Deck 4: Language and Culture

Question 1

Chimpanzees and gorillas apparently have a rudimentary capacity for understanding and manipulating symbols but __________.

A) only manipulate symbols in the wild
B) only when taught by humans
C) seem not to use it in the wild
D) only use symbols with humans

Answer 1

seem not to use it in the wild

Question 2

__________ is the study of sound systems in language.

A) Phonemics
B) Phonetics
C) Phonology
D) Phrenology

Answer 2

Phonology

Question 3

Currently, researchers believe that speech capability developed in human ancestors by __________ years ago.

A) 50,000 to 75,000
B) 100,000 to 150,000
C) 200,000 to 250,000
D) 300,000 to 400,000

Answer 3

100,000 to 150,000

Question 4

__________ is the analysis of the use of sounds to differentiate the meanings of words.

A) Phonemics
B) Phonetics
C) Phonology
D) Phrenology

Question 5

Both gorillas and chimpanzees seem to be able to __________ in a rudimentary way, although they do not seem to do so in the wild.

A) understand videotaped or recorded call systems
B) understand and manipulate symbols
C) produce syntax
D) form human verbal sounds

Question 6

Although both the biblical story of Babel and the Snohomish story of raising the sky both explain the existence of different languages, they differ in that __________.

A) in the Snohomish story the source of different languages is not divine
B) in the Snohomish story people can still work together effectively
C) in the Snohomish story people cannot still work together effectively
D) in the Snohomish story the creation of different languages is a divine punishment

Question 7

__________ is the arbitrary association of sounds with meaning.

A) Symbolism
B) Displacement
C) Productivity
D) Flexibility

Question 8

Today there are about __________ languages spoken around the world.

A) 845
B) 1,400
C) 4,600
D) 6,200

Question 9

A person learns to apply rules for differentiating phonemes unconsciously __________.

A) in the womb
B) during infancy
C) during childhood
D) in adulthood

Question 10

Language is any form of communication that involves __________.

A) sounds, symbols, and words
B) symbols, grammar, and call systems
C) symbols, displacement, and productivity
D) duality of patterning, displacement, and productivity

Question 11

More recent attempts to teach nonhuman primates __________ or __________ have not produced excellent results.

A) sign language, keyboard symbol language
B) writing, sign language
C) computer keyboard language, color-based language
D) writing, color-based language

Question 12

The study of the articulation and production of human speech sounds is known as __________.

A) phonemics
B) phonetics
C) phonology
D) phrenology

Question 13

__________ is the feature of language that makes it possible to talk about the past or hypothetical events.

A) Imagination
B) Displacement
C) Theory of mind
D) Duality of patterning

Question 14

__________ is the ability to join sounds and words in theoretically infinite meaningful combinations.

A) Symbolism
B) Productivity
C) Duality of Patterning
D) Syntax

Question 15

Because they can signal the presence and direction of food, some nonhuman primate call systems may contain a limited form of __________.

A) displacement
B) productivity
C) signaling
D) symbolism

Question 16

With perhaps an exception or two, language is a system of communication unique to humans in part because it is __________.

A) both verbal and nonverbal
B) it is complex
C) it is symbolic
D) it is memory based

Question 17

What is the primary medium humans use for interacting with one another?

A) language
B) non-verbal communication
C) gestures
D) symbolism

Question 18

Why do researchers believe language emerged?

A) displacement
B) productivity
C) symbolism
D) signaling

Question 19

Researchers have concentrated on __________ as the most likely nonhuman primate to successfully train to use language.

A) gorillas
B) orangutans
C) chimpanzees
D) gibbons

Question 20

Early attempts were made to train nonhuman primates to __________, but these attempts failed.

A) speak English words
B) use sign language
C) speak complex human languages
D) speak African click languages

Question 21

Words or phrases and sentences also convey __________ that varies with the relationship people have with one another as well as the context in which they are speaking.

A) grammar
B) logic
C) interactional meaning
D) syntax

Question 22

Within cultures, body language and nonverbal communication can vary and may lead to __________.

A) emblems
B) non-verbal behaviors
C) verbal intercultural communication
D) cross-cultural misunderstandings

Question 23

In the study of students who viewed videotaped gestures, __________ interpreted them correctly.

A) 100%
B) 23%
C) 0%
D) 50%

Question 24

The communication of meanings between people of different languages and cultures is known as __________.

A) gestures
B) body language
C) intercultural communication
D) nonverbal communication

Question 25

Learning Lodge participants believe language is essential for the survival of a tribe. Why?

A) without a language to speak there is no culture
B) people within the tribe will not be able to communicate without language
C) indigenous languages are important for the public to learn
D) Culture is based on language

Question 26

Programs to preserve and teach Native American languages such as the Learning Lodge Institute have the larger goal of __________.

