About this Study Set
This study set covers Linguistics through
18 practice questions.
Explore the fascinating science of language, from how sounds are made to the origins of words. Every question includes the correct answer so you can learn as you go — pick any format above to get started.
Questions & Answers
Browse all 18 questions from the
Wonders of Words: A Linguistics Challenge study set below.
Each question shows the correct answer — select a study format above to practice interactively.
1
What part of your mouth do you use to make the 'p' sound in 'pat'?
-
A
Your tongue behind your teeth
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B
Your lips together
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C
Your throat
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D
Your soft palate
2
Which of these is a type of language where words change their ending to show their job in a sentence (like 'dog' changing to 'dogs')?
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A
Isolating language
-
B
Agglutinative language
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C
Inflectional language
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D
Polysynthetic language
3
What is the scientific study of the meaning of words called?
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A
Phonetics
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B
Syntax
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C
Morphology
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D
Semantics
4
Which of these is NOT a way that languages can be grouped together by linguists?
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A
By the sounds they use
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B
By their age or how old they are
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C
By how they are written
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D
By similar grammar and vocabulary
5
What is the smallest unit of sound in a language that can change the meaning of a word, like the 'p' and 'b' in 'pat' and 'bat'?
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A
Morpheme
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B
Phoneme
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C
Grapheme
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D
Syllable
6
In linguistics, what is 'syntax' mainly concerned with?
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A
The meaning of individual words
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B
How words are combined to form sentences
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C
The history of words
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D
The study of different speech sounds
7
Which is an example of a language family, meaning a group of languages that have descended from a common ancestor?
-
A
Mandarin
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B
Spanish
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C
English
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D
Swahili
8
What is the term for a word that sounds the same as another word but has a different meaning, like 'to', 'too', and 'two'?
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A
Homograph
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B
Homonym
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C
Synonym
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D
Antonym
9
The study of how words are formed and how they are built from smaller parts is called:
-
A
Phonology
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B
Pragmatics
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C
Morphology
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D
Etymology
10
What is the scientific study of the patterns of sounds in a language called?
-
A
Acoustic phonetics
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B
Phonology
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C
Articulatory phonetics
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D
Auditory phonetics
11
When an older word or phrase is used to describe something new or modern, what is this process called?
-
A
Neologism
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B
Borrowing
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C
Archaisim
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D
Semantic shift
12
What is the term for a language that is being learned and used by a group of people who didn't have a common language before, often developing in trade situations?
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A
Pidgin
-
B
Creole
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C
Lingua franca
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D
Dialect
13
Which type of word describes a word that sounds like the noise it represents, like 'buzz' or 'meow'?
-
A
Metaphor
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B
Onomatopoeia
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C
Alliteration
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D
Simile
14
What is the study of the history and origin of words called?
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A
Morphology
-
B
Semantics
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C
Etymology
-
D
Phonetics
15
What is the scientific study of how we produce speech sounds called?
-
A
Auditory phonetics
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B
Acoustic phonetics
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C
Articulatory phonetics
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D
Phonology
16
Which of these is a type of language where words are typically short and don't change their endings much to show their grammatical function?
-
A
Inflectional language
-
B
Agglutinative language
-
C
Isolating language
-
D
Polysynthetic language
17
What is the term for a language that has become a standardized, official language used for communication between groups of people who speak different native languages?
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A
Pidgin
-
B
Creole
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C
Lingua franca
-
D
Dialect
18
When a word's meaning changes over time, for example, 'nice' originally meaning 'ignorant' but now meaning 'pleasant', what is this linguistic change called?
-
A
Neologism
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B
Semantic shift
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C
Borrowing
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D
Archaism
