ANTH 104
What do anthropologists call a nonstandard variation of a language?
dialect
A man striking a woman in an argument (or vice-versa).
gender violence
combined set of rules that govern use of a particular language
grammar
The smallest units of sound that carry meaning on their own. (page 116)
morphemes
Which type of linguistics is defined as "the study of the ways in which culture shapes language and language shapes culture" (page 122)?
sociolinguistics
A historical linguist would be most likely to study:
the development of language over time, including its changes and variations.
American women are far more likely than men to distinguish between colors like teal and turquoise, or magenta and purple. What is this an example of?
the gendered focal vocabulary that exists within American culture
Cultural anthropology
the study of people's communities, behaviors, beliefs, and institutions, including how people make meaning as they live, work, and play together
Which of the following is an example of a dialect?
African American English
In 1996, the Oakland School District proposed the use of Ebonics in the school system. What did the subsequent revision of that proposal suggest about African American English?
African American English was seen as a low-status language.
What does Noam Chomsky's research propose about language?
All humans share a similar ability to learn language based on the way that our brains are hardwired.
Worldwide, which language is most commonly spoken by native speakers today?
Chinese
A nonstandard variation of a language. (page 126)
Dialect
Which of the following is suggested by the Sapir-Whorf hypothesis?
Different languages create different ways of thinking.
A generation of people born after 1980 who have been raised in the digital age. (page 141)
Digital natives
Chinese, spoken by about 1.3 million people, is the most common native language in the world. At the same time, many Chinese students are sent abroad to English-speaking countries to learn English. Why do these students learn English at all?
English is the dominant spoken language worldwide and is central in education and technology.
True or False.: Males are the universally dominant gender in human societies.
False
True or False: One example of nativism is policy that provides more social services to immigrants than to native-born citizens.
False
What would linguistic anthropologists label new words that have emerged during the digital age such as mouse, modem, download, and tweet?
Focal
The words and terminology that develop with particular sophistication to describe the unique cultural realities experienced by a group of people. (page 121)
Focal vocabulary
Globalization has had many effects on language. Which of the following is an effect of globalization on language around the world?
Language loss is hastened.
According to the textbook, what is happening to human languages worldwide?
Languages are being lost at the rate of one every ten days.
All the words for names, ideas, and events that make up a language's dictionary. (page 121)
Lexicon
Don Kulick's study of gendered meanings of the word no demonstrates that language in the U.S. cultural context objectifies women. How can the power of culture to shape the meaning of language have implications for men as well?
Men in U.S. culture are expected to say "yes" to women's sexual initiatives, never "no."
The smallest units of sound that can make a difference in meaning. (page 116)
Phonemes
Linguistic anthropologists have discovered that the languages spoken in Europe—such as Latin, English, German, and Greek—are derived from an earlier language, which is called ________.
Proto-Indo-European
Since there is no biological basis for race, we can argue which of the following?
Race must be based on ideas and observations separate from biology.
The idea that different languages create different ways of thinking. (page 118)
Sapir-Whorf Hypothesis
The study of the ways culture shapes language and language shapes culture, particularly the intersection of language with cultural categories and systems of power such as age, race, ethnicity, sexuality, gender, and class. (page 122)
Sociolinguistics
Why would a study of the "N-word" most likely be done using a sociolinguistic approach?
Sociolinguistics studies the intersection between language and systems of power, such as race, class, and age.
Many animals, such as dolphins and great apes, communicate with each other through gestures and sounds. Human language utilizes sounds, gestures, and ________.
Symbols
What did anthropologist Laura Bohannan discover in her attempt to translate a classic text from English literature into Tiv?
The meaning of the story became lost, as the original meanings of the English words could not be easily translated.
What has the effort to preserve the Native American Lakota language, spoken by about 25,000 people in the United States, led to?
There is a widespread integration of social media into the preservation effort.
What does the term language continuum refer to?
This is the idea that variation in languages appears gradually over distance between places.
