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What language is: sounds, words and rules everyone shares

Tests: 4 of 11 right · Exam: 2 of 4 right · Kind: plain · Understood: 6 of 15 · Run: 2026-10-18, commit f3c23ea72

Lesson 1 of the language course of Mova's primary school, as Mova's small model took its tests: it had read this lesson and the ones before it and learned from their exercises. Each test shows the options in the order the student saw them, its choice, the right answer, the score of every option and why it chose. The lesson itself, sentence by sentence with trees and pragmatics: the lesson in the corpora.

Every question of this lesson and each of its options parsed by Mova, with trees and pragmatics: the lesson's questions in the corpora.

Test 1 · right ✓

Your mate goes "slang ain't proper language bruv, it's just noise." What's the best answer?

  • 1. Slang has shared meanings, so it is real language — ← Mova's choice · ✓ the right answer · no support
  • 2. Slang becomes language only when it is printed — no support
  • 3. He's right, but only for texting — no support
  • 4. He's right, slang has no meaning at all and no rules either — no support

Why: No option found support in what it remembers, so it guessed: it took the first option shown. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 2 · wrong ✗

Your cousin reckons "cat" is the real name and other languages just copy English. Is she right?

  • 1. Yes, because cats understand English best of all the languages — ← Mova's choice · no support
  • 2. No, the true name is the Latin one — no support
  • 3. Yes, because cats understand English best — no support
  • 4. No, words are agreed by each language and none is the true name — ✓ the right answer · no support

Why: No option found support in what it remembers, so it guessed: it took the first option shown. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 3 · wrong ✗

What would happen if English had no word-order rules at all?

  • 1. Only poems would stop making sense — ← Mova's choice · score 4
  • 2. Only poems and songs would stop making any sense at all — score 4
  • 3. You often couldn't tell who did what to whom — ✓ the right answer · score -4
  • 4. Nothing, meaning never depends on order — no support

Why: It took the question to ask what happens next. It chose option 1 with score 4, tied with another option at 4 (the first shown, or the one claiming less beyond what it knows, wins). Its support: lesson 1, line 4: «Every language has grammar, the rules for fitting words together; "The dog ate the bone" makes sense, "Dog the bone the ate" makes people laugh, and the speake…», reached through the same lesson line as the sentence the question matched. What matched: the same action «make» (+2); the same thing acted on «sense» (+2). The right option, 3, scored -4. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 4 · right ✓

Grace's headline says "Man bites dog!" Her brother says "same as dog bites man, innit." Is he right? ("Innit" here just asks "isn't it?")

  • 1. No, swapping who comes before the verb swaps the meaning — ← Mova's choice · ✓ the right answer · no support
  • 2. No, because "bites" changes its spelling — no support
  • 3. Yes, because the very same words are used in both of them — no support
  • 4. Yes, because dogs bite more often — no support

Why: No option found support in what it remembers, so it guessed: it took the first option shown. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 5 · right ✓

Gran goes "back in my day babies just made noise till you taught 'em words." What is true?

  • 1. Gran is right, babbling is meaningless noise with no purpose — no support
  • 2. Babies only learn words from flashcards — no support
  • 3. Babies practise speech sounds by babbling before words — ← Mova's choice · ✓ the right answer · score 4
  • 4. Babies cannot hear speech sounds until age two — no support

Why: It took the question to ask which statement is true. It chose option 3 with score 4, the only option with support. Its support: lesson 1, line 15: «Babies babble ("ba-ba-ba") long before their first words; it is practice with the sounds of language, and every human group ever found has language.», reached through the option's own match among the sentences about the question's things. What matched: the same action «babble» (+2); the same doer «babies» (+2). · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 6 · wrong ✗

A Gen Z lad says "lowkey most people only speak one language, it's giving one-language world." ("Lowkey" means "a bit, quietly", "it's giving" means "it seems like".) Is he right?

  • 1. Yes, nearly everyone speaks exactly one — ← Mova's choice · no support
  • 2. No, many people in the world grow up speaking two or more — ✓ the right answer · no support
  • 3. No, everyone on Earth speaks exactly three — no support
  • 4. Yes, and speaking two is very rare — no support

Why: No option found support in what it remembers, so it guessed: it took the first option shown. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 7 · wrong ✗

In a cartoon, an alien says "Take me to your leader" and every human understands instantly, in every country. What's wrong?

  • 1. Nothing, because everyone on Earth speaks English already — no support
  • 2. People in different places speak different languages — ✓ the right answer · no support
  • 3. Humans only understand written messages — ← Mova's choice · score 6
  • 4. Aliens would speak too quietly to hear — no support

Why: It took the question to ask which statement is true. It chose option 3 with score 6, the only option with support. Its support: lesson 1, line 7: «Context is what is going on around the words; it helps you understand short messages like "Juice!".», reached through the remembered sentence the question matched. What matched: the same action «understand» (+4); the same thing acted on «short messages» (+4). Against it: a different doer (counts against) (-2). The right option, 2, found no support in what it remembers. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 8 · wrong ✗

Ollie's mate says "you got two voices, you're well fake." What's the wise reply?

