Linguistics Test 1 (Chapters 1-6)

Which of the following statements most accurately reflects the degree of iconicity and arbitrariness in American Sign Language (ASL)? a. ASL is a more arbitrary language than English b. ASL is a more iconic language than English, but the degree of iconicity in ASL has declined over the past 200 years c. ASL and English do not differ in arbitrariness d. ASL and English do not differ in iconicity

a. ASL is a more arbitrary language than English

According to Hauser, Chomsky and Fitch (2002), the difference between the faculty of language in the broad sense (FLB) and the faculty of language in the narrow sense (FLN) is that: a. FLN only includes recursion, and so is unique to humans b. FLB only includes recursion, and so is unique to humans c. FLB contains no components that support human language d. FLN contains no components that support human language

a. FLN only includes recursion, and so is unique to humans

________ models are inspired by patterns of neural activity in the brain. a. Parallel distributed processing b. Modularity c. Visuospatial sketchpad d. Autonoetic

a. Parallel distributed processing

Which of the following characterize processing modules? a. They are independent of general cognitive processes. b. They are shared by processes from different domains (such as art and music). c. They draw on controlled process, such as decision making. d. Their workings are available to conscious inspection.

a. They are independent of general cognitive processes.

The phonological rule "A word cannot begin with two stop consonants" is: a. an adequate description of a phonological pattern b. inadequate, in that it does not take syntax and semantics into account c. inadequate, since the pattern can be described more generally d. inadequate, since it is possible, though rare, for a sentence to begin with two stop consonants

a. an adequate description of a phonological pattern

The phenomenon of producing more than one speech sound at a time is called: a. coarticulation b. context-conditioned variation c. parallel transmission d. formant interaction

a. coarticulation

A characteristic that distinguishes each phoneme from every other is called a(n): a. distinctive feature b. morpheme c. phone d. inflection

a. distinctive feature

Analyzing garden path sentences reveals processes involved in: a. interpreting the meaning of sentences that contain ambiguities b. interpreting indirect speech requests c. sentence production by individuals with language disorders d. children's use of one-word phrases

a. interpreting the meaning of sentences that contain ambiguities

Chomsky's claim regarding child language acquisition was that: a. it cannot be explained simply in terms of the language that children hear b. it requires a more sophisticated form of shaping than behaviorists claim c. it is largely tacit rather than explicit d. children require explicit grammatical instruction from parents or caregivers to learn the rules of language

a. it cannot be explained simply in terms of the language that children hear

Children's pretend play is developmentally important because: a. it signifies that one object can stand for another b. it reveals that children can imitate what they see c. it helps young children remember that hidden objects still exist d. it shows that children's thinking processes are vastly different from those of adults

a. it signifies that one object can stand for another

The way we perceive and understand speech is known as: a. language comprehension b. language production c. language acquisition d. language development

a. language comprehension

Content words, which include nouns, verbs, and adjectives, are known as _______ words. a. open-class b. closed-class c. tacit d. explicit

a. open-class

Linguistic productivity is best described as the ability to: a. produce and comprehend novel sentences b. speak more than one language c. speak in semantically correct sentences d. describe linguistic knowledge in explicit terms

a. produce and comprehend novel sentences

A general term that refers to the aspects of an utterance's sound that are not specific to the words themselves (for example, intonation and rate) is: a. prosody b. intonation c. stress d. rate

a. prosody

A rule that refers to itself, such as the rule a sentence may be rewritten as a NP and V and S is called a(n): a. recursive rule b. generational rule c. transformational rule d. arbitrary rule

a. recursive rule

Chomsky used the sentence "Colorless green ideas sleep furiously" to illustrate the point that: a. the associative chain theory of language was invalid b. each word in a sentence serves as a stimulus for the next word c. we use meaning more than syntax in comprehending sentences d. aphasia disrupts semantic relationships between words

a. the associative chain theory of language was invalid

Syntax refers to: a. the grammatical arrangement of words within the sentence b. the system of sounds in a language c. the meanings of words and sentences d. the social rules involved in language use

