Chapter 11 Assessment

Some ambiguous words like 'crutch' have a single major meaning while other ambiguous words like 'pitcher' have multiple, equally likely meanings. Words like crutch have _____ dominance while words like pitcher have _____ dominance. a. biased; balanced b. balanced; biased c. syntactic; semantic d. semantic; syntactic

a. biased; balanced

The concept of late closure refers to the principle that when you are processing a sentence... a. each new word in the sentence tends to be analyzed as the start of a new phrase. b. you try to close off the sentence into phrases late in the processing procedure. c. each new word in the sentence tends to be analyzed as being part of a phrase you are currently processing. d. you try to close the current phrase if the next word you see is semantically related to the previous one.

a. each new word in the sentence tends to be analyzed as being part of a phrase you are currently processing.

What is the word frequency effect? a. people generally respond faster to high-frequency words than low-frequency words b. people generally respond slower to high-frequency words than low-frequency words c. people generally avoid high-frequency words that do not fit the context d. people generally use high-frequency words regardless of the context

a. people generally respond faster to high-frequency words than low-frequency words

"Mike asks John ""Did it get any better?"" John was able to know what Mike was referring to and respond appropriately. Which feature of communication is Mike relying on in this successful conversation?" a. Syntactic coordination b. Common ground c. Maxim of quality d. Maxim of manner

b. Common ground

Suppose there is an eye-tracking experiment in which a participant sees an image like that above and listens to the sentence, "Rachel draws with the marker." What would you expect to be the most likely outcome of such an experiment? a. The participant looks to the image of the marker *before* the word "marker" is said, because the syntax of the sentence makes it clear which object is being referred to. b. The participant looks to the image of the marker *before* the word "marker" is said, because the meaning of the word "draws" constrains the meaning of the sentence. c. The participant looks to the image of the marker *after* the word "marker" is said, because there is no way to know which word will come next in a sentence. d. The participant looks to the image of the marker *after* the word "marker" is said, because vision is a slower process than sentence comprehension.

b. The participant looks to the image of the marker *before* the word "marker" is said, because the meaning of the word "draws" constrains the meaning of the sentence.

How readily do people generate inferences to understand discourse? a. only when they want to later remember the exact situation b. only when it is necessary based on available information c. whenever it is possible to generate an inference d. whenever they want to focus on the unconventional aspects of a situation

b. only when it is necessary based on available information

Which of the following is NOT evidence that language is universal that we discussed? a. humans in all cultures have language b. people can learn to speak many different languages c. the process by which babies develop language is the same across all cultures d. all languages are made of verbs, nouns, and ways to indicate tense

b. people can learn to speak many different languages

What is coherence in discourse comprehension? a. principle that we process information in isolation before we link it to its context. b. representation of one part of the text relating to information in another part of the text. c. mental process by which readers create information during reading that is not explicitly stated in the text. d. mental process whereby ambiguity is resolved online during sentence reading.

b. representation of one part of the text relating to information in another part of the text.

What does the sentence "colorless green ideas sleep furiously" illustrate about the nature of language? a. people understand syntax more easily than semantics b. semantics and syntax are independent from one another c. all sentences must be both syntactically and semantically correct d. people understand semantics more easily than syntax

b. semantics and syntax are independent from one another

The constraint-based approach to parsing states that... a. semantics is only activated to clear up ambiguity. b. semantics is activated as a sentence is being read. c. the grammatical structure of a sentence determines the initial parsing. d. semantics is activated only at the end of a sentence.

b. semantics is activated as a sentence is being read.

Language makes it possible to create unique utterances that can be understood by others because it has a structure that is both ____________ and ___________. a. "linear, simple" b. "linear, governed by rules" c. "hierarchical, simple" d. "hierarchical, governed by rules"

c. "hierarchical, simple"

Which of the following is NOT included in Grice's conversation maxims? a. Only add relevant ideas to a conversation. b. Say things that are truthful. c. Include more details than are necessary. d. Speak clearly.

c. Include more details than are necessary.

"If Lila asks, ""Do you want to go out with me this weekend?"" and Sam responds, ""The Yankee's have been doing quite well this season,"" which of Grice's maxims is being violated?" a. Maxim of quantity b. Maxim of quality c. Maxim of relation d. Maxim of manner

c. Maxim of relation

In a sentence like, "After Brittney Spears sang the song was posted online for her fans to enjoy", why is the sentence temporarily ambiguous according to the garden path model? a. Poor word choice makes the meaning temporarily ambiguous. b. The reader gets confused by the meaning of the word "sang". c. The reader assumes "the song" is part of the previous phrase. d. The reader is confused about the time period in the sentence, since it begins with "after".

c. The reader assumes "the song" is part of the previous phrase.

Most of the coherence in text is created by... a. parsing. b. syntax. c. inference. d. phoneme restoration.

c. inference.

Listeners can make sense of speech, even when a speaker has a very thick accent which can make individual words hard to understand. How do we do that? a. the syntax provided by sentences makes it easier to access ambiguous meanings b. the semantic constraints in sentences makes it easier to follow garden paths c. the context provided by sentences makes it easier to understand variability in speech d. the pragmatics to understand sentences make it easier to process individual words

c. the context provided by sentences makes it easier to understand variability in speech

What does it mean for human language to be "creative"? a. People create new personal relationships using the language. b. People create a new language to be used in sci-fi movies. c. People are artistic in their use of language. d. People create new sentences all the time that they have never heard.

d. People create new sentences all the time that they have never heard.

What did the priming effect in Onifer & Swinney (1981)'s experiment on ambiguous words teach us? a. ambiguous words prime syntactically related meanings that change to semantic meaning over time b. ambiguous words do not immediately prime multiple related meanings when the context doesn't match c. ambiguous words do not prime related semantic concept like normal meanings because of their complexity d. ambiguous words prime multiple related meanings but it takes time for context to home in on the correct meaning

d. ambiguous words prime multiple related meanings but it takes time for context to home in on the correct meaning

When Zared moved to Long Island, he learned that people at grocery stores referred to the metal things with wheels in which groceries are held until checkout as 'wagons' and not 'carts,' which he was used to. Now, Zared uses the word 'wagon' when he talks to people at the grocery store about those objects. What process does this demonstrate? a. given-new contract b. syntactic coordination c. bridging inference d. entrainment

d. entrainment

Ron is an avid reader. He has a large vocabulary because every time he comes across a word he doesn't know, he looks it up in the dictionary. Ron encounters "wanderlust" in a novel, reaches for the dictionary, and finds out this word means "desire to travel." The process of looking up unfamiliar words increases Ron's... a. syntactical capacity. b. parser. c. mental set. d. lexicon.

d. lexicon.