Question 1

Language is made up of symbols that take the form of
A) rules.
B) facial expressions.
C) gestures.
D) words.
E) objects.

Accepted Answer

Language is a structured system of symbols, in the form of words, used for communicating meaning.

Question 2

English speakers use the word house and Spanish speakers use the word casa to indicate the same concept: a residence people live in. This is an example of how language
A) is governed by rules.
B) is symbolic.
C) has layers of meaning.
D) varies in clarity.
E) is ambiguous.

Accepted Answer

Language is symbolic. One way to understand this is to remember that different languages have different words for the same object.

Question 3

The syntactic rules of language
A) help us convey meaning.
B) help us interpret statements.
C) dictate the meaning of individual words.
D) govern the way words are ordered.
E) deal with the correct pronunciation of a word.

Accepted Answer

Syntactic rules govern the order of words within phrases and clauses.

Question 4

When someone says, "Have a nice day," we use ________ rules to determine what he or she means.
A) pragmatic
B) phonological
C) syntactic
D) semantic
E) symbolic

Accepted Answer

Pragmatic rules help us interpret statements.

Question 5

In Ogden-Richards's theory of the semantic triangle, the word tree is the
A) referent.
B) reference.
C) denotative meaning.
D) connotative meaning.
E) symbol.

Accepted Answer

Psychologist Charles Ogden and English professor Ivor Richards developed the semantic triangle. In its three corners, the semantic triangle portrays three elements necessary for identifying the meaning in language. The first element is the symbol, the word being communicated.

Question 6

A connotative meaning of the word family is
A) two married people and their children.
B) the people you belong to and who love you.
C) individuals related by blood, marriage, or adoption.
D) people with a common ancestor.
E) a basic unit of society.

Accepted Answer

A word's connotative meaning consists of the ideas or concepts the word suggests in addition to its literal definition or definitions.

Question 7

Wei is giving a presentation to his firm's CEO about the business's options for upgrading its facility. Wei says, "As you can see here, we have two options. Option One is the fastest, but will significantly interfere with operations. Option Two will take longer, but will be less disruptive." Wei's CEO responds by saying "I like that one."
Wei's CEO is using
A) symbolic language.
B) semantic language.
C) abstract language.
D) structured language.
E) ambiguous language.

Accepted Answer

Statements that we can interpret to have more than one meaning are considered ambiguous language. In this example, Wei could interpret "that one"as meaning the option named Option One, or as meaning the option that Wei mentioned most recently, Option Two.

Question 8

Which of the following terms would be considered the most concrete in Hayakawa's Ladder of Abstraction?
A) flowering shrub
B) rose bush
C) "Freedom" red rose
D) living thing
E) plant

Accepted Answer

Under Hayakawa's Ladder of Abstraction, the most concrete reference is to a specific individual or entity.

Question 9

Which of the following statements about ambiguous language is true?
A) It is an essential part of language.
B) It is the most concrete form of language.
C) It will never occur if we use concrete words.
D) It will never occur if we use abstract words.
E) It can be explained through Hayakawa's Ladder of Abstraction.

Accepted Answer

A certain amount of ambiguity is inherent in our language.

Question 10

Words that are more concrete are more likely to be
A) meaningful.
B) symbolic.
C) broad.
D) specific.
E) confusing.

Accepted Answer

Language varies in clarity partly because some words are more concrete than others. A word that is concrete refers to a specific object in the physical world, while a word that is abstract, in contrast, refers to a broader category or organizing concept of objects.

Question 11

Imagine that you have just listened to five people talking about five different topics. All you know about them besides their topics is their occupations. Given this information, whom would you consider most credible?
A) an airline pilot who talked about which team will win the big game
B) a mechanic who explained how to change a car's oil
C) an accountant who described how to build a safe campfire
D) a soldier who offered investment advice
E) a taxi driver who discussed adoption law

Accepted Answer

Some speakers have credibility on certain topics because of their training and expertise. On this basis, the mechanic is the most credible of the people listed, since oil changes are a topic that mechanics need to know about for their jobs.

Question 12

Which of the following statements about language and its relationship to credibility is true?
A) People will always improve their credibility if they speak to their audience using clichés.
B) People will always diminish their credibility if they speak to their audience using a dialect.
C) People will generally lose their credibility if they make false statements about other people.
D) People will generally find that using loaded language does not affect credibility.
E) People will always enhance their credibility if they claim to be experts even when they are not.

