Deck 5: Verbal Communication

Question 1

The specialized language of a homogeneous group is best known as

A) gobbledygook.
B) jargon.
C) verbal efficiency.
D) euphemisms.
E) metaphors.

Answer 1

B

Question 2

Which answer best reflects the answer to the research question: Do Women Talk More than Men?

A) In similar circumstances, women talk more than men.
B) In general, males and females use the same number of words when talking.
C) Women talk more than men, especially when interacting with their husbands and strangers.
D) Men talk more with classmates and where the topic of conversation requires disclosure of feelings.
E) In general, women do most of the talking in work settings.

Answer 2

B

Question 3

Researchers estimate that the first humans to speak language as we know it lived in East Africa about __________ years ago.

A) 10,000
B) 50,000
C) 150,000
D) 250,000
E) 500,000

Answer 3

C

Question 4

If the word "computer" evokes a negative image of an increasingly complex software nightmare that frustrates and infuriates you, what type of meaning is influencing your response to the word?

A) bypassing
B) denotation
C) connotation
D) concrete
E) jargon

Question 5

The phrases No. 2 pencil, ballpoint pen, and yellow highlighter are examples of

A) a superordinate term.
B) a basic term.
C) a subordinate term.
D) an abstract term.
E) a complex term.

Question 6

The words pencil and pen are examples of

A) a superordinate term.
B) a basic term.
C) a subordinate term.
D) an abstract term.
E) a complex term.

Question 7

Which of the following words is the most concrete description of another person's behavior?

A) disruptive
B) rude
C) insensitive
D) burps
E) procrastinates

Question 8

Language scholars C. K. Ogden and I. A. Richards use a triangle to explain the three elements of language which are

A) semantics, syntax, and significance of language.
B) denotative, connotative, and abstract meanings of words.
C) superordinate, basic, and subordinate meanings of words.
D) person, the symbol (or sign), and the referent.
E) encoding, decoding, and noise in language.

Question 9

A euphemism substitutes a mild, indirect, or vague term for a harsh, blunt, or offensive one. Which of the following answers represents a euphemism?

A) powder room rather than toilet
B) darn rather than damn
C) slept with rather than had sex with
D) interrogation treatments rather than torture
E) all of the above

Question 10

Which answer best represents the progression of a subordinate to basic to superordinate term?

A) dog, animal, pet
B) banana split, ice cream, dessert
C) car, vehicle, Toyota Prius
D) music, opera, Carmen
E) flower, plant, tulip

Question 11

Which of the following statements avoids exclusionary language?

A) Bill uses a wheel chair.
B) Walter is a political extremist.
C) Anne is a normal woman.
D) Frank is a psycho.
E) Grace is a cancer victim.

Question 12

Your textbook recommends all of the following steps for improving your use of language except

A) improve your vocabulary.
B) avoid offensive language.
C) avoid active, vivid language.
D) use "I," "You," and "We" language.
E) use appropriate grammar.

Question 13

Which interpretation of the Whorf Hypothesis is most accepted by today's linguistic scholars?

A) The structure of a language determines how you see, experience, and interpret the world around you.
B) If you don't have a word for a concept (such as red), you will not be able to see or experience it and separate it from other similar concepts (such as blue or yellow).
C) If you do not have a word for tomorrow, you cannot plan for tomorrow.
D) The nature of each language determines how people think and perceive others.
E) Language reflects cultural models of the world, which in turn influences how the speakers of a language come to think, act, and behave.

Question 14

By using a word such as now to replace the five-word, seventeen-letter phrase at this point in time, you are using

A) connotative language.
B) denotative language.
C) oral language.
D) a euphemism.
E) jargon.

Question 15

Defining a computer as "a programmable electronic device that stores, retrieves, and processes data" represents what type of meaning?

A) bypassing
B) denotation
C) connotation
D) abstract
E) jargon

Question 16

At a regular study group meeting, one member asks that everyone be able to "summarize the most important information in each chapter." At the next meeting, another member distributes an outline of the textbook's important concepts but wonders why no one else in the group has made the same effort. This misunderstanding is an example of

A) failure to follow the rules of language.
B) denotation.
C) failure to interpret nonverbal behavior.
D) bypassing.
E) concrete words.

Question 17

Which of the following is the best example of an abstract word?

