Chapter 5 - Linguistics and Language Acquisition

Semantics means:

Both the linguistic field of study about the meanings of words, as well as our differentiations between words and sentences based on context.

All of the following statements are true about language development in children EXCEPT:

Children who are emotionally reactive develop language quickly

Which of the following is an example of a communication strategy?

Circumlocution

What is the main focus of discourse?

Communication

What is the best method of distinguishing between literal meaning and figurative meaning?

Context

In which language do phonological rules predict how speech sounds will change?

Every language on Earth

How many morphemes does the word 'Africa' have?

1

Which of the following scenarios would support the nativist perspective?

A child puts words together to create sentences he has never heard before.

Which is an example of a phonological rule?

A final 's' sound in a word depends on what speech sound immediately precedes it.

The idea of the Language Acquisition Device, developed by Noam Chomsky, could be described as:

A specific area of the brain responsible for understanding the rules of language.

Which of these is not a regional variation in language?

A woman from the Southern US saying, 'How are ya'll doing?' A young child pronouncing bird as bood, while his twin brother says bird. A young girl saying, 'howdy', while her cousin from another state says, ' hello'. A child from Ohio calling soda pop, while a child from New Pennsylvania simply calls it soda. An Englishman saying, 'I'm going to check the post.', while an American says, 'I'm going to check the mail.'

Which of the following statements is true?

An author's syntax is determined by the purpose for his or her writing. None of the answers are true An author's syntax is determined by his or her education level and background. An author's syntax is determined by grammar rules and conventions.

What does semantics determine?

How we communicate with other people Our reading comprehension Our interpretation of a given passage All answers are correct

Which of the following is NOT true about discourse in a classroom setting?

It can be used with native and foreign language learning It can be used to encourage practice of communication strategies Discourse activities can be tied into a unit topic Tying discourse to a unit topic decreases its benefits

In the context of Stephen Krashen's theory, how does discourse aid language development?

It encourages language acquisition

What is one of the benefits of using discourse-based activities in a classroom?

It encourages practical, communicative use of language

Which of the following statements is a critique of the nativist theory of language development?

Language develops at a slower pace than the theory suggests.

Which of the following statements is NOT a nativist perspective on language development?

Language is developed through imitation.

If you are writing a poem, your syntax can be:

More open-ended Rich in figurative language Full of unexpected sentence structure All of the answers are correct

Which word or term describes the subtle differences in meaning or shades of meaning we associate with words?

Nuance

Every time young Haley says the word 'teddy,' she is given her favorite stuffed bear, which reinforces her understanding and continued use of the word for getting the toy. According to behaviorist theory, this is an example of:

Operant conditioning

How does phonology differ from phonetics?

Phonetics is only concerned with speech sounds in isolation, and phonology is more focused on how speech sounds change and behave when in a syllable, word, or sentence.

What is the main component of phonology that phonologists use to predict how speech sounds will change?

Phonological rules

What is a 'sign' in the linguistic field?

That which represents something

Which of the following would be considered an example of language according to principle of combinability?

The content of a text message

Which of the following BEST describes syntax?

The decision as to how to arrange the words in one's writing

Which of the following factors support the nativist theory of language development?

The idea of universal grammar

What is phonology?

The study of how speech sounds change in different contexts

Which of the following statements describes children's language development in Asian cultures?

They are more likely to be expressive-style language learners

Which of the following BEST explains why the alarm calls made by vervet monkeys should not be considered language?

They can't be combined to produce additional meanings

Which of the following is NOT a syntactical consideration?

Word choice

Which of these is an example of an informal register?

a text message to a friend

What word means vague or unclear?

ambiguous

Which word is a lexical morpheme?

chair

Register is often determined by what?

context

Which is another term for pragmatics?

conversational implicature

The cultural and social patterns of speech variation within a culture are known as a culture's

ethnography

Which is a free morpheme?

joy

Formal registers are often used to create a tone of objective _____.

narration

How do you use pragmatics to interpret a sign that says Luggage must be carried on the escalator ?

only if you have luggage, should you carry it; you do not have to find luggage to carry in order to use the escalator

When baby Terrell says 'wa-wa-wa' and points to a cup, his mother responds with 'you want water,' and reinforces his learning by giving him a drink of water. This is an example of the _____ perspective of language development.

operant conditioning

Vowels and consonants are examples of

phonemes

What does conversational implicature mean?

process in which the speaker implies and a listener infers

Which of the following is a morpheme?

re

Brandon is a toddler whose vocabulary consists of labels, such as 'doggie' for all four-legged animals and 'ball' for anything round. His neighbor Cara, who is a few months older, says 'thank you' when given something, and 'good doggie' when she sees the family pet respond to a command. Brandon exhibits the _____ language style, while Cara is developing _____ language.

referential; expressive

Register can tell us a lot about a character's what?

social class

What is defined as the study of language and how it is affected by region, social class, relationship, and even gender?

sociolinguistics

An example of a morpheme is

the 'de-' in 'deconstruct'

What is the implication when someone asks you How are you?

to respond with a broad statement and not give a real account of how your life is going

Which word contains three different morphemes?

unsightly

One of the greatest variances in language comes from

where a person was raised

An example of formal register in writing would be:

writing an academic essay

How could you BEST describe the role that grammar plays in language?

Grammar enables complexity of meaning in language

When writing a cover letter the syntax should be:

Grammatically correct and coherent Straightforward in structure Professional and clear in style and attitude All of the answers are correct

Which of the below statement is NOT true?

Social class can cause variances in language use. Variance in relationships can cause variance in language. Variance in language is affected by the region in which someone was raised. Gender is not a contributing factor in language variation. Variance in language can be affected by assumed differences in social status or power.