Chapter 10

According to Robin Lakoff, women are more likely to use which of the following?

-"Lovely!" -"Oh, dear!"

Which of the following statements about language loss is true?

-Half of all remaining languages are predicted to disappear during this century. -Colonial languages have expanded at the expense of indigenous ones. -The world's linguistic diversity has been cut in half in the past 500 years. -About 20 percent of the world's remaining language are endangered.

Juanita grew up in the Deep South but moved to Chicago in her early twenties. She quickly shed her southern accent. When she visits her grandmother in Atlanta, however, she will at times speak with the accent she had as a child. This back and forth is called

A style shift.

How are animal call systems different from human language?

Animal calls are set instinctive responses to stimuli and are limited in number in each species that has call systems.

Which of the following is NOT one of the factors that contribute to sociolinguistic diversity in California?

Biological differences that affect the speech organs and thus speech patterns

Primates use vocal systems that consist of a limited number of sounds called

Calls

Cocktail parties in international meeting places such as the United Nations can resemble an elaborate insect mating ritual because

Cultural traditions differ about how far apart people should stand when they talk.

The differing pronunciations of "wash" and "greasy" in California can be attributed to the influence of

Depression-era Oklahoma migrants.

If you need to study a spoken language that has never been written, and you need to identify all the sounds, meanings, and grammatical rules for that language, which type of linguistics would be most helpful?

Descriptive linguistics

Which statement best describes the Sapir-Whorf hypothesis?

Different languages produce different ways of thinking.

Switching between "high" and "low" variants of English speech in Britain is an example of

Disglossia.

A mutated gene known as ____ helps explain why humans speak and chimps don't speak

FOXP2

FOXP2 is universally recognized as the "language gene."

False

True or false: If two languages are closely related, then their speakers must also be closely related culturally or biologically.

False

True or false: Language is the only kind of communication used by humans.

False

Peter is a sailing instructor and frequently uses such terms as jib, tack, tiller, and sheet. His nonsailing friends cannot understand him when he uses such terms. Peter is using

Focal vocabulary.

Specialized sets of words and terms that are particularly important to certain groups are known as

Focal vocabulary.

_____ linguistics study how languages over time, and how groups of languages called language families share a common ancient ancestor language.

Historical

In a well-known linguistic study in New York City department stores, William Labov analyzed how status differences were revealed in language patterns. Which specific feature did he analyze in the language of employees in these stores?

How rs were pronounced after vowels in words such as "fourth" and "floor."

Which type of linguistic research would historical linguists most likely conduct?

How the English language has changed over the past 1,000 years

Jane Hill noted that many English-speaking Arizonans used "Spanishisms" What is the reason for this?

It asserted their regional identity.

Which of the following is NOT true about African American Vernacular English?

It is a grammatical hodgepodge.

Humans often use gestures such as enthusiastic "fist pumps" or hanging our heads in shame. What is the term that linguistic anthropologists use to describe this type of communication?

Kinesics

_____ is the study of body language and gestures to understand nonverbal communication.

Kinesics

As compared to Americans, Brazilians

Kiss each other much more frequently.

_____ can be spoken, written, or signed and is based on learned meanings and symbols.

Language

Which statement is true regarding language?

Language is a form of communication that must be learned.

The meanings of spoken language can be changed, enhanced, or even negated by accompanying facial expressions or gestures. What is the general term for this other dimension of human communication?

Nonverbal communication

What aspects of language are studied in descriptive linguistics?

Phonology, morphology, lexicon, and syntax

The ability to combine words and meanings to create new expressions is referred to as

Productivity

When Washoe, a chimp who learned American Sign Language, saw a swan and did not know the sign for it, she combined two signs that she did know to give it the name "waterbird." This feat showed that she had a linguistic ability called

Productivity.

William Labov did a study of how r was pronounced in New York City department stores. Which of the following statements best describes his findings?

Social class differences were revealed by whether or not the r was pronounced after vowels in words such as "fourth" and "floor."

Some linguists study how factors such as the social class, ethnicity, region, or gender influence language. What is the name for this field of linguistics?

Sociolinguistics

Which field of linguistics analyzes the ways in which language is used in different social contexts?

Sociolinguistics

Some linguists have proposed that the grammar of different languages causes different ways of thinking among the world's cultures. What name do linguistics use to refer to this idea?

The Sapir-Whorf hypothesis

Jane Hill studied restaurant menus in Arizona to understand how they reflected linguistic and sociological differences. Why did Mexican-themed restaurants only us a little Spanish, rather than a significant amount?

To accommodate nativist customers

True or false: Many items of vocabulary in contemporary English come from French.

True

According to K. David Harrison, an indigenous language is lost every

Two weeks.

Noam Chomsky proposed that the structure of the human brain causes all human languages to be structured similarly. What is the term used to describe this concept?

Universal grammar

On colonial sugar plantations in the Caribbean, enslaved people from various African nations who originally spoke many different languages developed new languages called creole languages. These languages, such as Gullah, Haitian creole, and New Orleans creole, share certain rules of syntax and language structure. Chomsky theorizes that these similarities in language structure occur because of the nature of the human brain, and calls this recurring pattern for organizing language

Universal grammar.

Among African Americans, who is most likely to use African American Vernacular English?

Urban youth

Robin Lakoff, a linguist who studies American speech patterns, has identified some gender differences. Why did she say that women were more likely to say such things as "Oh my goodness!" and men were more likely to curse or swear?

Women's speech reflects women's traditional lesser power in American society.