Anthro Chapter 4
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Call Systems
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Systems of communication among nonhuman primates, composed of a limited number of sounds that vary in intensity and duration; tied to environmental stimuli.
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Cultural Transmission
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A basic feature of language; transmission through learning.
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Productivity
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The ability to use the rules of one's language to create new expressions comprehensible to other speakers; a basic feature of langue.
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Displacement
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A linguistic capacity that allows humans to talk about things and events that ae not present.
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Kinesics
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The study of communication through body movements, stance, gestures, and facial expressions.
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Descriptive Linguistics
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The scientific study of a spoken language, including its phonology, morphology, lexicon, and syntax.
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Phonology
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The study of sounds used in speech.
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Morphology
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The study of form; used in linguistics (the study of morphemes and word construction) and for form in general--for example, biomorphology relates to physical form.
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Lexicon
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Vocabulary; a dictionary containing all the morphemes in a language and their meaning.
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Syntax
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The arrangement and order of words in phrases and sentences.
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Phoneme
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Significant sound contrast in a language that serves to distinguish meaning, as in minimal pairs.
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Phonetics
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The study of speech sounds in general; what people actually say in various languages.
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Phonemics
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The study of significant sound contrasts (phonemes) of a particular language.
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Sapir-Whorf Hypothesis
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Theory that different languages produce different ways of thinking.
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Focal Vocabulary
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A set of words and distinctions that are particularly important to certain groups (those with particular foci of experience or activity), such as types of snow to Eskimos or skiers.
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Semantics
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A language's meaning system.
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Sociolinguistics
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Study of relationships between social and linguistic variation; study of language in its social context.
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Style Shifts
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Variations in speech in different contexts.
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Diglossia
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The existence of \"high\" (formal) and \"low\" (familial) dialects of a single language, such as German.
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Black English Vernacular (BEV)
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A rule-governed dialect of American English (sometimes called ebonics) with roots in southern English. African-American youth and many adults speak BEV in their casual, intimate speech.
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Historical Linguistics
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Subdivision of linguistics that studies languages over time.
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Daughter Languages
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Languages developing out of the same parent language; for exmaple, French and Spanish are daughter languages of Latin.
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Protolanguage
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Language ancestral to several daughter languages.
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Language Subgroups
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Languages within a taxonomy of related languages that are most closely related.
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1. BEV is a distinct language
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False
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2. Labov argued that all humans share a universal grammar
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False
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3. The frequency with which people smile varies cross-culturally
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True
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4. Language is transmitted through enculturation
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True
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5. Creole languages are commonly found in regions where different linguistic groups came into contact with one another
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True
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6. The term protolanguage is used to refer to the limited communication systems of nonhuman primates
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False
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7. Historical linguists study linguistic performance by categorizing speakers as inadequate, competent, or highly proficient
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False
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8. Most English speakers recognize the phonetic contrast between the [ph] in pin and the [p] in spin
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False
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9. Syntax refers to the rules that dictate the order of words in a language
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True
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10. A close relationship between languages does not necessarily mean that their speakers are closely related biologically or culturally
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True
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11. What genetic difference has been found between humans and chimpanzees that is likely responsible for the human capability for speech?
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A mutation in the FOXP2 gene
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12. After being spoken for generations, pidgins may develop into
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Creole languages
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13. Linguistic displacement is
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The ability to talk about things that are not present
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14. Regular shifting between \"high\" and \"low\" variants of a language is known as
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Diglossia
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15. In a stratified society, even people who do not speak the prestige dialect tend to accept it as standard or superior. This phenomenon is referred to as
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Symbolic domination
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16. In which region of the United States do people not speak with an accent?
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Regional speech variations exist throughout the US
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17. Which of the following statements best describes the use of language by apes?
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Apes can learn American Sign Language and have shown the capacity for cultural transmission, productivity, and displacement, although there is still a gap between human and other ape language capabilities
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18. What are minimal pairs used to identify?
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Phonemes
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19. In his study of New York department store employees, Labov found that
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/r/ was pronounced most frequently by workers in the upper-middle-class store (Saks).
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20. What does the Sapir-Whorf hypothesis argue?
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The languages people speak influence the way they think.
