents with your
classmates until after the exam is graded. (This is on the honor system; no proctoring software is
required.)
Please note that Canvas requires all bonus questions to be hand-graded, so bonus points will take a few
days to be awarded.
If possible, do NOT use Safari to take the exam. Please use Google Chrome or
Firefox.
(For more information about Canvas-supported browsers:
https://community .canvaslms.com/docs/DOC-10720-which-browsers-does-canvas-support
( https://community .canvaslms.com/docs/DOC-10720-which-browsers-does-canvas-sup port) .)
Regarding ARROW KEYS: Once you select an answer to a question, using the arrow keys will shift
your answer to the next multiple choice option (i.e., it will adjust your answer). Once you have selected
your final answer, press Tab once or click outside of the question box in order to use the arrow keys for
scrolling the page. (If you click Tab twice, this will bring you to the next question!)
This quiz was locked May 6 at 3:30pm.
Attempt History
Attempt Time Score
LATEST Attempt 1 51 minutes 39 out of 38
Score for this quiz: 39 out of 38
Submitted May 6 at 2:35pm
This attempt took 51 minutes.
Correct answer
LING 200 Midterm Exam
, Question 1
pts
Which of the following is a prescriptive rule of English?
Some form the comparative of the adjective ‘fun’ as ‘more fun’ while others say ‘funner’
Most American pronounce ‘bag’ as [bæɡ] though many Seattleites pronounce it [bɛɡ]
You have to use “lie” not “lay” when you’re talking about reclining
English stops are pronounced with a puff of air at the beginnings of words
The verb “made” can either be both transitive or ditransitive
Correct answer
Question 2
pts
Which of the following is NOT an example of how we use linguistic performance to understand what is in
a speaker’s linguistic competence?
A speaker rejects the made-up name *fnorpk for their new puppy, preferring snorp instead.
Observing a speaker’s allophones to understand the phonemes of their language.
Assuming that a speaker doesn’t understand rules of English grammar when they accidentally say *I’m a lot more better
when they meant to say I’m a lot better.
Observing that an English speaker always aspirates an initial [p], even for a made-up word they have never seen
before.
A speaker judges the sentence *Anxiously cook feelings tiny large to be ungrammatical but Tiny large feelings cook
anxiously to be grammatical.
Correct answer
Question 3
pts
Which of the following rules is an example of a descriptive rule?
English speakers should never start sentences with conjunctions like 'and' or 'but'.
Never end a sentence with a preposition.
Do not split infinitives.
Some English speakers use double negatives for negation.
Correct answer
LING 200 Midterm Exam
, Question 4
pts
In which articulatory feature(s) do the sounds [ɛ] and [u] differ?
backness and roundness
height and tenseness
tenseness and backness
height, backness, tenseness, and roundness
height and roundness
Correct answer
Question 5
pts
Which of the following is NOT an example of arbitrariness?
All of the above are examples of arbitrariness
Vervet monkeys make a chuttering sound when they see a snake but a grunting sound when they see an eagle
A rooster says kokekokko in Japanese but cockadoodledoo in English
A wolf bares its teeth to warn enemies it is going to bite
The inner core of a peach may be referred to as a pit, a stone, or a seed
Correct answer
Question 6
pts
Adult beavers slap their tails on the water to warn of a threat, causing other beavers in the colony to
swim to safety. The tail slap of a juvenile beaver often does not cause a similar flight response, since
young beavers sometimes tail slap inappropriately, having not yet learned the proper situations to make
the alarm. This aspect of the beaver communication system illustrates which design feature?
Productivity
Interchangeability
Cultural transmission
Displacement
Discreteness
Correct answer
Question 7
pts
The segments [p] and [θ] differ in terms of
place of articulation
place and manner of articulation
LING 200 Midterm Exam
Latest - UW
Due May 6 at 3:30pm
Points 38
Questions 40
Available May 6 at 1:30pm - May 6 at 3:30pm 2 hours
Time Limit 60 Minutes
Instructions
The midterm will be available from 1:30pm until 3:30pm Wednesday, May 6th PST. You will have 60
minutes to complete it during the 2-hour window. No makeups or extensions are possible.
