UCLA LING 1 MIDTERM CERTIFICATION
PREPARATION GUIDE
◉ In the video lecture, Torrence discusses the phenomenon of
"Expletive Infixation" in English. This data is important because
Select one:
a. it shows that some words of English, obscene words, are not
constrained by grammatical rules.
b. it suggests that native speakers of a language know grammar rules
that they have never been taught.
c. it proves that language abilities are innate.
d. it provides evidence for the view that it's possible to be a native
speaker of a language and not know the grammar.
Answer: b. it suggests that native speakers of a language know
grammar rules that they have never been taught
◉ Consider the following scenario: Your friend, who is a French
major, is telling you about her travel plans for the summer. She says,
"Every day I'll be able to visit the McDonald's by the Eiffel Tower.
They make the best McRib ever. Ahh! I can't believe I get to spend
two whole months in Feris, Prance....Ha ha, well, Paris, France!"
Select one:
,a. Competence: Your friend has not acquired English grammar
completely, but is able to compensate for this deficit by laughing and
correcting himself.
b. Performance: Your friend knows English grammar, and recognizes
that she has made an error.
c. Competence: Your friend is able to construct sentences that are
logically connected, even though they are not memorized.
d. Performance: Your friend has made a performance error which
reflects the fact that Universal Grammar is innate.
e. Competence: Your friend's intended words are clear to you. This
shows that you are a competent
Answer: b. Performance: Your friend knows English grammar, and
recognizes that she has made an error.
◉ The Wug Test provides evidence that
Select one:
a. even very young children know the phonological rules of their
language.
b. children have the ability to memorize the plurals of non-existent
nouns.
c. children acquiring any language have the ability to memorize the
plurals of nouns they have never heard before.
d. children must be taught explicitly how to form the singulars and
plurals of nouns.
,e. children and adults must be taught explicitly how to form the
singulars and plurals of nouns.
Answer: a. even very young children know the phonological rules of
their language.
◉ Children produce sentences like "Daddy goed to work" that they
have clearly never heard from their parents. This serves as evidence
against which claim(s) below?
Select one:
a. Children learn language based on what they hear from their
parents.
b. Young children acquire grammatical rules and sometimes
overgeneralize.
c. Children do not acquire rules of grammar.
d. Both a and b.
e. Both a and c.
f. Both b and c.
Answer: e. Both a and c.
Children learn language based on what they hear from their parents.
Children do not acquire rules of grammar.
◉ The fact that all languages have sentences with subjects and
objects, words, questions, and negation supports the existence of:
, Select one:
a. Stimulus Freedom
b. Universal Displacement
c. Universal Grammar
d. Language Acquisition
e. Language Creativity
Answer: c. Universal Grammar
◉ We know that the relation between the sound of a word and its
meaning is arbitrary because:
Select one:
a. different languages have different words that refer to the same
objects/concepts.
b. all languages have similar words that refer to some of the same
objects/concepts.
c. onomatopoeic words are similar across languages.
d. children acquire the language of their environment effortlessly.
e. onomatopoeic words are in fact different across languages.
Answer: a. different languages have different words that refer to the
same objects/concepts.
PREPARATION GUIDE
◉ In the video lecture, Torrence discusses the phenomenon of
"Expletive Infixation" in English. This data is important because
Select one:
a. it shows that some words of English, obscene words, are not
constrained by grammatical rules.
b. it suggests that native speakers of a language know grammar rules
that they have never been taught.
c. it proves that language abilities are innate.
d. it provides evidence for the view that it's possible to be a native
speaker of a language and not know the grammar.
Answer: b. it suggests that native speakers of a language know
grammar rules that they have never been taught
◉ Consider the following scenario: Your friend, who is a French
major, is telling you about her travel plans for the summer. She says,
"Every day I'll be able to visit the McDonald's by the Eiffel Tower.
They make the best McRib ever. Ahh! I can't believe I get to spend
two whole months in Feris, Prance....Ha ha, well, Paris, France!"
Select one:
,a. Competence: Your friend has not acquired English grammar
completely, but is able to compensate for this deficit by laughing and
correcting himself.
b. Performance: Your friend knows English grammar, and recognizes
that she has made an error.
c. Competence: Your friend is able to construct sentences that are
logically connected, even though they are not memorized.
d. Performance: Your friend has made a performance error which
reflects the fact that Universal Grammar is innate.
e. Competence: Your friend's intended words are clear to you. This
shows that you are a competent
Answer: b. Performance: Your friend knows English grammar, and
recognizes that she has made an error.
◉ The Wug Test provides evidence that
Select one:
a. even very young children know the phonological rules of their
language.
b. children have the ability to memorize the plurals of non-existent
nouns.
c. children acquiring any language have the ability to memorize the
plurals of nouns they have never heard before.
d. children must be taught explicitly how to form the singulars and
plurals of nouns.
,e. children and adults must be taught explicitly how to form the
singulars and plurals of nouns.
Answer: a. even very young children know the phonological rules of
their language.
◉ Children produce sentences like "Daddy goed to work" that they
have clearly never heard from their parents. This serves as evidence
against which claim(s) below?
Select one:
a. Children learn language based on what they hear from their
parents.
b. Young children acquire grammatical rules and sometimes
overgeneralize.
c. Children do not acquire rules of grammar.
d. Both a and b.
e. Both a and c.
f. Both b and c.
Answer: e. Both a and c.
Children learn language based on what they hear from their parents.
Children do not acquire rules of grammar.
◉ The fact that all languages have sentences with subjects and
objects, words, questions, and negation supports the existence of:
, Select one:
a. Stimulus Freedom
b. Universal Displacement
c. Universal Grammar
d. Language Acquisition
e. Language Creativity
Answer: c. Universal Grammar
◉ We know that the relation between the sound of a word and its
meaning is arbitrary because:
Select one:
a. different languages have different words that refer to the same
objects/concepts.
b. all languages have similar words that refer to some of the same
objects/concepts.
c. onomatopoeic words are similar across languages.
d. children acquire the language of their environment effortlessly.
e. onomatopoeic words are in fact different across languages.
Answer: a. different languages have different words that refer to the
same objects/concepts.
