Question 1

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

Accepted Answer

A) pit/bit 
B) fat/get 
C) goof/off 
D) ped/pedal 
E) gal/legal 
A) pit/bit 
B) fat/get 
C) goof/off 
D) ped/pedal 
E) gal/legal

Question 2

Linguistic displacement is

Accepted Answer

A) the ability to use the rules of language to produce entirely new expressions. 
B) the lexical difference between a protolanguage and a daughter language. 
C) the ability to respond to environmental stimuli. 
D) the linguistic dimension of culture shock. 
E) the ability to talk about things that are not present. 
A) the ability to use the rules of language to produce entirely new expressions. 
B) the lexical difference between a protolanguage and a daughter language. 
C) the ability to respond to environmental stimuli. 
D) the linguistic dimension of culture shock. 
E) the ability to talk about things that are not present.

Question 3

What are the key structures of language? Why is it important to know and understand these features?

Accepted Answer

The key structures of language include p

Question 4

Most professional linguists regard BEV as what?

Accepted Answer

A) A protolanguage 
B) A distinct language 
C) A linguistic anomaly 
D) A dialect of English 
E) An inferior version of English 
A) A protolanguage 
B) A distinct language 
C) A linguistic anomaly 
D) A dialect of English 
E) An inferior version of English

Question 5

Linguists believe that

Accepted Answer

A) only 120 languages are now spoken in the world. 
B) the number of languages spoken in the world is increasing rapidly. 
C) nothing can be done to preserve linguistic diversity. 
D) all people should study English in order to facilitate cross-cultural communication. 
E) the world's linguistic diversity has been cut in half over the past 500 years. 
A) only 120 languages are now spoken in the world. 
B) the number of languages spoken in the world is increasing rapidly. 
C) nothing can be done to preserve linguistic diversity. 
D) all people should study English in order to facilitate cross-cultural communication. 
E) the world's linguistic diversity has been cut in half over the past 500 years.

Question 6

What does the Sapir-Whorf hypothesis argue?

Accepted Answer

A) The degree of cultural complexity is related to the effectiveness of languages as systems of communication. 
B) The languages people speak influence the way they think. 
C) The Hopi do not use three verb tenses; thus, they have no concept of time. 
D) Culture determines what language is able to describe. 
E) All humans are endowed with the ability to use language. 
A) The degree of cultural complexity is related to the effectiveness of languages as systems of communication. 
B) The languages people speak influence the way they think. 
C) The Hopi do not use three verb tenses; thus, they have no concept of time. 
D) Culture determines what language is able to describe. 
E) All humans are endowed with the ability to use language.

Question 7

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

Accepted Answer

A) ethnosemantics. 
B) biosemantics. 
C) protolinguistics. 
D) phonemics. 
E) kinesics. 
A) ethnosemantics. 
B) biosemantics. 
C) protolinguistics. 
D) phonemics. 
E) kinesics.

Question 8

After being spoken for generations, pidgins may develop into

Accepted Answer

A) focal vocabularies. 
B) syntaxes. 
C) protolanguages. 
D) creole languages. 
E) diglossias. 
A) focal vocabularies. 
B) syntaxes. 
C) protolanguages. 
D) creole languages. 
E) diglossias.

Question 9

Which of the following statements best describes the use of language by apes?

Accepted Answer

A) Only humans are capable of learning and using language. 
B) Apes use American Sign Language in the wild. 
C) Apes cannot be taught to use American Sign Language. 
D) Only chimpanzees can learn American Sign Language. 
E) Apes can learn American Sign Language and have shown the capacity for cultural transmission, productivity, and displacement, although there is still a gap between human and other ape language capabilities. 
A) Only humans are capable of learning and using language. 
B) Apes use American Sign Language in the wild. 
C) Apes cannot be taught to use American Sign Language. 
D) Only chimpanzees can learn American Sign Language. 
E) Apes can learn American Sign Language and have shown the capacity for cultural transmission, productivity, and displacement, although there is still a gap between human and other ape language capabilities.

Question 10

Historical linguists study similarities and differences between languages spoken today in order to make inferences about long-term linguistic change.

