UCLA LING 1 EXAM 1 PRACTICE QUESTIONS
WITH DETAILED EXPLANATIONS 2026
◉ Expletive infixation.
Answer: - insert expletive (or a euphemism) into a word for
emphasis.
- it suggests that native speakers of a language know grammar rules
that they have never been taught.
fan-fr*****'-tastic day
evidence for unconscious language learning
◉ Phonetics.
Answer: inventory of sounds in your language
sounds
◉ McGurk Effect.
Answer: Sound changes with changes in mouth shapes
◉ Phonology.
Answer: sound patterns that are possible in you language
how sounds interact
,◉ Morphology.
Answer: word structure
Know a variety of words
Know potential words
Know how to form words
◉ Lexicon.
Answer: mental dictionary
build more complex words
new words are derived from old word
◉ Syntax.
Answer: how to build good phrases and sentences
sentence structure
◉ Semantics.
Answer: - how to interpret words and sentences
- assign meaning to words in a given sentence
- Tom has egg on his face - tom is embarrassed
◉ not knowledge of language.
Answer: - Only speaking matters
,- Learning to read and write is different from knowing it natively
- Word history: Native speaker may know nothing
- Education: Does not have influence in native language
- sentences go long -> easy to lose count
◉ linguistic competence.
Answer: - what you know in mind
- what you can do
- systematic knowledge of the building blocks
◉ linguistic performance.
Answer: - what you actually do
- what actually comes out of your mouth
- Linguistic performance sometimes does not match linguistic
competence
◉ Arbitrariness.
Answer: Different sounds are used to name the same object across
languages
◉ Onomatopoeic words.
Answer: - buzz, meow, woof
, - not arbitrary
◉ creativity.
Answer: - Universal property of human language
- Speakers use a finite set of building blocks and rules to create and
understand an infinite set of novels
- Noam Chomsky - creativity in language - biological
We are able to create novel sentences all the time
◉ Universal Grammar (UG).
Answer: - Set of language "laws"
- Languages all have lexicon, phonetic system, phonology,
morphology, syntactic structure, and semantics.
- Strong bio component of language learning despite the culture
Support universal grammar
◉ Development of Grammar.
Answer: - Common trait: All children acquire the language of their
environment spontaneously. Exhibit linguistic creativity.
- babbling: single - two - over generalizations - fully acquire by 5
◉ Descriptive grammar.
WITH DETAILED EXPLANATIONS 2026
◉ Expletive infixation.
Answer: - insert expletive (or a euphemism) into a word for
emphasis.
- it suggests that native speakers of a language know grammar rules
that they have never been taught.
fan-fr*****'-tastic day
evidence for unconscious language learning
◉ Phonetics.
Answer: inventory of sounds in your language
sounds
◉ McGurk Effect.
Answer: Sound changes with changes in mouth shapes
◉ Phonology.
Answer: sound patterns that are possible in you language
how sounds interact
,◉ Morphology.
Answer: word structure
Know a variety of words
Know potential words
Know how to form words
◉ Lexicon.
Answer: mental dictionary
build more complex words
new words are derived from old word
◉ Syntax.
Answer: how to build good phrases and sentences
sentence structure
◉ Semantics.
Answer: - how to interpret words and sentences
- assign meaning to words in a given sentence
- Tom has egg on his face - tom is embarrassed
◉ not knowledge of language.
Answer: - Only speaking matters
,- Learning to read and write is different from knowing it natively
- Word history: Native speaker may know nothing
- Education: Does not have influence in native language
- sentences go long -> easy to lose count
◉ linguistic competence.
Answer: - what you know in mind
- what you can do
- systematic knowledge of the building blocks
◉ linguistic performance.
Answer: - what you actually do
- what actually comes out of your mouth
- Linguistic performance sometimes does not match linguistic
competence
◉ Arbitrariness.
Answer: Different sounds are used to name the same object across
languages
◉ Onomatopoeic words.
Answer: - buzz, meow, woof
, - not arbitrary
◉ creativity.
Answer: - Universal property of human language
- Speakers use a finite set of building blocks and rules to create and
understand an infinite set of novels
- Noam Chomsky - creativity in language - biological
We are able to create novel sentences all the time
◉ Universal Grammar (UG).
Answer: - Set of language "laws"
- Languages all have lexicon, phonetic system, phonology,
morphology, syntactic structure, and semantics.
- Strong bio component of language learning despite the culture
Support universal grammar
◉ Development of Grammar.
Answer: - Common trait: All children acquire the language of their
environment spontaneously. Exhibit linguistic creativity.
- babbling: single - two - over generalizations - fully acquire by 5
◉ Descriptive grammar.
