LING- Exam 1

Question 1

1. The fact that the word ‘dog’ is used for a canine in English and in an indigenous Australian language proves that these languages arose form a common ancestor.

True
False

Answer 1

false

Question 2

2. Which of these is NOT included in the set of ‘dominant’ languages given by Lewis?

A) Italian
B) Portuguese
C) Bengali
D) Hindi
E) Mandarin

Answer 2

a. italian

Question 3

3. Today, we can teach a computer to speak and understand in a human-like manner.

True
False

Answer 3

false

Question 4

4. No language community has lasted long w/o having a writing system.

True

False

Answer 4

false

Question 5

5. Its easy to define what counts as a ‘language’ versus what counts as a ‘dialect’.

True
False

Answer 5

false

Question 6

6. The set of rules or principles that constitute a speaker’s tacit knowledge of his or her language is called his or her

A) compositionally
B) arbitrariness
C) grammar
D) hierarchy
E) naturalness

Answer 6

c. grammar

Question 7

7. ______________ argued that language was conventionalized, and that words were arbitrary.

A) Chomsky
B) Aristotle
C) Plato
D) Givon
E) de Saussure

Answer 7

b. aristotle

Question 8

8. A document that covers all the known properties of a given language is a ________ grammar.

A) formal
B) pedagogical
C) tacit
D) descriptive
E) prescriptive

Answer 8

d. descriptive

Question 9

9. The study of individual sound systems of a given language is called

A) semantics
B) phonology
C) phonetics
D) syntax
E) morphology

Answer 9

b. phonology

Question 10

10. The idea that the form of words is not determined by any natural resemblance to the thing they refer to is

A) arbitariness
B) hierarchy
C) naturalness
D) grammar
E) compositionality

Answer 10

a. arbitariness

Question 11

11. Lexical semantics is the study of

A) discourse
B) onomatopoeia
C) language puzzles
D) sentence meanings
E) word meanings

Answer 11

e. word meanings

Question 12

12. The study of how words combine to form clauses or sentences is called

A) phonology
B) morphology
C) semantics
D) phonetics
E) syntax

Answer 12

e. syntax

Question 13

13. Onomatopoeic words for different sounds in all languages are the same as each other.

True
False

Answer 13

false

Question 14

14. ‘Linguistics’ can be defined as

A) the ability to speak many languages
B) the scientific study of language
C) the study of eloquence in language
D) the study of translation among languages
E) the study of rhetoric and composition

Answer 14

b. the scientific study of language

Question 15

15. Linguists generally agree on a definition of ‘language’, and on what should be the focus of the study of linguistics.

True
False

Answer 15

false

Question 16

16. Which of the following is an orthographic representation:

A) a word written using standard English spelling
B) a word written in the International Phonetic Alphabet
C) a word that is spoken colloquially
D) a word identified by a conventional icon
E) a picture of a word

Answer 16

a. a word written using standard english spelling

Question 17

17. A triphthong is a single vowel pronounced with movement b/w _______ places of articulation.

A) six
B) three
C) five
D) four
E) two

Answer 17

b. three

Question 18

18. On a spectrogram, darkness represents:

A) time in a milliseconds, indicating the duration of the sound.
B) a glottal pulse
C) richness of the vocal tone
D) frequency in Hertz, indicating the pitch(es) in the sound.
E) amplitude, or volume, of the voice.

Answer 18

e. amplitude, or volume, of the voice

Question 19

19. On a spectrogram, each vertical striation represents:

A) richness of the vocal tone
B) a glottal pulse
C) amplitude, or volume, of the voice.
D) frequency in Herz, indicating the pitch(es) in the sound.
E) time in milliseconds, indicating the duration of the sound.

Answer 19

b. a glottal pulse

Question 20

20. The Place of articulation that involves the area behind and above your font teeth is called:

A) velar
B) alveolar
C) interdental
D) palatal
E) bilabial

Answer 20

b. alveolar

Question 21

21. Sounds produced with the velum high, so that it does not allow air to pass through behind it are called nasal sounds.

True
False

Answer 21

false

Question 22

22. The letter ‘u’ in the IPA

A) always stands for the vowel sound in ‘caught’
B) always stands for the vowel sound in ‘coup’
C) can represent a variety of different vowel phones
D) always stands for the vowel sound in ‘bough’
E) always stands for the vowel sound in ‘cup’

Answer 22

b. always stands for the vowel sound in ‘coup’

Question 23

23. Acoustic phonetics is the study of:

A) how speech sounds are represented in standard orthographies
B) how speech sounds are produced by a speaker
C) how speech sounds are heard and perceived by a listener
D) how speech sounds can be reproduced by a computer
E) how speech sounds are phonetically transcribed.

Answer 23

c. how speech sounds are heard and perceived by a listener

Question 24

24. Which of the following is a phonetic representation:

A) a picture of a word
B) a word that is spoken colloquially
C) a word written in the IPA
D) a word written using standard English writing
E) a word identified by a conventional icon.

