Deck 11: Communication

Question 1

Many of the terms the Saami use to describe snow are related to __________.

A)conditions for reindeer herding
B)visibility conditions
C)skiing conditions
D)all of the above
E)none of the above

Answer 1

conditions for reindeer herding

Question 2

Within a particular language, an especially rich cluster of related words is referred to as a __________.

A)creole
B)dialect
C)focal vocabulary
D)grammar
E)pidgin

Answer 2

focal vocabulary

Question 3

The feature of human language that allows people to talk about the past and the future is referred to as __________.

A)productivity
B)non-verbal communication
C)sign language
D)grammar
E)displacement

Answer 3

displacement

Question 4

Sounds that make a critical difference in a language are referred to as __________.

A)structures
B)phonemes
C)grammar/syntax
D)focal sounds
E)essential elements

Question 5

The adult male bonobo who is skilled at symbolic communication with human researchers is __________.

A)Bonzo
B)Lucy
C)Hobbit
D)Kanzi
E)none of the above: no bonobo has achieved skills in symbolic communication

Question 6

Tok Pisin is one of the official national languages of __________.

A)the Philippines
B)India
C)Papua New Guinea
D)Sudan
E)none of the above: Tok Pisin is a local dialect, not a national language

Question 7

The word khipu refers to a __________.

A)trade language that emerged in Papua New Guinea
B)method of recording the seasons so that rituals could be performed regularly
C)a female form of writing in Japanese literature
D)method of record keeping without the use of writing
E)the pattern of turn-taking in conversations between mothers and children in Samoa

Question 8

One aspect of communication that causes problems during medical interviews with Mohawk speakers of English is __________.

A)displacement
B)frame analysis
C)silence
D)cueing
E)productivity

Question 9

Human language has an infinite capacity for generating very efficient messages, a feature called __________.

A)displacement
B)mode of communication
C)condensation
D)abundance
E)productivity

Question 10

Among the Apache, in situations of ambiguous relationships between people, __________.

A)silence is maintained
B)certain standard conversations are carried out for five to ten minutes
C)it is appropriate to "break the ice" with the offer of a drink
D)a handshake is followed by rapid chatter
E)avoidance is maintained until someone else can provide a formal introduction

Question 11

The culture which appears to have the simplest form of grammar is the __________.

A)Yanomami
B)Nacirema
C)Pirahã
D)Bosnians
E)Han Chinese

Question 12

The system of human communication based on a systematic set of symbols and signs with learned and shared meanings is called __________.

A)turn-taking
B)productivity
C)displacement
D)grammar
E)language

Question 13

Language refers to __________.

A)speech
B)words
C)communication based on arbitrary symbols
D)written forms of communication
E)all of the above

Question 14

Culturally patterned verbal language is referred to __________.

A)communication
B)intonation
C)discourse
D)indirect response
E)linguistic determinism

Question 15

The claim that a person's language determines the person's thought is called __________.

A)mental determinism
B)sociolinguistics
C)psychological anthropology
D)cultural materialism
E)Sapir-Whorf hypothesis

Question 16

A key marker of gender coding in spoken English in the U.S. is __________.

A)women's tendency to lower their intonation at the end of a sentence
B)women's greater use of paralanguage compared to men
C)women's greater use of tag questions
D)women's more frequent use of eye contact
E)men's tendency to speak more formally and politely

Question 17

One thing that all languages have is __________.

A)the same sounds
B)similar words for key concepts
C)the same focal vocabularies
D)a shared origin in Central Asia
E)grammar/syntax

Question 18

Vocal communication among nonhuman primates is referred to as __________.

A)call system
B)nonverbal communication
C)sign language
D)phonetic
E)prosody

Question 19

In Japan, the length of the kimono sleeve indicates __________.

A)age
B)gender
C)formality
D)marital status
E)all of the above

Question 20

A first-generation "contact" language is called a __________.

A)paralanguage
B)dialect
C)pidgin
D)displaced language
E)creole

Question 21

The tongue is placed against the roof of the mouth when making a retroflex sound.

Question 22

The Sapir-Whorf hypothesis is an example of a cultural materialist theory.

Question 23

The "digital divide" refers to the difficulty of producing internet content without a working knowledge of technical English.

Question 24

Productivity is the ability to create an infinite range of understandable expressions from a finite set of rules.

Question 25

Linguistic anthropologists do not study deaf communities since people who are deaf have no real language.

Question 26

In spoken English, a tag question is more often used by men than women.

Question 27

Displacement is a key feature of nonhuman primate communication.