A) preserving Native American cultures through language preservation
B) weaning Native Americans off the use of English
C) teaching Native American languages to non-Native Americans
D) using education for the teaching of language and culture

Question 27

__________ use the full range of sounds that human vocal cords can produce.

A) All languages
B) Two languages: Arabic and Korean
C) Three languages: Arabic, Swahili, and Swedish
D) No languages

Question 28

A unit of sound and meaning, either a separate word or a meaningful part of a word is called a __________.

A) phoneme
B) morpheme
C) syntax
D) syllable

Question 29

Because subjects precede objects in the vast majority of languages, this pattern probably reflects __________.

A) human cognition
B) syntax
C) universal grammar
D) morpheme

Question 30

Nonverbal actions with specific meanings that substitute for spoken words are __________.

A) emblems
B) nonverbal communication
C) body language
D) gestures

Question 31

A minimal unit of sound that differentiates meaning in a particular language is a __________.

A) phoneme
B) syllable
C) vowel
D) morpheme

Question 32

According to Edward Sapir, vocabulary reflects __________.

A) the degree of advancement in a society
B) what is culturally important to a people
C) educational level
D) the environment

Question 33

According to Noam Chomsky, there are underlying rules to word order and sentence construction in all languages, which is known as __________.

A) syntax
B) morphology
C) semantics
D) universal grammar

Question 34

Non-verbal communication includes __________.

A) logic
B) symbols
C) use of sign language
D) facial expressions, body gestures, and touching

Question 35

__________ is the study of systems of meaning in a language.

A) Syntax
B) Morphology
C) Semantics
D) Linguistics

Question 36

Studies have shown that __________ are more likely to assume a dominant posture.

A) women
B) teenagers
C) adults
D) men

Question 37

The study of the internal structure of words and the combination of meaningful units within the word.

A) morphology
B) phonology
C) phonemics
D) phonetics

Question 38

The sound /p/ in "pit" is different from /b/ in "bit" because it is __________.

A) a different letter
B) voiceless
C) voiced
D) made with the use of the lips

Question 39

The Sapir-Whorf hypothesis states that __________.

A) language is an outgrowth of non-verbal communication
B) society and culture determine the content of language
C) socioeconomic position influences language use
D) the form and content of language influence speakers' behaviors, thought processes, and worldviews

Question 40

The study of how language use changes according to social context is __________.

A) intercultural communication studies
B) historical linguistics
C) sociolinguistics
D) cultural anthropology

Question 41

Why did attitudes change towards multilingualism during the late nineteenth century?

A) people became more tolerable
B) individuals understood the importance of native languages
C) the large influx of immigrants coming into the United States
D) English was not widely spoken

Question 42

An example of a threatened language due to a dominant national culture that speaks a different language and controls media, economic, and political forums is __________.

A) Portuguese
B) English
C) Australian Aboriginal languages
D) Italian

Question 43

A/An __________ is a variation in the way languages are pronounced.

A) accent
B) dialect
C) pidgin
D) creole

Question 44

Until the __________ prevailing attitudes in the United States accepted multilingualism in education and public life.

A) 1830s
B) Civil War
C) end of the 19^th century
D) 1950s

Question 45

A/An __________ is a variety of a language spoken by a particular group of people, based on regional differences or social differences such as gender, class, race, or ethnicity.

A) accent
B) dialect
C) pidgin
D) creole

Question 46

Non-standard versions of a language tend to be stigmatized __________.

A) when they cannot be understood
B) to the extent that they deviate from the standard
C) when there is a strong system of national government
D) if the members of the group who speak it are indigenous

Question 47

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, nearly __________ of people who spoke a language other than English at home also spoke English well.

A) 25%
B) 90%
C) 78%
D) 60%

Question 48

The Native American language with the largest number of home speakers is __________.

A) Apache
B) Navajo
C) Cherokee
D) Yupik

Question 49

About __________ different languages are spoken in the United States.

A) 790
B) 100
C) 380
D) 1000

Question 50

Recent studies in linguistic anthropology attempt to develop experimental designs focusing on __________.

A) memory
B) facial features
C) inflection
D) sleep patterns

Question 51

Approximately how many people in America claimed a Native American language as their only language?

A) 20,000
B) 5,000
C) 10,000
D) 12,000

Question 52

Benjamin Whorf examined __________ as well as vocabulary in his studies of the Hopi language.

A) grammar
B) climate
C) economy
D) syntax

Question 53

A good summary of Sapir and Whorf's conclusion about the relationship between language and thought is __________.

A) culture and society shape language
B) language determines thought and culture
C) language serves as a set of guideposts for human thought but does not constrain people's ability to think
D) language shapes the wiring of the brain

Question 54

The __________ of language speakers often reveals the history of migration and regional occupation.

