Deck 9: Language Development

Question 1

The sound represented by "ch" in church or change is an example of a

A) morpheme.
B) letter.
C) syllable.
D) phoneme.

Answer 1

phoneme.

Question 2

The sentence "The pencil sang a lovely tune" is ______, but __________.

A) syntactically correct; semantically incorrect
B) semantically correct; syntactically incorrect
C) phonologically correct; syntactically incorrect
D) morphologically incorrect; semantically correct

Answer 2

syntactically correct; semantically incorrect

Question 3

Which of the following statements about morphemes is TRUE?

A) Some words consist of a single morpheme.
B) Some words are made up of more than one morpheme.
C) Morphemes can mark tense and number.
D) All of these answers are correct.

Answer 3

All of these answers are correct.

Question 4

The appropriate use of language in different contexts is part of

A) syntax.
B) semantics.
C) pragmatics.
D) morphology.

Question 5

The fact that changes in word order can change the meaning of a sentence is an example of

A) semantics.
B) syntax.
C) phonology.
D) pragmatics.

Question 6

Twelve-year-old Cade is able to produce all of the sounds of speech and construct complete, accurate, meaningful sentences but struggles with taking turns in a discussion, recognizing humor and figurative language. He is having communication difficulty in the area of

A) phonology.
B) semantics.
C) morphology.
D) pragmatics.

Question 7

The ability to produce and comprehend an endless number of meaningful sentences with a finite set of words and rules is referred to as

A) pragmatics.
B) infinite generativity.
C) organizational rules.
D) phonemes.

Question 8

The sentence "The plan persuaded the passenger to buy the ticket for a first-class seat." is problematic at the _______ level.

A) semantic
B) syntactic
C) phonological
D) pragmatic

Question 9

In a baby's first year of life, what vocalization stage comes after crying?

A) cooing
B) gestures
C) babbling
D) first words

Question 10

In English, we say "white house" (adjective precedes noun), but in Spanish one would say "casa blanca" (noun precedes adjective). This example illustrates different rules of

A) semantics.
B) syntax.
C) phonology.
D) pragmatics.

Question 11

Three-year-old Aspen said to her mother, "Me went to the park. Is you went too?" She is displaying errors in

A) pragmatics.
B) syntax.
C) phonology.
D) semantics.

Question 12

Which of the following statements is NOT true about an infant's use of gestures?

A) A lack of pointing is one characteristic of children with autism.
B) Frequent use of gestures indicates a future language delay.
C) Infants start using gestures at about 8 to 12 months of age.
D) Gesturing is a sign of healthy communication development.

Question 13

Cases like the Wild Boy of Aveyron cause us to wonder whether language is

A) infinitely generative or not.
B) due more to heredity or environment.
C) based on abstract or concrete symbols.
D) more a question of phonology or syntax.

Question 14

The basic unit of sound that affects meaning in a language is a

A) morpheme.
B) letter.
C) syllable.
D) phoneme.

Question 15

Which of the following statements regarding syntax is NOT true?

A) All languages have syntactical rules.
B) The adjective must precede the noun in a sentence for all languages.
C) For any language that we know of, users cannot process subjects and objects arranged in too complex a fashion in a sentence.
D) There are some universal properties of syntax across all languages.

Question 16

Morphology refers to

A) the units of meaning involved in word formation.
B) the way words are combined to form acceptable phrases and sentences.
C) rules regarding how sounds are perceived as different, and which sound sequences may occur in the language.
D) the meaning of words and sentences.

Question 17

Two-year-old Aiden asks his mom if she "bringed" his favorite toy with her. His use of "ed" on the end of the word "bring" to make it past tense indicates an understanding of

A) morphology.
B) pragmatics.
C) phonology.
D) phonemes.

Question 18

Each language consists of a finite set of words, but speakers of a language can create and comprehend a countless number of meaningful sentences without any limit. This is an example of

A) pragmatics.
B) infinite generativity.
C) organizational rules.
D) phonemes.

Question 19

When 6-year-old Sebastian asks the waitress in a restaurant for a fork, he says "Give me a fork." This illustrates a violation of rules in

A) semantics.
B) syntax.
C) phonology.
D) pragmatics.

Question 20

Language is a form of communication-spoken, written, or signed-that is based on a system of

A) words.
B) ideas.
C) symbols.
D) sounds.

Question 21

A rapid increase in an infant's vocabulary that usually begins at around 18 is known as

A) a vocabulary spurt.
B) underextension.
C) overextension.
D) telegraphic speech.

Question 22

Natalie has just turned 2 years old. About how many words are in her speaking vocabulary?

