Chapter 14: Language and Communication

the number of distinct languages spoken around the world is approximately

7000

the lexicons of a language is

a dictionary containing all of its morphemes and their meaning

what is pidgin

a mixed-language that develops to ease communication between members of different cultures in contact, usually in situations of trade or colonial domination

what term refers to the existence of "high" and "low" dialects within a single language

diglossia

All human nonverbal communications is instinctive, not influenced by cultural factors

false

in all languages, the same honorifics have the same meaning regardless of context

false

what type of term is used to convey or imply a status difference between the speaker and the person being referred to or addressed

honorifics

linguistic anthropologists also are interested in investigating the structure of language and how it varies across time and space. what is the study of forms in which sounds combine to form words

morphology

what is the study of the sounds used in speech?

phonology

romance languages like French and Spanish are daughter languages of Latin, which is their common

protolanguage

a sociolinguists studies

speech in its social context

which of the following was studied by Sapir and Whorf

the influence of language on thought

what are phonemes

the minimal sound contrasts that distinguish meaning in a language

recent research on the origins of language suggests that a key mutation might have something to do with it. comparing chimp and human genomes, it appears that

the speech-friendly form of the gene FOXP2 took hold in humans some 150,000 years ago

just as in other areas of anthropology, the study of language involves investigating what is or isnt shared across human populations and why these differences or similarities exist. The linguist Noam Chornsky has argued that the human brain contains a limited set of rules for organizing language, so that all languages have a common structural basis. He calls this set of rules

the universal grammar

Studies investigating differences in the way men and women talk are examples of sociolinguistics

true

according to the principle of linguistic relativity, all languages and dialects are equally effective as systems of communication

true

historical linguists use linguistic similarities and differences in the world today to study long-term changes in language

true

linguistic stratification can occur between dialects when one is considered a prestige dialect, as is the case with High German and Low German and with Standard English (SE) ad African American Vernacular English (AAVE)

true

problems arise with contemporary means of communication, such as texting and online messaging because much of what we communicate is a nonverbal reflection of emotional states

true

recent genetic research suggests that a speech-friendly mutation took hold in humans around 150,000 years ago

true

some cultures do not use a left/right or up/down orientation to express placement, but instead use cardinal directions (N,S,E, & W) and rheir varaints instead

true

the world's linguistic diversity has been cut in half, as measured by the number of distinct languages extant, in the past 500 years; and half the remaining languages are predicted to disappear during this century

true

Syntax refers to the rules that dictate the order of words in a language

True