Chapter.4 Linguistic Anthropology Full Test Bank

Chapter 4 Test Bank

Multiple Choice

1. Animal call systems
   1. express information about things that are not currently in their present environment.
   2. fail to communicate in response to real-world stimuli.
   3. do not combine calls to make new call meanings.
   4. are highly irregular among primates.
2. Koko and Washo were two primates who had learned
   1. call sounds.
   2. American Sign Language.
   3. Morse code.
   4. English.
3. A hypothetical common ancestral language of two or more living languages is called a
   1. genealogical language.
   2. kinship language.
   3. proto-language.
   4. prelanguage.
4. What human evolutionary feature allowed for the development of language?
   1. Large brains
   2. Unique larynx
   3. Teeth
   4. Sound response system
5. Talking about America as a melting pot is an example of a(n)
   1. elaborating symbol.
   2. metaphor.
   3. cognate.
   4. simile.
6. Words that came from the same ancestral language and originated from the same word are called
   1. loan words.
   2. synonyms.
   3. cognate words.
   4. phonology.
7. _____________ refers to the structure of speech sounds
   1. Cognates
   2. Parole
   3. Phonology
   4. Syntax
8. How words fit together to make meaningful units is called
   1. phonology.
   2. morphology.
   3. syntax.
   4. cognates.
9. The study of grammatical categories, such as tense and word order, is called
   1. phonology.
   2. morphology.
   3. ethnography.
   4. sociolinguistics.
10. When anthropologists study the way people use language in real settings rather than as a set of grammatical rules, they are focusing on
    1. parole.
    2. langue.
    3. phonetics.
    4. morphology.
11. A stoplight is a visual example of which of the following?
    1. Symbol
    2. Langue
    3. Sign
    4. Parole
12. Anthropologist Sherry Ortner distinguished three kinds of culturally powerful symbols that include all of the following except
    1. narrative symbols.
    2. key scenarios.
    3. summarizing symbols.
    4. elaborating symbols.
13. According to anthropologist Sherry Ortner’s analysis, the American flag is an example of a(n)
    1. key scenario.
    2. sign.
    3. elaborating symbol.
    4. summarizing symbol.
14. The study of how people classify things in the world is called
    1. ethnography.
    2. sociolinguistics.
    3. ethnoscience.
    4. biological determinism.
15. A language of mixed origin that developed from a complex blending of two parent languages is called
    1. a pidgin language.
    2. creole.
    3. slang.
    4. language ideology.
16. Cognate words
    1. are metaphors.
    2. are how words fit together to make meaningful units.
    3. are the formal rules of language.
    4. came from the same ancestral language and originated from the same word.
17. Latin and other Romance languages shared a common linguistic ancestor. The development of different languages from this linguistic ancestor is described by
    1. Universal Grammar.
    2. morphology.
    3. Grimm’s law.
    4. phonology.
18. Which of the following is a feature of language?
    1. It is stable.
    2. It is inherently illogical.
    3. It consists of sounds organized into words according to some sort of grammar.
    4. Its written and spoken forms are usually the same.
19. In evolutionary terms, humans are distinct from other primates with respect to their ability to use language because we
    1. have much larger brains.
    2. can learn American Sign Language.
    3. can speak using a larynx.
    4. have much smaller brains.
20. What was Jacob Grimm’s hypothesis about similarities across languages?
    1. Many modern languages evolved from a few (or even one) language.
    2. Human brains innately produce certain patterns in communication.
    3. Colonialism resulted in the eradication of more unique languages.
    4. There are no consequential similarities between languages.
21. Which of the following is not an explanation as to why animal call systems are distinct from human language?
    1. Children do not learn them from their parents.
    2. They are nearly always the same within a species.
    3. Call systems are stimuli dependent.
    4. Calls cannot be combined to produce a new call with a different meaning.
22. When language speakers use slang or metaphor, they are engaging in which concept suggested by French linguist Ferdinand de Saussure?
    1. Langue
    2. Parole
    3. Cognate
    4. Phonology
23. For pastoral groups such as the Dinka and the Nuer, the cow symbolizes the body of society, making it what kind of symbol?
    1. Metaphor
    2. Summarizing symbol
    3. Narrative symbol
    4. Elaborating symbol
24. Talking about sports as a battlefield is an example of
    1. a summarizing symbol.
    2. a simile.
    3. a metaphor.
    4. an elaborating symbol.
25. The key scenario differs from other kinds of symbols because it
    1. helps us talk about difficult emotions.
    2. synthesizes everything important to society in a single symbol.
    3. implies how people should act.
    4. explains complex relationships in a single symbol.
26. Ethnoscience is the study of
27. ethnic languages.
28. how people variously classify things in the world around them.
29. ethnicity and the linguistic stereotypes around them.
30. how people use various plants for medicinal treatment.
31. Which of the following is an explanation as to why America has so many accents and dialects?
    1. Standardized school curriculums
    2. The spread within mass media
    3. Patterns within peer groups
    4. The persistence of gender stereotypes
32. Linguists refer to mixed languages with a simplified grammar that people rarely learn as a mother tongue as
    1. a pidgin language.
    2. a creole language.
    3. language ideology.
    4. slang.
33. The use of mock Spanish reinforces a common impression that Hispanic people are socially inferior. This is an example of the power of
    1. language death.
    2. phonetics.
    3. the Sapir–Whorf hypothesis.
    4. language ideology.
34. When Zambia became independent from British colonial rule, why did they choose several official languages instead of just one?
    1. No one could agree which language was the most appropriate.
    2. They held a national ranked election.
    3. In practice, everyone was likely to know one of the languages, encouraging national identity.
    4. The government wished to avoid the creolization of languages and so encouraged the separate development of multiple languages.
35. If Jakob Grimm, who developed what has come to be known as Grimm’s law, were analyzing the historical relationships among the so-called dialects of Chinese (such as Cantonese and Mandarin), what data would he be looking for in his linguistic fieldwork?
    1. The characters used by people who spoke these different dialects.
    2. The average height, weight, and cephalic index of speakers of these several dialects.
    3. Whether the speakers they surveyed knew any other non-Chinese languages.
    4. How the speakers of each dialect pronounce different words with similar meanings in the several dialects.
36. If you were a linguistic anthropologist interested in language ideologies in an American city, how would you devise your study?
    1. Compare text messages, instant messages, and Twitter entries from people of different ages.
    2. Compare the professional slang of people in different occupations.
    3. Analyze similarities and differences in the use of modern technology among people in different age groups.
    4. Record the accents and dialects people use and which are considered superior or inferior.
37. If you were conducting a symbolic analysis of TV programs and wanted to identify a key scenario such as the Horatio Alger myth, which of the following would you focus on?
    1. The presence or absence of wealth as a sign of social status in particular programs.
    2. Plots that are repeated in many of the programs that American viewers interpret as commonplace social experiences.
    3. The different dialects spoken by different cast members.
    4. The symbolic use of power in modern American culture.
38. If Benjamin Whorf was trying to find further proof that grammar shapes the way people perceive the world, which of the following would not be a focus of his research?
    1. The structure of tenses in English and other languages spoken in the United States
    2. The number of basic color terms compared with English
    3. The structure of person pronouns in the several languages
    4. The literacy rates in urban and rural communities in the United States
39. If you studied speech patterns such as those analyzed in Robin Lakoff’s study of gendered speech, you might find that “talking like a lady”
    1. contributes to gender equality in the workplace.
    2. marginalizes women’s voices in work contexts.
    3. demonstrates that women are more polite than men.
    4. builds certainty and trust.
40. Words or objects that stand for something else are
41. summarizing symbols.
42. signs.
43. cognates.
44. elaborating symbols.
45. A key scenario is a(n)
46. symbol that sums up a variety of meanings and experiences and links them to a single sign.
47. symbol to explain and clarify complex relationships through a single symbol or set of symbols.
48. story that teaches people how to act.
49. implicit comparison of words or things that emphasize the similarities between them.
50. De Saussure's concept of parole is the
51. way language is used in society.
52. formal rules of language.
53. structure of speech sounds.
54. order of words.
55. Morphology is
56. the study of grammatical categories such as tense and word order.
57. how language is used in society.
58. how words fit together to make meaningful units.
59. the structure of speech sounds.
60. An elaborating symbol
61. sums up a variety of meanings and experiences and links them to a single sign.
62. explains and clarifies complex relationships through a single symbol or set of symbols.
63. is a symbol that teaches people how to act.
64. is an implicit comparison of words or things that emphasize the similarities between them.

