ANT 101 Exam 4

Historical linguistics

-how languages change over time -how new languages develop -How languages are related to eachother

Dialect

A regional variety of a language distinguished by vocabulary, spelling, and pronunciation.

AAVE

African American Vernacular English

Which of the following is true about language variation?

Both context and social identity have an affect on a speaker's choice of variant.

You are at a party and a girl across from you is talking with a guy and she says, "You are so funny, dude!" What kind of attitude or stance is the girl indexing?

Cool solidarity, which suggests that the guy has been "friend-zoned"

Linguistic relativity

Edward Sapir and Benjamin Whorf asserts that language has the power to shape the way people see the world

Emic vs etic

Emic: culture-specific perspective (within each culture); Etic: humans are humans, regardless of culture

An anthropologist comparing cultures by reading about them is an example of which perspective?

Etic perspective

FTA

Face Threatening Act

As understood by Deutscher in his article, "Whorf Revisited: You Are What You Speak", which of the following terms describes the form of spatial language used in the following sentence? "When you get up from your seat head south, then at the third desk sit down."

Geographic

_______________ is concerned with the study of relationships between earlier and later forms of a language, antecedents (in older languages) of developments in modern languages, and relationships among older languages.

Historical linguistics

MacNeil talks about the complexity of American English and our understandings of it in his article "Do You Speak American?". Which of the following is an example of language that prescriptivist supporters would use?

I hope it won't rain tomorrow.

Which is TRUE about African American (Vernacular) English?

It is linked to the Western African slave trade and racial segregation.

Sapir-Whorf hypothesis tells us our language influences our worldview and predispose us to think in a particular way. This perspective is more generally called

Linguistic relativism

In Bailey's "Communication of Respect", the African American community practices involvement politeness while the Korean immigrant community practices restraint politeness. A typical example of restraint politeness would be

Not imposing on others in apologies and not demanding them

Pidgin vs. creole

Pidgin: no native speakers, develops in a single generation between members of communities that possess distinct native languages

Hedging (maybe, possibly, sort of, just, etc.) in American society is an example of what?

Powerless language

A student is hot in the classroom and asks the professor, "Can you crack the window? It's really hot today." If the professor were to take this question at its literal meaning, and physically break the window, they would not have understood the ________ meaning of the question.

Pragmatic

Which of the following examples support the Sapir-Whorf hypothesis?

The Hebrew language emphasizes gender more than the Finnish language. Therefore, Hebrew-speaking children acquire the concept of gender earlier than Finnish-speaking children.

When a language or dialect is stigmatized, this suggests what about the people who speak this language or dialect?

They are similarly stigmatized.

Speech acts can be indicators of identity, which of the following identities is NOT typically associated with American women who use creaky voice?

Waitress at Rudy's

Using a variety of forms of communication is a human universal. Cross-culturally, all human societies have all EXCEPT which of the following forms?

Written communication that conveys ideas through written symbols

The main difference between a pidgin and a creole is that

a creole has native speakers, but a pidgin does not

A speech event includes all BUT which of the following?

a person giving a lecture or sermon does include: -cultural significance -certain known rules to be followed -an "opening" and a "closing"

One method of linguistic anthropology that would result in the most empirical data is

a recording and observation of people's actual uses of language

As a variation of cultural relativity, the principle of linguistic relativity states that

all dialects are equally effective as systems of communication

A cross-cultural perspective on human languages shows that

all languages have complex grammar and syntax

Threats to negative face

being assertive, interupting a conversation, talking to someone w/headphones in, teacher calling on the quiet kid

A Scottish butler in an English mansion says to the lady of the house, "You may wish to stay inside today, Madam; it's quite cold outside." But when he goes back to his own cottage he is likely to say to his wife in broad Scots, "Shut the door and get inside, Maggie, you'll freeze your buns off." In linguistics this is an example of

code switching

Fairytales can be a form of enculturation because they

communicate group norms and values

Humans are the only species with the capacity for

complex cultural evolution

Positive politeness strategies include

complimenting

In order to get to Murphy's Mug from the south side of the rec you would have to walk straight, turn left, go through the library entrance, take a right through the doors, a right at the stairs, a right into Murphy's. What frame of spatial reference is this?

egocentric

Negative politeness (restraint)

emphasizes avoidance of imposition -not demanding attention -be apologetic -indirect -hedge

Descriptive linguistics

examines the patterns of speaking, the structure of language ex: language documentation making dictionaries and recording grammar

Sociolinguistics

examines the social life of language, how we use language in social interactions

Threats to Positive face

harsh criticism, crossing the line when joking, avoiding contact

The idea that language reflects social life focuses on

how language links a person to a particular community

Linguists that study syntax examine

how words are combined into meaningful sentences

Linguistic anthropology examines

human language as a form of communication that is central to culture

Linguistic anthropologists examine human language as a form of communication that

in central to understanding culture

A man is shopping at Wal-Mart when an employee approaches him. Employee: "Sir, can I help you find something?" Man: "No, I'm good." Negative politeness is evident in which part of this interaction?

in the phrase "Sir, can I"

In every society, not all of the variants spoken are equally valued. The meaning and significance of different accents, dialects, and registers

is shared within the culture and learned through social interaction

Semantics

is the dictionary meaning of an utterance

When linguistic anthropologists use the term, "standard language", they are claiming that the language

is viewed as "the norm", and has its own dictionary and language experts

All of the following are true about human language EXCEPT

it is produced only when particular environmental stimuli are encountered True: -it permits the discussion of the past and the future -it can produce an infinite number of words from a limited set of sounds -it allows one to benefit from others' experiences

Sapir-Whorf hypothesis

language creates ways of thinking and perceiving

Positive politeness (involvement)

need to feel valued by others -highlight friendship -compliment -show agreement -joking

Which of the following features are NOT associated with African American Vernacular English (AAVE)?

negative copula

Cross-cultural differences in face and politeness strategies suggest that

not: status conscious people of lower

According to Tannen, "men's speech" is characterized by

oppositional, one-upmanship

When sociolinguists say that someone is "saving face", we mean that they are

protecting their own social persona or the social persona of others

White, middle class Americans and the Kaluli in Papua New Guinea use language differently with infants. A view that the Kaluli are "neglectful" because they do not speak directly to infants would

reject the principle of cultural relativism

The meaning and significance of different linguistic varieties

relies on shared, social interactions in which meaning is created and reproduced

The influence of a person's class status on what pronunciation he/she uses; a speaker's choice of more complicated vocabulary and grammar when he/she is speaking to a professional audience; the influence of language on culture--all these are the concerns of

sociolinguistics

AAE has several distinctive speech events including all BUT which of the following?

speaking names what IS distinctive: -call and response -signifying -"the dozens"

Linguists who study the rules of order and structure look at a language's

syntax

linguistic anthropology and methods

text-based ethnographic participant observation recording and analyzing naturally occuring speech interviews non-linguistic conversation: gestures

Syntax is

the structure of sentences

Anthropology

the study of human nature, human society, and the human past

Pragmatics

the study of language in the context of its use

Morphology

the study of the structure of words

Cultural relativity

understanding a culture on its own terms