Linguistics Final Exam questions with
verified answers
Linguistics - correct answer ✔✔ the scientific study of the rules (or grammar) of human
language
prescriptive and descriptive approaches to grammar - correct answer ✔✔ Prescriptive- Rules
about how language should work
Descriptive- Rules compiled from observation of the way language is actually used by speakers
Design Features of Human Language - correct answer ✔✔ Mode of communication- the means
by which messages are sent
Meaning- what we want to communicate
Pragmatic function- what we want to do with language
Interchangeability- users can both transmit and receive messages
Cultural transmission- details learned through experience
Arbitrariness- there is nothing about the forms of linguistic symbols that predicts their meaning
Discreteness- utterances are built up of discrete units that combine to form larger units
Displacement- language can be used to talk about things that are not present in space and
Productivity/ Creativity- the rules of language allow us to create and understand an INFINITE set
of utterances that have never been spoken before
Language is innate in humans? - correct answer ✔✔ The fact that animals do not have systems
of communication that share the features of Language has led scientists to propose that the
ability to acquire Language in innate in humans
, Animal vs Human communication - correct answer ✔✔ The do not have all of the design
features of language, especially productivity and displacement
What distinguished the major areas of linguistic analysis - correct answer ✔✔ Phonetics- the
study of the speech sound of a language
Phonology- rules about how sounds combine in a language
Morphology- rules about how words are formed
Syntax- rules about how sentences are formed
Semantics- meaning
Pragmatics- language used in (social) context/ interpret what isn't said/ sarcasm
Sociolinguistics- language and community/ ways sociology affects language
Psycholinguists- language processing and acquisition
Computational Linguistics- computer modeling of language
IPA symbols - correct answer ✔✔ Relook at chart quizlet is being dumb and not letting me
upload it.
Vocal Tract Parts - correct answer ✔✔ pulmonary- air provides energy
phonation- vocal cords vibrate to produce sound
articulation- depends on each consonant, but articulators move in a certain way to produce
sound
Interpret mid-sagittal views of the vocal tract - correct answer ✔✔ DO THIS: can practice on the
websites linked on Canvas: remember that only stops, fricatives, and nasals can be represented
in a mid-sagittal view
Tone vs Intonation - correct answer ✔✔ Intonation- conveys mood or emotion, doesn't change
meaning of a word
verified answers
Linguistics - correct answer ✔✔ the scientific study of the rules (or grammar) of human
language
prescriptive and descriptive approaches to grammar - correct answer ✔✔ Prescriptive- Rules
about how language should work
Descriptive- Rules compiled from observation of the way language is actually used by speakers
Design Features of Human Language - correct answer ✔✔ Mode of communication- the means
by which messages are sent
Meaning- what we want to communicate
Pragmatic function- what we want to do with language
Interchangeability- users can both transmit and receive messages
Cultural transmission- details learned through experience
Arbitrariness- there is nothing about the forms of linguistic symbols that predicts their meaning
Discreteness- utterances are built up of discrete units that combine to form larger units
Displacement- language can be used to talk about things that are not present in space and
Productivity/ Creativity- the rules of language allow us to create and understand an INFINITE set
of utterances that have never been spoken before
Language is innate in humans? - correct answer ✔✔ The fact that animals do not have systems
of communication that share the features of Language has led scientists to propose that the
ability to acquire Language in innate in humans
, Animal vs Human communication - correct answer ✔✔ The do not have all of the design
features of language, especially productivity and displacement
What distinguished the major areas of linguistic analysis - correct answer ✔✔ Phonetics- the
study of the speech sound of a language
Phonology- rules about how sounds combine in a language
Morphology- rules about how words are formed
Syntax- rules about how sentences are formed
Semantics- meaning
Pragmatics- language used in (social) context/ interpret what isn't said/ sarcasm
Sociolinguistics- language and community/ ways sociology affects language
Psycholinguists- language processing and acquisition
Computational Linguistics- computer modeling of language
IPA symbols - correct answer ✔✔ Relook at chart quizlet is being dumb and not letting me
upload it.
Vocal Tract Parts - correct answer ✔✔ pulmonary- air provides energy
phonation- vocal cords vibrate to produce sound
articulation- depends on each consonant, but articulators move in a certain way to produce
sound
Interpret mid-sagittal views of the vocal tract - correct answer ✔✔ DO THIS: can practice on the
websites linked on Canvas: remember that only stops, fricatives, and nasals can be represented
in a mid-sagittal view
Tone vs Intonation - correct answer ✔✔ Intonation- conveys mood or emotion, doesn't change
meaning of a word
