Deck 5: Listening

Question 1

What word describes a version of the same language that contains substantially different words and meanings?

A) divergence
B) jargon
C) slang
D) dialect

Answer 1

D

Question 2

Ogden and Richards' triangle of meaning demonstrates visually that meanings are in

A) vocabularies
B) people
C) nonverbal cues
D) words

Answer 2

B

Question 3

____________ govern how words sound when pronounced.

A) Semantic rules
B) Phonological rules
C) Pragmatic rules
D) Cultural rules

Answer 3

B

Question 4

____________ govern the arrangement or sequence of language.

A) Semantic rules
B) Syntactic rules
C) Pragmatic rules
D) Phonological rules

Question 5

When picking up a friend from the airport, which set of language rules makes it possible for us to know whether to drive in the "Departures" lane or the "Arrivals" lane?

A) Semantic rules
B) Phonological rules
C) Syntactic rules
D) Cultural rules

Question 6

John asks a woman who is not pregnant when the baby is due. What language rule did John break?

A) Pragmatic rule
B) Social rule
C) Semantic rule
D) Syntactic rule

Question 7

Which of the following is NOT a rule which governs how we use language?

A) Language is symbolic
B) Meanings are in people rather than words
C) Semantic rules are guidelines about the agreed upon meaning of words
D) In a given language, words always mean the same to all who speak the language.

Question 8

Implied interpretations of words that reflect the people, culture, emotions, and situations involved provide ____________ meanings.

A) denotative
B) pragmatic
C) connotative
D) convergent

Question 9

Swear words are governed by ____________.

A) equivocal rules
B) phonological rules
C) semantic rules
D) pragmatic rules

Question 10

Graduate, lead, and produce are all words whose meaning may vary as a result of inconsistent ____________ rules.

A) syntactic
B) phonological
C) euphemistic
D) pragmatic

Question 11

What does the triangle of meaning demonstrate?

A) Accent, choice of words, speech rate, and even the apparent age of a speaker can affect a person's status.
B) Without semantic rules, everyone would use symbols in unique ways and communication would be impossible.
C) Meaning is arbitrary and that it exists in the minds of the users.
D) Through linguistic intergroup bias, which causes people to judge others in their own in-group more favorably and those in an out-group less favorably

Question 12

The term "speech act" is used by communication theorist to describe

A) the purpose of the communication episode.
B) that speaking is often a performance.
C) the personal and cultural variations of pragmatic rules.
D) the process by which members of a marginalized group reframe the meaning of a word.

Question 13

The term "suffragette" was first used as a derogatory, condescending term to describe women who marched to get the right to vote, but the feminists embraced the word and used it to emphasize their determination to win. This evolution of the meaning of the term best exemplifies what concept?

A) repurposing
B) reappropriation
C) linguistic relativism
D) relative words

Question 14

Language use can reflect a speaker's willingness to take responsibility for his or her statements. Which of the following categories of statements reflects the highest amount of speaker responsibility?

A) "It" statements
B) "They" statements
C) "We" statements
D) "I" statements

Question 15

One study revealed that voters judge candidates more favorably when they have names that are

A) prestigious and contains a suffix
B) simple, familiar, and easily pronounced
C) unique and exciting
D) powerful, complex, and preferably contains four letters

Question 16

Linguistic relativism means that ____________.

A) the worldview of a culture is shaped and reflected by the language its members speak
B) a person's country of origin determines the language its members speak
C) language is determined by the physical structure of vocal apparatus of its speakers
D) speakers of multiple languages tend to speak all of them in relatively the same way

Question 17

The Inuit have dozens of words for what we typically just call snow. This is an example of

A) emotive language
B) jargon
C) pragmatic rules
D) linguistic relativism

Question 18

One well-known theory that explains how language affects perceptions is called the

A) denotative theory
B) emotive laguage
C) Sapir-Whorf hypothesis
D) linguistic intergroup bias

Question 19

The speaker is accepting the greatest responsibility for the message in which of the following statements?

A) Sometimes you make me so mad.
B) I couldn't get it done on time.
C) Do you think that's a good idea?
D) There wasn't enough time to complete the project.

Question 20

Which of the following factors that can affect how people perceive your status?

A) Accent
B) Choice of words
C) Apparent age of a speaker
D) All of these

Question 21

Research suggests that many people pass judgment on prospective workers simply on the basis of their

A) experience.
B) title.
C) gender.
D) name.

Question 22

Using the term firefighter rather than fireman is an example of ____________ language.

A) politically incorrect
B) offensive
C) gender-neutral
D) stereotypical

Question 23

Which of the following statements would researchers classify as being the most powerfully expressed in the U.S.?

A) "Excuse me, but I have a question."
B) "I have a question."
C) "I have a question, if you don't mind."
D) "I guess I have a question."

Question 24

People who speak using a combination of "powerful" and "powerless" language are typically more ____________ communicators.

A) authoritative
B) feminine
C) masculine
D) effective

Question 25

Communicators from cultures that value ____________ tend to use more ambiguous terms, hedges, and disclaimers.

