LING 115: TEST 2 QUESTIONS AND
ANSWERS
There _____ be variation without change; there _____ be change without variation. -
Correct Answers -can; cannot
Which of the following is most consistent with the apparent time hypothesis? - Correct
Answers -Speakers' language does not change much during their lifetimes, so we can
see language change in progress by comparing the language of older and younger
speakers at a single point in time.
The mystery of why a linguistic change happens at a particular moment in history, rather
than earlier or later, is known as the... - Correct Answers -actuation problem
When a dialect changes toward the standard, _____ tend to lead the change, and when
a dialect changes away from the standard, _____ tend to lead the change. - Correct
Answers -women, women
If a particular variant is more frequent in the English of younger members of a particular
sociocultural group than in the English of older members of the same group, which of
the following can we conclude? - Correct Answers -A. This is a case of change in
progress.
B. This is a case of age grading.
C. It is (a) and/or (b), but we can't know for sure without further research.
A researcher begins a 20-year trend study by documenting the English of some 20- and
40-year-old speakers in West Virginia. Which of the following is NOT a possible
outcome of the follow-up study 20 years later? - Correct Answers -The English of the
40-year-old speakers in the follow-up study is very similar to the English of the 40-year-
old speakers in the original sample from 20 years earlier.
The English of the 40-year-old speakers in the follow-up study is very similar to the
English of 20-year-old speakers in the original sample from 20 years earlier.
The 20-year follow-up study cannot be completed because too many of the speakers
from the original sample have died or moved away.
ANSWERS
There _____ be variation without change; there _____ be change without variation. -
Correct Answers -can; cannot
Which of the following is most consistent with the apparent time hypothesis? - Correct
Answers -Speakers' language does not change much during their lifetimes, so we can
see language change in progress by comparing the language of older and younger
speakers at a single point in time.
The mystery of why a linguistic change happens at a particular moment in history, rather
than earlier or later, is known as the... - Correct Answers -actuation problem
When a dialect changes toward the standard, _____ tend to lead the change, and when
a dialect changes away from the standard, _____ tend to lead the change. - Correct
Answers -women, women
If a particular variant is more frequent in the English of younger members of a particular
sociocultural group than in the English of older members of the same group, which of
the following can we conclude? - Correct Answers -A. This is a case of change in
progress.
B. This is a case of age grading.
C. It is (a) and/or (b), but we can't know for sure without further research.
A researcher begins a 20-year trend study by documenting the English of some 20- and
40-year-old speakers in West Virginia. Which of the following is NOT a possible
outcome of the follow-up study 20 years later? - Correct Answers -The English of the
40-year-old speakers in the follow-up study is very similar to the English of the 40-year-
old speakers in the original sample from 20 years earlier.
The English of the 40-year-old speakers in the follow-up study is very similar to the
English of 20-year-old speakers in the original sample from 20 years earlier.
The 20-year follow-up study cannot be completed because too many of the speakers
from the original sample have died or moved away.
