9
Student:
1. Language is a form of communication—spoken, written, or signed—that is based on a system of:
A. words.
B. ideas.
C. symbols.
D. sounds.
2. Cases like the Wild Boy of Aveyron cause us to wonder whether language is:
A. infinitely generative or not.
B. due more to heredity or environment.
C. based on abstract or concrete symbols.
D. more a question of phonology or syntax.
3. Thirty students in a class are given the same list of eight words to use in generating sentences. Each
student creates a unique sentence. This is an example of:
A. pragmatics.
B. infinite generativity.
C. organizational rules.
D. segmentation.
4. The ability to produce an endless number of meaningful sentences with a finite set of words and rules
is:
A. pragmatics.
B. infinite generativity.
C. organizational rules.
D. segmentation.
5. The basic unit of sound in a language is a:
A. morpheme.
B. letter.
C. syllable.
D. phoneme.
6. When babies babble "ba, ba, ba," they are demonstrating knowledge of a:
A. morpheme.
B. letter.
C. syllable.
D. phoneme.
7. The "ch" sound in church or change is an example of a:
A. morpheme.
B. letter.
C. syllable.
D. phoneme.
8. Morphology refers to:
A. the units of meaning involved in word formation.
B. the way words are combined to form acceptable phrases and sentences.
C. rules regarding how sounds are perceived as different, and which sound sequences may occur in the
language.
D. the meaning of words and sentences.
,9. Which of the following statements about morphemes is TRUE?
A. some words consist of a single morpheme
B. some words are made up of more than one morpheme
C. morphemes can mark tense and number
D. all of these
10. Aiden asks his mom is she "bringed" his favorite toy with her. His addition of "ed" on the end of the word
to make it past tense indicates an understanding of:
A. morphemes.
B. syntax.
C. phonology.
D. semantics.
11. Six-year-old Aspen addresses her teacher, "Me goed to the park. Is you goed too?"
She is displaying problems with:
A. pragmatics.
B. syntax.
C. phonology.
D. semantics.
12. The fact that changes in word order can change the meaning of a sentence is an example of:
A. semantics.
B. syntax.
C. phonology.
D. pragmatics.
13. Which of the following statements regarding syntax is NOT true?
A. All languages have syntactical rules.
B. An understanding of English syntax is easily applicable to other languages.
C. Language users cannot process subjects and objects arranged in too complex a fashion in a sentence.
D. There are some universal properties of syntax.
14. In English we say "white house," (adjective precedes noun), but in Spanish one would say "casa blanca"
(noun precedes adjective). This example illustrates different rules of:
A. semantics.
B. syntax.
C. phonology.
D. pragmatics.
15. Words have semantic restrictions on how they can be used in sentences because:
A. every word has required attributes related to meaning.
B. every word is made up of one or more morphemes.
C. contextual rules differ from one culture to another.
D. meaning varies with gender and socioeconomic status.
16. Which statement describes the sentence: "The pencil sang a lovely tune"?
A. syntactically correct but semantically incorrect
B. semantically correct but syntactically incorrect
C. phonologically and syntactically incorrect
D. morphologically and semantically correct
17. The use of correct rules for conversation is part of the definition of:
A. grammatical relations.
B. semantics.
C. pragmatics.
D. the language acquisition device.
,18. Twelve-year-old Cade is able to produce all of the sounds of speech and construct complete, accurate,
meaningful sentences but struggles with taking turns in a discussion, recognizing humor and figurative
language. He is having communication difficulty in the area of:
A. phonology.
B. semantics.
C. morphology.
D. pragmatics.
19. When 6-year-old Sebastian is at the pool, he sees a heavy woman in a black and white bathing suit and
yells "orca!" This illustrates a violation of:
A. semantics.
B. syntax.
C. phonology.
D. pragmatics.
20. Which of the following statements is NOT true about an infant's use of gestures?
A. A lack of pointing is one characteristic of children with autism.
B. Frequent use of gestures indicates a future language delay.
C. Infants start using gestures at about 8 to 12 months of age.
D. Gesturing is a sign of a healthy communication system.
21. In a baby's first year of life, what language development stage comes after crying?
A. cooing
B. telegraphic speech
C. babbling
D. morphology
22. What primary function does vocalization (crying, cooing, babbling and gestures) accomplish for infants?
A. no function—it is reflexive
B. occupies waking hours
C. attracts attention from their caregivers and others
D. respiratory exercise
23. Research about the ability of infants to distinguish human speech sounds indicates that:
A. young infants are capable of distinguishing only the sounds they hear in the language spoken around
them.