A) 50
B) 100
C) 200
D) 350

Question 23

Jenny is at the zoo with her family. She points to each animal and says "doggie." This illustrates

A) a vocabulary spurt.
B) telegraphic speech.
C) overextension.
D) underextension.

Question 24

According to Kuhl's research, at birth, infants are "citizens of the world," able to recognize sounds regardless of the syllables' language. At what age do infants get better at perceiving the changes in sounds in their own language?

A) 3-6 months
B) 6-9 months
C) 6-12 months
D) 12-18 months

Question 25

Between 18 months and 6 years of age, young children learn about

A) 1 word every waking hour.
B) 10 words weekly.
C) 30 words daily.
D) 30 words weekly.

Question 26

Children's ability to make an initial connection between a word and its referent after only a limited exposure to the word is called

A) telegraphic speech.
B) an overextension.
C) an underextension.
D) fast mapping.

Question 27

Anthony holds up his glass and says, "Milk gone." These types of utterances are referred to as

A) overextension.
B) underextension.
C) a vocabulary spurt.
D) telegraphic speech.

Question 28

Berko's study demonstrated children's understanding of morphological rules. It is impressive to note that the children in the study

A) used morphological rules from utterances they had heard and applied them to words that they have never heard before.
B) were able to answer correctly without understanding or using morphological rules.
C) were unable to apply rules to fictional words.
D) based their responses on past instances of hearing the words used in the study.

Question 29

Telegraphic speech is characterized by

A) two-word utterances only.
B) short, complete sentences.
C) a sequence of succinct single syllable words.
D) short, precise words without grammatical markers.

Question 30

A pragmatic characteristic of a 4-year-old is that they

A) increase the length of sentences across all situations.
B) can only talk about people and things that are here and now, but not those that are elsewhere or of different time periods.
C) change their speech style to accommodate the listener.
D) maintain the same speech style in all situations.

Question 31

According to Berninger, children who enter elementary school with a small vocabulary are at risk for developing

A) behavior problems.
B) speech problems.
C) reading problems.
D) writing problems.

Question 32

As children move beyond two-word utterances, they begin using plural and possessive nouns, appropriate verb endings, prepositions, articles, and various forms of the verb "to be." This is evidence that the children

A) are increasing their vocabulary.
B) have well-established phonology.
C) know morphological rules.
D) know pragmatic rules.

Question 33

Preschool children learn and apply syntax rules. The grammatical error we observe in the question "When we are going outside?" is an example of difficulty with mastering

A) placement of a wh- word at the beginning of a sentence.
B) auxiliary-inversion rule.
C) overgeneralization.
D) fast mapping.

Question 34

At what age can Emily expect her child to say, "Get shoes"?

A) 8 to 12 months
B) 12 to 18 months
C) 18 to 24 months
D) not until after 24 months

Question 35

What is the function of early vocalization (crying, cooing, and babbling) for infants?

A) to practice making sounds
B) to attract attention
C) to communicate
D) All of these answers are correct.

Question 36

Research on the ability of infants to understand words indicates that infants

A) understand words only after they can produce them.
B) do not understand words until around 13 months of age.
C) understand words well before they can produce them.
D) start to understand words well before 3 months of age.

Question 37

A child's first words mainly consist of

A) familiar colors, names, food, places.
B) important people, animals, vehicles, simple grammatical words.
C) familiar shapes, places, greeting terms, body parts, clothes.
D) important people, familiar animals, vehicles, food, body parts, greeting terms.

Question 38

When a child struggles with speech and language development, the professional who provides therapeutic intervention is a(n)

A) pediatrician.
B) elocutionist.
C) speech therapist.
D) English tutor.

Question 39

Which of the following statements about language development is TRUE?

A) Infants speak words before they understand them.
B) Infants understand words before they speak them.
C) Infants produce more nouns than verbs in their first words across all languages in the world.
D) Infants use verbal communication before nonverbal communication.

Question 40

Research about the ability of infants to distinguish human speech sounds indicates that

A) young infants are capable of distinguishing only the sounds they hear in their native language.
B) the ability to distinguish all speech sounds increases as infants grow older through the first year.
C) infants are able to differentiate sound differences in their own language in the first half of the first year, and sound differences in other languages in the second half of the first year.
D) infants are able to differentiate sound differences in languages other than their own in the first half of the first year, and lose this ability in the second half of the first year.

Question 41

Which language approach stresses that reading instruction should parallel a child's natural language learning?