a. the grammatical arrangement of words within the sentence

A tool to measure the associative meanings of words is: a. the semantic differential b. the associative chain c. longitudinal investigation d. discontinuous constituent

a. the semantic differential

Jackendoff used the examples of a parent and apparent to emphasize that: a. we cannot determine word boundaries on phonological grounds alone b. ambiguity is more widespread in language than is commonly realized c. transformational rules are needed along with phrase-structure rules to provide a complete grammatical theory d. the frequency of a word has a significant effect on how easily it is retrieved

a. we cannot determine word boundaries on phonological grounds alone

Which of the following is an example of deep structure ambiguity? a. They are eating apples. b. Flying planes can be dangerous. c. John is easy to please. d. The child thinks the man left.

b. Flying planes can be dangerous.

A grammar is: a. an infinite set of sentences b. a theory of language c. a finite set of sentences d. an infinite set of rules

b. a theory of language

The speech sounds [t], [d], and [s] are instances of: a. voiced consonants b. alveolar consonants c. fricative consonants d. stop consonants

b. alveolar consonants

The relationship between picked and up in the sentence "George picked the baby up" was seen as evidence against which theory? a. semantic differential b. associative chain c. shaping d. discontinuous constituent

b. associative chain

Processing that proceeds from the lowest level to the higher levels in such a way that all of the lower levels of processing operate without influence from the higher levels is called _____ processing. a. top-down b. bottom-up c. controlled d. parallel

b. bottom-up

The poverty of stimulus argument refers to the fact that: a. children can only learn one language at a time b. children cannot learn language solely from the language samples they hear c. children born into poverty learn language more slowly d. children use single words to convey whole sentences

b. children cannot learn language solely from the language samples they hear

Function words, which include prepositions and conjunctions, are known as _______ words. a. open-class b. closed-class c. tacit d. explicit

b. closed-class

The underlying meaning of a sentence is referred to as its: a. phrase structure b. deep structure c. surface structure d. universal grammar

b. deep structure

The initial sounds in the words big and dig are: a. different morphemes b. different phonemes c. different features d. different allophones

b. different phonemes

Baddeley, Gathercole, and Papagno (1998) used a _______ test to study the relationship between working memory and vocabulary development in children. a. memory span b. digit span c. reading comprehension d. deferred imitation

b. digit span

In contrast with transformational grammar, lexical theories place: a. greater emphasis on constituent structure b. greater emphasis on individual words c. greater emphasis on syntax d. greater emphasis on morphology

b. greater emphasis on individual words

The words blue and blew are: a. allophones b. homophones c. logographs d. suprasegmentals

b. homophones

Most models of memory assume that: a. memory capacity and attentional resources are unlimited b. how many things we can attend to at once depends on the nature of each task c. with practice, there is no limit on how many activities we can perform simultaneously d. working memory and long-term memory have the same storage capacity

b. how many things we can attend to at once depends on the nature of each task

Piaget referred to the concepts we use to organize our experience as: a. imitiations b. intuitions c. schemata d. episodes

b. intuitions

The way we construct and articulate utterances is known as: a. language comprehension b. language production c. language acquisition d. language development

b. language production

A research investigation in which data are collected repeatedly over periods of time is called a: a. case study b. longitudinal study c. pragmatic study d. cross-disciplinary study

b. longitudinal study

A test in which increasingly longer lists of items (such as numbers or words) are presented for later recall is called a ________ test. a. partial report b. memory span c. sketchpad d. Stroop

b. memory span

The system of rules that governs how different forms of the same word may be used convey different shades of meaning is referred to as: a. phonology b. morphology c. syntax d. semantics

b. morphology

The derivational theory of complexity held that the psychological complexity of a sentence was closely related to the: a. number of phrase-structure rules in its derivation b. number of transformational rules in its derivation c. number of recursions in its derivation d. number of particle movements in its derivation

b. number of transformational rules in its derivation

Tacit knowledge of language is best illustrated by: a. our ability to describe the relationships between two words b. our ability to perform activities such as listening and speaking without fully understanding the processes involved in them c. our ability to analyze the structure of a sentence d. all of the above

b. our ability to perform activities such as listening and speaking without fully understanding the processes involved in them

