Question 1

Which of the following statements about the history of linguistics is incorrect?

Accepted Answer

The discovery of system,regularity, and relationships in linguistic data occurred earlier than the 17th century, with the work of ancient grammarians such as Panini and Aristotle.

Question 2

The study of the patterns or rules which govern speech word formation is called ________________ .

Accepted Answer

A

Question 3

Consider the English word "dog." Which of the following is a morpheme?

Accepted Answer

"dog" is the only morpheme in this word as it cannot be broken down into smaller units that carry meaning. The individual letters, "d," "o," and "g," are not morphemes on their own.

Question 4

Chantek was a(n)_______________.

Accepted Answer

Chantek was an orangutan, as he was widely known as the first orangutan who learned to communicate using American Sign Language.

Question 5

The systemic study of the production,transmission,and reception of speech sounds is _______________.

Accepted Answer

The production, transmission, and reception of speech sounds is the subject matter of phonetics. Linguistics is a broader field that includes phonetics, morphology, syntax, semantics, and pragmatics. Morphology is the study of the formation of words and their structure. Substitution frames are a technique used in language teaching and learning to practice specific grammatical structures. Syntax is the study of the structure of sentences and phrases.

Question 6

All _______________,as systems of communication using sounds or gestures that are put together in meaningful ways according to a set of rules,are organized on the same basic plan.

Accepted Answer

Languages, as systems of communication, use sounds or gestures that are put together in meaningful ways according to a set of rules. This definition applies to all languages, making A the best choice. Symbols and signals may be components of language, but they do not encompass all aspects of language. Phonetics is the study of the sounds of language and is not necessarily a system of communication. Core vocabulary refers to a limited set of words that are essential for communication in a language, but it does not encompass the entire system of communication that languages provide.

Question 7

Chantek eventually learned to produce _______________ signs.

Accepted Answer

Chantek eventually learned to produce several hundred signs.

Question 8

What are the long-term goals of the Chantek Foundation?

Accepted Answer

The Chantek Foundation's long-term goal is for enculturated apes like Chantek to live in culture-based preserves rather than zoos or research centers.

Question 9

While the phonologist is making an inventory of permissible sounds in a language,the _______________ is deciphering the groups or combinations of sounds that have meaning,or that are actually used to convey information.

Accepted Answer

A morphologist studies the structure of words, including how sounds combine to form meaningful units, which aligns with the description given.

Question 10

The entire formal structure of a language consisting of all observations about its meaningful units of sounds and the rules or principles of making phrases and sentences is called its _______________.

Accepted Answer

The definition provided in the question is referring to the overall study of language structure, which is known as its grammar. Syntax, form classes, morphology, and phonology are all aspects of grammar. However, none of these individual terms encompass the entire formal structure of a language as described in the question. Therefore, the best choice is E) grammar.

Question 11

All languages are organized on the same basic plan in that _______________.

Accepted Answer

Linguists have discovered that all languages use a limited number of sounds (usually fewer than 50) and combine them in different ways to create words and sentences, following rules of grammar. This is known as the "generative" or "productivity" aspect of language, which allows speakers to create and understand new sentences they have never heard before. While there are variations in sounds, grammar, and other features across languages, they are all based on this basic pattern of combining a limited set of sounds in meaningful ways.

Question 12

The modern scientific study of all aspects of language is _______________.

Accepted Answer

Linguistics is the study of language and its properties, including its structure, meaning, and use. It encompasses all aspects of language, such as phonology (the study of sounds in language), grammar (the study of syntax and morphology), semantics (the study of meaning), and pragmatics (the study of language use in context). Kinetics refers to the study of bodily movements, while glottochronology is a method used to measure the rate of change in languages over time.

Question 13

The smallest class of sound that makes a difference in meaning is a(n)_______________.

Accepted Answer

A phoneme is the smallest unit of sound that can change the meaning of a word. For example, the difference between the /p/ sound in "pat" and the /b/ sound in "bat" changes the meaning of the word, making them two distinct words with different meanings. Allophones, allomorphs, and free morphemes do not necessarily change the meaning of a word.

Question 14

Displacement refers to the concept of being able to refer to things that are ____________________?

Accepted Answer

Displacement allows humans to refer to things that are not present in the immediate environment, meaning they are removed from time and space.

Question 15

Which of the following is not a signal?

Accepted Answer

Winking is a deliberate action and not an involuntary reaction or communication, which is what a signal is. The other options are all examples of signals as they are forms of nonverbal communication that convey meaning or information.

Question 16

A system of communication based on symbols is called a _______________.

Accepted Answer

A system of communication based on symbols is commonly referred to as a language. While signals and vocalizations can be part of a language, they alone do not constitute a system of symbols with agreed-upon meanings. Form class and substitution frames are linguistic concepts, but they do not describe an entire system of communication.

Question 17

The American anthropologist Edward Sapir had formulated the problem and his student,Benjamin Whorf,drawing on his experience with the language of the Hopi Indians,developed a full-fledged theory now known as the theory of _______________.

Accepted Answer

The theory developed by Benjamin Whorf, based on the work of Edward Sapir, is known as the theory of linguistic relativity. This theory suggests that the structure and content of language can shape the way individuals perceive and understand the world around them.

Question 18

Which of the following are of greatest importance in human speech?

Accepted Answer

The larynx, also known as the voice box, contains the vocal cords and plays a crucial role in producing sound during speech. The epiglottis helps to protect the trachea during swallowing, but is not directly involved in speech production. Therefore, the larynx and epiglottis are the most important structures for human speech out of the given options.

Question 19

The study of abstract rules that guide the sound patterns of a language is called _______________.

Accepted Answer

Phonology is the study of the abstract rules that govern the distribution of sounds in a language. Phonetics involves the physical properties of speech sounds, syntax is the study of sentence structure, morphology focuses on the structure of words, and substitution frames are a technique used in language teaching.

Question 20

Often,_______________ complements spoken messages.

Accepted Answer

Gesture can enhance or clarify a spoken message by adding visual cues and emphasis.

Quiz 5: Language and Communication