Linguistic Terminology

Question 1

Comparative linguistics

Answer 1

Comparative linguistics is the study of how linguistics vary from one place to the next and one speaker to the next.

Question 2

Derivation

Answer 2

Derivation is the formation of a new word from the stem of another word using prefixes and suffixes.

Question 3

Dialect

Answer 3

Dialect is a type of speech spoken by a specific group of people in a specific location, district, or region.

Question 4

Discourse analysis

Answer 4

Discourse analysis is the study of the organization of sentences into texts.

Question 5

Ethnolinguistics

Answer 5

Ethnolinguistics is the study of the language of a specific ethnic group within a culture.

Question 6

Etymology

Answer 6

Etymology is the study of the origin of words.

Question 7

Grammatical structure

Answer 7

Grammatical structure refers to the rules of how words are combined to form a sentence.

Question 8

Historical linguistics

Answer 8

Historical linguistics is the study of how languages are related to each other or change over an extended period of time.

Question 9

Inflection

Answer 9

Inflection is how a word varies in form to show voice, person, tense, number, and case.

Question 10

Language

Answer 10

Language can be described as anything spoken, written, or presented in a symbol form that communicates information to people. Every language shares the characteristics of sound patterns, words, and grammatical structure.

Question 11

lexicon

Answer 11

A lexicon is the vocabulary of a person, group, subject, or language.

Question 12

Linguistic typology

Answer 12

Linguistic typology is the creation of statements concerning language change and structure that are universally true and can be applied to the study of any language.

Question 13

morpheme

Answer 13

A morpheme is the smallest part of a word or unit in the grammar of a language.

Question 14

Morphology

Answer 14

Morphology is the study of the internal structure of words in a language.

Question 15

Philology

Answer 15

Philology is the study of ancient languages and written texts.

Question 16

phoneme

Answer 16

A phoneme is the smallest unit in the system of sounds in a language.

Question 17

Phonetics

Answer 17

Phonetics is the study of the speech sounds in a human language.

Question 18

Phonology

Answer 18

Phonology is the study of the patterns of sounds and how they are organized and used in languages.

Question 19

Pragmatics

Answer 19

Pragmatics is the study of what speakers say (utterances) and the meaning of the language they use.

Question 20

Semantics

Answer 20

Semantics is the study of the meaning or interpretation of words, parts of words, phrases, or sentences.

Question 21

Sociolinguistics

Answer 21

Sociolinguistics is the study of how the use of language affects any or all parts of a culture or a society.

Question 22

Sound patterns

Answer 22

Sound patterns include how words are grouped into sounds.

Question 23

Stylistics

Answer 23

Stylistics is the study of the way a language is written or used.

Question 24

Synchronic linguistics

Answer 24

Synchronic linguistics is the study of dialects including morphology, syntax, semantics, grammar, and phonology.

Question 25

Syntax

Answer 25

Syntax refers to the organization and arrangement of words and phrases that form the structure of a sentence.

Question 26

Words

Answer 26

Words are sound patterns that have meaning.