Deck 3: Verbal Communication

Question 1

Which of the following is the best example of a speech community?

A) A sports team
B) Those who speak American English
C) A group of friends
D) Classmates
E) Co-workers

Answer 1

B

Question 2

Which of the following is the best example of the use of abstract language?

A) The net worth of her father is $1,345,874.
B) Jamie has the same Coach bag in white, tan, black, and red.
C) The Smith family owns 3 Lamborghinis.
D) The Smith family owns more cars than Henry Ford
E) The Smith family is extremely wealthy.

Answer 2

E

Question 3

When you are at a restaurant and tell the waiter what you want to order, you are using language's ________function.

A) instrumental
B) persuasive
C) ritualistic
D) imaginative
E) authoritative

Answer 3

A

Question 4

When your friends offer their arguments to get you to stop texting and driving, they are using language's ________function.

A) instrumental
B) persuasive
C) ritualistic
D) imaginative
E) authoritative

Question 5

First day of class and your buddy wants to know your class schedule. You tell her how jammed up your days will be. You are using language's ________function.

A) regulatory
B) persuasive
C) informative
D) imaginative
E) authoritative

Question 6

First day of class and your buddy wants to know your class schedule. You tell her how busy your days will be, but your professor calls you by name and suggests you should be a bit more quiet. Your instructor is using language's ________function.

A) regulatory
B) persuasive
C) informative
D) imaginative
E) authoritative

Question 7

You and your friends love to engage in word play, especially pun battles. In other words, you enjoy language's ________function.

A) regulatory
B) persuasive
C) informative
D) imaginative
E) authoritative

Question 8

For an utterance to be a lie, the speaker must offer information; the speaker must believe the information is not true; and the speaker must __________.

A) have little respect for the listener
B) intend to deceive or mislead
C) make eye contact
D) disrespect him or herself
E) have no ethics

Question 9

We use small talk to connect us to others in an initial encounter. This is an example of the __________ function of language.

A) persuasive
B) instrumental
C) relational
D) regulatory
E) authoritative

Question 10

What is ultimately the function of language?

A) To express emotion.
B) To make meaning.
C) To be able to engage in social interactions.
D) To inform others.
E) To rule others.

Question 11

Andrew talks to his friends using abbreviated words and does not always use correct grammar, but when their professor joins their conversation they all speak with more attention to proper grammar. This switch is an example of language having ____________ meaning.

A) cultural
B) situational
C) ritualistic
D) social
E) representational

Question 12

When Andrew's relatives visit from Chile he speaks with them in their native Spanish. But when his sisters enter the room, he easily moves back to English. This is an example of language having ________ meaning.

A) cultural
B) metaphysical
C) ritualistic
D) tie-binding
E) representational

Question 13

When speakers assume that those who share their culture share their knowledge of a word's meaning, they are engaging in _____________.

A) stereotyping
B) cultural inclusivity
C) cultural presupposition
D) narrowcasting
E) ethnocentrism

Question 14

"I don't procrastinate; I'm just better at doing work under pressure!" is an example of the use of ___________.

A) metaphor
B) positive face-want
C) negative face-want
D) abstract language
E) euphemism

Question 15

___________ is the rules for the proper construction of phrases and sentences.

A) Syntax
B) Grammar
C) Lexicography
D) Articulation
E) Enunciation

Question 16

___________ is the occurrence and ordering of words and sounds to convey an intended meaning.

A) Syntax
B) Grammar
C) Lexicography
D) Articulation
E) Enunciation

Question 17

People belong to __________, that is, people with whom they regularly interact and speak.

A) speech communities
B) language communities
C) language networks
D) speech networks
E) bounded cultures

Question 18

___________meaning is a word's explicit meaning, the one that directly comes to mind when used by a specific speech community. ___________meaning is a word's more implicit, usually emotionally or culturally enriched meaning.

A) Denotative/Connotative
B) Connotative/Denotative
C) Implied/Ritual
D) Ritual/Implied
E) Presentational/Representational

Question 19

The ___________ asserts that the language a speaker uses influences the way he or she thinks.

A) Theory of Metaphor
B) Ambiguity Hypothesis
C) Linguistic Relativity Hypothesis
D) Birdwell's Thesis
E) McLuhan's Quandary

Question 20

Metaphors are unstated comparisons between things or events that share some feature. But it is important to remember that they not only highlight similarities, they ________.

A) can often be misleading
B) are usually used in an effort to deceive
C) require a certain level of intelligence in their interpretation
D) mask differences in the compared concepts
E) must be universal to be considered true metaphors

Question 21

Speaking directly to your friend with little concern for her feelings as you demand that she share her homework answers with you is an example of the use of ________.