There is a total of 38 questions, plus 2 bonus questions.
This exam is open-book and open-note, but please do not discuss the exam contents with your
classmates until after the exam is graded. (This is on the honor system; no proctoring software is
required.)
Please note that Canvas requires all bonus questions to be hand-graded, so bonus points will take a few
days to be awarded.
If possible, do NOT use Safari to take the exam. Please use Google Chrome or
Firefox.
(For more information about Canvas-supported browsers:
https://community .canvaslms.com/docs/DOC-10720-which-browsers-does-canvas-support
( https://community .canvaslms.com/docs/DOC-10720-which-browsers-does-canvas-sup port) .)
Regarding ARROW KEYS: Once you select an answer to a question, using the arrow keys will shift
your answer to the next multiple choice option (i.e., it will adjust your answer). Once you have selected
your final answer, press Tab once or click outside of the question box in order to use the arrow keys for
scrolling the page. (If you click Tab twice, this will bring you to the next question!)
This quiz was locked May 6 at 3:30pm.
Attempt History
Attempt Time Score
LATEST Attempt 1 51 minutes 39 out of 38
Score for this quiz: 39 out of 38
Submitted May 6 at 2:35pm
This attempt took 51 minutes.
Correct answer
LING 200 Midterm Exam
, Question 1
pts
Which of the following is a prescriptive rule of English?
Some form the comparative of the adjective ‘fun’ as ‘more fun’ while others say ‘funner’
Most American pronounce ‘bag’ as [bæɡ] though many Seattleites pronounce it [bɛɡ]
You have to use “lie” not “lay” when you’re talking about reclining
English stops are pronounced with a puff of air at the beginnings of words
The verb “made” can either be both transitive or ditransitive
Correct answer
Question 2
pts
Which of the following is NOT an example of how we use linguistic performance to understand what is in
a speaker’s linguistic competence?
A speaker rejects the made-up name *fnorpk for their new puppy, preferring snorp instead.
Observing a speaker’s allophones to understand the phonemes of their language.
Assuming that a speaker doesn’t understand rules of English grammar when they accidentally say *I’m a lot more better
when they meant to say I’m a lot better.
Observing that an English speaker always aspirates an initial [p], even for a made-up word they have never seen
before.
A speaker judges the sentence *Anxiously cook feelings tiny large to be ungrammatical but Tiny large feelings cook
anxiously to be grammatical.
Correct answer
Question 3
pts
Which of the following rules is an example of a descriptive rule?
English speakers should never start sentences with conjunctions like 'and' or 'but'.
Never end a sentence with a preposition.
Do not split infinitives.
Some English speakers use double negatives for negation.
Correct answer
LING 200 Midterm Exam
, Question 4
pts
In which articulatory feature(s) do the sounds [ɛ] and [u] differ?
backness and roundness
height and tenseness
tenseness and backness
height, backness, tenseness, and roundness
height and roundness
Correct answer
Question 5
pts
Which of the following is NOT an example of arbitrariness?
All of the above are examples of arbitrariness
Vervet monkeys make a chuttering sound when they see a snake but a grunting sound when they see an eagle
A rooster says kokekokko in Japanese but cockadoodledoo in English
A wolf bares its teeth to warn enemies it is going to bite
The inner core of a peach may be referred to as a pit, a stone, or a seed
Correct answer
Question 6
pts
Adult beavers slap their tails on the water to warn of a threat, causing other beavers in the colony to
swim to safety. The tail slap of a juvenile beaver often does not cause a similar flight response, since
young beavers sometimes tail slap inappropriately, having not yet learned the proper situations to make
the alarm. This aspect of the beaver communication system illustrates which design feature?
Productivity
Interchangeability
Cultural transmission
Displacement
Discreteness
Correct answer
Question 7
pts
The segments [p] and [θ] differ in terms of
place of articulation
place and manner of articulation
LING 200 Midterm Exam