True/False

1. Most mammals use some form of call system to communicate with others of their species. Dogs and chimpanzees share an additional linguistic characteristic because they can communicate simple combinations of ideas about things they are not currently seeing.
   1. True
   2. False
2. Most people are unaware of the structure of a language until someone speaking it makes a mistake.
   1. True
   2. False
3. Languages change very slowly, taking generations or even centuries.
   1. True
   2. False
4. According to Edward Sapir, languages may be different but the way we think about the world is basically the same.
   1. True
   2. False
5. America’s pattern of gender inequality is built into our linguistic practices.
   1. True
   2. False
6. Although language is one of the most rule-bound aspects of human culture, it is also one of the least conscious.
   1. True
   2. False
7. Because of the widespread use of mass media today, sociolinguists have found increasing homogeneity in the use of language in the United States.
   1. True
   2. False
8. All languages express three tenses (past, present, and future) in their structure.
   1. True
   2. False
9. Countries find it relatively easy to decide what language its citizens will speak.
   1. True
   2. False
10. The set of sounds and movements that animals make to communicate is called a language.
    1. True
    2. False
11. The approach that compares ancient texts and documents to analyze long-term linguistic change is called philology.
    1. True
    2. False
12. Texts are words or objects that stand for something else.
    1. True
    2. False
13. The idea that people speaking different languages perceive or interpret the world differently because of differences in their languages is linguistic relativity.
    1. True
    2. False
14. Accents and dialects are regional or social variations of a single language.
    1. True
    2. False
15. Anthropology is the study of how sociocultural norms and contexts shape language use in society.
    1. True
    2. False