A) metalinguistic
B) alphabetic principle
C) phonics
D) whole-language

Question 42

In social situations, 4- to 5-year-olds will typically

A) speak the same to peers as they would to a 2-year-old.
B) speak the same to adults as they would to a peer.
C) avoid speaking to adults.
D) use shorter sentences when speaking to a 2-year-old.

Question 43

The fact that letters represent sounds in language refers to

A) the whole-language approach.
B) the alphabetic principle.
C) fast mapping.
D) overextension.

Question 44

Which of the following would have the LEAST positive influence on a young child's vocabulary development?

A) the mother's use of diverse vocabulary
B) the mother's talkativeness
C) the mother's literacy skills
D) the mother's language skills

Question 45

Cecilia begins teaching children to read by having them learn to make sounds that go with each letter of the alphabet. Which language approach is Cecilia taking?

A) whole-language
B) phonics
C) information-processing
D) underextension

Question 46

Marquessa is teaching her son to read by sounding out each letter in a word before allowing him to read storybooks. What approach is she using?

A) whole-language
B) phonics
C) overgeneralization
D) underextension

Question 47

José's basic academic subjects are taught in his native language of Spanish in his first year. Six months later, English starts to be used in the instruction, while Spanish is still used but with decreasing proportions. This is an example of

A) the dual-language approach.
B) subtractive bilingualism.
C) the English-only approach.
D) the whole-language approach.

Question 48

In which of the following countries would the rates of dyslexia be expected to be highest?

A) countries where the alphabet script is more phonetically pronounced
B) English-speaking countries, such as the United States and the United Kingdom
C) countries where the GDP is in the bottom 10 percent of the world
D) countries where people have to use at least three languages in their daily communication

Question 49

Which of the following is true of writing in the early elementary years?

A) Some letter reversals are to be expected and do not predict literacy problems.
B) Writing requires a significant amount of practice.
C) Children often invent spellings based on the sounds they hear.
D) All of these answers are correct.

Question 50

Metalinguistic awareness improves considerably in the elementary school years and allows children to

A) think about their language.
B) understand what words are.
C) define words.
D) All of these answers are correct.

Question 51

Chad's parents live on the poverty line. Research has shown consistently that all of the following are important home experiences for Chad's language development EXCEPT

A) the quality of his mother's language and literacy skills.
B) his mother's use of diverse vocabulary when talking to him.
C) providing effective instruction and support.
D) the amount of time his mother spends talking to him.

Question 52

Studies show which of the following about the quality of students' writing?

A) College instructors report that the majority of high school graduates have superior writing skills.
B) Teachers report that their college education program inadequately prepared them to teach writing.
C) Seventy percent of U.S. students in fourth grade are high-achieving writers, but sharply decline in writing skills by twelfth grade.
D) High school students' writing assignments primarily involve analysis and interpretation, and the majority of their writing requires at least 10 paragraphs for each assignment.

Question 53

When Juan moved to the United States from Mexico, he spoke only Spanish. After some time, he spoke Spanish and English. Now he only speaks English. This is an example of

A) the dual-language approach.
B) subtractive bilingualism.
C) the whole-language approach.
D) the bilingual approach.

Question 54

According to Hart and Risley, which group of parents talked less to their young children, talked less about past events, and provided less elaboration?

A) single parents
B) welfare parents
C) middle-class parents
D) professional parents

Question 55

Mrs. Nakayama's students have above-average writing skills. Which of the following statements most likely describes this teacher's classroom environment?

A) Students have peer assistance.
B) Mrs. Nakayama spends a significant amount of time teaching planning, drafting, and revising.
C) Students set writing goals.
D) All of these answers are correct.

Question 56

All of the following are among the six key principles in young children's vocabulary development (as detailed by Harris, Golinkoff, & Hirsh-Pasek) EXCEPT

A) that children learn words for things and events that interest them.
B) that children best learn the words they hear most often.
C) that children learn words best in contexts that are meaningful.
D) that children learn words best when grammar is not practiced along with vocabulary.

Question 57

By 7 years of age, children start responding to the stimulus word "dog" with other words like "cat" or "sheep," or responding to the stimulus word "talk" with "run" or "jump." This is evidence that children at this age have begun to

A) memorize a large size of vocabulary without internal organizations.
B) be confused about words with similar meanings.
C) categorize their vocabulary by phonological features.
D) categorize their vocabulary by parts of speech.

Question 58

Which of the following is an example of the dual-language approach in a U.S. school?