The relation between phoned and up in the sentence John phoned the woman with the curly hair up is handled within transformational grammar by the: a. passive transformation b. particle-movement transformation c. deep structure d. surface structure

b. particle-movement transformation

The smallest unit of sound that makes a difference in meaning is a(n): a. phone b. phoneme c. morpheme d. inflection

b. phoneme

A representation of how words in a sentence are grouped into larger phrases (i.e., constituents) is known as: a. lexical insertion b. phrase structure c. transformational grammar d. recursion

b. phrase structure

The consonants /b/, /d/, and /g/ differ in their ________ a. manner of articulation b. place of articulation c. frication d. voicing

b. place of articulation

When we say, "Can you open the door?" instead of "Open the door!" we are using rules of politeness. These rules are part of which aspect of linguistic knowledge? a. syntax b. pragmatics c. phonology d. semantics

b. pragmatics

Bresnan's lexical-functional grammar: a. postulates case relations in deep structure b. replaces transformational rules with more complete lexical entries c. assumes that lexical encoding places a heavy burden on working memory d. explains how we can produce and comprehend novel sentences

b. replaces transformational rules with more complete lexical entries

Our organized knowledge of words, concepts, symbols, and objects is called: a. episodic memory b. semantic memory c. permanent memory d. working memory

b. semantic memory

The speech sounds [p], [b], and [k] are instances of: a. velar consonants b. stop consonants c. voiced consonants d. alveolar consonants

b. stop consonants

The word-length effect refers to the finding that: a. the longer the word list, the more words a subject can recall b. subjects can recall a greater number of shorter words in a list c. subjects can recall a greater number of longer words in a list d. most subjects cannot recall more than seven plus or minus items in a word list

b. subjects can recall a greater number of shorter words in a list

Daneman and Carpenter (1980) studied the relationship between working memory span and reading comprehension with two span measures. The results suggested that performance on __________ correlated highly with reading comprehension SAT scores. a. the simple digit span measure b. the complex storage and processing span measure c. both the simple digit span and complex storage and processing span measures d. neither the simple digit span nor the complex storage and processing span measure

b. the complex storage and processing span measure

Phonology refers to: a. the grammatical arrangement of words within the sentence b. the system of sounds in a language c. the meanings of words and sentences d. the social rules involved in language use

b. the system of sounds in a language

In the Baddeley and Hitch (1974) model, _________ is a subsystem of working memory. a. the sensory store b. the visuospatial sketchpad c. the speech perception module d. primary memory

b. the visuospatial sketchpad

The studies by Case, Kurland, and Goldberg (1982) on the development of working memory found that: a. there is no increase in working memory capacity from infancy to six years of age b. there is no increase in working memory capacity from six years to adulthood c. there was a positive correlation between response speed and memory span d. all of the above

b. there is no increase in working memory capacity from six years to adulthood

Transformational rules differ from phrase-structure rules in that: a. they "rewrite" constituents into one or more constituents b. they apply to entire strings, not just constituents c. they do not involve deletion of grammatical information d. all of the above

b. they apply to entire strings, not just constituents

Object permanence refers to: a. the use of an object in a symbolic manner b. understanding that an object exists even if it cannot be perceived c. infants' use of an object, such as a rattle, to get adult attention d. the concepts that infants and children use to organize their experience

b. understanding that an object exists even if it cannot be perceived

In English, there is a rising intonation in: a. wh-questions b. yes/no questions c. both wh- and yes/no question d. neither wh- nor yes/no questions

b. yes/no questions

________ are produced by impeding the airflow at some location in the vocal tract. a. Vowels b. Semi-vowels c. Consonants d. Formants

c. Consonants

_______ models divide the activities involved in processing language into non-overlapping stages. a. Top-down b. Bottom-up c. Serial d. Parallel

c. Serial

A formant is: a. a location in the vocal tract b. a rapid movement of the eye c. a band of energy in a spectrogram d. a stroke of a Chinese character