A) textbook
B) table
C) computer
D) dictionary
E) fairness

Question 18

Linguist John McWhorter notes that many middle-class African Americans typically speak both Black English and Standard American English, alternating between the two, often in the same sentence. This is an example of

A) code switching.
B) accents.
C) bypassing.
D) phatic language.
E) jargon.

Question 19

Whereas a symbol is an arbitrary collection of sounds, a sign

A) often has a visual relationship to the thing it represents.
B) is an arbitrary collection of letters.
C) requires you to apply your experience and feelings to decide what it means.
D) can express supraordinate, basic, and subordinate terms.
E) relies much more on connotation than denotation.

Question 20

Which of the following answers describes one of the textbook's techniques for reducing the amount of swearing in a person's speech?

A) Count the number of swear words you use every day.
B) Put a dollar in a jar every time you swear.
C) When you feel like swearing, look for less offensive, more interesting words.
D) Only use mild swear words.
E) Only use swear words with close friends.

Question 21

Language is a system of arbitrary signs and symbols used to communicate thoughts and feelings.

Question 22

T F Robin Lakoff, one of the first linguists to write about gender differences, claims that women tend to use more tag questions at the end of sentences (such as "don't you agree?" and "haven't you?") than men.

Question 23

Fully modern language probably evolved from simpler languages only 50,000 years ago.

Question 24

The vocal folds in the larynx produce vibrations for speech sounds and also provide a place for articulating consonants.

Question 25

Denotation, rather than connotation, is more likely to influence how we respond to words.

Question 26

The ability to follow the accepted rules of our language has very little influence on others' perceptions of our intelligence and social status.

Question 27

In work settings, men do most of the talking, even when women hold influential positions.

Question 28

Semanticist S. I. Hayakawa refers to connotation as "the aura of feelings, pleasant or unpleasant, that surround practically all words."

Question 29

Collectivist cultures have an "I" orientation; individualistic cultures have a "we" orientation.

Question 30

The bird sitting on the perch is not just a finch, it's an American Goldfinch with an injured wing. The phrase American Goldfinch with an injured wing is an example of a subordinate term.

Question 31

Abstract words refer to an idea or concept that cannot be observed or touched.

Question 32

A study of college students found that the number of words spoken by males and females are virtually the same.

Question 33

Ogden and Richards Triangle of Meaning includes superordinate, basic, and subordinate terms.

Question 34

Superordinate terms are those with the highest level of concreteness.

Question 35

Anthropologists explain that standing up on two feet contributed to physiological changes in the larynx, lungs, throat, and vocal cavity that enabled us to talk.

Question 36

The most current interpretation of the Whorf Hypothesis claims that language reflects cultural models of the world, which, in turn, influence how the speakers of a language come to think, act, and behave.

Question 37

Ogden and Richards Triangle of Meaning does not use a solid line to connect the symbol and the referent because they must be mentally processed in order to result in meaning.

Question 38

There are approximately 5,000 to 6,000 languages spoken in the world.

Question 39

According to your textbook, the first humans to speak language as we know it lived in East Africa about 1 million years ago even though human ancestors lived about 4 million years ago in what is now Ethiopia.

Question 40

English is a language with a positive bias toward males. As a result, female terms tend to take on demeaning connotations.

Question 41

Your textbook recommends that one way to avoid gobbledygook is to avoid writing sentences with more than ten words.

Question 42

One study reported that 91 percent of respondents ranked foul language as "the most ill-mannered type of workplace behavior."

Question 43

When people say that someone has "passed away," they are using a euphemism that substitutes for "died."

Question 44

T F Even though oral language uses shorter words and sentences, it avoids contractions and colloquial expressions.

Question 45

The use of jargon is always counterproductive in workplace communication.

Question 46

Swearing and cursing are universal behaviors in all cultures.

Question 47

Oral language uses shorter, familiar words as well as shorter, simple sentences.

Question 48

Code switching describes how, depending on the context, we often modify the way we use verbal and nonverbal communication to generate meaning.

Question 49

In educational settings (from kindergarten through university), males usually dominate classroom talk.

Question 50

Bypassing uses words that reinforce stereotypes, belittle other people, or exclude others from understanding an in-group's message.

Question 51

"The Olympic ice hockey game was won by the women's team from Canada" is an example of a sentence using the active voice.