Chapter 4

Question 1

Abstract Language

Answer 1

Langauge that lacks specificity or does not refer to observable behavior or other sensory data.

Question 2

Abstraction Ladder

Answer 2

A range of more to less abstract terms describing an event or object.

Question 3

Behavioral Description

Answer 3

An account that refers only to observable phenomena.

Question 4

Convergence

Answer 4

Accommodating one’s speaking style to another person, who usually is desirable or has higher status.

Question 5

Divergence

Answer 5

A linguistic strategy in which speakers emphasize differences between their communicative style and others’ in order to create distance.

Question 6

Emotive Language

Answer 6

Language that conveys the sender’s attitude rather than simply offering an objective description.

Question 7

Equivocal Language

Answer 7

Language with more than one likely interpretation.

Question 8

Equivocal Words

Answer 8

Words that have more than one dictionary definition.

Question 9

Equivocation

Answer 9

A vague statement that can be interpreted in more than one way.

Question 10

Euphemism

Answer 10

A pleasant-sounding term used in place of a more direct but less pleasant one.

Question 11

Factual Statement

Answer 11

A statement that can be verified as being true or false.

Question 12

High-Context Culture

Answer 12

A culture that avoids direct use of language to express information, especially about relational matters.

Question 13

Inferential Statement

Answer 13

Conclusion arrived at from an interpretation of evidence.

Question 14

Jargon

Answer 14

The specialized vocabulary that is used as a kind of shorthand by people with common backgrounds and experience.

Question 15

Language

Answer 15

A collection of symbols, governed by rules and used to convey messages between individuals.

Question 16

Linguistic Intergroup Bias

Answer 16

The tendency to label people and behaviors in terms that reflect their in-group or out-group status.

Question 17

Linguistic Relativism

Answer 17

A moderate form of linguistic determinism that argues that language exerts a strong influence on the perceptions of the people who speak it.

Question 18

Low-Context Culture

Answer 18

A culture that relies heavily on language to make messages, especially of a relational nature, explicit.

Question 19

Opinion Statement

Answer 19

A statement based on the speaker’s beliefs.

Question 20

Phonological Rules

Answer 20

Linguistic rules governing how sounds are combined to form rules.

Question 21

Pragmatic Rules

Answer 21

Rules that govern how people use language in everyday interaction.

Question 22

Relative Words

Answer 22

Words that gain their meaning by comparison.

Question 23

Sapir-Whorf Hypothesis

Answer 23

Theory that the structure of a language shapes the worldview of its users.

Question 24

Semantic Rules

Answer 24

Rules that govern the meaning of language opposed to its structure.

Question 25

Sex Role

Answer 25

The social orientation that governs behaviors, in contract to a person’s biological gender.

Question 26

Slang

Answer 26

Language used by a group of people whose members belong to a similar coculture or other group.

Question 27

Symbols

Answer 27

Arbitrary constructions that represent a communicator’s thoughts.

Question 28

Syntactic Rules

Answer 28

Rules that govern the ways in which symbols can be arranged as opposed to the meanings of those symbols.