A) negative face-want
B) positive face-want
C) bald on-record language
D) off-record language
E) representational speech

Question 22

When you think of puppies and babies, you are usually filled with feelings of affection and compassion. This is likely because of the __________ we associate with these words.

A) denotative meaning
B) politeness
C) connotative meaning
D) euphemisms
E) face wants

Question 23

We provide detail and ask questions, fine examples of the __________function of language.

A) relational
B) ritualistic
C) informative
D) expressive
E) authoritative

Question 24

The two types of face wants are ___________

A) horizontal and vertical
B) right and left
C) positive and negative
D) portrait and landscape
E) one's own and the other's

Question 25

Offering to take notes for your friend when she misses a day of class is likely to build your _________.

A) positive face
B) negative face
C) facework
D) knowledge of the subject
E) looking glass self-esteem

Question 26

There are two language rules of pragmatic competence: first, be clear, and second, _______.

A) show concern
B) don't lie
C) be polite
D) make eye contact
E) be competent

Question 27

When the rules of pragmatic competence conflict, which prevails?

A) be clear
B) don't lie
C) be polite
D) make eye contact
E) be competent

Question 28

The primary difference between a speech community and a speech network is ____________.

A) people in the same speech network agree on the proper use of a language where people in a speech community don't
B) people in the same speech network communicate frequently enough to share a greater understanding of one another
C) speech networks are mostly maintained through technology but speech communities employ face-to-face communication
D) speech networks involve those you are close to but speech communities tend to include people of different viewpoints
E) speech networks tend to limit cultural expression while speech communities encourage it

Question 29

An up-and-coming singer/guitar player at the local bar belts out her favorite song, obviously enjoying language's __________ function.

A) imaginative
B) relational
C) instrumental
D) persuasive
E) authoritative

Question 30

According to the rules of pragmatic competence, ____________.

A) we need to speak directly all the time
B) politeness in communication is key
C) competence comes from confidence
D) communication can be unsuccessful without directly stated meaning
E) clarity is paramount

Question 31

A teacher's ability to control and maintain the attention of his students is an example of ____________.

A) the informative function of language
B) making social meaning
C) the regulatory function of language
D) the ladder of abstraction
E) efficient use of metaphor

Question 32

The difference in the English language between the words home and house is actually a difference in ___________.

A) situational meaning
B) connotative meaning
C) syntax
D) little more than spelling
E) cultural understanding

Question 33

Your sister turns to you and says, "Are you as hungry as I am? Why don't you come to lunch with me?" Her question is a good example of the operation of ___________ in language.

A) positive politeness
B) negative politeness
C) bald on-record expression
D) euphemism
E) metaphor

Question 34

Your sister turns to you and says, "I know you're kind of busy and I don't want to take you away from your homework, but why don't you come to lunch with me?" Her question is a good example of the operation of ___________ in language.

A) positive politeness
B) negative politeness
C) bald on-record expression
D) euphemism
E) metaphor

Question 35

"Argument is war" is an example of ____________.

A) lying
B) a euphemism
C) syntax
D) a metaphor
E) abstract speech

Question 36

Which of the following is an example of a euphemism?

A) The boss had to let go one of his workers.
B) After 15 years, the family's dog died.
C) The boy lied when he told his mom he didn't eat the cookie.
D) The receptionist was overweight.
E) A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush.

Question 37

_____ consists of scripted and superficial conversations based on social convention.

A) Abstract language
B) Lying
C) Small talk
D) Metaphor
E) Situational meaning

Question 38

When a mother tells her teenager that night's curfew time, she is using language's _________function.

A) ritualistic
B) imaginative
C) expressive
D) regulatory
E) authoritative

Question 39

The formal units of language are words and ________.

A) grammar
B) motions
C) articulation
D) concepts
E) sounds

Question 40

When you and a friend converse, you both automatically adjust your vocabularies, rates of speech, vocal patterns, accents, and even gestures to ensure efficient meaning making, just as ____________ Theory would predict.

A) Communication Accommodation
B) Metaphor
C) Linguistic Sensitivity
D) Politeness
E) Syntactic Ambiguity

Question 41

Negative politeness, in which speakers expresses their reluctance to impose on hearers is the product of ___________.

A) negative attitude
B) negative face-wants
C) positive face-wants
D) bullying
E) lack of self-esteem

Question 42

Languages such as Spanish and German differentiate between male and female nouns. These are examples of languages that engage in the __________ of nouns.

