Quiz on Semantics and Pragmatics

What is the study of meaning in language called?

What does 'speaker meaning' refer to?

• The context of a conversation

• The grammatical structure of a sentence

• What a speaker intends to convey

• The literal meaning of a word

What is a sentence defined as?

• A physical event

• A grammatically complete string of words expressing a complete thought

• An abstract idea

• A collection of phrases

What is a proposition?

• A type of sentence

• A speaker's intention

• The part of meaning that describes a state of affairs

• A grammatical rule

Which of the following can be true or false?

• Sentences

• Propositions

• All of the above

• Utterances

What does 'co-reference' mean?

• Two or more words referring to the same referent

• Words that have no relation

• The same word referring to different referents

• Different words referring to the same referent

What is the sense of an expression?

• Its grammatical structure

• Its pronunciation

• Its meaning in isolation

• Its place in a system of semantic relationships

What is the difference between semantics and pragmatics?

• Semantics is concerned with grammar, pragmatics with vocabulary

• There is no difference

• Semantics is about formal meanings, pragmatics is about meaning in use

• Semantics studies meaning in context, pragmatics does not

What does 'variable reference' refer to?

• The same word referring to different referents

• Different words referring to the same referent

• The same word referring to the same referent

• Words that have fixed meanings

What is an utterance?

• A written sentence

• A type of proposition

• A stretch of talk by one person

• A grammatical error