Chapter 11 Communication
MULTIPLE CHOICE
1. Human language has a capacity to generate an infinite number of messages from a finite set of elements, a feature
called __________.
A) displacement
B) mode of communication
C) discourse
D) productivity
2. The system of human communication based on a systematic set of symbols and signs with learned and shared
meanings is called __________.
A) language
B) productivity
C) displacement
D) grammar
3. Vocal communication among nonhuman primates is referred to as __________.
A) a call system
B) nonverbal communication
C) sign language
D) phonetics
4. An anthropologist is studying the language of an isolated culture. The language uses the same word for “now,”
“in the past,” and “in the future.” This suggests that the language makes less use than others of __________.
A) productivity
B) phonemes
C) displacement
D) grammar
5. The culture that appears to have the simplest form of grammar is the __________.
A) Yanomami
B) Pirahã
C) Bosnians
D) Han Chinese
6. The adult male bonobo who is skilled at symbolic communication with human researchers is __________.
A) Bonzo
B) Lucy
C) Hobbit
D) Kanzi
7. Sounds that make a critical difference in a language are referred to as __________.
A) structures
B) phonemes
C) grammar/syntax
D) focal sounds
8. One thing that all languages have is __________.
A) the same sounds
B) grammar/syntax
C) comparable focal vocabularies
D) a shared origin in Central Asia
9. Within a particular language, an especially rich cluster of related words is referred to as a __________.
A) discourse
B) dialect
C) focal vocabulary
D) grammar
10. Many of the terms the Saami use to describe snow are related to __________.
A) conditions for reindeer herding
B) visibility conditions
C) skiing conditions
D) human personality characteristics
11. Among the Apache, in situations of ambiguous relationships between people, __________.
A) silence is maintained
B) certain standard conversations are carried out for five to 10 minutes
C) it is appropriate to “break the ice” with the offer of a drink
D) a handshake is followed by rapid chatter
12. In Japan, what element of personal appearance, dress, or accessory communicates facts about age, gender,
formality, and marital status?
A) hair style
B) hair accessories
C) kimono pattern and color
D) kimono sleeve length
13. The term digital divide refers to the fact that __________.
A) worldwide, access to new information technology is distributed unequally
B) men have more access to modern communications than do women
C) communication in many languages is not possible on the Internet
D) English syntax determined much of the structure of communication technology, putting speakers of other
languages at a disadvantage
14. The claim that a person’s language determines the person’s thought is called __________.
A) generative discourse
B) sociolinguistics
C) Sapir–Whorf hypothesis
D) cultural materialism
15. A key marker of gender coding in spoken English in the United States is __________.
A) women’s tendency to lower their intonation at the end of a sentence
B) men’s tendency to speak more formally and politely
C) women’s greater use of tag questions
D) women’s more frequent use of eye contact
16. Culturally patterned verbal language is referred to as __________.
A) communication
B) intonation
C) discourse
D) syntax
17. One aspect of communication that causes problems during medical interviews with Mohawk speakers of English
is __________.
A) non-displacement
B) tag questions
C) silence
D) cuing
18. In African American English, the nonuse of the verb “to be” is the product of __________.
A) normal language change in the twentieth century
B) its roots in African languages
C) the failure to observe rules of English grammar
D) deliberate adjustment of Standard American English to create a sense of identity
19. Sir William Jones noticed similarities between languages when studying __________.
A) Latin
B) Greek
C) Sanskrit
D) Persian
20. The word khipu refers to a __________.
A) trade language that emerged in Papua New Guinea
B) method of recording the seasons so that rituals could be performed regularly
C) female form of writing in Japanese literature
D) method of recordkeeping without the use of writing
21. A first-generation “contact” language is called a __________.
A) paralanguage
B) dialect
C) pidgin
D) creole
22. Tok Pisin is one of the official national languages of __________.
A) the Philippines
B) India
C) Papua New Guinea
D) Sudan
23. The point at which a language no longer has competent users is referred to as __________.
A) linguistic minimalism
B) language replacement
C) language decay
D) language extinction
24. Language endangerment is judged to exist when a language has fewer than __________ speakers.
A) 50,000
B) 10,000
C) 100,000
D) 250,000
25. Which of the following is considered a loan word in North American English?
A) what
B) television
C) chocolate
D) sidewalk
TRUE/FALSE
26. Productivity is the ability to create an infinite range of understandable expressions from a finite set of rules.
27. Displacement is a key feature of nonhuman primate communication.
28. Most research in linguistic anthropology conducted using big data draws on a single database that includes the
vocabularies and syntax rules of hundreds of languages.
29. A linguistic anthropologist is studying a language and finds that long “e” sounds may be short or sustained. That
distinction changes the meaning of an otherwise-identical word. This distinction is therefore based on two
phonemes.
30. The Sapir–Whorf hypothesis is an example of a cultural materialist theory.
31. In spoken English, a tag question is more often used by men than women.
32. The Japanese terms for box lunch, “bentoo” and “obentoo,” reflect gender code differences.
33. Sir William Jones discovered the existence of Proto-Indo-European writing when translating documents that
were in standard Sanskrit.
34. Spanish is an example of a global language.
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35. Language decay occurs when speakers abandon their language in favor of another language.
ESSAY
36. What is language and what is communication? How does nonhuman primate communication differ from that of
humans?
37. Describe three specific examples from the text of how humans communicate meaning without verbal language.
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38. Describe two examples from the text of the connection between language and a person’s or group’s sense of, or
expression of, identity.
39. Define the goals of critical media anthropology. Describe the study of advertising to the Latino population of the
United States and how the conclusions drawn from it were informed by critical media anthropology.
40. Describe the approach called linguistic determinism and the theory from which it is derived. Explain how that
approach contrasts with sociolinguistics.
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41. Define a tag question and give an example of one. Analyze what conclusions can be drawn from their use and
observations of who uses them in the context of Euro-American conversations.
42. Define critical discourse analysis and describe findings from an example that demonstrates this approach.
43. Describe pidgin languages and creole languages, and summarize the historical background of the terms.
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44. Define global language and identify the language that best fits this categorization. Analyze how this relates to
global political/economic realities.
45. Analyze the concept of language loss by discussing one position in favor of language preservation and one
against, and identifying what group might take each position.