A) manifestation
B) attribution
C) classification
D) gendering
E) differentiation

Question 43

Languages such as Spanish and German differentiate between male and female nouns. For example, in Spanish bridge is el puente, a masculine noun. In German, bridge is die Brücke, a feminine noun. As a result, German speakers typically attach more romantic adjectives such as beautiful and elegant to their descriptions of bridges, and Spanish speakers tend to speak of bridges as big and strong. This phenomenon demonstrates the operation of the ________.

A) Theory of Metaphor
B) Ambiguity Hypothesis
C) Linguistic Relativity Hypothesis
D) Birdwell's Thesis
E) McLuhan's Quandary

Question 44

According to the theory of metaphor, __________is/are expressed in a language's metaphors.

A) individual biases
B) class distinctions
C) cultural reality
D) the biases of the linguistic elite
E) the biases of the cultural elite

Question 45

Language signifying concepts, qualities, or ideas is __________.

A) abstract language
B) metaphor
C) denotative language
D) connotative language
E) balanced language

Question 46

The linguist ____________ developed the ladder of abstraction to explain how we use various levels of abstraction to make different types of meaning.

A) George Lakoff
B) George Herbert Mead
C) S. I. Hayakawa
D) Wilbur Schramm
E) Marshall McLuhan

Question 47

Which of the following sentences best demonstrates the metaphor of Argument as War?

A) He should listen to his wife's arguments.
B) All you two ever do is argue.
C) He shot down all of my arguments.
D) Democracy is based on reasoned argument.
E) The mongoose is the enemy of the snake.

Question 48

________ is the public self-image that every member of a culture wants to claim for her or himself.

A) Face
B) Dignity
C) Wellness
D) Personality
E) Self-esteem

Question 49

We typically use euphemisms because we wish to obey which rule of pragmatic competence?

A) be clear
B) don't lie
C) be polite
D) make eye contact
E) clarity above all

Question 50

Several languages, German, French, and Spanish for example, utilize familiar and formal versions of the pronoun you. American English does not. This is most likely because ___________.

A) American English is a more modern language
B) the United States, in general, is less formal when it comes to matters of rank and hierarchy than those countries that use German, French, and Spanish
C) as in most things, Americans strive for efficiency
D) the first Americans consciously wanted to differentiate themselves from Europe and its languages
E) Americans prefer efficiency over precision, even in speech

Question 51

Why is the sentence "They are hunting dogs" ambiguous? Explain its two possible meanings and construct less ambiguous sentences to convey more clearly those two meanings.

Question 52

You want to tell your friends about the boat trip you took over Spring Break. Build a ladder of abstraction with at least three levels, including the most concrete and most abstract, indicating how you would tell your story.

Question 53

Linguist Iman Tohidian, when discussing the Linguistic Relativity Hypothesis, says "language not only shapes the way reality is perceived but reality can also shape language." She stresses, however, that "language does influence thought and perception of reality but language does not govern thought or reality." What does she mean by "language influences thought" but "does not govern" it?

Question 54

Identify a speech network to which you belong. What makes it a true speech network and how does your communication differ when interacting with members from that group as opposed to the larger speech community to which you may belong?

Question 55

Each of the words domicile, house, and home, while similar in meaning, produces not only a different thought, but different types of thought. Why? Identify 2 words that, while also similar in meaning, produce markedly different thought or types of thought.

Question 56

Explain the Linguistic Relativity Hypothesis and what it says about the relationship between language and thought. Then give examples of the Linguistic Relativity Hypothesis and how it might operate in speech communities and in speech networks.

Question 57

When the two language rules of pragmatic competence conflict, be polite takes priority over be clear. Please provide an example of a situation where these two rules might conflict and offer a solution to this conflict can be resolved. Hint: the solution resides in politeness theory.

Question 58

Metaphors make unstated comparisons between things or events that share some feature, but they also mask differences in the compared concepts. Take the metaphors of ARGUMENT AS WAR and ARGUMENT AS DANCE and explain what similarities they highlight and what dissimilarities they mask. Be sure to offer examples of the metaphors you believe operate in these ways.

Question 59

Your text identifies 8 functions of language. Name and describe each one, then imagine a typical Monday during the semester in which you make use of all 8 before you sit down to dinner. Using the functions you identified, describe the events/conversations you may have engaged in to get you from first ring of your alarm clock to the dinner table.

Question 60

Differentiate between situational, social, and cultural meaning. Then explain how euphemism might play a beneficial role when we hope to convey situational, social, and cultural meaning. Make sure to offer an example of the use of euphemism in each instance.