Language Structure & Linguistics Flashcards

What is etymology?

Answer: The study of the historical origins and development of words

Etymology is the study of the historical origins and development of words, which helps explain many irregular English spelling patterns.

Which of the following is an example of a derivational morpheme?

Answer: -ness (changes adjective to noun)

'-ness' is a derivational morpheme because it changes the grammatical category of a word (adjective → noun), as in 'happy' → 'happiness.'

Grapheme-phoneme correspondence (GPC) refers to:

Answer: The relationship between written symbols and the sounds they represent

Grapheme-phoneme correspondence (GPC) is the relationship between written letters or letter patterns (graphemes) and the sounds they represent (phonemes).

What does the prefix 'dis-' mean in words like 'disagree' and 'disappear'?

Answer: Not or the opposite of

'Dis-' means 'not' or 'the opposite of,' so 'disagree' means 'not agree' and 'disappear' means 'cease to appear.'

Syntax is best described as:

Answer: The rules that govern the arrangement of words to form grammatical sentences

Syntax refers to the set of rules governing how words are arranged to form grammatically correct sentences in a language.

An 'open syllable' is characterized by:

Answer: A vowel at the end of a syllable that produces a long vowel sound

An open syllable ends with a vowel that produces a long vowel sound, such as the first syllable in 'pa-per' or 'ba-sic.'

Which term refers to the branch of linguistics concerned with the sound system of a language, including its phoneme inventory and combination rules?

Answer: Phonology

Phonology is the branch of linguistics that studies the sound system of a language, including phoneme inventory, syllable structure, and the rules governing sound combinations.