CLAD Structure and Linguistics 2

Question 1

Which linguistic concept explains why English speakers say 'unbelievable' but not 'inbelievable'?

Accepted Answer

Morphological conditioning

Answer

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:

Accepted Answer

Overgeneralization of a grammatical rule

Answer

Overgeneralization occurs when learners apply a regular rule (add -ed for past tense) to irregular verbs.

Question 3

The term 'phoneme' refers to:

Accepted Answer

The smallest unit of sound that distinguishes meaning

Answer

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'?

Accepted Answer

Ability to connect sentences into coherent text or conversation

Answer

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:

Accepted Answer

The underlying abstract meaning before transformation

Answer

Deep structure is the abstract level of grammatical structure that underlies surface forms and represents semantic relationships.

CLAD Practice Test