Deck 12: Language Structure

Question 1

Compared with the right hemisphere,the left hemisphere is:

A) similar in size.
B) larger.
C) smaller.
D) larger in the language processing regions.

Answer 1

similar in size.

Question 2

_____ study the structure of natural languages.

A) Sociologists
B) Linguists
C) Psycholinguists
D) Psychologists

Answer 2

Linguists

Question 3

_____ concerns the sound structure of sentences.

A) Grammar
B) Phonology
C) Semantics
D) Syntax

Answer 3

Phonology

Question 4

_____ refers to the fact that the utterances of a language are systematic in many ways.

A) Generatability
B) Productivity
C) Regularity
D) Systematicity

Question 5

Linguistic intuition is an example of _____ knowledge.

A) declarative
B) episodic
C) implicit
D) semantic

Question 6

According to linguists,a grammar:

A) needs only to be able to prescribe all acceptable utterances in the language.
B) needs only to be able to reject all unacceptable utterances in the language.
C) needs to be able to prescribe all acceptable utterances and reject all unacceptable utterances.
D) should help to regularize the language.

Question 7

Some patients with Wernicke's aphasia:

A) can comprehend but not generate speech.
B) can generate but not comprehend speech.
C) can comprehend and generate speech.
D) cannot comprehend or generate speech.

Question 8

For MOST individuals,language is lateralized in the:

A) left hemisphere.
B) right hemisphere.
C) anterior portions of the brain.
D) posterior portions of the brain.

Question 9

Some patients with Broca's aphasia:

A) can comprehend but not generate speech.
B) can generate but not comprehend speech.
C) can comprehend and generate speech.
D) cannot comprehend or generate speech.

Question 10

_____ concerns inflection and word order.

A) Grammar
B) Phonology
C) Semantics
D) Syntax

Question 11

_____ concerns the meaning of sentences.

A) Grammar
B) Phonology
C) Semantics
D) Syntax

Question 12

Wernicke's area is located in the _____ region.

A) parietal
B) prefrontal
C) occipital
D) temporal

Question 13

An aphasia is a loss of:

A) hearing function.
B) language function.
C) visual function.
D) the ability to recognize objects.

Question 14

Rules that account for the productivity and the regularity of a language are referred to as:

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

Question 15

Broca's area is located in the _____ region.

A) parietal
B) prefrontal
C) occipital
D) temporal

Question 16

Of the possible word combinations,_____ form sentences.

A) all
B) most
C) about half
D) very few

Question 17

Young children who suffer left-hemispheric damage:

A) never develop language.
B) develop only rudimentary language skills in the left hemisphere.
C) develop only rudimentary language skills in the right hemisphere.
D) may develop language in the right hemisphere.

Question 18

Some patients with Wernicke's aphasia:

A) generate meaningful but ungrammatical speech.
B) generate grammatical but meaningless speech.
C) generate ungrammatical and meaningless speech.
D) suffer difficulty in repeating speech.

Question 19

_____ refers to the fact that an infinite number of utterances are possible in any language.

A) Generatability
B) Productivity
C) Regularity
D) Systematicity

Question 20

Some patients with Broca's aphasia:

A) generate meaningful but ungrammatical speech.
B) generate grammatical but meaningless speech.
C) generate ungrammatical and meaningless speech.
D) suffer difficulty in repeating speech.

Question 21

Garrett's positional level corresponds to:

A) a single phrase.
B) multiple phrases.
C) a full clause.
D) a full sentence.

Question 22

According to Chomsky,the psychologist's task is to develop a theory of linguistic:

A) competence.
B) performance.
C) productivity.
D) regularity.

Question 23

Speakers tend to produce sentences _____ at a time.

A) one word
B) two words
C) one phrase
D) two phrases

Question 24

The sentence "They are stewing meats" is an example of a _____ ambiguity.

A) lexical
B) productive
C) regular
D) structural

Question 25

Which spoonerism are participants MORE likely to produce?

A) Past Time to Tast Pime
B) Pold Gipe to Gold Pipe
C) Vule Pake to Pule Vake
D) Zald Tead to Tald Zead

Question 26

A person's abstract knowledge of her language is referred to as linguistic:

A) competence.
B) performance.
C) productivity.
D) regularity.

Question 27

The sentence "He is very interested in cranes" is an example of a _____ ambiguity.

A) lexical
B) productive
C) regular
D) structural

Question 28

Which sentence is MOST likely to be produced?

A) I speak [pause] tonight for the dignity [pause] of man and the destiny of democracy.
B) I speak tonight [pause] for the dignity of man [pause] and the destiny of democracy.
C) I speak tonight for [pause] the dignity of man and the [pause] destiny of democracy.
D) I speak tonight for the [pause] dignity of man and the destiny of [pause] democracy.

Question 29

_____ ambiguities arise when a word has two or more distinct meanings.

A) Lexical
B) Productive
C) Regular
D) Structural

Question 30

Garrett's functional level corresponds to:

A) a single phrase.
B) multiple phrases.
C) a full clause.
D) a full sentence.

Question 31

According to Chomsky,the linguist's task is to develop a theory of linguistic:

A) competence.
B) performance.
C) productivity.
D) regularity.

Question 32

_____ errors occur at the functional level.

A) Phrase
B) Sentence
C) Sound
D) Word

Question 33

_____ ambiguities arise when an entire phase or sentence has two or more meanings.

A) Lexical
B) Productive
C) Regular
D) Structural

Question 34

The application of linguistic knowledge in speaking or listening is referred to as linguistic:

A) competence.
B) performance.
C) productivity.
D) regularity.

