LING 115 - Linguistics Midterm #2 Exam
Questions With Correct Answers
Which of the following is an s-curve?
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a. Ten people adopt a new linguistic feature, then twenty more, then
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forty more after that.
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b. Forty people adopt a new linguistic feature, then twenty more, then
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ten after that.
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c. Forty people adopt a new linguistic feature, then ten more, then
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twenty more after that. | | | |
d. Ten people adopt a new linguistic feature, then forty more, then
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twenty after that. - CORRECT ANSWER✔✔-d. Ten people adopt a new
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linguistic feature, then forty more, then twenty after that.
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Which of the following CAN'T be described by an s-curve?
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a. the diffusion of a sound change through the words a speaker knows
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b. the diffusion of a disease through a community
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c. the diffusion of a sound change through the speakers of a language
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d. the diffusion of pollution in a body of water - CORRECT ANSWER✔✔-
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d. the diffusion of pollution in a body of water
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,Once a change begins in a language, it can't be stopped.
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True
False - CORRECT ANSWER✔✔-False
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If a sound change happened in English such that all instances of "th"
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became pronounced as "d," the word "that" would be pronounced as
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|"dat" before the word "thereby" was pronounced as "dereby."
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True
False - CORRECT ANSWER✔✔-True
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The language of Napkinish is experiencing a change. Speakers, starting
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in the city of Forktown, have stopped using the "-ippa" suffix in the past
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tense. In Forktown, the words "tullippa," "loppippa," and "bonippa" are
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all now pronounced as "tull," "lopp," and "bon" in the past tense. In the
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town of Spoonville thirty miles away, "tullippa" is pronounced as "tull,"
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and "bonippa" is pronounced as "bon," but "loppippa" must still be
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pronounced "loppippa." Bowlville is another town sixty miles away from
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|Forktown on the other side of Spoonville. (You have to drive through
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Spoonville to get to Bowlville in fact.) What must be true in Bowlville?
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a. The people in Bowlville definitely do NOT say "lopp" instead of
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"loppippa."
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,b. The people in Bowlville definitely say "lopp" instead of "loppippa."
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c. The people in Bowlville definitely say "bon" instead of "bonippa."
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d. The language change definitely hasn't reached Bowlville. - CORRECT
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ANSWER✔✔-a. The people in Bowlville definitely do NOT say "lopp" | | | | | | | | | |
instead of "loppippa." | |
An isogloss is a line between two dialects.
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True
False - CORRECT ANSWER✔✔-False
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It has become common in some varieties of English recently to say "las"
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instead of "last" (as in: "He came in las"). Which of the following is true
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of this change?
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a. It is the result of speakers being too lazy to include the final
| | | | | | | | | | | | | |
consonant.
b. It is the result of a predictable change whereby speakers reduce the
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markedness of the language. | | |
c. It is evidence that English has become less elegant than how it was
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spoken 100 years ago. | | |
d. It shows that English is improving towards being more logical. -
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CORRECT ANSWER✔✔-b. It is the result of a predictable change
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whereby speakers reduce the markedness of the language.
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, What does the Benrath Line mark?
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a. Whether speakers of German say "k" or "ch" on words such as "ich"
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and "machen."
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b. Which dialect of German speakers use.
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c. Whether the speakers of German are considered to be low, high, or
| | | | | | | | | | | | |
middle class. |
d. Whether speakers of French were living in the area. - CORRECT
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ANSWER✔✔-a. Whether speakers of German say "k" or "ch" on words | | | | | | | | | | |
such as "ich" and "machen."
| | | |
If speakers of a variety are unsure about a linguistic feature (ex: they
| | | | | | | | | | | | |
can't quite decide if the plural of "cactus" is "cacti" or "cactuses"), it's
| | | | | | | | | | | | |
probably because that linguistic feature is in the process of changing.
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True
False - CORRECT ANSWER✔✔-True
| | |
Why do most speakers of American English pronounce "cursory" with
| | | | | | | | | |
three syllables and "every" with two syllables?
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a. "Cursory" is very hard to pronounce with two syllables.