Answer 24

c. a word written in the IPA

Question 25

25. The manner of articulation in which you initiate a sound w/ a complete closure, then release that closure into a fricative is called: ## Footnote A) voicing B) fricative C) approximant D) affricate E) stop

Answer 25

d. affricate

Question 26

1. Some languages use word order in a meaningful why, while for other languages word order is relatively free. True False

Answer 26

true

Question 27

2. There is a one-to-one correspondence b/w language and nation ## Footnote True False

Answer 27

false

Question 28

3. All 'dual language education' precludes speakers from learning a new majority language. ## Footnote True False

Answer 28

false

Question 29

4. In language, 'double-negative' constructions such as 'i didn't have no fun' are incorrect b/c two negatives combine to form a positive. True False

Answer 29

false

Question 30

5. Language learning starts well before babies utter their first words or babbles. ## Footnote True False

Answer 30

true

Question 31

6. If you are not a native speaker of a variety that's viewed as prestigious, there are social and economic advantages to learning the prestigious variety. ## Footnote True False

Answer 31

true

Question 32

7. The choice of the 'best' or 'most correct' way to say something is determined by natural grammatical principles. ## Footnote True False

Answer 32

false

Question 33

8. In terms of phonotactics, when we write the CV skeleton of a word, a diphthong counts as a single V, a vowel. ## Footnote True False

Answer 33

true

Question 34

9. There exist languages in which every syllable REQUIRES an onset. ## Footnote True False

Answer 34

true

Question 35

10. If you were investigating a language with the phonemes /p, ph, p'/, what other trio of phonemes should you expect to find? A) /k, g/ B) /l, r/ C) /k, n/ D) /k, kh, k'/ E) /i, u/

Answer 35

d. /k, kh, k'/

Question 36

11. In terms of syllabification, consonants are always syllable peaks. True False

Answer 36

false

Question 37

12. The syllable shape CV is called the 'core syllable'. ## Footnote True False

Answer 37

true

Question 38

13. A language in which the following minimal pairs were found can be said to have phonemic distinction based on vowel \_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_. ## Footnote A) nasalization B) length C) voicing D) aspiration E) tone

Answer 38

e. tone

Question 39

14. In the nonsense syllable /spaks/, the rhyme is: ## Footnote A) /sp/ B) /aks/ C) /ks/ D) /a/ E) /spa/

Answer 39

b. /aks/

Question 40

15. In terms of syllabification, consonants are never syllable peaks. ## Footnote True False

Answer 40

false

Question 41

16. All languages allow onsetless syllables. ## Footnote True False

Answer 41

true

Question 42

17. If you were investigating a language with the phonemes /p, b, t, d/, what other pair of phonemes should you expect to find? ## Footnote A) /k, g/ B) /l, r/ C) /k, n/ D) /k, kh/ E) /i, u/

Answer 42

a. /k, g/

Question 43

18. Which word of English has the longest consonant cluster? ## Footnote A) skunks B) coatimundi C) chipmonks D) squirrels E) honey badgers

Answer 43

d. squirrels

Question 44

19. The word humuhumunukunuku'apu'a'a is found in a language that allows only which type of syllable? ## Footnote A) CVC B) VCC C) CV D) CCV E) V

Answer 44

c. CV

Question 45

20. The phonemic inventories of all naturally occurring human languages are systematic. ## Footnote True False

Answer 45

true

Question 46

21. Which of the following minimal pairs of english words proves that the phones [k,g] are different phonemes in english (that is, they are /k, g/)? ## Footnote A) 'bucket' and 'bug it' B) 'cane' and 'gain' C) 'skunk' and 'stunk' D) 'sink' and 'sing' E) 'cling' and 'king'

Answer 46

b. 'cane' and 'gain'

Question 47

22. Which of the following statements is NOT a universal of syllabification? ## Footnote 1. Every syllable contains exactly one peak of sonority. 2. Every syllable contains exactly one onset consonant. 3. Every word is built of one or more well-formed syllables. A) all the statements are universal B) statement 3 C) statement 1 D) none of the statements are universal E) statement 2

Answer 47

e. statement 2

Question 48

23. The study of language-specific rules for combining consonants and vowels w/ each other to form meaningful elements such as words is called: ## Footnote A) phonetics B) phonology C) morphology D) phonotactics E) syllabification

Answer 48

d. phonotactics

Question 49

24. Franz Boas noted that early European linguists were mis-hearing the phonemic inventories of native American languages based on the phonemic inventories of their own languages. ## Footnote True False

Answer 49

true

Question 50

25. The phenomenon in which speakers of some language tend to perceive a phone thats pronounced in a way thats intermediate b/w 2 phonemes in that language as though it were either one or the other of those sounds, depending on context, is called: ## Footnote A) the principle of compositionality B) the McGurk effect C) hierarchy D) phonemic invariability E) categorical perception

Answer 50

e. categorical perception