Question 1

Consider a used car salesperson who must be highly skilled at using words to persuade people to spend money. This illustrates that linguistic skills as a form of cultural capital:

Accepted Answer

Linguistic skills, as a form of cultural capital, can be used to persuade others to make purchases or investments, which can lead to monetary gain. This is precisely the case with the used car salesperson mentioned in the question, who uses their linguistic abilities to sell cars and earn money. This does not necessarily imply that linguistic skills are used to cheat others or that they are not needed for financial careers, as the value of cultural capital is highly dependent on the context in which it is used.

Question 2

What did Rickford and Rickford conclude in their study of "Spoken Soul"?

Accepted Answer

Rickford and Rickford concluded that the Spoken Soul variant of English is in wide use by African Americans in a range of settings. They observed that it is not just a regional or socioeconomic dialect, but is used by African Americans across different parts of the United States and across different socioeconomic groups.

Question 3

Gender differences in communication often give rise to stereotypes. A common stereotype in the United States suggests that women never seem to stop talking. What research finding about men seems to contradict this stereotype?

Accepted Answer

Research shows that men adopt linguistic strategies that help them maintain conversational dominance, such as interrupting more often and speaking for longer periods of time than women. This contradicts the stereotype that women never stop talking, as men also engage in dominant communication behaviors.

Question 4

What does Noam Chomsky's research propose about language?

Accepted Answer

Noam Chomsky's research proposes that all humans share a similar ability to learn language based on the way that our brains are hardwired. He argues that there is a universal grammar that underlies all human languages, and that humans have an innate capacity to understand and produce language.

Question 5

The work of the Summer Institute of Linguistics presents a challenge to anthropology because it:

Accepted Answer

The work of the Summer Institute of Linguistics involves capturing data on minority languages that might otherwise be lost, however, the institute also seeks to impose a certain religious belief on the communities they work with through the translation of religious texts. This raises ethical questions for anthropology, which seeks to remain neutral and respectful of other cultural beliefs.

Question 6

What do anthropologists call a nonstandard variation of a language?

Accepted Answer

Anthropologists refer to a nonstandard variation of a language as a dialect. A dialect is a particular form of a language that is specific to a particular region or community and may have its unique vocabulary, grammar, and pronunciation.

Question 7

Language can be a form of cultural capital that is used to reinforce power dynamics that are established by a culture's institutions. What is the kind of language used to establish this "norm" against which all speakers are judged called?

Accepted Answer

The kind of language used to establish a "norm" against which all speakers are judged is called prestige language. This is the language that is associated with power and high social status, and is often used by institutions such as governments, media, and education systems to maintain their dominance. Speakers who do not use this language are often seen as inferior or uneducated, reinforcing existing power dynamics.

Question 8

What does the term language continuum refer to?

Accepted Answer

The term language continuum refers to the idea that variation in languages appears gradually over distance between places, rather than abruptly at regional boundaries. This means that neighboring dialects or languages can be mutually intelligible to some degree, because they are part of a spectrum of linguistic variation rather than distinct and separate entities.

Question 9

In 2009, newly elected president Barack Obama visited a famous eatery in Washington, DC, and, after paying his tab, was asked by the cashier if he wanted his change. The president's reply was, "Nah, we straight." Which of the following was the president doing?

Accepted Answer

The president's use of "Nah, we straight" suggests that he was code switching, or transitioning between two different linguistic codes or varieties. The phrase "we straight" is an example of African American Vernacular English, which is not typically used by politicians or in formal settings. However, in this context, it was likely a way for the president to connect with the cashier and demonstrate his knowledge and use of multiple language varieties.

Question 10

According to the textbook, what is happening to human languages worldwide?

Accepted Answer

Languages are being lost at a rate of one every ten days, reflecting a significant decline in linguistic diversity worldwide.

Question 11

American women are far more likely than men to distinguish between colors like teal and turquoise, or magenta and purple. What is this an example of?