At present, only 32 percent of the population in developing countries uses the Internet. This reflects what aspect of information technology development?
This shows the tendency of globalization to increase the effects of uneven development.
What did Rickford and Rickford conclude in their study of "Spoken Soul"?
This variant of English is in wide use by African Americans in a range of settings.
Membership in a group of family members in a society is determined based on relatedness "by blood." Which of the following terms is MOST appropriate to describe the group?
a descent group
Which of the following would be considered paralanguage?
a guttural sound, such as a scream
The Hopi language has verb tenses that differ from those of English. Benjamin Whorf's linguistic research among the Hopi people suggested that they have:
a worldview where past and present represent lived reality and the future is hypothetical.
kinship traced through both the mother and father's sides of the family
ambilineal
Dumbledore, a pet Doberman, barks three times every day when the mail carrier comes by the house. Which of the following terms is most applicable to the dog's communication?
call system
Translating certain words into another language is very difficult. The word leader, for example, seems obvious to us, but can take on a different significance when translated into another language. This demonstrates that language:
can be connected to local stories and cultural values.
Consider a used car salesperson who must be highly skilled at using words to persuade people to spend money. This illustrates that linguistic skills as a form of cultural capital:
can be converted into monetary gain.
The work of the Summer Institute of Linguistics presents a challenge to anthropology because it:
captures data that might otherwise be lost, but also seeks to convert people.
In 2009, newly elected president Barack Obama visited a famous eatery in Washington, D.C., and, after paying his tab, was asked by the cashier if he wanted his change. The president's reply was, "Nah, we straight." Which of the following was the president doing?
code switching
Switching back and forth between one linguistic variant and another depending on the cultural context. (page 129)
code switching
Writing assignments in college courses give students opportunities to practice writing in an academic tone. This tone is considered a reflection of the prestige language in vogue in society at a given time. It is also very different from the language you'd use when conversing with others at a party or via text message. What term best describes your ability to navigate these different linguistic situations?
code switching
Which of the following is discussed in Chapter 6 as an example of how gender ideology is often reflected in gender stereotypes?
descriptions of the roles of egg and sperm in biology textbooks
The study of the sounds, symbols, and gestures of a language, and their combination into forms that communicate meaning. (page 116)
descriptive linguistics
Which type of linguistics is defined as "the study of the sounds, symbols, and gestures of a language, and their combination into forms that communicate meaning" (page 116)?
descriptive linguistics
According to Palfrey and Gasser, which of the following terms applies to "a generation of people-including many of you reading this book-born after 1980 who have been raised in the digital age and have spent their entire lives thinking digitally" (page 141)?
digital natives
Which of the following theories below sees power differentials between males and females in a society as a foundation for gender-based differences in language?
dominance model
Which of the theories below sees power differentials between males and females in a society as a foundation for gender-based differences in language?
dominance model
A shared language or religion is an example of which of the following?`
ethnic boundary marker
Terms such as participant observation, ethnography, and cultural relativism are part of the anthropologist's
focal vocabulary.
Which of these provides archaeological evidence for the origins of human language?
fossilized brain casts of Neandertals that show the anatomical features for speech
Research into masculinity and femininity as flexible, complex, and historically and culturally constructed categories is known as which of the following?
gender studies
The combined set of observations about the rules governing the formation of morphemes and syntax that guide language use. (page 116)
grammar
The study of the development of language over time, including its changes and variations. (page 134)
historical linguistics
Which type of linguistics is defined as "the study of the development of language over time, including its changes and variations" (page 134)?
historical linguistics
Franz Boas rejected unilineal cultural evolution, instead suggesting that different cultures arise as the result of very different causes and will vary widely. His approach, still regarded today as a powerful counter to ethnocentrism, is referred to as
historical particularism
In many Western countries, both men and women cook, but women tend to cook the family dinner and restaurant chefs are more likely to be men than women. What is this an example of?