B. the ability to distinguish all speech sounds increases as infants grow older.
C. there are distinct stages in the ability of infants to perceive different speech sounds.
D. infants gradually come to distinguish best the speech sounds of the language spoken around them.
24. According to Kuhl's research, at birth, infants are "citizens of the world," able to recognize sounds
regardless of from which language the syllables come. At what age do infants get better at perceiving the
changes in sounds in their own language?
A. 3-6 months
B. 6-9 months
C. 6-12 months
D. 12-18 months
25. Research on the ability of infants to understand words indicates that infants:
A. understand words only when they have reached the stage of internalization of schemes.
B. must be able to talk before they can understand words.
C. understand words well before they can produce them.
D. speak earlier when they understand words earlier.
, 26. Why is it difficult for infants to detect word boundaries?
A. Detecting word boundaries is irrelevant.
B. Adults don't pause between words when they speak.
C. Infants cannot distinguish between phonemes in words.
D. Infants cannot discriminate between familiar words and unusual words.
27. Which of the following statements about language development is TRUE?
A. Infants speak words before they understand them.
B. Infants understand words before they speak them.
C. Infants don't understand words unless they are received in a "baby talk" tone of voice.
D. Infants use verbal communication before nonverbal communication.
28. A child's first words mainly consist of:
A. actions, names, food, places.
B. important people, animals, vehicles, actions.
C. places, greeting terms, body parts, clothes.
D. important people, animals, vehicles, food, body parts, greeting terms.
29. A rapid increase in an infant's vocabulary that usually takes place between 18 and 24 months is known
as:
A. vocabulary spurt.
B. expressive jump.
C. overextension.
D. language development.
30. Natalie has just turned 2 years old. About how many words are in her speaking vocabulary?
A. 50
B. 100
C. 200
D. 350
31. Jenny is at the zoo with her family. She points to each animal and says "doggie." This illustrates:
A. a vocabulary spurt.
B. delayed vocabulary development.
C. overextension.
D. underextension.
32. At what age can Emily expect her child to say, "Get shoes"?
A. 8 to 12 months
B. 12 to 18 months
C. 18 to 24 months
D. after 24 months
33. Telegraphic speech is characterized by:
A. two-word utterances only.
B. short, complete sentences.
C. a sequence of succinct single syllable words.
D. short, precise words without grammatical markers.
34. Anthony holds up his glass and says, "Milk gone." What type of speech pattern is this?
A. reflective
B. comprehensive
C. intrinsic
D. telegraphic
Student:
1. Language is a form of communication—spoken, written, or signed—that is based on a system of:
A. words.
B. ideas.
C. symbols.
D. sounds.
2. Cases like the Wild Boy of Aveyron cause us to wonder whether language is:
A. infinitely generative or not.
B. due more to heredity or environment.
C. based on abstract or concrete symbols.
D. more a question of phonology or syntax.
3. Thirty students in a class are given the same list of eight words to use in generating sentences. Each
student creates a unique sentence. This is an example of:
A. pragmatics.
B. infinite generativity.
C. organizational rules.
D. segmentation.
4. The ability to produce an endless number of meaningful sentences with a finite set of words and rules
is:
A. pragmatics.
B. infinite generativity.
C. organizational rules.
D. segmentation.
5. The basic unit of sound in a language is a:
A. morpheme.
B. letter.
C. syllable.
D. phoneme.
6. When babies babble "ba, ba, ba," they are demonstrating knowledge of a:
A. morpheme.
B. letter.
C. syllable.
D. phoneme.
7. The "ch" sound in church or change is an example of a:
A. morpheme.
B. letter.
C. syllable.
D. phoneme.
8. Morphology refers to:
A. the units of meaning involved in word formation.
B. the way words are combined to form acceptable phrases and sentences.
C. rules regarding how sounds are perceived as different, and which sound sequences may occur in the
language.
D. the meaning of words and sentences.
,9. Which of the following statements about morphemes is TRUE?
A. some words consist of a single morpheme
B. some words are made up of more than one morpheme
C. morphemes can mark tense and number
D. all of these
10. Aiden asks his mom is she "bringed" his favorite toy with her. His addition of "ed" on the end of the word
to make it past tense indicates an understanding of:
A. morphemes.
B. syntax.
C. phonology.
D. semantics.
11. Six-year-old Aspen addresses her teacher, "Me goed to the park. Is you goed too?"
She is displaying problems with:
