SLHS 227 final exam

What is the name of grammar brought about by attempts to describe speakers' actual use of language and grammatical rules governing such actual use? A. Descriptive grammar B. Prescriptive grammar C. Teaching grammar D. Performance grammar E. All of the above

A. Descriptive grammar

Determine the syntactic category for the constituent "a dangerous thing" in a sentence: a little sincerity is a dangerous thing. A. Noun phrase b. Verb phrase C. Adjective phrase D. Prepositional phrase E. Adverb phrase

A. Noun phrase

Classify the following pair of antonyms: wide vs. narrow A. Complementary B. Gradable C. Relational D. Converses E. Not antonyms

B. Gradable

Which process did the meaning of the underlined word in this context undergo? Zip car slogan: WHEELS when you want them. A. Metaphor B. Metonymy C. Amelioration D. Generalization E. Specialization

B. Metonymy

Which of the following is not true? A. A morpheme may be represented by a single sound B. The "-er" in finger and singer is the same morpheme C. A morpheme may also be a word, but not all morphemes are words D. Every word contains at least one morpheme E. All the above are true

B. The "er" in finger and singer is the same morpheme

Find an embedded sentence in the following sentence: the knowledge that the instructor is competent and widespread. A. The knowledge that the instructor is competent B. The instructor is competent C. The knowledge is widespread D. That the instructor is not competent E. The instructor is widespread

B. The instructor is competent

What is the primary function of the larynx in speech production? A. It creates the air stream necessary for producing sounds B. The vibrating vocal folds in it allow production of voiced phonemes C. It closes the nasal tract, allowing nasal sounds to be produced D. It closes the nasal tract, allowing to produce all sounds but nasal E. It touches the teeth to produce dental consonants

B. The vibrating vocal cords in it allow production of voiced phonemes

Identify the lexical category of the root word amazement A. Adjective B. verb C. Preposition D. Noun E. None of the above

B. Verb

Which of the following statements in incorrect? A. "-S" (boys) is an inflectional morpheme B. "-ly" (firmly) is a derivational suffix C. "Re-" (recreate) is a derivational suffix D."-al" (refusal) is a derivational suffix E. All the above are correct

C. "Re-" (recreate) is a derivational suffix

Consider the phrase "very proud of their ancestors" and find the best description for it in syntactic terms A. Noun phrase contains a specifier(determiner), the head noun, and a complement prepositional phrase B. Noun phrase contains the head noun and a complement prepositional phrase prepositional phrase C. Adjective phrase contains a specifier, the head adjective and a complement prepositional phrase D. Verb phrase contains a specifier, the head verb, and a complement prepositional phrase E. Verb phrase contains a specifier, the head verb, and a complement noun phrase

C. Adjective phrase contains a specifier, the head adjective, and a complement prepositional phrase

A word composed of two or more words (highway, hunchback) is called an: A. Free morpheme B. Allomorph C. Compound word D. Complex word E. Bound morpheme

C. Compound word

Which of these word formation processes contributed to the creation of the word headhunter A. Blending B. Back formation C. Compounding and derivational affixation D. Compounding and inflectional affixation E. Reduplication

C. Compounding and derivational affixation

Identify the category of the underlined word in the sentence: I have been through some terrible things in MY life. A. Auxiliary B. Adjective C. Determiner D. Preposition E. Pronoun

C. Determiner

Which of the following is a simple word? A. Await B. Keys C. Kangaroo D. Reuse E. Beautiful

C. Kangaroo

Identify the lexical category making up the compound word toenail A. N+A B. A+A C. N+N D. V+N E. P+N

C. N+N

Which of the following verbs is transitive? A. Chuckle B. Sleep C. Replace D. Disappear E. Panic

C. Replace

Announcement: child teaching expert to speak. A. The sentence contains pragmatic ambiguity B. The sentence contains semantic ambiguity C. The sentence contains structural ambiguity D. The sentence contains language acquisition ambiguity E. The sentence is not ambiguous

C. The sentence contains structural ambiguity

How are voiced sounds produced? A. Vocal cords are together in front, but apart in back B. Lips are vibrating C. Vocal cords are together, the airstream forces its way through D. Vocal cords are apart during airflow, the air flows freely through the glottis E. The tip of the tounge is vigorously vibrating

C. Vocal cords are together, the airstream forces its way through

Identify the process responsible for the formation of the word "must". Context sentence: this course is a must for future linguistics. A. Abbreviation B. Blending C. Clipping D. Conversion E. Backformation

D. Conversion

Identify the process which was used to build the word silkiest A. Compounding B. Derivation C. Compound, derivation D. Derivation, inflection E. Inflection

D. Derivation, inflection

In which of the following examples should "in" be treated as a bound morpheme? A. In a box B. Intuitive C. INS D. Incompetent E. "In" is always a free morpheme

D. Incompetent

When linguists refer to unconcious knowledge of the system of grammatical rules in a language, they call it: A. Descriptive grammar B. Prescriptive grammar C. Linguistic performance D. Linguistic competence E. Teaching grammar

D. Linguistic competence

What is the best definition of the morphological process of backformation? A. A process that shortens a polysyllabic word by deleting one or more syllables B. A process of creating a word from non morphemic parts of two already existing items C. A process that creates a new word by taking the initial letters of the words in a phrase or title D. A process that assigns an already existing word to new syntactic category E. A process that creates a new word by removing a real or supposed affix from another word in the language

E. A process that creates a new word by removing a real or supposed affix from another word in the language

Which of the following is an example of blending? A. Smog B. Chocoholic C. Brunch D. Motel E. All of the anove

E. All the above

The morpheme cut in recur, incur, and occur is: A. Free, lexical B. Free, derivational C. Free, grammatical D. Bound, grammatical E. Bound, lexical

E. Bound, lexical

Identify the process responsible for the formation of the word gym A. Blending B. Coinage C. Acronym D. Conversion E. Clipping

E. Clipping

What type of relation is represented by the following pair of words: suite/sweet? A. Synonymy B. Antonymy C. Hyponymy D. Polysemy E. Homonymy

E. Homonymy

What process provides grammatical information in the pair sing-sang A. Reduplication B. Cliticization C. Supple toon D. Stress placement E. Internal change

E. Internal change

Identify the category of the bolder word in the sentence: it was dark and attorney night, my roommate was making REMARKS as she drank my scotch. A. Verb B. Determiner C. Auxiliary D. Adjective E. Noun

E. Noun

Identify the thematic role of the underlined NP: this quote was taken from THE MAGAZINE A. Instrument B. Goal C. Theme/patient D. Location E. Source

E. Source

Morphology studies: A. The structure of phonemes B. The structure of sentences C. How meaning is put into sentences D. The relationship between sounds in words and how to spell E. The structure of words and how lexical items are created

E. The structure of words and how lexical items are created

True or false: the structure of a prepositional phrase in English can be represented in the phrase structure rule PP--> P VP

False

True or false: transfix is a bound morpheme, parts of which occur in a word both before and after the root

False

True or false: word "carpet" is composed of two morphemes - "car" and "pet"

False

True or false: all sign languages in the world differ as spoken languages do

True

True or false: leech (a bloodsucking worm) and leech (a hanger on who seeks advantage) are examples of polysemy

True