UCLA LING 1 MIDTERM MOCK TEST WITH
ANSWER RATIONALES 2026
◉ What does expletive infixation show us?
Answer: That language is unconscious knowledge. No one learns
how to do expletive infixation, yet we share the same judgements on
what sounds correct out of a native-speakers mouth
◉ What do you know when you know phonetics
Answer: Sounds
- You understand the inventory of sounds in your language
◉ Phonology
Answer: How sounds interact
- Understanding the possible sound patterns in your language (tr vs.
rt at the start of a word)
- plural s
◉ Morphology
Answer: word structure
- you know a variety of words in your language; can build complex
words; know word structure & constraints
,◉ lexicon
Answer: your mental dictionary of the words you know
◉ syntax
Answer: sentence structure
- how to build good phrases and sentences (adjectives, nouns, verbs
- the order)
◉ semantics
Answer: How to interpret words and sentences
- you know how to assign meaning to words in a given sentence
◉ What is not knowledge of language:
Answer: - reading/writing
- word history/ origins
- education level
◉ Linguistic competence
Answer: A speaker's implicit, internalized knowledge of the rules of
their native language.
, ◉ Linguistic performance
Answer: The observable use of language. The actualization of one's
linguistic competence. What comes out of your mouth
◉ Features of language (across langauges)
Answer: 1. Arbitrariness
2. Creativity
◉ What is the arbitrariness feature of language
Answer: The relationship between a word and its meaning is
arbitrary
- different words for the same object in different langauges
◉ What is the creativity feature of language?
Answer: Speakers use a finite set of building blocks and rules to
create and understand an infinite set of novel sentences. (not
memorized)
◉ Universal Grammar
Answer: A set of "language laws"; what they look like and can do
◉ What do all languages have in common?
ANSWER RATIONALES 2026
◉ What does expletive infixation show us?
Answer: That language is unconscious knowledge. No one learns
how to do expletive infixation, yet we share the same judgements on
what sounds correct out of a native-speakers mouth
◉ What do you know when you know phonetics
Answer: Sounds
- You understand the inventory of sounds in your language
◉ Phonology
Answer: How sounds interact
- Understanding the possible sound patterns in your language (tr vs.
rt at the start of a word)
- plural s
◉ Morphology
Answer: word structure
- you know a variety of words in your language; can build complex
words; know word structure & constraints
,◉ lexicon
Answer: your mental dictionary of the words you know
◉ syntax
Answer: sentence structure
- how to build good phrases and sentences (adjectives, nouns, verbs
- the order)
◉ semantics
Answer: How to interpret words and sentences
- you know how to assign meaning to words in a given sentence
◉ What is not knowledge of language:
Answer: - reading/writing
- word history/ origins
- education level
◉ Linguistic competence
Answer: A speaker's implicit, internalized knowledge of the rules of
their native language.
, ◉ Linguistic performance
Answer: The observable use of language. The actualization of one's
linguistic competence. What comes out of your mouth
◉ Features of language (across langauges)
Answer: 1. Arbitrariness
2. Creativity
◉ What is the arbitrariness feature of language
Answer: The relationship between a word and its meaning is
arbitrary
- different words for the same object in different langauges
◉ What is the creativity feature of language?
Answer: Speakers use a finite set of building blocks and rules to
create and understand an infinite set of novel sentences. (not
memorized)
◉ Universal Grammar
Answer: A set of "language laws"; what they look like and can do
◉ What do all languages have in common?
