Free Literary Terms and Devices MCQs with Answers

330 Literary Terms and Devices MCQs from English Literature, each with the correct answer and a written explanation of why it is correct. Free and unlimited, with no account needed.

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330 questions · page 14 of 17

  • A. Alveolar
  • B. Post__alvoelar
  • C. Palatal
  • D. Dental;

Explanation: The consonants /t/, /d/, /n/, /l/, and /s/ are made with the tongue at or near the alveolar ridge behind the upper teeth.

Correct answer: Alveolar
  • A. Bilabial
  • B. Dental;
  • C. Velar
  • D. Glottal

Explanation: /p/, /b/, and /m/ are made with both lips, and /w/ is commonly grouped with bilabial sounds because both lips participate in its…

Correct answer: Bilabial
  • A. Post__alveolar
  • B. Palate__alveolar
  • C. Palatal
  • D. Velar

Explanation: Velar sounds are articulated by raising the back of the tongue toward the soft palate, also called the velum.

Correct answer: Velar
  • A. Post__alveolar
  • B. Palate__alveolar
  • C. Palatal
  • D. Velar

Explanation: Palato-alveolar sounds are produced near the alveolar ridge while the front of the tongue is raised toward the hard palate.

Correct answer: Palate__alveolar
  • A. Dental
  • B. Bilabial
  • C. Labio__dental
  • D. Alveolar

Explanation: The teeth ridge is the alveolar ridge, so sounds made with the tongue tip or blade against it are alveolar.

Correct answer: Alveolar
  • A. Dental
  • B. Bilabial
  • C. Labio__dental
  • D. Alveolar

Explanation: A sound made with the lower lip against the upper teeth is labio-dental: “labio” refers to the lip and “dental” to the teeth.

Correct answer: Labio__dental
  • A. Onomatopoeia
  • B. Assimilation
  • C. Regression
  • D. Progression

Explanation: Assimilation occurs when one speech sound changes to become more like a neighbouring sound, often to make pronunciation easier.

Correct answer: Assimilation
  • A. Phonology
  • B. Morphology
  • C. Syntax
  • D. Semantics

Explanation: Syntax studies how words are arranged into phrases, clauses, and sentences.

Correct answer: Syntax
  • A. Phonology
  • B. Morphology
  • C. Syntax
  • D. Semantics

Explanation: Phonology examines the sound system of a language, including its elementary speech sounds and their patterns.

Correct answer: Phonology
  • A. Phonology
  • B. Morphology
  • C. Semantics
  • D. Philology

Explanation: Phonology, morphology, and semantics are standard branches of linguistics.

Correct answer: Philology
  • A. Controlled observation
  • B. Hypothesis formulation
  • C. Analysis, generalization and prediction
  • D. Speculation

Explanation: Scientific methodology relies on observation, hypothesis testing, analysis, generalization, and prediction.

Correct answer: Speculation
  • A. Linguistics of sociology
  • B. Socio__linguistics
  • C. Sociology of linguistics
  • D. None of these

Explanation: Sociolinguistics examines how language interacts with society, including variation related to class, region, identity, and social context.

Correct answer: Socio__linguistics
  • A. Bilingualism
  • B. Poly__glotism
  • C. Multilingualism
  • D. None of the above

Explanation: Multilingualism refers to the ability to use two or more languages, whereas bilingualism specifically refers to two.

Correct answer: Multilingualism
  • A. Biolingual
  • B. Bilingual
  • C. Duo__lingual
  • D. Duo__langual

Explanation: A person who can use two languages is bilingual: the prefix bi- means “two,” and lingual relates to language.

Correct answer: Bilingual
  • A. Charles Sanders Pierce
  • B. Ferdinand de Saussure
  • C. Noam Chomsky
  • D. Edward Sapir

Explanation: Noam Chomsky distinguished linguistic competence, a speaker’s underlying knowledge of language, from performance, its actual use in…

Correct answer: Noam Chomsky
  • A. Charles Sanders Pierce
  • B. Leonard bloom Filed.
  • C. Ferdinand De Saussure.
  • D. Edward Sapir

Explanation: Saussure distinguished langue, the underlying language system, from parole, its actual use.

Correct answer: Ferdinand De Saussure.
  • A. Language
  • B. Parole
  • C. performance
  • D. Both parole and performance

Explanation: Parole is Saussure’s term for actual language use, while performance is Chomsky’s term for the individual’s real utterances.

Correct answer: Both parole and performance
  • A. Dialect
  • B. Idiolect
  • C. Register
  • D. Slang

Explanation: An idiolect is the distinctive total speech pattern of one individual. A dialect belongs to a regional or social group, whereas register…

Correct answer: Idiolect
  • A. Dialect
  • B. Idiolect
  • C. Register
  • D. Slang

Explanation: Register is language shaped by a particular occupation, discipline, topic, or social situation.

Correct answer: Register
  • A. Charles Sanders Pierce
  • B. Ferdinand de Saussure
  • C. Noam Chomsky
  • D. Edward Sapir

Explanation: Ferdinand de Saussure introduced the term semiology for the study of signs within social life.

Correct answer: Ferdinand de Saussure