Chapter 1: What is language?

Question 1

The possession of what distinguishes humans from their animal counterparts?

Answer 1

language.

Question 2

The first written records of language that have been found are ____ years old.

1. 2000
2. 6000
3. 10 000
4. 50 000

Answer 2

2. 6000 years ago

Question 3

When you know a language, you can ____ and _____ its sounds

Answer 3

produce / understand (interpet)

Question 4

What is the earliest age in which children are nearly as language proficient as their parents?

1. 1 year old
2. 3 years old
3. 5 years old
4. 10 years old

Answer 4

3. 5 years old

Question 5

Any given language community tacitly agrees to use a particular sound to convey a certain idea. Therefore, we can say that the linguistic sign is

1. mimetic and iconic
2. arbitrary and conventional
3. form and meaning

Answer 5

2. arbitrary and conventional

Question 6

What are onomatopoeic words?

Answer 6

Words that (supposedly) imitate the sound of nature

Question 7

Anyone who knows language can produce and understand sentences that have never been uttered before. Chomsky refers to this as the _____ aspect of language use.

1. competence
2. creative
3. knowledge

Answer 7

2. creative

Question 8

When you know a language, you know the sounds, words and ______ for their combination

Answer 8

rules

Question 9

There is a difference between what you know, which is your linguistic _____, and how you use this, which is your linguistic ____.

Answer 9

competence / performance

Question 10

Descriptive grammars are formal accounts of our _____ grammar. On the other hand, ______ grammars tell us what is acceptable or unacceptable grammar use. Teaching grammars compare the target language with the native language by providing a _____ for each foreign word to be learned. Finally, _____ grammars are comprehensive accounts of detailed grammatical facts.

Answer 10

mental / prescriptive / gloss / reference

Question 11

In general sense, a grammar includes all language knowledge: the sounds system (______), the system of _____ (semantics), the rules of word formation (______) and sentence formation (_______) as well as the ______ of words (lexicon)

Answer 11

(Phonology) / meaning / (morphology) / (syntax) / vocabulary

Question 12

The major language used by deaf people in North America is called ________ or ___ in short.

Answer 12

American Sign Language / (ASL)

Question 13

True/False - Deaf children acquire sign language in a similar way to hearing children acquiring spoken language

Answer 13

True

Question 14

What is the monogenetic theory of language origin?

Answer 14

It is the belief that all language originate from a single source

Question 15

True/False - Primitive languages are those spoken by indigenous tribes

Answer 15

False