A) education
B) age
C) demographics
D) sex

Question 55

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, as of 2008 __________ people in the United States spoken some language other than English at home.

A) one in twenty
B) one in ten
C) one in five
D) one in three

Question 56

According to Whorf, different concepts of __________ were reflected in the differences between the Hopi and English languages.

A) hospitality
B) time
C) kinship
D) history

Question 57

Most linguists take the position that the relationship between thought and language is __________.

A) unidirectional: thought influences language
B) unidirectional: language influences thought
C) non-directional: language and thought do not influence each other
D) bi-directional: language and thought influence each other

Question 58

In the United States, the ability to use a non-English language tends to disappear in the __________ generation after immigration.

A) first
B) second
C) third
D) fourth

Question 59

Standard versions of a language in a nation tend to be based on __________.

A) the earliest original form of the language
B) the form that best fits dictionary and school grammar use
C) the most widely spoken version of the language
D) economic, social, and political factors

Question 60

What is the most frequently spoken non-English language in Louisiana, Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont?

A) French
B) English
C) Spanish
D) German

Question 61

In 1996 the Oakland Board of Education mistakenly claimed that "Ebonics" was derived from __________ and was not a dialect of English.

A) Caribbean Creoles
B) Wolof
C) French and Nigerian
D) Niger-Congo African languages

Question 62

When people elevate a particular dialect over another, they convey __________.

A) a message of authority
B) a message of superiority
C) a message of confidence
D) a message of capitalism

Question 63

Systems of meaning include jargons, which are __________.

A) specific to certain activities or occupations
B) specific to certain regions
C) specific to certain individuals
D) specific to certain countries

Question 64

The term for the study of communication as it occurs within a particular cultural context, considering such features as the participant's settings and the participant's attitudes and goals is __________.

A) sociolinguistics
B) ethnosemantics
C) ethnography of communication
D) componential analysis

Question 65

A technique of analyzing the similarities and contrasts in a particular category, such as kinship terms or animal names.

A) sociolinguistics
B) ethnosemantics
C) morphology
D) componential analysis

Question 66

"Ebonics" is another term for __________.

A) African slang
B) poor English
C) African-American Vernacular English
D) Creole

Question 67

Specialized or technical words are __________, spoken by people who share a particular occupation or interest.

A) creoles
B) pidgins
C) jargons
D) dialects

Question 68

Cultural presumptions are __________.

A) rudimentary languages that have been simplified
B) a technique of analyzing the similarities and contrasts in a particular category
C) the study of communication as it occurs within a particular cultural context
D) shared knowledge and unspoken assumptions that people have as members of their culture

Question 69

__________ is the study of culture through people's use of language to categorize and classify people, objects, activities, and experiences.

A) Sociolinguistics
B) Ethnosemantics
C) Ethnography of communication
D) Componential analysis

Question 70

Speakers of the standard dialect gain prestige and respect, while speakers of nonstandard dialects are __________.

A) looked down upon
B) viewed as superior
C) not taken seriously
D) viewed as uneducated

Question 71

__________ are rudimentary languages that have a simplified grammar and a limited vocabulary.

A) Pidgins
B) Creoles
C) Lingua francas
D) Dialects

Question 72

Most linguists agree that the sources of African-American Vernacular English are __________ and __________.

A) African-American standard English, southern English
B) urban slang, southern English
C) rural southern English, African languages
D) African languages, urban slang

Question 73

Compositional analysis of English shows that it places greater importance on __________ than other animals.

A) fish
B) wild mammals
C) domesticated animals
D) pets

Question 74

The Bridge program advocated by the Oakland School Board is __________ according to research in other public school systems where it has been tested.

A) successful
B) unsuccessful
C) outdated
D) overly expensive

Question 75

Language change is constant and natural as __________.

A) languages borrow words from other languages
B) people lack education
C) new words and expressions are invented or discarded
D) people become more educated

Question 76

The exchange of standard greetings by two people who share a language and culture is an example of a __________.

A) linguistic problem
B) cultural presupposition
C) cliché
D) set piece

Question 77

Indigenous systems of meaning are known as __________.

A) pidgins
B) dialects
C) creoles
D) ethnosemantics

Question 78

How do pidgins differ from creoles?

A) Pidgins and creoles are the same.
B) Pidgins are not full languages.
C) Pidgins combine sounds, grammatical forms, and vocabulary from different languages.
D) Pidgins arise during periods of close contact between individuals that speak different languages.

Question 79

__________ are words in different languages that are derived from the same word in their parent language.

A) Loanwords
B) Cognates
C) Language families
D) Lingua francas

Question 80

__________ are languages that have historic roots as an amalgamation of vocabulary and grammar derived from two or more independent languages.

A) Pidgins
B) Creoles
C) Lingua francas
D) Dialects