A. pragmatics.
B. syntax.
C. phonology.
D. semantics.
12. The fact that changes in word order can change the meaning of a sentence is an example of:
A. semantics.
B. syntax.
C. phonology.
D. pragmatics.
13. Which of the following statements regarding syntax is NOT true?
A. All languages have syntactical rules.
B. An understanding of English syntax is easily applicable to other languages.
C. Language users cannot process subjects and objects arranged in too complex a fashion in a sentence.
D. There are some universal properties of syntax.
14. In English we say "white house," (adjective precedes noun), but in Spanish one would say "casa blanca"
(noun precedes adjective). This example illustrates different rules of:
A. semantics.
B. syntax.
C. phonology.
D. pragmatics.
15. Words have semantic restrictions on how they can be used in sentences because:
A. every word has required attributes related to meaning.
B. every word is made up of one or more morphemes.
C. contextual rules differ from one culture to another.
D. meaning varies with gender and socioeconomic status.
16. Which statement describes the sentence: "The pencil sang a lovely tune"?
A. syntactically correct but semantically incorrect
B. semantically correct but syntactically incorrect
C. phonologically and syntactically incorrect
D. morphologically and semantically correct
17. The use of correct rules for conversation is part of the definition of:
A. grammatical relations.
B. semantics.
C. pragmatics.
D. the language acquisition device.
,18. Twelve-year-old Cade is able to produce all of the sounds of speech and construct complete, accurate,
meaningful sentences but struggles with taking turns in a discussion, recognizing humor and figurative
language. He is having communication difficulty in the area of:
A. phonology.
B. semantics.
C. morphology.
D. pragmatics.
19. When 6-year-old Sebastian is at the pool, he sees a heavy woman in a black and white bathing suit and
yells "orca!" This illustrates a violation of:
A. semantics.
B. syntax.
C. phonology.
D. pragmatics.
20. Which of the following statements is NOT true about an infant's use of gestures?
A. A lack of pointing is one characteristic of children with autism.
B. Frequent use of gestures indicates a future language delay.
C. Infants start using gestures at about 8 to 12 months of age.
D. Gesturing is a sign of a healthy communication system.
21. In a baby's first year of life, what language development stage comes after crying?
A. cooing
B. telegraphic speech
C. babbling
D. morphology
22. What primary function does vocalization (crying, cooing, babbling and gestures) accomplish for infants?
A. no function—it is reflexive
B. occupies waking hours
C. attracts attention from their caregivers and others
D. respiratory exercise
23. Research about the ability of infants to distinguish human speech sounds indicates that:
A. young infants are capable of distinguishing only the sounds they hear in the language spoken around
them.
B. the ability to distinguish all speech sounds increases as infants grow older.
C. there are distinct stages in the ability of infants to perceive different speech sounds.
D. infants gradually come to distinguish best the speech sounds of the language spoken around them.
24. According to Kuhl's research, at birth, infants are "citizens of the world," able to recognize sounds
regardless of from which language the syllables come. At what age do infants get better at perceiving the
changes in sounds in their own language?
A. 3-6 months
B. 6-9 months
C. 6-12 months
D. 12-18 months
25. Research on the ability of infants to understand words indicates that infants:
A. understand words only when they have reached the stage of internalization of schemes.
B. must be able to talk before they can understand words.
C. understand words well before they can produce them.
D. speak earlier when they understand words earlier.
, 26. Why is it difficult for infants to detect word boundaries?
A. Detecting word boundaries is irrelevant.
B. Adults don't pause between words when they speak.
C. Infants cannot distinguish between phonemes in words.
D. Infants cannot discriminate between familiar words and unusual words.
27. Which of the following statements about language development is TRUE?
A. Infants speak words before they understand them.
B. Infants understand words before they speak them.
C. Infants don't understand words unless they are received in a "baby talk" tone of voice.
D. Infants use verbal communication before nonverbal communication.
28. A child's first words mainly consist of:
A. actions, names, food, places.
B. important people, animals, vehicles, actions.
C. places, greeting terms, body parts, clothes.
D. important people, animals, vehicles, food, body parts, greeting terms.
29. A rapid increase in an infant's vocabulary that usually takes place between 18 and 24 months is known
as:
A. vocabulary spurt.
B. expressive jump.
C. overextension.
D. language development.
30. Natalie has just turned 2 years old. About how many words are in her speaking vocabulary?
A. 50
B. 100
C. 200
D. 350
31. Jenny is at the zoo with her family. She points to each animal and says "doggie." This illustrates:
A. a vocabulary spurt.
B. delayed vocabulary development.
C. overextension.
D. underextension.
32. At what age can Emily expect her child to say, "Get shoes"?
A. 8 to 12 months
B. 12 to 18 months
C. 18 to 24 months
D. after 24 months
33. Telegraphic speech is characterized by:
A. two-word utterances only.
B. short, complete sentences.
C. a sequence of succinct single syllable words.
D. short, precise words without grammatical markers.
34. Anthony holds up his glass and says, "Milk gone." What type of speech pattern is this?
A. reflective
B. comprehensive
C. intrinsic
D. telegraphic