Accepted Answer

Defamation, which includes libel and slander, harms credibility.

Question 13

Using the word bubbler to describe a water fountain is an example of
A) a cliché.
B) libel.
C) slander.
D) loaded language.
E) a dialect.

Accepted Answer

Dialects are language variations shared by people of a certain region or social class. The word bubbler is used for water fountain in parts of the upper Midwest.

Question 14

The phrase "the grass is always greener" is an example of
A) a cliché.
B) libel.
C) slander.
D) a dialect.
E) loaded language.

Accepted Answer

Clichés are words or phrases that were novel at one time but have lost their effect due to overuse.

Question 15

A newspaper prints an article claiming that Jane Smith, a politician, is corrupt, but it has no evidence to support its claim. This is most likely an example of
A) loaded language.
B) cliché.
C) trigger words.
D) libel.
E) slander.

Accepted Answer

Libel refers to defamatory statements made in print or some other fixed medium, such as in a photograph or on a website or blog.

Question 16

Which of the following is an example of slander?
A) During a speech, a politician falsely claims her opponent is having an affair.
B) A magazine prints a story accurately accusing a judge of taking bribes.
C) A blogger posts the false accusation that a politician is financed by criminals.
D) A newspaper prints a photograph that was doctored to make it appear that a celebrity had plastic surgery.
E) During a speech, an activist claims correctly that an official used government funds for personal purchases.

Accepted Answer

Slander is a defamatory statement made aloud, within earshot of others. Derogatory statements made in print or some other fixed medium are libel.

Question 17

Trigger words are also known as
A) defamation.
B) loaded language.
C) libel.
D) slander.
E) clichés.

Accepted Answer

Loaded language, or words with strongly positive or negative connotations, are also called trigger words because their connotations can act like a trigger for listeners by setting off intense emotional responses.

Question 18

Which of the following statements about libel is true?
A) It is one of five types of defamation that exist.
B) It will improve the credibility of the accuser.
C) It is a statement made in person within earshot of others.
D) It is a statement made up of only loaded language.
E) It is a statement made in print or another fixed medium.

Accepted Answer

Libel refers to defamatory statements made in print or some other fixed medium, such as in a photograph or on a website or blog.

Question 19

A politician uses the phrase "corporate welfare" when referring to his opponent's plan to give tax breaks to businesses. This is an example of using
A) slander.
B) loaded language.
C) defamation.
D) libel.
E) a cliché.

Accepted Answer

Loaded language consists of words with strongly positive or negative connotations. By referring to a tax break as corporate welfare, the politician hopes to elicit a negative response to the idea of giving away something that hasn't been earned.

Question 20

Which of the following is true about loaded language?
A) It triggers only negative connotations.
B) It triggers only positive connotations.
C) It is considered to be defamatory.
D) It sets off an intense emotional response.
E) It helps improve a person's credibility.

Accepted Answer

Loaded language consists of words with strongly positive or negative connotations. Such words are also called trigger words because their connotations can act like a trigger for listeners by setting off intense emotional responses. It can affect a person's credibility.

Quiz 3: Verbal and Nonverbal Messages

Language is made up of symbols that take the form of

English speakers use the word house and Spanish speakers use the word casa to indicate the same concept: a residence people live in. This is an example of how language

The syntactic rules of language

When someone says, "Have a nice day," we use ________ rules to determine what he or she means.

In Ogden-Richards's theory of the semantic triangle, the word tree is the

A connotative meaning of the word family is

Which of the following terms would be considered the most concrete in Hayakawa's Ladder of Abstraction?

Which of the following statements about ambiguous language is true?

Words that are more concrete are more likely to be

Imagine that you have just listened to five people talking about five different topics. All you know about them besides their topics is their occupations. Given this information, whom would you consider most credible?

Which of the following statements about language and its relationship to credibility is true?

Using the word bubbler to describe a water fountain is an example of

The phrase "the grass is always greener" is an example of

A newspaper prints an article claiming that Jane Smith, a politician, is corrupt, but it has no evidence to support its claim. This is most likely an example of

Which of the following is an example of slander?

Trigger words are also known as

Which of the following statements about libel is true?

A politician uses the phrase "corporate welfare" when referring to his opponent's plan to give tax breaks to businesses. This is an example of using

Which of the following is true about loaded language?