Linguistics Quiz

What is morphology the study of?

• The structure of sentences

• The study of meaningful parts of words

• The history of words

• The pronunciation of words

Why do linguists find it difficult to define the term 'word'?

• Because the pronunciation of words varies greatly

• Because words cannot be easily separated in speech

• Because it is not always clear whether an item should be considered one word or two

• Because all words are similar in structure

How are words typically set off from each other in most modern written languages?

• By commas

• By spaces

• By pronunciation

• By meaning

Is a contraction like "isn't" considered a single word?

• Yes, always

• No, it is considered two words

• It is not always clear

• The text does not provide this information

Is a compound like "merry-go-round" considered one word, two words, or three words?

• One word

• Two words

• Three words

• It is not always clear

What are words considered to be according to the learning material?

• Physical units

• Psychological units

• Insignificant units

• Concrete objects

Which of the following is similar to words in being psychological units?

• Letters

• Sentences

• Signifier and the signified

• Paragraphs

Why is the separation of written words on a page important?

• It reflects a physical reality.

• It is a convenience for readers.

• It creates pauses between words.

• It is required by grammatical rules.

What do our brains create when we read?

• A physical separation between words.

• An impression of pauses between words.

• A spectrogram.

• Actual pauses between words.

According to the text, do pauses between words commonly exist in speech, as shown by a spectrogram?

• Yes, they are common.

• No, they rarely exist.

• Yes, but only in written form.

• The text does not provide this information.