CTEL Exam Guide Questions with Correct
Solutions
phonology
the study of the sound system of a language
morphology
the study of how words are built
syntax
word order and grammar; the study of the structure of sentences and the rules that
govern the formation of a sentence
semantics
meaning; the study of the meanings of a language, both in individual words and in
phrases and sentences
pragmatics
the study of communication in context. Includes three major communication skills.
1) the ability to use language for different functions (greeting, informing,
demanding, etc.) 2) the ability to appropriately adapt or change language according
to the listener or situation (talking differently to a friend than to one's school
,principal) 3) the ability to follow rules for conversations and narrative (knowing
how to tell a story, give a book report, or recount events of the day).
phoneme
the sounds that make up a language. for example, in English the initial consonant
sounds t and d are the only difference between the words tip and dip, and are thus
phonemes.
phonemic sequences
permissible ways in which phonemes can be combined
point of articulation
tip, front, or back of the tongue used when speaking a phoneme
manner of articulation
the way the air stream is obstructed when speaking a phoneme
voiced and voiceless
~ voiced - voice vibrates
~ voiceless - no voice vibration
pitch
the vibration of the vocal chords
, intonation
use of pitch to modify the sentence meaning
tone languages
languages in which changing the voice pitch within individual syllables alters
meaning of a word
stress
increase in vocal activity, such as PERfect, and perFECT
affixes
parts added to the beginning (prefix) or end (suffix) of a root word to create new
words; usually occur as bound morphemes
bound morpheme
A morpheme that must be "bound" with another morpheme to form a word. Ex: un,
ish, es, ed, pre
free morpheme
a morpheme that can stand alone
infixes
affixes "shoehorned" into the middle of a word (not found in English)
Solutions
phonology
the study of the sound system of a language
morphology
the study of how words are built
syntax
word order and grammar; the study of the structure of sentences and the rules that
govern the formation of a sentence
semantics
meaning; the study of the meanings of a language, both in individual words and in
phrases and sentences
pragmatics
the study of communication in context. Includes three major communication skills.
1) the ability to use language for different functions (greeting, informing,
demanding, etc.) 2) the ability to appropriately adapt or change language according
to the listener or situation (talking differently to a friend than to one's school
,principal) 3) the ability to follow rules for conversations and narrative (knowing
how to tell a story, give a book report, or recount events of the day).
phoneme
the sounds that make up a language. for example, in English the initial consonant
sounds t and d are the only difference between the words tip and dip, and are thus
phonemes.
phonemic sequences
permissible ways in which phonemes can be combined
point of articulation
tip, front, or back of the tongue used when speaking a phoneme
manner of articulation
the way the air stream is obstructed when speaking a phoneme
voiced and voiceless
~ voiced - voice vibrates
~ voiceless - no voice vibration
pitch
the vibration of the vocal chords
, intonation
use of pitch to modify the sentence meaning
tone languages
languages in which changing the voice pitch within individual syllables alters
meaning of a word
stress
increase in vocal activity, such as PERfect, and perFECT
affixes
parts added to the beginning (prefix) or end (suffix) of a root word to create new
words; usually occur as bound morphemes
bound morpheme
A morpheme that must be "bound" with another morpheme to form a word. Ex: un,
ish, es, ed, pre
free morpheme
a morpheme that can stand alone
infixes
affixes "shoehorned" into the middle of a word (not found in English)
