CLAD Structure and Linguistics 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: Which linguistic concept explains why English speakers say 'unbelievable' but not 'inbelievable'?
- Morphological conditioning (Correct answer)
- Syntactic constraints
- Phonological rules
- Semantic drift
Correct answer: Morphological conditioning
Morphological conditioning determines which allomorphs of a morpheme (un- vs. in-) attach to specific root words.
Question 2: A student says 'She goed to the store.' This error best illustrates:
- Code-switching
- Overgeneralization of a grammatical rule (Correct answer)
- Interlanguage fossilization
- Semantic transfer
Correct answer: Overgeneralization of a grammatical rule
Overgeneralization occurs when learners apply a regular rule (add -ed for past tense) to irregular verbs.
Question 3: The term 'phoneme' refers to:
- A written letter of the alphabet
- The smallest unit of meaning in a language
- The smallest unit of sound that distinguishes meaning (Correct answer)
- A syllable pattern in a word
Correct answer: The smallest unit of sound that distinguishes meaning
A phoneme is the smallest sound unit that can differentiate meaning, such as /p/ and /b/ in 'pat' vs. 'bat.'
Question 4: Which of the following best describes 'discourse competence'?
- Knowledge of grammar rules
- Ability to use language sounds correctly
- Ability to connect sentences into coherent text or conversation (Correct answer)
- Knowledge of vocabulary size
Correct answer: Ability to connect sentences into coherent text or conversation
Discourse competence involves the ability to combine sentences and utterances into cohesive and coherent extended text.
Question 5: In transformational generative grammar, 'deep structure' refers to:
- The spoken form of a sentence
- The underlying abstract meaning before transformation (Correct answer)
- Complex sentence types only
- The surface word order of a sentence
Correct answer: The underlying abstract meaning before transformation
Deep structure is the abstract level of grammatical structure that underlies surface forms and represents semantic relationships.
Question 6: An ELL student correctly uses English grammar in isolated exercises but makes errors in spontaneous speech. This reflects the distinction between:
- Comprehensible input and output
- Competence and performance (Correct answer)
- BICS and CALP
- Syntax and morphology
Correct answer: Competence and performance
Competence is internalized knowledge of language rules, while performance is actual language use, which can be affected by stress or distraction.
Question 7: Which feature of academic English most distinguishes it from conversational English?
- Use of contractions
- Higher frequency of passive voice and nominalization (Correct answer)
- Shorter sentence length
- Greater use of first-person pronouns
Correct answer: Higher frequency of passive voice and nominalization
Academic English frequently uses passive constructions and nominalizations (e.g., 'investigation' instead of 'investigate') to achieve formality and objectivity.
CLAD Structure and Linguistics 2
Which linguistic concept explains why English speakers say 'unbelievable' but not 'inbelievable'?