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Questions With Correct Answers
Which of the following is an s-curve?
| | | | | |
|
a. Ten people adopt a new linguistic feature, then twenty more, then
| | | | | | | | | | | |
forty more after that.
| | |
b. Forty people adopt a new linguistic feature, then twenty more, then
| | | | | | | | | | | |
ten after that.
| |
c. Forty people adopt a new linguistic feature, then ten more, then
| | | | | | | | | | | |
twenty more after that. | | | |
d. Ten people adopt a new linguistic feature, then forty more, then
| | | | | | | | | | | |
twenty after that. - CORRECT ANSWER✔✔-d. Ten people adopt a new
| | | | | | | | | | |
linguistic feature, then forty more, then twenty after that.
| | | | | | | |
Which of the following CAN'T be described by an s-curve?
| | | | | | | | |
a. the diffusion of a sound change through the words a speaker knows
| | | | | | | | | | | |
b. the diffusion of a disease through a community
| | | | | | | |
c. the diffusion of a sound change through the speakers of a language
| | | | | | | | | | | |
d. the diffusion of pollution in a body of water - CORRECT ANSWER✔✔-
| | | | | | | | | | | |
d. the diffusion of pollution in a body of water
| | | | | | | | |
,Once a change begins in a language, it can't be stopped.
| | | | | | | | | |
|
True
False - CORRECT ANSWER✔✔-False
| | |
If a sound change happened in English such that all instances of "th"
| | | | | | | | | | | | |
became pronounced as "d," the word "that" would be pronounced as
| | | | | | | | | |
|"dat" before the word "thereby" was pronounced as "dereby."
| | | | | | | | |
True
False - CORRECT ANSWER✔✔-True
| | |
The language of Napkinish is experiencing a change. Speakers, starting
| | | | | | | | | |
in the city of Forktown, have stopped using the "-ippa" suffix in the past
| | | | | | | | | | | | | |
tense. In Forktown, the words "tullippa," "loppippa," and "bonippa" are
| | | | | | | | | |
all now pronounced as "tull," "lopp," and "bon" in the past tense. In the
| | | | | | | | | | | | | |
town of Spoonville thirty miles away, "tullippa" is pronounced as "tull,"
| | | | | | | | | | |
and "bonippa" is pronounced as "bon," but "loppippa" must still be
| | | | | | | | | | |
pronounced "loppippa." Bowlville is another town sixty miles away from
| | | | | | | | |
|Forktown on the other side of Spoonville. (You have to drive through
| | | | | | | | | | | |
Spoonville to get to Bowlville in fact.) What must be true in Bowlville?
| | | | | | | | | | | |
a. The people in Bowlville definitely do NOT say "lopp" instead of
| | | | | | | | | | |
"loppippa."
|
,b. The people in Bowlville definitely say "lopp" instead of "loppippa."
| | | | | | | | | |
c. The people in Bowlville definitely say "bon" instead of "bonippa."
| | | | | | | | | |
d. The language change definitely hasn't reached Bowlville. - CORRECT
| | | | | | | | | |
ANSWER✔✔-a. The people in Bowlville definitely do NOT say "lopp" | | | | | | | | | |
instead of "loppippa." | |
An isogloss is a line between two dialects.
| | | | | | |
True
False - CORRECT ANSWER✔✔-False
| | |
It has become common in some varieties of English recently to say "las"
| | | | | | | | | | | | |
instead of "last" (as in: "He came in las"). Which of the following is true
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
of this change?
| |
|
a. It is the result of speakers being too lazy to include the final
| | | | | | | | | | | | | |
consonant.
b. It is the result of a predictable change whereby speakers reduce the
| | | | | | | | | | | | |
markedness of the language. | | |
c. It is evidence that English has become less elegant than how it was
| | | | | | | | | | | | | |
spoken 100 years ago. | | |
d. It shows that English is improving towards being more logical. -
| | | | | | | | | | | |
CORRECT ANSWER✔✔-b. It is the result of a predictable change
| | | | | | | | | |
whereby speakers reduce the markedness of the language.
| | | | | | |
, What does the Benrath Line mark?
| | | | |
a. Whether speakers of German say "k" or "ch" on words such as "ich"
| | | | | | | | | | | | | |
and "machen."
|
b. Which dialect of German speakers use.
| | | | | |
c. Whether the speakers of German are considered to be low, high, or
| | | | | | | | | | | | |
middle class. |
d. Whether speakers of French were living in the area. - CORRECT
| | | | | | | | | | | |
ANSWER✔✔-a. Whether speakers of German say "k" or "ch" on words | | | | | | | | | | |
such as "ich" and "machen."
| | | |
If speakers of a variety are unsure about a linguistic feature (ex: they
| | | | | | | | | | | | |
can't quite decide if the plural of "cactus" is "cacti" or "cactuses"), it's
| | | | | | | | | | | | |
probably because that linguistic feature is in the process of changing.
| | | | | | | | | |
True
False - CORRECT ANSWER✔✔-True
| | |
Why do most speakers of American English pronounce "cursory" with
| | | | | | | | | |
three syllables and "every" with two syllables?
| | | | | |
a. "Cursory" is very hard to pronounce with two syllables.
| | | | | | | | |
