Deck 9: Why Is Understanding Human Language Important

Question 1

The system of arbitrary symbols used to encode one's experience of the world and of others is

A) language.
B) communication.
C) speech.
D) talk.

Answer 1

A

Question 2

The scientific study of language is known as

A) communication studies.
B) linguistics.
C) morphology.
D) semantics.

Answer 2

B

Question 3

According to Peirce, a mode of signification in which the sign looks like that which it represents is called

A) a metaphor.
B) an icon.
C) a symbol.
D) an index.

Answer 3

B

Question 4

The principle which asserts that language has the power to shape the way people see the world is

A) the linguistic relativity principle.
B) the principle of cultural relativism.
C) the principle of cultural determinism.
D) linguistic activity principle.

Question 5

A language with no native speakers that develops in a single generation between members of communities that possess distinct native languages is a

A) creole.
B) pidgin.
C) dodoh.
D) renn.

Question 6

Theorizing race and language together is the project of

A) ethnopragmatics.
B) governmentality.
C) raciolinguistics.
D) the pidgin project.

Question 7

Robbins Burling argues that primate call systems

A) are organized in a way so different from human symbolic language that it is difficult to imagine a sequence that could convert a call system to language.
B) are directly related to the human use of language.
C) allowed our ape ancestors to communicate orally.
D) and human symbolic language are controlled by the same part of the brain.

Question 8

The purpose of raciolinguistics is

A) to eliminate linguistic variation.
B) to celebrate linguistic diversity in the scholarly community.
C) to ask and answer critical questions about the relations between language, race, and power.
D) through the methods and data of linguistics, to separate language, race, and power.

Question 9

At the beginning of the twenty-first century, many anthropologists and linguists have become involved in projects ______ languages with small numbers of native speakers.

A) reviving
B) absolving
C) curating
D) mimicking

Question 10

What did Evans-Pritchard discover in the early twentieth century about Azande language practices?

A) They were well note aware of the ambiguity inherent in language.
B) They did use metaphor in speech.
C) They did not care if parts of their speech would that might be received badly if uttered directly.
D) Azande cannot be sure whether words do have a nuance or someone imagines that they do.

Question 11

Changes in the volume, tone, or rhythm of speech in language is known as prosody.

Question 12

However much we learn about language, we will never be able to exhaust its meanings or circumscribe its rules once and for all.

Question 13

In the text, Dan Slobin talks about the "thinking for speaking" hypothesis. An example of this would be

A) talking to yourself.
B) cheering at a sports event.
C) translating from English into Spanish.
D) preparing a talk about what college is like for a class of 13-year-old public school students.

Question 14

Recent research has led to the conclusion that pidgins and creoles are the same forms of language.

Question 15

Which of the following statements about language endangerment do linguistic anthropologists consider correct?

A) Many languages with small numbers of native speakers are in danger of disappearing as younger people in the speech community stop using the language or never learn it in the first place.
B) The spread of "world" languages like English contributes to language growth.
C) Attempts to implement language revitalization have met with complete failure.
D) Linguistic anthropologists have not become involved in project to revive languages.

Question 16

Which of the following statements correctly presents a position taken by those whose language is dying?

A) Some parents care more about preserving their dying language than they do about making sure their children become literate in a world language.
B) Some indigenous groups are concerned that loss of language will mean loss of access to traditional sources of religious power.
C) Some indigenous speakers would like to see what was once a fully functioning mode of communication reduced to nothing but ceremonial use.
D) Linguistics anthropologists should have nothing to do with language revitalization.

Question 17

People's vocabularies tend to reflect the way they see and/or understand their surroundings and what is important in their cultures.

Question 18

Human communication extends beyond unspoken and spoken language.

Question 19

If our understanding of reality is the product of a dialectic between experience and language (or, more broadly, culture), then ambiguity will never be permanently removed from any of the symbolic systems that human beings invent.

Question 20

Describe three reasons that language has been a central focus of anthropological interest. Provide examples and discuss why they are important.

Question 21

"There is no moment at which a particular pidgin suddenly comes into existence, but rather a process of variety-creation called pidginization, by which pidgin is gradually built up out of nothing." What does this suggest about the nature of human language? Discuss in relation to the design features of language suggested by Hockett.

Question 22

What are discourse genres? Define and give examples. What makes discourse genres important in linguistic anthropology?

Question 23

Adopted children commonly refer to their new parents as "mother" and "father." Using the concepts of literal and metaphorical language, discuss what this usage suggests about the relationship.

Question 24

Define and discuss the six design features of language that were singled out in the text. Using an example, identify why they are important for understanding human language use.

Question 25

Discuss the concept of heteroglossia in linguistic anthropology. What is the concept? Why is it important? What advantages does it provide in understanding human language?

Question 26

Discuss language ideology and raciolinguistics. Pay particular attention to power differentials and the importance of heteroglossia. Are there situations in which you find language ideology playing a role in your own language use? How is raciolinguistics connected with fluid ways of establishing identity?.

Question 27

Define phonology and morphology. How do these two constructs interact to help linguistic anthropologists understand language?

Question 28

Define a metaphor. Describe a metaphor that you often use. How did you come to understand the semantic domains in the metaphor?

Question 29

Imagine you are provided with audio tapes in another language, which no additional information. Using concepts from the Module, describe how you would determine the characteristics of the language and derive meaning.

Question 30

Identify a sentence that could exhibit structural ambiguity. How do speakers reconcile structural ambiguity? Are these ambiguities translatable in other languages?