CTEL CTEL Language Structure and Linguistics 5 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: Which of the following describes 'semantic bleaching' in language change?
- A word gains a more specific meaning over time
- A word loses intensity or strength of meaning over time (Correct answer)
- A word shifts from a positive to a negative connotation
- A word is borrowed from another language
Correct answer: A word loses intensity or strength of meaning over time
Semantic bleaching (also called weakening) occurs when a word loses its original strength or specificity, such as 'terrific' losing its meaning of 'causing terror.'
Question 2: What is 'conversational implicature' as described by H.P. Grice?
- The literal meaning of words in a sentence
- Meaning that is implied but not directly stated, based on cooperative principles (Correct answer)
- The grammatical rules governing question formation
- The intonation pattern used in statements vs. questions
Correct answer: Meaning that is implied but not directly stated, based on cooperative principles
Grice's concept of conversational implicature describes how listeners infer meanings beyond the literal words based on assumptions of cooperative communication.
Question 3: In English morphology, what type of word formation is demonstrated by 'brunch' (breakfast + lunch)?
- Compounding
- Derivation
- Blending (Correct answer)
- Clipping
Correct answer: Blending
Blending combines parts of two words into one new word, as in 'brunch' (breakfast + lunch) or 'smog' (smoke + fog).
Question 4: Which of the following is an example of 'lexical ambiguity'?
- 'She saw the man with the telescope' (unclear who has the telescope)
- 'I never said she stole the money' (stress can change meaning)
- 'The bank was steep' (bank = financial institution or riverbank?) (Correct answer)
- 'Flying planes can be dangerous' (planes flying or the act of flying them?)
Correct answer: 'The bank was steep' (bank = financial institution or riverbank?)
Lexical ambiguity occurs when a single word has multiple meanings; 'bank' can refer to a financial institution or the side of a river.
Question 5: What is the primary distinction between 'langue' and 'parole' as proposed by Ferdinand de Saussure?
- Langue is spoken language; parole is written language
- Langue is the abstract language system; parole is the actual language use by speakers (Correct answer)
- Langue refers to formal registers; parole refers to informal registers
- Langue is L1; parole is L2
Correct answer: Langue is the abstract language system; parole is the actual language use by speakers
Saussure distinguished between langue (the shared, abstract system of language rules) and parole (the individual, concrete acts of speaking or writing).
Question 6: Which phonological feature distinguishes the vowels in 'bit' and 'beat' in English?
- Voicing
- Vowel height
- Vowel length and tenseness (Correct answer)
- Place of articulation
Correct answer: Vowel length and tenseness
The vowels in 'bit' (/ɪ/) and 'beat' (/iː/) differ primarily in tenseness and length, with 'beat' having a tense, longer vowel.
Question 7: What does 'code-switching' refer to in bilingual or multilingual communities?
- Translating an entire text from one language to another
- Alternating between two or more languages or language varieties within a conversation (Correct answer)
- Teaching a second language using only the target language
- Correcting a learner's errors by providing the target form
Correct answer: Alternating between two or more languages or language varieties within a conversation
Code-switching is the practice of alternating between two or more languages or dialects within a single conversation or even a single utterance.
CTEL CTEL Language Structure and Linguistics 5
Which of the following describes 'semantic bleaching' in language change?