– Chapter Five –
Test Items
1. The words we use reflect which of the following?
2. The strongest version of the Sapir-Whorf hypothesis reflects ________.
3. According to the Sapir-Whorf hypothesis, language structure is necessary in order to produce
________.
4. Which of the following statements, if true, would support the notion of linguistic determinism?
5. The weaker form of the Sapir-Whorf hypothesis is known as ________.
6. Linguistic relativism suggests that worldview______________.
7. Which of the following reflect the correct ordering of the sequential rules for behavior according to
Shimanoff (1980)?
8. Chinese immigrants and Americans differ in terms of compliments in that ________.
9. The nation of Israel was established in 1948 ________.
10. The contact hypothesis is optimal under which of the following conditions?
11. What language concept did the authors argue was partially responsible for the lack of success in
Israeli-Jewish and Palestinian negotiations?
12. Which of the following is NOT a principle of speech codes?
13. The Arabic speech code of “musayra” is ________.
14. Dichos, popular sayings, have an impact on human behavior because they _______.
15. No por mucho madrugar amancee más temprano (No matter how early one rises, the sun will not
come up any sooner) can be interpreted to mean that _______.
16. According to Roy’s essay on Mexican dichos, which of the following is NOT a significant value in
Mexican culture?
17. The expression Del dicho al hecho hay mucho trecho (From said to done, there is a great gap)
illustrates which cultural value?
18. Nonverbal behaviors that consist of body movements, gestures, and facial expressions are categorized
as ________.
19. Differences between Arab cultures in which people tend to stand closely together when speaking and
North American cultures in which people carry on conversation at a distance of eighteen to thirty-six
inches are differences in _________.
20. Nonverbal behaviors that communicate warmth and closeness are referred to as _______ behaviors.
21. The degree to which communication is explicit and verbal versus implicit and nonverbal refers to
which dimension of intercultural nonverbal communication?
22. A culture with a high power distance is one in which ________.
23. Bowing practices in Japan reflect which of the following cultural themes?
24. Which statement below best describes Japanese proxemics?
25. In Japanese culture, silence is often considered a sign of ________.
26. How does the exchange of business cards in Japan affect communication?
27. Which statement below is true of accents?
28. What is a feature of the powerless speech style?
29. According to research, people who speak rapidly are more likely to be judged as ________ than
people who speak slowly.
30. Research indicates that ________.
– Chapter Five –
Test Items
Short Answer / Essay
1. Support or refute the statement “language shapes reality.”
2. Explain the Chinese concepts of yi hay (heat) and leung (cool). Do they support or refute the Sapir-Whorf
3. Differentiate between linguistic determinism and linguistic relativism. Use one example and explain it from each
4. Describe the developmental, interactional, and social psychological approaches to the study of language.
5. What is transformative dialogue? How has it been used to address the Israeli-Jewish and Palestinian conflict?
7. Discuss the well-documented code, dugri, used by the Israeli-Jews.
8. Why are the economic and military advantages of Israel potentially problematic within the context of transformative
9. Demonstrate how dichos reflect the cultural values of Mexicans.
10. Explain the importance of understanding the cultural context of dichos using No hagas hoy lo que puedas hacer
11. Explain the popular Mexican sayings Aqua que no has de beber, déjala correr (Water that you do not have to drink,
leave it to flow) and En boca cerrada no entran moscas (Flies do not enter a closed mouth). What aspect of culture do
12. How does the degree to which a culture is individualistic or collectivistic affect the nonverbal behavior of that
13. Explain which aspects of nonverbal communication are involved in proxemics, haptics, chronemics, kinesics,
14. Explain the cultural dimension of power distance and how it affects nonverbal communication.
15. What does it mean for a culture to be masculine or feminine? What attributes are valued by each type of culture? How
16. Describe Japanese oculesics and explain how those nonverbal communication norms reflect Japanese cultural themes.
17. How do Japanese kinesics reflect Japanese cultural themes?
18. Why does Cargil argue that different accents, vocabularies, and rates of speech pose the biggest challenges to
19. Compare and contrast the way that people who speak with standard accents and people who speak with nonstandard
20. What is the most important thing we can do to manage our language attitudes?