c. a band of energy in a spectrogram

If two distinct phrase markers can be derived for a single sentence, the sentence is said to be: a. declarative b. recursive c. ambiguous d. arbitrary

c. ambiguous

Researchers studying __________ are most likely to make use of a speech spectrogram. a. sociolinguistics b. acoustic phonetics c. articulatory phonetics d. phonology

c. articulatory phonetics

Consonants that are articulated at the lips are called _____ consonants. a. alveolar b. stop c. bilabial d. fricative

c. bilabial

The interdisciplinary field that studies the mind and mental processes is called: a. psycholinguistics b. philosophy c. cognitive science d. linguistics

c. cognitive science

According to Piaget, the transition from the sensorimotor period to the preoperational is signaled by: a. the appearance of the child's first word b. the child's ability to walk unaided c. deferred imitation and pretend play d. the ability of a child to discriminate speech sounds

c. deferred imitation and pretend play

The set of rules needed to generate a sentence is called its: a. phrase structure b. morphology c. derivation d. constituent structure

c. derivation

The type of memory that holds traces of events that are specific to a time and place is called _____ memory. a. semantic b. working c. episodic d. secondary

c. episodic

Memories of childhood vacations are stored in: a. semantic memory b. working memory c. episodic memory d. secondary memory

c. episodic memory

A theory of language that explains the role of linguistic universals in evolution is said to have: a. observational adequacy b. descriptive adequacy c. explanatory adequacy d. linguistic productivity

c. explanatory adequacy

The use of pitch to signify different meanings is: a. stress b. rate c. intonation d. prosody

c. intonation

The study of how children develop language is known as: a. language comprehension b. language production c. language acquisition d. metalanguage

c. language acquisition

The smallest meaningful unit in language is called a: a. phone b. phoneme c. morpheme d. phrase

c. morpheme

A theory of language capable of specifying acceptable and unacceptable sequences in a language is said to have: a. explanatory adequacy b. descriptive adequacy c. observational adequacy d. linguistic productivity

c. observational adequacy

When two or more processes take place simultaneously, it is called _____ processing. a. top-down b. serial c. parallel d. automatic

c. parallel

The distinction between automatic and attentional processes deals with the degree to which a task: a. involves permanent memory retrieval b. requires a deep level of processing c. requires mental resources or processing capacity d. is processed in working memory

c. requires mental resources or processing capacity

In English, the basic word order is: a. subject-object-verb, or SOV b. object-subject-verb, or OSV c. subject-verb-object, or SVO d. verb-subject-object, or VSO

c. subject-verb-object, or SVO

A sentence uttered by a speaker corresponds to its: a. phrase structure b. deep structure c. surface structure d. syntax

c. surface structure

The intellectual tradition of empiricism primarily relies on: a. the role of innate factors, rather than experience in studying behavior b. argument as a means of evaluating hypotheses c. the collection of data to evaluate hypotheses d. the social rules involved in language use

c. the collection of data to evaluate hypotheses

Semantics deals with: a. the grammatical arrangement of words within the sentence b. the system of sounds in a language c. the meanings of words and sentences d. the social rules involved in language use

c. the meanings of words and sentences

The production of vowels is characterized by: a. whether they are voiced or unvoiced b. the location of constriction in the vocal tract c. the position and height of the tongue d. the degree of frication

c. the position and height of the tongue

Which is of primary interest to behaviorists? a. the study of internal mental events such as feelings or images b. the underlying processes involved in translating thought to speech c. the role of experience in shaping language behavior d. how the poverty of stimulus affects language acquisition

c. the role of experience in shaping language behavior

In Diamond's (1985) study of object permanence, infants as young as seven and a half months were able to solve the problem if: a. the object was hidden in a consistent place b. their mother was present during testing c. they were allowed to immediately search for the object d. the object was only partially obscured

c. they were allowed to immediately search for the object

A processing model in which higher-level information may influence processing at the lower levels is called a _____ model. a. bottom-up b. automatic c. top-down d. controlled