Accepted Answer

A) True 
 B)False

Question 11

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

Accepted Answer

A) Morphemes 
B) Phonemes 
C) Syntax 
D) Grammar 
E) Diglossia 
A) Morphemes 
B) Phonemes 
C) Syntax 
D) Grammar 
E) Diglossia

Question 12

The term protolanguage is used to refer to the limited communication systems of nonhuman primates.

Accepted Answer

A) True 
 B)False

Question 13

What genetic difference has been found between humans and chimpanzees that is likely responsible for the human capability for speech?

Accepted Answer

A) A mutation in the FOXP2 gene 
B) A mutation in the microcephalin gene 
C) A mutation in the hyoid 
D) A mutation in the lungs 
E) A mutation in the tongue 
A) A mutation in the FOXP2 gene 
B) A mutation in the microcephalin gene 
C) A mutation in the hyoid 
D) A mutation in the lungs 
E) A mutation in the tongue

Question 14

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

Accepted Answer

A) there are no discernible differences between the way men and women use language. 
B) men tend to make eye contact more frequently than women. 
C) women tend to recite information in an attempt to solidify their position in a social hierarchy. 
D) men rely more on nonverbal gestures than do women. 
E) women tend to use language to build social connections with others. 
A) there are no discernible differences between the way men and women use language. 
B) men tend to make eye contact more frequently than women. 
C) women tend to recite information in an attempt to solidify their position in a social hierarchy. 
D) men rely more on nonverbal gestures than do women. 
E) women tend to use language to build social connections with others.

Question 15

What do sociolinguists study?

Accepted Answer

A) Bipedalism 
B) Speech in its social context 
C) The universal grammar of language 
D) Cognitive capacity for language 
E) Cross-cultural phonemic distinctions 
A) Bipedalism 
B) Speech in its social context 
C) The universal grammar of language 
D) Cognitive capacity for language 
E) Cross-cultural phonemic distinctions

Question 16

What term refers to languages that have descended from the same ancestral language?

Accepted Answer

A) Descendant languages 
B) Sibling languages 
C) Daughter languages 
D) Brother languages 
E) Protolanguages 
A) Descendant languages 
B) Sibling languages 
C) Daughter languages 
D) Brother languages 
E) Protolanguages

Question 17

Nonhuman primate call systems demonstrate linguistic productivity, combining calls to produce new expressions.

Accepted Answer

A) True 
 B)False

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

Linguistic displacement is

What are the key structures of language? Why is it important to know and understand these features?

Most professional linguists regard BEV as what?

Linguists believe that

What does the Sapir-Whorf hypothesis argue?

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

After being spoken for generations, pidgins may develop into

Which of the following statements best describes the use of language by apes?

Historical linguists study similarities and differences between languages spoken today in order to make inferences about long-term linguistic change.

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

The term protolanguage is used to refer to the limited communication systems of nonhuman primates.

What genetic difference has been found between humans and chimpanzees that is likely responsible for the human capability for speech?

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

What do sociolinguists study?

What term refers to languages that have descended from the same ancestral language?

Nonhuman primate call systems demonstrate linguistic productivity, combining calls to produce new expressions.

What Is Anthropology

Culture

Doing Anthropology

Making a Living

Political Systems

Families, Kinship, and Marriage

Gender

Religion

Ethnicity and Race

Applying Anthropology

The World System and Colonialism

Anthropologys Role in a Globalizing World

Filters

Exam 4: Language and Communication

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

Linguistic displacement is

What are the key structures of language? Why is it important to know and understand these features?

Most professional linguists regard BEV as what?

Linguists believe that

What does the Sapir-Whorf hypothesis argue?

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

After being spoken for generations, pidgins may develop into

Which of the following statements best describes the use of language by apes?

Historical linguists study similarities and differences between languages spoken today in order to make inferences about long-term linguistic change.

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

The term protolanguage is used to refer to the limited communication systems of nonhuman primates.

What genetic difference has been found between humans and chimpanzees that is likely responsible for the human capability for speech?

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

What do sociolinguists study?

What term refers to languages that have descended from the same ancestral language?

Nonhuman primate call systems demonstrate linguistic productivity, combining calls to produce new expressions.

What Is Anthropology

Culture

Doing Anthropology

Making a Living

Political Systems

Families, Kinship, and Marriage

Gender

Religion

Ethnicity and Race

Applying Anthropology

The World System and Colonialism

Anthropologys Role in a Globalizing World

Filters