Accepted Answer

This is an example of gendered focal vocabulary that exists within American culture. Teal, turquoise, magenta, and purple are colors that have been traditionally associated with femininity and are more commonly used by women in their daily lives, leading to greater familiarity and more developed linguistic distinctions. This is not a biological difference but a learned cultural behavior. Use of paralanguage and linguistic productivity/displacement are not relevant to this phenomenon.

Question 12

A historical linguist would be most likely to study:

Accepted Answer

Historical linguists study the development of language over time and how it has changed and evolved. They look at how languages have diverged from each other and the factors that have influenced their development.

Question 13

Anthropologists have shown that chimpanzees and other nonhuman primates are able to communicate about things not immediately present and events in the past or future. What aspect of human language does this describe?

Accepted Answer

Displacement refers to the ability to communicate about things that are not currently present in the immediate environment, including events in the past or future. Chimpanzees and other nonhuman primates have been shown to have this ability, which is a key aspect of human language. However, they do not have the same level of productivity, complexity, and innovation in language as humans do.

Question 14

The term dialect is a nonstandard variation of a language that:

Accepted Answer

A dialect is a nonstandard form of a language that is particular to a specific region or group of people. The differences between dialects can include variations in pronunciation, grammar, vocabulary, and syntax. While some dialects may change over time, this is not necessarily a defining characteristic of dialects. Dialects can also be influenced by context and the distance between different places where the language is spoken, but these are not the primary factors that distinguish dialects from standard forms of a language.

Question 15

Chinese, spoken by about 1.3 million people, is the most common native language in the world. At the same time, many Chinese students are sent abroad to English-speaking countries to learn English. Why do these students learn English at all?

Accepted Answer

English has established itself as the dominant spoken language worldwide and is central in education and technology. Therefore, learning English is necessary for Chinese students who want to pursue higher education or work in international companies. English is also the language of global communication and business, making it important for Chinese students to acquire in order to participate in the global market.

Question 16

Both efforts to enforce and efforts to deviate from standard English in a school setting frequently evoke controversy. What did the schools in Oakland, California, that introduced Ebonics seek to accomplish?

Accepted Answer

The schools in Oakland, California, that introduced Ebonics sought to help African-American children succeed in school by recognizing their home language and using it to teach standard English. The idea was to bridge the gap between the language students used at home and the standard English used in school, so that they could better understand and retain the material being taught.

Question 17

Imagine you are on a trip throughout South America. You speak Spanish pretty well, but have a hard time understanding Portuguese. However, as you reach the border of Colombia and begin to cross into Brazil, you realize that you are still able to understand many of the native speakers better than you expected. What linguistic phenomenon are you experiencing?

Accepted Answer

The linguistic phenomenon that the traveler is experiencing is the language continuum, which refers to the gradual and incremental changes in language as one moves from one region to another. In South America, there exists a language continuum between Spanish and Portuguese, where the two languages blend together and share some vocabulary and grammar structures. As such, the traveler may be able to understand some of the Brazilian Portuguese because of the similarities between the two languages.

Question 18

What has the effort to preserve the Native American Lakota language, spoken by about 50,000 people in the United States, led to?

Accepted Answer

The effort to preserve the Native American Lakota language has resulted in the integration of social media into the preservation effort to allow for more widespread sharing and engagement. This has enabled the language to reach a larger audience and has helped to increase its use and preservation. The other options (A, B, and D) are incorrect because there is no evidence to support them.

Question 19

Anli is an anthropologist studying how relationships have evolved over time with the use of social media. Specifically, she is interested in how people ascribe social meaning to "friending" and "unfriending" people on social networking platforms and how these words developed. What kind of language is she studying?

Accepted Answer

Anli is studying the specific words "friending" and "unfriending" on social media platforms, which are examples of focal vocabulary - terms that are particularly important or distinctive within a certain group or community.

Question 20

Why would a study of the "N-word" most likely be done using a sociolinguistic approach?

Accepted Answer

Sociolinguistics focuses on the study of language in relation to social variables such as ethnicity, gender, class, and age. The study of the "N-word" is an example of how language is used as a form of power and how social structures influence language usage. Therefore, it is most appropriate to use a sociolinguistic approach to understand the complexities and nuances associated with this term.

Quiz 4: Language