c. top-down

_________ experience childhood amnesia, and cannot recall events before their third birthday a. Adults who have suffered stroke b. Children born with aggramatism c. Children who have experienced head trauma d. All adults

d. All adults

Which is NOT true of the null-subject parameter? a. It has two values, subject and no subject b. It is set to different values in different languages c. It addresses whether a language permits constructions without a subject d. It resolves syntactic, but not structural, ambiguity

d. It resolves syntactic, but not structural, ambiguity

________ refers to the fact that acoustic properties of different phonemes overlap in time in the speech signal. a. Coarticulation b. Context-conditioned variation c. Rate of speech d. Parallel transmission

d. Parallel transmission

Which is NOT true of neural network models? a. They are based on patterns of excitatory and inhibitory neural activity. b. They are useful for modeling cognitive processes. c. They are an important alternative to serial models of processing. d. They have not yet been shown to be useful for modeling language processes.

d. They have not yet been shown to be useful for modeling language processes.

Within cognitive psychology, modularity refers to: a. the degree of independence of the language system from the general information processing system b. the belief that language processing strategies are "wired in" c. the notion that working memory, automatic processing, and related concepts play a major role in language comprehension and production d. all of the above

d. all of the above

The study of speech sounds that references the movements within the vocal tract is: a. acoustic phonetics b. speech perception c. categorical perception d. articulatory phonetics

d. articulatory phonetics

Words that function together in a sentence (such as called up) are called: a. associative chains b. semantic differentials c. .garden paths d. constituents

d. constituents

The acoustic information that specifies a phoneme will change based on preceding or following phonemes. This is known as: a. parallel transmission b. coarticulation c. formant interaction d. context-conditioned variation

d. context-conditioned variation

Which of the following is NOT a major parameter of American Sign Language? a. hand configuration b. place of articulation c. movement d. distinctive features

d. distinctive features

The concept that a language contains a large number of meaningful words and also contains a small number of elements that combine to form words is known as: a. derivation b. lexical insertion c. phrase structure d. duality of patterning

d. duality of patterning

The field of psycholinguistics: a. has made few advances since the cognitive revolution of the 1950s and 1960s b. is far less diverse than the field of a few decades ago. c. currently places far less emphasis on discourse and the lexicon than in earlier years d. emphasizes interaction of innate mechanisms and environmental factors in language acquisition

d. emphasizes interaction of innate mechanisms and environmental factors in language acquisition

Sociolinguists study the linguistic behavior of: a. individuals with language disorders b. individuals who are bilingual c. prelinguistic children d. individuals engaged in social interaction

d. individuals engaged in social interaction

The branch of science that focuses on the origin, structure, and use of language is: a. psycholinguistics b. philosophy c. cognitive science d. linguistics

d. linguistics

The study of the relationship between the brain and language is termed: a. aphasia b. psycholinguistics c. sociolinguistics d. neurolinguistics

d. neurolinguistics

What conclusion can be drawn from the text's discussion of the "Ali" sentence? a. we use serial processing when encountering ambiguous words b. we use controlled processing to comprehend ambiguous sentences c. we use top-down processing to comprehend ambiguous sentences d. our intuitions regarding sentence comprehension are not always accurate

d. our intuitions regarding sentence comprehension are not always accurate

Studies of brain-damaged patients with deficits in autonoetic consciousness have provided evidence that: a. episodic memory refers solely to the retrieval of personal facts from long-term memory b. episodic memory is more resilient than semantic memory c. semantic memory is more resilient more than episodic memory d. the distinction between episodic and semantic memory is biologically real

d. the distinction between episodic and semantic memory is biologically real

Experiments that show that subjects use transformational rules and structures when processing sentences provide evidence for: a. reciprocity b. linguistic productivity c. deep structure ambiguity d. the psychological reality of grammar

d. the psychological reality of grammar

Information that is being processed by the cognitive system is temporarily held in ________ memory. a. permanent b. episodic c. semantic d. working

d. working

A theory of language that specifies the relationships among various sequences in the language is said to have: a. observational adequacy b. explanatory adequacy c. descriptive adequacy d. linguistic productivity

descriptive adequacy