CH06 Language

Human language is found in all cultures _______.

• that have writing

• that have had significant contact with Europe

• across the world

• that use technology

The meanings attached to any given word in all languages are totally _____ (think cow)

• specific

• arbitrary

• organic in nature

• displaced

A language that is “moribund” is one that _________.

• no longer has any living speakers

• has no speakers that are bilingual

• uses metaphors of death in other aspects of life

• is spoken by only a handful of people

Research on chimpanzee communication shows that they ________.

• possess the physical means of speaking like humans

• can communicate subtle shades of meaning

• use a closed communication system

• can express opinions about abstract ideas

The study of the sound structure of a language is called ________.

• phonology

• the study of syntax

• the study of grammar

• displacement

Bound morphemes convey meaning ________.

• only when sounds are combined

• by following cultural language rules

• while standing alone

• only when combined with another morpheme

The highly complex set of rules that regulates the formation phonemes into morphemes, morphemes into words and words into sentences that convey meaning is called ________.

• grammar

• dialogue

• phonology

• syntax

Language, according to the Sapir-Whorf hypothesis ________.

• causes all people to perceive the world in the same way

• causes all humans to construct reality in similar ways

• establishes in our minds categories that affect our perception

• determines how well-formed our brain will be

Sociolinguistics concentrates on variations in language that _______.

• are likely to become extinct in the next 50 years

• have a majority of bilingual speakers

• depend upon the social situations or contexts in which the speaker operates

• do not change over time

Diglossia refers to _______.

• a practice of using more than one form of the same language within the same language community

• a speech problem that causes a person to not be able to associate words with meanings

• the inability of a person to learn more than one language during a lifetime

• fluency in two languages