Introduction to Linguistics

QUIZZES
 Quiz I
1.Using your own words explain the concept of linguistics (3 pts).
 
2. Explain very shortly the concept of descriptive linguistics (3 pts).
 
3.List 6 different functions of the human languages and explain 3 (3 pts).
 
4. List the four major distinctive characteristics of the human language and
explain one (4 pts).
 
5. Explain the difference between descriptive and prescriptive grammar (4 pts).

6. Elaborate on the concept of Language universals, give examples (3 pts).

 Quiz II

1.Explain the relationship between language family, language branch, and

language group (2 pts).
2. Is Portuguese considered a romance language? Explain why (2 pts).
3. Very briefly trace the evolution of writing systems from ideographic to
alphabetic (3 pts) .
4. Define the concept of morpheme highlighting its main characteristics (3 pts).
5. Compare and contrast the derivational and inflectional process, give examples to
support your claim (3 pts).
 cont.

6. Identify the process of word formation in the following words or

expressions. (4 pts)
 hush-hushs lab algebra
 smog UCLA typewriter
 scuba sunstroke
7. Draw a tree diagram for each of the following words and identify which
process was used to build them(3 pts).

Windmills (N) unlocked (v) sleepwalking (v)

Thickeners (N) introductions (N) father (N)
 Quiz III

1.For each of the following sentences identify the syntactic

category for each of the underline word (4 pts).
Buy fifty male deer then you will have fifty bucks.
I thought it would be my usual dull day.
I hate pineapples, said Tom dolefully.
I turned the key to open my lab door.
 Cont.

2. Draw a tree diagrams for each of the following phrases /

sentences (5 pts).
Pretty girls whispered softly.
ate the cake in the kitchen
The house on the corner.
fond of candy
The students read a book on Shakespeare
3. For each of the following phases, determine the head of the
noun phrase, any specifiers and any complements. Any blank
must be mark with an – hyphen (3 pts).
Head Specifier Complement
Really mean
Worked at the station
Rather fond of apples
4. Which of these sentences would result from applying the rule:
(4pts)
NP Aux VP⇒Aux NP VP?
(a)John will follow Mary.
(b)You knew that Cathy helped the boy.
(c)Can George see the dog?
(d)Should you believe that Mary saw it?
5 . Explain how would create a visual representation of a syntactic
structure and give examples to support your claim (4pts).