Question 1

What do sociolinguists study?

Accepted Answer

Sociolinguists study how language is used in its social context, including social norms, cultural influences, and linguistic diversity.

Answer: E
 Sociolinguists also study cross-cultural phonemic distinctions, or the differences in how speech sounds are perceived and produced across different languages and cultures.

Question 2

What term refers to the specialized set of terms and distinctions that are particularly important to certain groups?

Accepted Answer

Focal vocabulary refers to the specialized set of terms and distinctions that are particularly important to certain groups. These may be related to specific practices, beliefs, or cultural concepts. Examples include medical jargon, legal terminology, and slang used by particular subcultures.

Question 3

The study of the forms in which sounds combine to form words and their meaningful parts is known as

Accepted Answer

Morphology is the study of the forms in which sounds combine to form words and their meaningful parts. Phonology is the study of the sound systems of a language. Syntax is the study of sentence structure. Lexicon is the vocabulary of a language. Grammar is a broader term that encompasses all aspects of the structure of a language, including morphology, syntax, and phonology.

Question 4

Which statement about nonhuman primate calls is not true?

Accepted Answer

Nonhuman primate calls do not demonstrate linguistic productivity, which is the ability to create new expressions by combining other expressions. This is a feature of human language, not nonhuman primate call systems.

Question 5

What does the Sapir-Whorf hypothesis argue?

Accepted Answer

The Sapir-Whorf hypothesis argues that the languages people speak influence the way they think. This means that the structure and vocabulary of a language can affect the perception and interpretation of the world around them.

Question 6

Linguistic displacement is

Accepted Answer

Linguistic displacement refers to the ability to communicate about things that are not immediately present in time or space, such as discussing past events or hypothetical situations.

Question 7

Berlin and Kay's (1969/1992) cross-linguistic study of color terminology revealed that

Accepted Answer

Berlin and Kay found that basic color terms tended to evolve in a specific order, with "black" and "white" being the first basic color terms, followed by "red", then "green" or "yellow", and then "blue", "brown", and "purple" in that order. This evolution was consistent across the languages they studied.

Question 8

In a stratified society, even people who do not speak the prestige dialect tend to accept it as standard or superior.This phenomenon is referred to as

Accepted Answer

Symbolic domination refers to the power of a dominant group to impose its language, customs, and beliefs as the standard by which all others are measured. In a stratified society, where social classes exist, this domination can be even more evident, as members of lower classes tend to accept the language and dialect of higher classes as superior, even if they do not speak it themselves. This phenomenon is a way for the dominant group to exert control and maintain their position of power within society.

Question 9

Most professional linguists regard BEV as what?

Accepted Answer

Most professional linguists recognize BEV (Black English Vernacular) as a dialect of English rather than a distinct language, linguistic anomaly, or inferior version of English.

Question 10

What term refers to the minimal sound contrasts that distinguish meaning in a language?

Accepted Answer

Phonemes are the minimal sound units that can distinguish one word from another in a language. For example, in English, the "b" and "p" sounds are two different phonemes that differentiate words like "bat" and "pat".

Question 11

What term refers to the arrangement and order of words in phrases and sentences?

Accepted Answer

Syntax refers to the arrangement and order of words in phrases and sentences. It is the study of how words are combined to form grammatical sentences in a language.

Question 12

Which linguist has argued that all human languages have a common structural basis and that all humans have similar linguistic abilities?

Accepted Answer

Noam Chomsky is known for his theory of Universal Grammar, which posits that all humans have an innate ability to learn language and that all languages share a common structural basis. This theory has been influential in the field of linguistics and has sparked much debate and research.

Question 13

Deborah Tannen's research on the speech habits of men and women has revealed that

Accepted Answer

Tannen's research has shown that women tend to use language to build social connections with others, often through the use of support, agreement, and empathy. Men, on the other hand, tend to use language to convey information and establish status within a group. This difference in language use can lead to misunderstandings and miscommunications between genders.

Question 14

What is the term for all of a language's morphemes and their meanings?

Accepted Answer

The lexicon refers to the complete inventory of morphemes in a language and their associated meanings.

Question 15

The study of communication through body movements, stances, gestures, and expressions is called:

Accepted Answer

The study of communication through body movements, stances, gestures, and expressions is specifically referred to as kinesics. Therefore, the best choice is E, as it directly relates to the definition given. A, B and D are not relevant to the study of body movements and gestures, while C refers to the study of early forms of language and does not encompass nonverbal communication.

Question 16

Which of the following is a minimal pair in Standard American English?

Accepted Answer

A minimal pair is a pair of words that differ by only one sound (phoneme) in the same position and result in different meanings. In Standard American English, "pit" and "bit" are a minimal pair because they differ by only one sound, /p/ and /b/, respectively, in the same position, and have different meanings. The other options do not meet this criterion.

Question 17

In which region of the United States do people not speak with an accent?

Accepted Answer

Regional speech variations exist throughout the United States. While certain regions may be known for more distinct accents, such as the Boston accent in New England or the southern accent in the Southeast, everyone speaks with some sort of accent or regional variation. Additionally, what may be considered a "neutral" or "standard" accent can vary based on personal perspective and cultural bias.

Question 18

In his study of New York department store employees, Labov found that

Accepted Answer

Labov found that /r/ was pronounced most frequently by workers in the upper-middle-class store (Saks), reflecting a higher prestige pronunciation associated with higher social class.

Question 19

Linguists believe that

Accepted Answer

Linguists believe that the world's linguistic diversity has been decreasing rapidly over the past 500 years. It is estimated that around half of the world's languages are endangered and may disappear within the next century. Therefore, efforts are being made to preserve linguistic diversity and prevent the loss of cultural heritage.

Question 20

Regular shifting between "high" and "low" variants of a language is known as

Accepted Answer

Diglossia refers to the situation when two or more dialects or varieties of a language are used by a community or in different contexts. In diglossic societies, the "high" variant is typically used in formal contexts such as writing, education, and administration, while the "low" variant is used in informal contexts such as conversation and at home. This regular shifting between the two variants is known as diglossia. Displacement refers to the ability of language to refer to things that are not present in space or time, semantics refers to the meaning of words and sentences, kinesics refers to non-verbal communication, and lexicon refers to the vocabulary of a language.

Quiz 4: Language and Communication