  • 1. It's fake only if you do it at school — ← Mova's choice · no support
  • 2. He's right, a real person talks exactly the same way to everyone — no support
  • 3. Changing style for the person and place is a skill, not fakeness — ✓ the right answer · no support
  • 4. Only actors are allowed two voices — no support

Why: No option found support in what it remembers, so it guessed: it took the first option shown. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 9 · wrong ✗

Kai has no idea what "dreich" means. What should he do?

  • 1. Reply in a different language — no support
  • 2. Ignore it, because local words aren't real — ← Mova's choice · score 3
  • 3. Decide his grandad is speaking badly — no support
  • 4. Look at the situation, guess, and then ask — ✓ the right answer · no support

Why: It took the question to ask what is done. It chose option 2 with score 3, the only option with support. Its support: lesson 1, line 18: «Local words belong to real dialects: in Scotland "dreich" means dull, grey and drizzly and "the day" means today; in the southern US "y'all" means you all and…», reached through the same lesson line as the sentence the question matched. What matched: the same doer «local words» (+2); the same property (+1). The right option, 4, found no support in what it remembers. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 10 · right ✓

Your little brother insists "knee" has four sounds because it has four letters. What do you tell him?

  • 1. He's right, every letter makes one sound — no support
  • 2. It has four sounds, but only in Scotland — no support
  • 3. It has no sounds, because the k is silent — no support
  • 4. Letters and sounds often don't match in English; it has two sounds — ← Mova's choice · ✓ the right answer · score 2

Why: It took the question to ask what it is done to. It chose option 4 with score 2, the only option with support. Its support: lesson 1, line 17: «Speech came long before writing, and in English letters and sounds often do not match: "knee" has four letters but only two sounds, n and ee.», reached through the same lesson line as the sentence the question matched. What matched: the same action «match» (+2); the same property (+1). Against it: a different doer (counts against) (-1). · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 11 · wrong ✗

Uncle Dave says y'all is just a mistake people make when they don't know better. What's true?

  • 1. He is right, it's a spelling mistake — no support
  • 2. It is only used by cowboys in films — no support
  • 3. It is a normal part of Southern American English, meaning you all — ✓ the right answer · no support
  • 4. It means "yellow" in Texas — ← Mova's choice · score 6

Why: It took the question to ask which statement is true. It chose option 4 with score 6, the only option with support. Its support: lesson 1, line 18: «Local words belong to real dialects: in Scotland "dreich" means dull, grey and drizzly and "the day" means today; in the southern US "y'all" means you all and…», reached through the remembered sentence the question matched. What matched: the same action «mean» (+4); the same doer «y'all» (+4). Against it: a different thing acted on (counts against) (-2). The right option, 3, found no support in what it remembers. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Exam question 1 · formal language · wrong ✗

Which of the following statements most accurately characterises the phenomenon designated "language"?

  • 1. The written conventions observed solely by adult persons — ← Mova's choice · no support
  • 2. An inventory of words contained exclusively within printed dictionaries of the nation — no support
  • 3. Any vocal emission produced by a human or other animal — no support
  • 4. A system of words and rules held in common by a community for the conveyance of meaning — ✓ the right answer · no support

Why: No option found support in what it remembers, so it guessed: it took the first option shown. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Exam question 2 · formal language · right ✓

Identify the principal reason for which the English word "cat" and the Ukrainian word "кіт" differ, notwithstanding their common referent.

  • 1. The association of word and meaning is established by the convention of each community of speakers — ← Mova's choice · ✓ the right answer · no support
  • 2. One of the two forms is officially deemed incorrect — no support
  • 3. The English form reproduces the natural vocalisation of the animal — no support
  • 4. The Ukrainian form constitutes a corruption of the English original — no support

Why: No option found support in what it remembers, so it guessed: it took the first option shown. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Exam question 3 · formal language · wrong ✗

Given the sentences "The dog bit the man" and "The man bit the dog", select the response consistent with the established facts concerning English grammar.

  • 1. Word order in English bears no relation to meaning — ← Mova's choice · no support
  • 2. The position before the verb ordinarily designates the performer of the action — ✓ the right answer · no support
  • 3. The second sentence is ungrammatical and therefore meaningless — no support
  • 4. The two sentences are identical in meaning in every respect, whatever the order — no support

Why: No option found support in what it remembers, so it guessed: it took the first option shown. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Exam question 4 · formal language · right ✓

In respect of the alteration of a speaker's manner of speech according to the person addressed, which statement is most accurate?

  • 1. It constitutes a recognised competence, termed the selection of register — ← Mova's choice · ✓ the right answer · no support
  • 2. It constitutes evidence of insincerity on the part of the speaker — no support
  • 3. It is a defect which formal instruction ought to eliminate — no support
  • 4. It is restricted to persons who speak more than one language — no support

Why: Nothing it remembers matched the question, so it guessed: it took the first option shown. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

This page in Markdown → https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/school-run/language/1-what-language-is-sounds-words-and-rules/