Question 28

Aspiration is an important phonetic feature in Hindi.

Question 29

As yet, anthropologists have avoided studying aspects of the mass media.

Question 30

The Japanese terms for box lunch, "bentoo" and "obentoo," reflect gender code differences.

Question 31

The point at which a language no longer has competent users is referred to as __________.

A)linguistic relativism
B)displacement
C)language decay
D)language extinction
E)linguistic determinism

Question 32

Hungarian is one of the few European languages that does not belong to the Indo-European language family.

Question 33

A reason for the emergence of linguistic anthropology in the United States is the __________.

A)interest in recording disappearing languages
B)fact that so many different languages are spoken in the U.S
C)ever-increasing need to find jobs for anthropologists
D)inspiration from primate studies that revealed how chimpanzees could learn certain aspects of human language E none of the above: this subfield began in Europe just like all the others

Question 34

Language endangerment is judged to exist when a language has fewer than __________.

A)50,000 speakers
B)10,000 speakers
C)100,000 speakers
D)25,000 speakers
E)15,000 speakers

Question 35

Language may be signed, spoken, or written.

Question 36

Research shows that, unlike other journalists, war correspondents' stories about a particular event are consistent with each other's accounts.

Question 37

Proto Indo-European is the earliest form of the language family that includes Sanskrit and English.

Question 38

When Muslim women in Kuwait wear a headscarf, the meaning it conveys is that the woman is an immigrant from a less-affluent Asian country.

Question 39

In South Africa, women use more hand gestures to communicate than men do.

Question 40

Historical linguistics originated in the 18th century after Sir William Jones discovered similarities in the vocabulary and syntax of Sanskrit, Greek, and Latin.

Question 41

Roughly translated into English, firm snow, thickly packed snow, hard-packed snow, dry snow, hard layer snow, ice sheet, and frozen snow between other layers, are examples of snow as distinguished by the __________.

Question 42

Spanish is an example of a global language.

Question 43

Language decay occurs when speakers abandon their language in favor of another language.

Question 44

Research material drawn from the internet and other modern communication technology is called __________.

Question 45

West Africa, the Caribbean, and the South Pacific are examples of regions of the world where __________ languages are common.

Question 46

Languages that are spoken in diverse cultural contexts, worldwide, are called __________.

Question 47

The similarities in the word for "father" in many European and South Asian languages suggest the existence of an early parent language called __________.

Question 48

Among the Apache, __________ is an important form of communication in situations of social ambiguity.

Question 49

The Pirahã people live in __________.

Question 50

Alcohol and chocolate are two are examples of __________ in North American English.

Question 51

__________ women in Kuwait communicate information about their economic class and social status by covering their heads.

Question 52

What is an example of communication through dress?

Question 53

Hungary is establishing telecottages/local places with computer access in an attempt to overcome the __________.

Question 54

The study of the meaning of words, phrases, and sentences, in particular cultural context is __________.

Question 55

In English, Textese involves making words shorter and using several stock phrases that are widely recognized.

Question 56

Two key features of human communication are __________ and __________.

Question 57

The ability of human language to generate efficient, meaning rich utterances is referred to as __________.

Question 58

Young women in urban Japan with a distinct microculture and microlanguage are known as __________.

Question 59

Sounds that make a meaningful difference in a language are called __________.

Question 60

What is language and what is communication? How does nonhuman primate communication differ from that of humans?

Question 61

What are three major topics that linguistic anthropologists have studied? What is an example of an important finding in each area?

Question 62

What is the Sapir-Whorf hypothesis?

Question 63

What is the background of the Saami people and key features of their culture? What challenges are they facing today, especially in terms of their cultural heritage and language?

Question 64

Provide three examples from the textbook of the connection between language and a person's or group's sense of, or expression of, identity.

Question 65

Issues of power and politics

Question 66

What is the difference between a pidgin and a creole?

Question 67

Define a tag question and give an example of one.

Question 68

Explain how supporters of language preservation disagree with those who take a Darwinian view of linguistic heritage.

Question 69

Microcultures based on race, class, gender and age often have distinct communication styles. Choose two of these dimensions and provide examples for each; specify the microcultures you choose to discuss.

Question 70

Define critical discourse analysis and give an example.

Question 71

What is the difference between language decay and language extinction?

Question 72

What does critical media anthropology encompass? Give two examples of critical media anthropology studies and the conclusions drawn from these studies.

Question 73

What is sociolinguistics?

Question 74

Define global language and discuss which languages currently qualify for this categorization. How does this category relate to global political/economic realities? What other languages are likely to become global languages in the near future?