A) saving face
B) individualistic expression
C) evasive language
D) civil discourse

Question 26

Which of the following is an example of powerless speech?

A) negation
B) hedge words
C) convergence
D) linguistic relativism

Question 27

When we build relationships and demonstrate solidarity with others through language, it's called

A) Powerful language
B) Jargon
C) Affiliation
D) Slang

Question 28

When your good friend tells you that you have a tendency to interrupt, you thank him for his constructive criticism. When a new coworker accuses you of monopolizing the conversation, you think silently to yourself, "What a jerk." The tendency to judge people we like more charitably than people we don't know well is known as ____________.

A) linguistic intergroup bias
B) perspective taking
C) linguistic relativism
D) stereotyping

Question 29

____________ words have more than one correct dictionary definition.

A) Relative
B) Overly abstract
C) Equivocal
D) Jargon

Question 30

Which of the following are type of evasive language?

A) Inferences and euphemisms
B) Qualifiers and semantics
C) Inferences and equivocation
D) Euphemisms and equivocation

Question 31

Physicians or attorneys who want to establish credibility with their clients might use language to create a sense of distance, a linguistic strategy known as ____________.

A) linguistic relativism
B) convergence
C) divergence
D) linguistic intergroup bias

Question 32

Terms such as sick and tight may be interpreted by members of one coculture as compliments, but other people are likely to see them as insults. This is because ____________ differ(s) from group to group.

A) relative words
B) denotations
C) slang
D) euphemisms

Question 33

Kiley tells Luke, "You don't listen to me anymore." What still needs to be answered to make the statement a behavioral description?

A) In what circumstances does the behavior occur?
B) Who is involved?
C) What behaviors are involved?
D) Why does the behavior occur?

Question 34

Why might you use equivocal language?

A) To avoid hurting someone's feelings
B) To avoid lying
C) To help the receiver save face
D) All of these reasons

Question 35

When you see Sam with a tie on and you say to yourself, "Sam must have an interview today," your statement is an example of

A) stating a fact
B) making an inference.
C) offering an opinion.
D) making a behavioral description

Question 36

Ben says, "Hawaii is the best vacation spot in the world." Ethan, who has read reliable data about the subject, says, "Statistics show that more people vacation in Paris than in Hawaii." The difference between their statements is that Ben's is ____________, whereas Ethan's is

A) semantic; syntactic
B) exhaustive; phonological
C) opinion-based; fact-based
D) precise; semantic

Question 37

Which of the following is true about how women and men use language?

A) Women talk more than men.
B) Women interrupt others more frequently in mixed-sex conversations.
C) Both men and women talk frequently about work, movies, and television.
D) Men and women people display more linguistic differences than similarities.

Question 38

Which of the following is true about gendered communication in the area of romance?

A) Traditional gender roles are no longer prevalent.
B) Gender roles become more moderate as partners get to know each other better.
C) Men judge the success of a date by how well the conversation flowed.
D) Women are more likely to bring up the topic of sex on a first date.

Question 39

Which of the following assertions about gender and communication is false?

A) Women are socialized to communicate differently than men.
B) Women talk more than men.
C) Men and women often communicate for different reasons.
D) Gendered communication can complicate romance.

Question 40

What factor influences language use much more than biology?

A) Education
B) Profession
C) Socialization
D) Social status

Question 41

Which of the following is NOT a strategy for avoiding misunderstandings?

A) Be careful with euphemisms and equivocations
B) Focus on specific behaviors
C) Use slang and jargon
D) Explain abstract terms

Question 42

When communicators adapt their speech to fit in with others they are adopting the strategy of __________.

Question 43

When someone pronounces words differently from the local speech style, we say that they have an _______.

Question 44

Words are arbitrary symbols that have no __________ in themselves.

Question 45

Dictionaries provide the _________ meanings of words.

Question 46

The concept that suggests that people co-create meaning in the process of communicating with each other is called coordinated __________ of meaning.

Question 47

An _________ uses a deliberately vague term that can be interpreted in more than one way.

Question 48

Terms that only people from a relatively small geographic area use and understand are called ____________.

Question 49

Specialized vocabulary used as a kind of shorthand by people with common backgrounds and experience is known as _____________.

Question 50

____________ are pleasant terms substituted for more direct but potentially less pleasant terms.

Question 51

A conclusion based on an interpretation of evidence is called a(n) ____________.

Question 52

In the United States, because women frequently use conversation to pursue social needs, they are often said to have an affective language style, meaning that their language focuses on ___________.

Question 53

Matching
-Language that lacks specificity or does not refer to observable behavior or other sensory data.

A) abstract language
B) abstraction ladder
C) Emotive language
D) Ad hominem fallacy

Question 54

Matching
-problematic strategy of attacking a person's character rather than debating the issues at hand

A) abstract language
B) abstraction ladder
C) Emotive language
D) Ad hominem fallacy

Question 55

Matching
-governing how sounds are combined to form words

A) Pragmatic
B) Phonological
C) Syntactic
D) Semantic

Question 56

Matching
-governing the arrangement of words

A) Pragmatic
B) Phonological
C) Syntactic
D) Semantic