Short Answer

1. If you wanted to study how athletes and nonathletes used language differently on your campus, how would you go about finding this out?
2. According to linguistic anthropologists, why don’t our pets actually understand a rudimentary form of English?
3. How can language mark our social position and status? In your answer apply the theory of language ideology.
4. How is communication between animals (call system communication) different from human language?
5. To what extent do our American English grammatical categories shape the ways we anticipate events that occur in the world around us? Consider, for example, how the use of the English pronouns “he,” “she,” and “it” affects social relationships.
6. How do language ideologies marginalize groups of people? Give an example to illustrate your answer.
7. With the rise of Facebook during the past decade, new terms have entered American English. How can there be language changes if we are not consciously aware that we are changing the way we speak?
8. How can language be used to marginalize people who are not currently in high-status positions?
9. In England, the dialect one speaks marks you as a person of a very specialized social class. What is it about our regional or social dialect that allows people to classify us and view us through unflattering stereotypes?
10. How does understanding that men and women speak differently, even though they both speak American English, help us to understand patterns of social behavior?

Short Answer Key

1. If you wanted to study how athletes and nonathletes used language differently on your campus, how would you go about finding this out?
   1. How Do Anthropologists Study Language?
   2. Linguistic anthropologists, like cultural anthropologists, work directly with their informants. Thus, much of their research involves fieldwork, building rapport with informants, and long periods of immersion in another culture. But the specific field strategy that a linguistic anthropologist adopts will depend on the kind of question he or she is asking about the use of language in a particular culture.
2. According to linguistic anthropologists, why don’t our pets actually understand a rudimentary form of English?
   1. Where Does Language Come From?
   2. Most animals cannot talk because they do not have a larynx. Yet most animals use sounds, gestures, and movements of the body to communicate. Anthropological linguists refer to these sounds and movements as call systems, which are patterned forms of communication that express meaning. But this sort of communication is not considered to be language. Why? There are four major reasons:
   3. Animal call systems are limited in what and how much they can communicate. Calls are restricted largely to emotions or bits of information about what is currently present in the environment, while language has few limitations on kind or amount of information it can transmit.
   4. Call systems are stimuli-dependent, which means an animal can communicate only in response to a real-world stimulus. In contrast, humans can talk about things that are not currently happening in the real world, including things and events in the past or future.
   5. Among animals each call is distinct, and these calls are never combined to produce a call with a different meaning. In contrast, the sounds in any language can be combined in limitless ways to produce new meaningful utterances.
   6. Animal call systems tend to be nearly the same within a species, with only minor differences between call systems used in widely separated regions. In contrast, different members of our species speak between 5,000 and 6,000 different languages, each with its own complex patterns.
3. How can language mark our social position and status? In your answer apply the theory of language ideology.
   1. How Does Language Relate to Social Power and Inequality?
   2. The concept of language ideology refers to the ideologies people have about the superiority of one dialect or language and the inferiority of others. A language ideology links language use with identity, morality, and aesthetics. It shapes our image of who we are as individuals, as members of social groups, and as participants in social institutions (Woolard 1998). Like all ideologies, language ideologies are deeply felt beliefs that are considered truths. In turn, these truths are reflected in social relationships, as one group’s unquestioned beliefs about the superiority of its language justifies the power of one group or class of people over others (Spitulnik 1998:154).
4. How is communication between animals (call system communication) different from human language?
   1. Where Does Language Come From?
   2. Most animals cannot talk because they do not have a larynx. Yet most animals use sounds, gestures, and movements of the body to communicate. Anthropological linguists refer to these sounds and movements as call systems, which are patterned forms of communication that express meaning. But this sort of communication is not considered to be language. Why? There are four major reasons:
   3. Animal call systems are limited in what and how much they can communicate. Calls are restricted largely to emotions or bits of information about what is currently present in the environment, while language has few limitations on kind or amount of information it can transmit.
   4. Call systems are stimuli dependent, which means an animal can communicate only in response to a real-world stimulus. In contrast, humans can talk about things that are not currently happening in the real world, including things and events in the past or future.
   5. Among animals each call is distinct, and these calls are never combined to produce a call with a different meaning. In contrast, the sounds in any language can be combined in limitless ways to produce new meaningful utterances.
   6. Animal call systems tend to be nearly the same within a species, with only minor differences between call systems used in widely separated regions. In contrast, different members of our species speak between 5,000 and 6,000 different languages, each with its own complex patterns.
