CSET English Subtest 2 Exam
Questions and Answers
compound words - ANSWER-two smaller words combined. sailboat, racecar,
spaceship
borrowed words - ANSWER-words imported from other languages
inflectional affixes - ANSWER-word endings that serve grammatical purposes but
don't change the meaning of the word (i.e. -s, -'s, -ing, -ed, -er, -est)
derivational affixes - ANSWER-alter meaning of word by building on a base (i.e.
anti-, ex-, -ly, -tion, -ness, -ment)
coordinator - ANSWER-word that joins two independent clauses in a compound
sentence (i.e. but, yet, or)
subordinator - ANSWER-word that joins an independent clause with a dependent
clause to form a complex sentence (i.e. when, because, after)
pragmatic competence - ANSWER-when one understands the true meaning of
passage or utterance (understanding sarcasm/subtext)
orthography - ANSWER-spelling rules, made unpredictable in English due to Great
Vowel Shift
language acquisition - ANSWER-process by which people acquire ability to
understand and use words
Genetic Predisposition - ANSWER-AKA Innate Capacity. Chomsky's theory that
Universal Grammar is programmed into every human brain and facilitates language
development.
social interaction - ANSWER-Social environment is crucial to child lang
development. Children surrounded by more vocab/complex sentences develop lang
skills more quickly.
sociocultural factors - ANSWER-Social class has major effect on children and
language, with different classes employing diff language codes.
affective factors - ANSWER-personal qualities (self esteem, empathy, lack of
inhibition, etc) that positively affect acquisition of lang skills
transfer - ANSWER-when a speaker uses his or her second lang in a way that is
semantically or syntactically appropriate for the first or native lang, but not for the
second
Questions and Answers
compound words - ANSWER-two smaller words combined. sailboat, racecar,
spaceship
borrowed words - ANSWER-words imported from other languages
inflectional affixes - ANSWER-word endings that serve grammatical purposes but
don't change the meaning of the word (i.e. -s, -'s, -ing, -ed, -er, -est)
derivational affixes - ANSWER-alter meaning of word by building on a base (i.e.
anti-, ex-, -ly, -tion, -ness, -ment)
coordinator - ANSWER-word that joins two independent clauses in a compound
sentence (i.e. but, yet, or)
subordinator - ANSWER-word that joins an independent clause with a dependent
clause to form a complex sentence (i.e. when, because, after)
pragmatic competence - ANSWER-when one understands the true meaning of
passage or utterance (understanding sarcasm/subtext)
orthography - ANSWER-spelling rules, made unpredictable in English due to Great
Vowel Shift
language acquisition - ANSWER-process by which people acquire ability to
understand and use words
Genetic Predisposition - ANSWER-AKA Innate Capacity. Chomsky's theory that
Universal Grammar is programmed into every human brain and facilitates language
development.
social interaction - ANSWER-Social environment is crucial to child lang
development. Children surrounded by more vocab/complex sentences develop lang
skills more quickly.
sociocultural factors - ANSWER-Social class has major effect on children and
language, with different classes employing diff language codes.
affective factors - ANSWER-personal qualities (self esteem, empathy, lack of
inhibition, etc) that positively affect acquisition of lang skills
transfer - ANSWER-when a speaker uses his or her second lang in a way that is
semantically or syntactically appropriate for the first or native lang, but not for the
second
