LINGUISTICS EXAM 1 QUESTIONS AND
CORRECT ANSWERS.
What is linguistics?
The study of language
What makes knowledge of a language different than knowledge of linguistics?
-A speaker can speak/use a language without any knowledge of its internal structure
-A linguist can understand/know the internal structure of a language without speaking it
What is someone who speaks more than one language called?
Polyglot, bilingual, multilingual
What is a linguist concerned with?
Language as a human phenomenon
What do linguists study?
-Study of language
-Relationships among languages
-Historical and present day
What are the parts of Linguistics?
Divisions
What is formal linguistics?
-The study of the structures and processes of language (how language works + how it's
organized)
-Study different languages, identifying/studying common elements, to discover most efficient
ways to describe language in general
What does "grammar" mean?
,-Traditional/prescriptive approach->What we are taught in school
-Linguistic approach -> Anything spoken that makes sense
What are some examples of ungrammatical sentences?
-That's the boy I'm going movies with
-It's better to carefully avoid to split infinitives
-Who it is? It's me.
What are the five areas Formal Linguistics study?
1. Phonetics
2. Phonology
3. Morphology
4. Syntax
5. Semantics
What is phonetics?
-The study of the sounds of language and their physical properties
-Describes how sounds are produced through vocal apparatus, and provides work for
classification
What is articulatory phonetics?
The study of how we produce language
What is acoustic phonetics?
Study of physical properties of sounds produced by vocal apparatus
What is phonology?
-Analyzing how sounds function in a given language or dialect
What is an example of phonology?
/p/ has two possible sounds: pin and spin. Pin has a puff of air released, but not with spin.
-This occurs when /p/ is the in the initial position of a word in English.
, Why do phonologists examine such shifts?
-To construct theories about linguistic sounds in one language that can be used in comparing
linguistic systems
-Very useful for foreign language teachers
What is morphology?
-The study of the structure of words
-Study minimal units of meaning + investigate combination of units in a language to form words
What is a morpheme?
Minimal units of meaning in a spoken language.
Adding ion to a noun (morpheme)
Making it into an adjective
Adding im prefix (morpheme)
Creating a negative
Adding s suffix (morpheme)
Making a word plural
Other examples of morphemes
-REconsider
-ILlogical
-meaningLESS
What is syntax?
The study of the structure of sentences
-Describes how words combine into phrases and clauses and how they combine to make
sentences.
Example of syntax
CORRECT ANSWERS.
What is linguistics?
The study of language
What makes knowledge of a language different than knowledge of linguistics?
-A speaker can speak/use a language without any knowledge of its internal structure
-A linguist can understand/know the internal structure of a language without speaking it
What is someone who speaks more than one language called?
Polyglot, bilingual, multilingual
What is a linguist concerned with?
Language as a human phenomenon
What do linguists study?
-Study of language
-Relationships among languages
-Historical and present day
What are the parts of Linguistics?
Divisions
What is formal linguistics?
-The study of the structures and processes of language (how language works + how it's
organized)
-Study different languages, identifying/studying common elements, to discover most efficient
ways to describe language in general
What does "grammar" mean?
,-Traditional/prescriptive approach->What we are taught in school
-Linguistic approach -> Anything spoken that makes sense
What are some examples of ungrammatical sentences?
-That's the boy I'm going movies with
-It's better to carefully avoid to split infinitives
-Who it is? It's me.
What are the five areas Formal Linguistics study?
1. Phonetics
2. Phonology
3. Morphology
4. Syntax
5. Semantics
What is phonetics?
-The study of the sounds of language and their physical properties
-Describes how sounds are produced through vocal apparatus, and provides work for
classification
What is articulatory phonetics?
The study of how we produce language
What is acoustic phonetics?
Study of physical properties of sounds produced by vocal apparatus
What is phonology?
-Analyzing how sounds function in a given language or dialect
What is an example of phonology?
/p/ has two possible sounds: pin and spin. Pin has a puff of air released, but not with spin.
-This occurs when /p/ is the in the initial position of a word in English.
, Why do phonologists examine such shifts?
-To construct theories about linguistic sounds in one language that can be used in comparing
linguistic systems
-Very useful for foreign language teachers
What is morphology?
-The study of the structure of words
-Study minimal units of meaning + investigate combination of units in a language to form words
What is a morpheme?
Minimal units of meaning in a spoken language.
Adding ion to a noun (morpheme)
Making it into an adjective
Adding im prefix (morpheme)
Creating a negative
Adding s suffix (morpheme)
Making a word plural
Other examples of morphemes
-REconsider
-ILlogical
-meaningLESS
What is syntax?
The study of the structure of sentences
-Describes how words combine into phrases and clauses and how they combine to make
sentences.
Example of syntax