5. To what extent do our American English grammatical categories shape the ways we anticipate events that occur in the world around us? Consider, for example, how the use of the English pronouns “he,” “she,” and “it” affects social relationships.
   1. How Does Language Actually Work?
   2. American English has fewer pronouns than many other languages do. We distinguish between singular and plural, among three persons (first person, second person, and third person), and among three cases (subjective, objective, and possessive). If we consider only person and number, we have six basic pronouns, plus two extra pronouns for gender marking in the third person singular (he, she, and it). This set of pronouns does not even begin to exhaust the possible pronoun distinctions that could be used. In French, for example, the second person singular pronoun (“you”) takes two forms: tu (an informal form) and vous (a formal form). The Awin language of Papua New Guinea has singular, dual, and plural forms of its pronouns, meaning “you” (one person), “you two,” and “you” (more than two).
6. How do language ideologies marginalize groups of people? Give an example to illustrate your answer.
   1. How Does Language Relate to Social Power and Inequality?
   2. The concept of language ideology refers to the ideologies people have about the superiority of one dialect or language and the inferiority of others. A language ideology links language use with identity, morality, and aesthetics. It shapes our image of who we are as individuals, as members of social groups, and as participants in social institutions (Woolard 1998). Like all ideologies, language ideologies are deeply felt beliefs that are considered truths. In turn, these truths are reflected in social relationships, as one group’s unquestioned beliefs about the superiority of its language justifies the power of one group or class of people over others (Spitulnik 1998:154).
7. With the rise of Facebook, new terms have entered American English. How can there be language changes if we are not consciously aware that we are changing the way we speak?
   1. If Language Is Always Changing, Why Does It Seem So Stable?
   2. A striking paradox in linguistics is that, like culture, language constantly changes, yet most people experience their own language as stable and unchanging. We tend to notice the changes only when we hear other people in our communities using words, pronunciations, or grammatical forms that differ from our own. Usually national policies come into play to enforce or support the use and stabilization of certain linguistic forms over others, leading to language change within a strong framework of stability.
8. How can language be used to marginalize people who are not currently in high-status positions?
   1. How Does Language Relate to Social Power and Inequality?
   2. The concept of language ideology refers to the ideologies people have about the superiority of one dialect or language and the inferiority of others. A language ideology links language use with identity, morality, and aesthetics. It shapes our image of who we are as individuals, as members of social groups, and as participants in social institutions (Woolard 1998). Like all ideologies, language ideologies are deeply felt beliefs that are considered truths. In turn, these truths are reflected in social relationships, as one group’s unquestioned beliefs about the superiority of its language justifies the power of one group or class of people over others (Spitulnik 1998:154).
9. In England, the dialect one speaks marks you as a person of a very specialized social class. Explain the process of differentiating regional or social dialects and how that may result in people according to unflattering stereotypes?
   1. How Does Language Actually Work?
   2. Another interesting way to think about phonology is to consider accents and dialects, which are regional or social variations of a single language. Sometimes the variation occurs between generations or among people of different social classes. Part of the distinctive sound of these forms of speech results from differences in intonation, the pattern of rising and falling pitch, but usually careful analysis of the sounds shows that accents and dialects also have systematic differences in their respective sound systems.
10. How does understanding that men and women speak differently, even though they both speak American English, help us to understand patterns of social behavior?
    1. How Does Language Relate to Social Power and Inequality?
    2. Despite what your high school English teachers may have told you, there is no “proper” way to speak English or any other language. From the anthropological perspective of language ideology, there are only more and less privileged versions of language use. This is to say, language use either legitimates an individual or group as “normal” or even “upstanding” or defines that individual or group as socially inferior. Consider, for example, the findings of a classic study in sociolinguistics that explores how gendered expectations of how women speak English in our culture can reflect and reinforce the idea that women are inferior to men. In her research, Robin Lakoff (1975) described how “talking like a lady” involved the expectation that a woman’s speech patterns should include such things as tag questions (“It’s three o’clock, isn’t it?”); intensifiers (“It’s a very lovely hat!”); hedge (“I’m pretty sure”); or hesitation and the repetition of expressions, all of which can communicate uncertainty and were largely absent in expectations about men’s speech. Lakoff argued that the social effects of speaking in this way can marginalize women’s voices in contexts like a courtroom or a workplace, where speaking in a way that implies uncertainty— even if the speaker is not intentionally expressing uncertainty—can undermine a woman’s testimony (as in a court of law) or trustworthiness (as in a workplace). Such situations, she suggested, are used to justify elevating men to positions of authority over women.