Question 35

The hierarchical division of a sentence into phrase units is referred to as:

A) syntactic formalism.
B) phrase structure.
C) pause structure.
D) tree structure.

Question 36

_____ move(s)elements from their normal positions in the phrase structure of a sentence.

A) Rephrasing
B) Repositioning
C) Substitutions
D) Transformations

Question 37

In human language,the relation between signs and meanings is:

A) not arbitrary.
B) arbitrary.
C) arbitrary in reading.
D) arbitrary in sign language.

Question 38

When speakers correct themselves,they tend to correct:

A) only the incorrect word.
B) the entire phrase.
C) the entire clause.
D) the entire sentence.

Question 39

Which is NOT a feature of human language?

A) semanticity and arbitrariness of units
B) displacement in time and space
C) discreteness and productivity
D) All of the answers are features of human language.

Question 40

_____ errors occur at the positional level.

A) Phrase
B) Sentence
C) Sound
D) Word

Question 41

Describe the features that are considered critical to human language.

Question 42

What is a spoonerism? Why are spoonerisms interesting?

Question 43

Describe each stage of language acquisition.

Question 44

Children might use the word dog to refer to any furry four-legged animal.This is an example of:

A) approximation.
B) categorization.
C) generalization.
D) overextension.

Question 45

What is the goal of linguistics?

Question 46

What evidence suggests that sentences are produced a phrase at a time?

Question 47

What evidence suggests that language depends on thought?

Question 48

Rosch (1973)compared Dani and English speakers' ability to learn nonsense names for colors.What did she find?

A) Only Dani speakers find it easier to learn nonsense names for focal colors than for nonfocal colors.
B) Only English speakers find it easier to learn nonsense names for focal colors than for nonfocal colors.
C) Both Dani speakers and English speakers find it easier to learn nonsense names for focal colors than for nonfocal colors.
D) Neither Dani speakers and English speakers find it easier to learn nonsense names for focal colors than for nonfocal colors.

Question 49

What purpose does grammar serve?

Question 50

Which is NOT a feature of honeybee communication?

A) semanticity and arbitrariness of units
B) displacement in time and space
C) discreteness and productivity
D) These are all features of honeybee communication.

Question 51

What evidence suggests that infants are born with phonemic knowledge that they later discard?

Question 52

By the age of 5.5,Kanzi's comprehension of spoken English was equivalent to that of a _____-year-old human.

A) 1
B) 2
C) 5
D) 12

Question 53

Explain the modularity position.

Question 54

How do young children inflect the word sing to indicate past tense?

A) Young children use sang.
B) Young children use singed until corrected.
C) Young children use singed then sanged then sang.
D) Young children use sang then singed then sang.

Question 55

What three types of rules make up a grammar?

Question 56

What was Watson's view of cognitive activity? What evidence supported his claim? What evidence detracted from his claim?

Question 57

Which feature(s)allow(s)the elements of language to be combined?

A) semanticity and arbitrariness of units
B) displacement in time and space
C) discreteness and productivity
D) All of the answers are correct.

Question 58

According to _____,language strongly influences the way that a person perceives the world.

A) Chomsky
B) Skinner
C) Thorndike
D) Whorf

Question 59

Across the entire globe,_____ speak a language.

A) all people
B) most people
C) all people,except those in isolated communities,
D) all people,except those in primitive cultures,

Question 60

What are the two hypotheses about why humans are intellectually different from other species?

Question 61

Why is children's speech sometimes referred to as telegraphic?

Question 62

Why should researchers NOT bother to teach apes to speak? What are the alternative options?

Question 63

Which brain region is NOT implicated in human language abilities?

A) Broca's area
B) the ventromedial prefrontal cortex
C) the angular gyrus
D) Wernicke's area

Question 64

In some cultures,parents do not speak to their children at all.

Question 65

Young children who suffer left-brain damage may still develop language.

Question 66

Younger children are better at mastering the finer points of language than older children.

Question 67

The child first learns to speak some kinds of sentences perfectly,then learns to speak other kinds of sentences perfectly,and so on.

Question 68

What evidence suggests a critical period for the acquisition of phonological knowledge?

Question 69

Language learning is fastest for the youngest.

Question 70

Speakers often generate sentences one word at a time.

Question 71

"The Lord is a shoving leopard to his flock" and "easier for a camel to go through the knee of an idol" are examples of which type of speech errors,which consists of exchanges of sounds between words?

A) Chomskian production errors
B) psycholinguistic conjunctive errors
C) Freudian slips
D) spoonerisms

Question 72

According to Chomsky,there is no such thing as internal mental activity.

Question 73

There are no universal constraints on the kinds of languages that humans can learn.

Question 74

Kanzi,the bonobo,spontaneously started to use lexigrams.

Question 75

Linguists focus much of their study of language on two elements: _____,which is concerned with the infinite number of utterances that are possible,and _____,which centers on the systematic nature of these utterances.

A) volume;cadence
B) replication;uniformity
C) productivity;regularity
D) selectivity;routinization

Question 76

How are first-language acquisition and typical second-language acquisition different?

Question 77

What is meant by parameter setting?

Question 78

Different cultures cut up the color space differently.

Question 79

Which is NOT a type of language rule that is part of a language's grammar?

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

Question 80

What evidence suggests that grammar seems to be sensitive to a critical period?