how culture shapes gender roles
It is unlikely that you will ever meet each and every member of your home nation. At the same time, you believe yourself to hold certain beliefs and ideas in common with these individuals, as citizens of the nation. Which of the following terms best defines this concept?`
imagined community
Anthropologists are ethically bound to let those we study know why we are studying them, and to obtain their permission to do so. Which term summarizes this obligation?
informed consent
If you were investigating why the thumbs-up and the "okay" hand signals used in North America are considered rude gestures in certain other cultures, you would be engaging in the study of what?
kinesics
The study of the relationship between body movements and communication. (page 117)
kinesics
A system of communication organized by rules that uses symbols such as words, sounds, and gestures to convey information. (page 113)
language
The idea that variation in languages appears gradually over distance so that groups of people who live near one another speak in a way that is mutually intelligible. (page 134)
language continuum
The extinction of languages that have very few speakers. (page 138)
language loss
Which term is used to describe the extinction of languages that have very few speakers?
language loss
Which component of any language refers to names, ideas, and events that offer a kind of catalogue of what is spoken and can be compiled into something accessible to others?
lexicon
You've decided to create a list of all of the words for names, events, and ideas that exist in the Palauan language. Which of the following are you creating?
lexicon
Which of the four subfields of anthropology is described in Chapter 4?
linguistic anthropology
descent group contructed through the mother's side of the family
matrilineal
Which of the following terms is most strongly associated to the idea of assimilation?
melting pot
smallest units of sound that carry meaning on their own
morpheme
The study of patterns and rules of how sounds combine to make morphemes
morphology
Many immigrant groups -- Arab, Czech, French, Irish, Italian, Greek, Jewish, and others -- have contributed to what has been known as a "melting pot" in America. Now, anthropologists and others prefer the term ___________________, which better reflects the role of ethnicity in the United States.
multiculturalism
An extensive set of noises (such as laughs, cries, sighs, and yells) and tones of voice that convey significant information about the speaker. (page 117)
paralanguage
In an age of intensifying globalization, ethnographic research continues to provide a deep understanding of informants' everyday lives and cultures, due in large part to the continued use of what specific part of the anthropologist's toolkit?
participant observation
descent group constructed through the father's side of the family
patrilineal
smallest units of sound that make a difference in meaning
phoneme
The study of what sounds exist and which ones are important in a particular language. (page 116)
phonology
In certain remote parts of Tibet, one woman will become married to all of the brothers in a particular family. Which term best describes this practice?
polyandry
A particular language variation or way of speaking that is associated with wealth, success, education, and power. (page 126)
prestige language
What is a system of classification that uses physical characteristics to divide the human population into supposedly discrete groups?
race
What term describes ethnographers' awareness that they should engage in critical self-examination regarding the role they play in the research process?
reflexivity
The scientific study of sexuality that began to emerge in the United States in the late 1800s and continues today is known as which of the following?
sexology
The belief that culture is held together by a series of important elements such as economy, education, religion, kinship, and politics that all serve to maintain societal equilibrium is known as
structural functionalism
Young women aged fiften to twenty-five are being infected with HIV/AIDS three times faster than men in the same age group.
structural gender violence
Archaeology
studies of human beings from the present and from the past through the excavation of sites and the analysis of artifacts and other physical remains.
Humpback whales have been shown to communicate with remarkable complexity, and have distinctly different types of tunes and accents that differ across different pods suggesting that whales may include what in their communications?
symbols
The specific patterns and rules for combining morphemes to construct phrases and sentences. (page 116)
syntax
rules for forming speech sounds into phrases and sentences
syntax
Linguistic anthropology
the study of human language in the past and present.
Physical anthroplogy
the study of humans from a biological perspective, particularly how they have evolved over time and adapted to their environments.
Deborah Tannen's research into the ways that boys and girls speak suggests that:
they are using a form of cross-cultural communication.
Both efforts to enforce and efforts to deviate from standard English in a school setting frequently evoke controversy. What did the introduction of Ebonics in Oakland, California, schools seek to accomplish?
to help African American children succeed in school
descent measured through only one side of the family (mother's or father's side)
unilineal
