Deck 7: Language

Question 1

Bees use _____ to tell their hive mates where to find nectar.

A) dance
B) gesture
C) sound
D) touch

Answer 1

dance

Question 2

One hypothesis suggests that a common origin for vocalization evolved more than 400 million years ago in _____.

A) birds
B) fish
C) frogs
D) reptiles

Answer 2

fish

Question 3

Pinker and Jackendoff posited three questions regarding the evolution of language. Which of the following is NOT one of them?

A) Which aspects of language are uniquely human?
B) Which aspects of language arise from the design of our brains?
C) Which aspects of language belong to more general abilities?
D) Which aspects of language differ from other cognitive processes?

Answer 3

Which aspects of language differ from other cognitive processes?

Question 4

The importance of using our hands as we talk to others suggests that language is an extension of the _____ seen in a variety of species.

A) dominance displays
B) foraging behaviors
C) mating dances
D) predator warnings

Question 5

Chomsky argued that languages are _____ because they consist of a finite set of rules but an infinite number of sentences.

A) comprehensive
B) generative
C) iterative
D) productive

Question 6

Hauser and Fitch (2003) name four particular design features that suggest language is an adaptation. Which of the following is NOT one of those design features?

A) It exhibits a characteristic pattern of development.
B) It is important in sexual selection.
C) It is mediated by dedicated neural circuits.
D) It is present in all humans.

Question 7

According to Chomsky, language was not a product of natural selection but rather a(n) _____ property of brain complexity.

A) acquired
B) emergent
C) intrinsic
D) natural

Question 8

The actual spoken sentence is called the _____, whereas the meaning of the sentence is called the _____.

A) external process, internal process
B) free morpheme, bound morpheme
C) overarching meaning, underlying meaning
D) surface structure, deep structure

Question 9

Humans communicate with language in a way that is different from every other species, whose communication systems tend to be

A) instinctual than learned.
B) less easily understood by others.
C) mapped in a one-to-one manner.
D) more variable in production.

Question 10

When children say "he runned" or "she goed," this is clear evidence that they

A) are applying a past tense rule.
B) just repeating what their parents said.
C) may have a language learning disorder.
D) still have not learned the rules of the language.

Question 11

According to Kirby (2007), there are at least four questions that can be asked from an evolutionary perspective. Which of the following is NOT one of them?

A) Function: How could language evolve?
B) History: When did language evolve?
C) Structure: Why is language the way it is?
D) Uniqueness: Why are we unique in possessing language?

Question 12

Current research suggests that there are a number of parallels between language learning in humans and song learning in birds. In both cases, learning results from a(n)

A) gradual unfolding of a set of instinctual processes.
B) interaction of internal programs and specific experiences.
C) long process of shaping and reinforcement.
D)suite of constraints and formal parameters.

Question 13

There are many behavioral parallels between language learning in humans and song learning in birds. Which of the following is NOT one of those parallels?

A) A listening phase precedes a production phase.
B) Early production is not like adult production.
C) Initial output occurs even without auditory input.
D) Vocal learning is enhanced by social interaction.

Question 14

In an amazing manner, a human infant can acquire any of the more than _____ existing languages on earth.

A) 60
B) 600
C) 6,000
D) 60,000

Question 15

Pinker suggests that the most powerful aspect of language is its ability to convey an unlimited number of ideas from one person to another using

A) a complex grammar.
B) a minimum of effort.
C) either speech or writing.
D) only a stream of sounds.

Question 16

In terms of _____, including vocabulary, grammar, and the range of ideas that can be expressed, there is nothing like human language in other species.

A) accuracy
B) adaptability
C) complexity
D) flexibility

Question 17

Language is _____; that is to say, there is an almost infinite number of combinations of words that can be used to express thoughts.

A) communicative
B) derivative
C) extensive
D)productive

Question 18

What is especially intriguing to Pinker is that parents teach their children language by giving them

A) ample feedback and correction.
B) examples of the language through speech.
C) formal instruction in the rules of the language.
D) lots of repetition and reinforcement.

Question 19

A variety of research studies from numerous cultures suggest that one main topic of language is

A) courtship and mating.
B) finding food.
C) social relationships.
D) warning of dangers.

Question 20

Morphemes that can stand alone are called _____, whereas those that cannot stand alone are called _____.

A) free, bound
B) nouns, verbs
C) regular, irregular
D) words, suffixes

Question 21

_____ argued that there is nothing biologically special about the acquisition of language, but _____ countered that language acquisition is different from other forms of learning.

A) Chomsky, Pinker
B) Darwin, Skinner
C) Pinker, Darwin
D)Skinner, Chomsky

Question 22

Dunbar suggested that language is to humans what _____ is to other primates.

