Word Formation and Linguistics Quiz

The words 'ballet', 'corps', 'bouquet', 'cliché' are borrowings from ______ .

• French

• Latin

• Indian

• Spanish

• Scandinavian

Which of the following is an example of shortening?

• trigonometry - trig

• baby-sitter - to baby-sit

• insult - to insult

• hogshead

• man-at-arms

Which of the following is an example of sound-gradation?

• mishmash

• goody-goody

• hurdy-gurdy

• brood - to breed

• 'present - to pre'sent

Which of the following is an example of acronymy?

• USA

• CIA

• UFO

• BBC

• NASA

Which of the following is an example of abbreviation?

• BBC

• NASA

• SARS

• TESOL

• NATO

The creation of new words through sound imitation, such as 'tick-tock', 'buzz', 'splash' is called ______.

• conversion

• onomatopoeia

• substantivization

• lexicalization

• syntactical word-building

_______ is a type of word formation that involves changing a root sound.

• blending

• affixation

• sound-gradation

• back formation

• semantic stress

Which term refers to forming a new word through a change of stress?

• blending

• affixation

• semantic stress

• back formation

• reduplication

Which is an example of reduplication?

• motel

• goody-goody

• baby-sitter - to baby-sit

• reminisce (from reminiscence)

• bouquet

Words created by blending are often referred to as ______ .

• shortenings

• back formation

• compounds

• telescopisms

• abbreviations