Deck 5: Silent Languages

Question 1

At least what percent of human communication is estimated to be nonverbal?

A)5 percent
B)10 percent
C)60 percent
D)100 percent

Answer 1

60 percent

Question 2

The term used to describe hand placement in phonemic analysis of American Sign Language is

A)dez.
B)tab.
C)sig.
D)height.

Answer 2

tab.

Question 3

The term used to describe hand movement in phonemic analysis of American Sign Language is

A)dez.
B)tab.
C)sig.
D)wave.

Answer 3

sig.

Question 4

The term used to describe hand shape and orientation in phonemic analysis of American Sign language is

A)dez.
B)tab.
C)sig.
D)fist.

Question 5

Edward T. Hall proposed four kinds of proxemically relevant spaces, or body distances, that could be compared between cultures. In order from smallest (closest)to largest (furthest), they are

A)social, public, personal, intimate.
B)i ntimate, social, personal, public.
C)personal, intimate, public, social.
D)i ntimate, personal, social, public.

Question 6

What is the big difference between spoken languages and signed languages?

A)their modalities
B)their ability to change over time
C)their expressive ability
D)their grammaticality

Question 7

The study of how people perceive and use space, developed by anthropologist Edward T. Hall in the 1950s and 1960s, is called

A)spaciology.
B)proxemics.
C)kinesics.
D)choreology.

Question 8

Phonemic differences in American Sign Language can be described according to

A)hand shape, hand placement, and hand movement.
B)place and manner of articulation.
C)mouth movements that occur while the signer is signing.
D)facial expression.

Question 9

Flat hand, fist hand, index hand, and cupped hand in ASL are

A)examples of dez phonemes.
B)types of sig.
C)comparable to vowels in spoken language.
D)interchangeable with one another and have no impact on the meaning of the sign.

Question 10

In the United States, the amount of personal space one can command and one's ability to enter into someone else's space are most related to one's:

A)gender.
B)age.
C)birth order.
D)relative status.

Question 11

Codeswitching between American Sign Language and SEE

A)is extremely rare, and only occurs among fluent signers.
B)can mark a boundary between the deaf and hearing communities.
C)indicates that the signer is deaf but not a member of the Deaf community.
D)will cause the signer to be ostracized from the Deaf community.

Question 12

Gestures that convey emotion, such as smiles or frowns, are called

A)i llustrators.
B)emblems.
C)affect displays.
D)adaptors.

Question 13

Kinesics is the study of the culturally patterned use of

A)gestures.
B)personal space.
C)paralanguage.
D)exercise routines.

Question 14

Which statement below is true of American Sign Language?

A)It is based on spoken English.
B)It is composed mostly of pantomime and fingerspelling.
C)Its modality allows it to have a (theoretically)unlimited number of pronouns.
D)It has phonology and morphology but lacks syntax.

Question 15

Sign language components, such as different kinds of hand shape, placement, and movement, used to be called "cheremes," but nowadays they are referred to as

A)handemes.
B)gesturemes.
C)kinemes.
D)primes.

Question 16

Performing the same sign with the hand at forehead or nose level, when signing ASL

A)has no impact on the meaning of the sign.
B)inflects, but does completely change, the meaning of the sign.
C)creates a minimal pair.
D)is an example of a difference in sig.

Question 17

In the Comoro Islands, household space is often divided into areas separated by

A)social class.
B)gender.
C)age.
D)race.

Question 18

According to recent research by linguistic anthropologists, sign language

A)is the origin of human language.
B)does not exhibit duality of patterning.
C)is based on written language.
D)are languages, just like spoken languages.

Question 19

The term coined by anthropologist Ray Birdwhist ell in the 1950s to describe the study of body movements is

A)spaciology.
B)proxemics.
C)kinesics.
D)tweeting.

Question 20

For Americans, personal space typically ranges ________.

A)from zero to eighteen inches
B)from eighteen inches to four feet
C)from four to twelve feet
D)anything over twelve feet

Question 21

Smell, taste, and touch can all be considered forms of nonverbal communication that vary cross-culturally.

Question 22

S ign language never has its own grammar. Instead its grammar is copied from whatever spoken language it is model ed after. Example: A SL uses English grammar.

Question 23

There are no minimal pairs in American Sign Language.

Question 24

Gestures with direct verbal translations, such as a wave goodbye, are called

A)affect displays.
B)emblems.
C)regulators.
D)illustrators.

Question 25

Gestures that facilitate the release of body tension, such as the nervous foot-shuffling of people who would probably rather be leaving, are called

A)adaptors.
B)illustrators.
C)regulators.
D)emblems.

Question 26

Kinesic systems do not evolve and change over time like language.

Question 27

Gestures that control or coordinate interaction, such as indicating that it is someone else's turn to talk during conversation, are called

A)emblems.
B)regulators.
C)illustrators.
D)adaptors.

Question 28

Many users of spoken languages consider sign languages "artificial," not "natural".   Discuss the basis of this belief, and, using the tools of linguistic anthropology, identify the support for the idea that sign languages may be natural languages.

Question 29

Describe how social factors such as gender and power affect nonverbal behavior in U.S. culture (or another culture that you know well).

Question 30

Most ________ appear to mimic the syntax of the spoken language of the communities that use them.

A)complex gestural systems
B)sign languages
C)proxemic systems
D)kinesic systems

Question 31

According to Hickey and Thompson, the invisible bubble that surrounds the modern cowboy is oversized by "typical" American standards.

Question 32

Gestures that depict or illustrate what is said verbally, such as turning an imaginary steering wheel while talking about driving, are called

A)emblems.
B)adaptors.
C)affect displays.
D)illustrators.

Question 33

Many linguists and linguistic anthropologists have written in support of US universities considering American Sign Language an other-than-English language for the purpose of graduation requirements.   Briefly explain why ASL is considered a language other than English.