Question 23

Attempts to teach human language to chimpanzees and bonobos suggest that they can achieve a level of language comprehension equivalent to a child of _____ year(s).

A) 1 1/2
B) 2
C) 2 1/2
D) 3

Question 24

One distinctive feature of language is that it is regular and has rules, which we call a _____.

Question 25

One feature of human languages is that they are _____, meaning that sentences can be broken into words and words into speech sounds.

A) arbitrary
B) discrete
C) linear
D) productive

Question 26

Primate language studies have shown that chimpanzees are only capable of acquiring around _____ words.

A) 50
B) 100
C) 500
D) 1000

Question 27

Over the years, it has been been argued by some researchers such as Alvin Liberman that speech is _____; that is to say, humans are able to recognize certain sounds used in human speech in ways that other species cannot.

A) adaptive
B) innate
C) special
D) unique

Question 28

Languages are _____ in that there is no clear relationship between the form of a word and what it represents.

Question 29

Ann and David Premack worked with a chimpanzee named Sarah; they were particularly interested in three questions. Which of the following was NOT one of their research questions?

A) How many words Sarah could learn to understand and use.
B) How Sarah learned rules for relating words to one another.
C) How Sarah learned such concepts as "name of" and "color of."
D) How word meaning was related to existing knowledge.

Question 30

The structure of a sentence and the rules that govern it is called _____.

Question 31

_____ are one species that appears to have a more complex system of communication in that they can use various types of movement to communicate the direction, distance, and quality of food.

Question 32

The rules governing the way that sounds can be combined in a particular language is called its _____.

Question 33

It has been suggested by a variety of authors that the _____ of humans set the stage for language learning, creating both an ideal setting and an immediate need for learning it.

A) advanced technology
B) complex social structure
C) courtship rituals
D) expanded childhood

Question 34

Chomsky proposed that all humans have a set of innate principles and parameters guiding the acquisition, production and comprehension, which he called _____.

Question 35

According to the traditional view, speech perception is processed in ____ area and speech production is processed in _____ area.

A) auditory, motor
B) Broca's, Wernicke's
C) subcortical, cortical
D) Wernicke's, Broca's

Question 36

In both songbirds and humans, there is a ______ after which vocal learning becomes more difficult.

Question 37

A variety of species, including parrots, have the ability to imitate speech sounds, but primates

A) are even better at this.
B) can even produce speech sounds.
C) do not have this ability.
D) sometimes use speech in meaningful ways.

Question 38

Language can be used to describe a variety of internal and external processes, and this is what enables languages, both spoken and written, to set the stage for _____ to play a role in human history that is very different from that of other species.

Question 39

The basic unit of sound in language is called a _____.

Question 40

The smallest meaningful unit in a language is referred as a _____.

Question 41

Chomsky saw language facility as an inborn ability and referred to the mechanism that guided language learning as the _____.

Question 42

Without formal training in the new language, colonized individuals utilize a simple version of the new language, which is referred to as a(n) _____.

Question 43

Discuss the relationship between genetics, the brain, and language processing. Include a discussion of the FoxP2 genes and the various kinds of aphasia.

Question 44

Discuss the research done on primate language learning. What general conclusions can we draw from this research?

Question 45

Most nonhuman primates have the _____ higher in the throat than do humans. This enables them to breathe and drink at the same time, but not to make speech sounds.

Question 46

The gene _____ on chromosome 7 is related to vocal learning and the integration of auditory and motor processes; a rare allele of this gene leads to a disorder called developmental verbal dyspraxia, which involves problems in articulation, production, comprehension, and judgments related to grammar.

Question 47

To make a speech sound, the _____ in our larynx vibrate, modifying the continuous flow of air from our lungs.

Question 48

One aspect of human language that sets it apart from animal communication systems is that it is structured on multiple levels. Discuss the hierarchical structure of language, explaining the characteristics of each level and how the levels are related to each other.

Question 49

Children of immigrants do not just copy the pidgin of their parents, but instead create a new type of language with specific grammatical rules; this more structured form of the original pidgin is referred to as a(n) _____.

Question 50

_____ is the study of meaning and how words relate to the things they refer to.

Question 51

Damage to the brain that results in the patient having difficulty in producing speech but not in understanding it is called _____ aphasia.

Question 52

Describe some examples of animal communication systems. In what way is human language unlike any of these systems?

Question 53

Damage to the brain that results in the patient producing incoherent speech and in not being able to understand the speech of others is known as _____ aphasia.

Question 54

Discuss pidgins and creoles. What do they suggest about the nature of language?