A) Ron's first language is English, and he is taking a Spanish course in middle school.
B) Maria's first language is Spanish. She has a teacher who speaks Spanish during some of her classes and English in others during her initial years at school.
C) Lynn's first language is English, and she takes a Spanish class to learn Spanish for her own interest.
D) Anibal's first language is Spanish. He is taking a Spanish literature class taught in Spanish in addition to his regular classes, which are taught in English.

Question 59

An elementary school class reads a magazine article on insects and sings "The Ugly Bug Ball" with a word chart poster. Later, the students cut out words from a newspaper that might describe bugs and use them to write a poem. Among the methods used to teach reading, this is an example of

A) a metalinguistic approach.
B) a phonics approach.
C) an alphabetic principle approach.
D) the whole-language approach.

Question 60

Research comparing the approaches of whole-language and phonics has shown that

A) the whole-language approach produces superior reading skills.
B) the phonics approach is better used as support for a strategy that emphasizes the whole-language approach.
C) children can benefit from both approaches, but that phonics should be emphasized.
D) whichever approach is used at home will be most effective in school instruction.

Question 61

Vocabulary typically continues to increase at least until

A) adolescence.
B) early adulthood.
C) middle adulthood.
D) late adulthood.

Question 62

Children who are fluent in two languages perform better than their monolingual counterparts on tests in which of the following areas?

A) analytical reasoning
B) concept formation
C) cognitive flexibility and complexity
D) All of these answers are correct.

Question 63

Language development during the adult years varies greatly among individuals primarily depending on

A) gender.
B) voice quality.
C) the level of education and social and occupational roles.
D) geographical location.

Question 64

The use of irony, derision, or wit to expose folly or wickedness is known as

A) metaphor.
B) contrast.
C) satire.
D) dialect.

Question 65

Broca's and Wernicke's areas are predisposed for language functioning and are located in which part of the brain?

A) occipital lobe
B) temporal lobe
C) right hemisphere
D) left hemisphere

Question 66

All of the following is true of speech in older adults EXCEPT that it is typically

A) lower in volume.
B) slower.
C) less fluent.
D) less than adequate for everyday communication.

Question 67

Researchers have found it generally takes immigrant children how long to become proficient in speaking English?

A) 1 year
B) 2 years
C) 3 to 5 years
D) 7 to 10 years

Question 68

When does the "tip-of-the-tongue phenomenon" become readily apparent?

A) adolescence
B) early adulthood
C) middle adulthood
D) late adulthood

Question 69

Sixty-five-year-old Ruth stops speaking to search her memory for the name of her daughter's dog, which she is confident she knows well. This is an example of

A) metaphor.
B) dementia.
C) the tip-of-the-tongue phenomenon.
D) satire.

Question 70

Increased sophistication in word use (metaphors, satire, dialect, etc.) is characteristic of language development during

A) middle childhood.
B) late childhood.
C) adolescence.
D) adulthood.

Question 71

Young adolescents often speak a dialect with their peers that is characterized by

A) unintelligible speech.
B) obscenity.
C) jargon and slang.
D) language patterns unique to adults.

Question 72

After suffering brain damage in a car accident, John can understand language but is no longer able to form words. In which area of the brain did he most likely suffer damage?

A) LAD
B) Wernicke's
C) Broca's
D) occipital

Question 73

Which area of the brain's left hemisphere is involved in language comprehension?

A) LAD
B) Broca's
C) aphasic
D) Wernicke's

Question 74

A soldier suffers brain damage from an injury and is no longer able to speak or understand what others say. He is most likely suffering from

A) LAD.
B) Broca's disorder.
C) aphasia.
D) Wernicke's disorder.

Question 75

An implied comparison between two unlike things is a

A) metaphor.
B) satire.
C) caricature.
D) contrast.

Question 76

Chomsky's Language Acquisition Device suggests that

A) humans are biologically prewired to learn language at a certain time in a certain way.
B) there is a physical structure in the brain exclusively for language acquisition.
C) language acquisition is strictly influenced by environment.
D) language is acquired and stored in the right hemisphere of the brain.

Question 77

Which of the following is NOT a reason that adolescents tend to be better writers than younger children?

A) They are better at organizing ideas before writing.
B) They can distinguish between general and specific points.
C) They are better at stringing together sentences that make sense.
D) They have reached the peak level of their vocabulary development.

Question 78

You see your friend and say "Sup dude?" this is an example of

A) metaphor.
B) caricature.
C) satire.
D) dialect.

Question 79

As theorized by Noam Chomsky, the LAD is responsible for

A) speech production.
B) language comprehension.
C) language disorder.
D) child language acquisition.

Question 80

When is the easiest time to learn a second language?

A) early childhood
B) late childhood
C) adolescence
D) variable across different language systems