Chapter 4

Question 1

call system

Answer 1

what animals use to communicate

Question 2

language

Answer 2

a system of communication organized by rules that uses symbols such as words, sounds and gestures to convey information

Question 3

historical linguistics

Answer 3

the study of the development of language over time, including its changes and variations;
tracing the connections between languages and identifying their origins

Question 4

language continuum

Answer 4

the idea that variation in languages appears gradually over distance so that groups of people who live near one another speak in a way that is mutually intelligible

Question 5

speech community

Answer 5

a group of people who come to share certain norms of language use through living and communication together

Question 6

descriptive linguistics

Answer 6

the study of the sounds, symbols, and gestures of a language, and their combination into forms that communicate meaning

Question 7

productivity

Answer 7

using known words to invent new word combinations

Question 8

displacement

Answer 8

the ability to use words to refer to objects not immediately present or events happening in the past or future

Question 9

phonemes

Answer 9

the smallest units of sound that can make a difference in meaning

Question 10

phonology

Answer 10

the study of what sounds exist and which ones are important in a particular language

Question 11

morphemes

Answer 11

the smallest unit of sound that carry meaning on their own

Question 12

morphology

Answer 12

the study of the patterns and rules of how sounds combine to make morphemes

Question 13

syntax

Answer 13

the specific patterns and rules for combining morphemes to construct phrases and sentences

Question 14

grammar

Answer 14

the combined set of observations about the rules governing the use of phonemes, morphemes, and syntax that guide language use

Question 15

kinesics

Answer 15

the study of the relationship between body movements and communication

Question 16

paralanguage

Answer 16

an extensive set of noises (such as laughs, cries, sighs, and yells) and tones of voice that convey significant information about the speaker

Question 17

linguistic relativity

Answer 17

the notion that all languages will develop the distinctive categories necessary for those who speak them to deal with the realities around them; each language studied on its own terms and not by European standards; Boas

Question 18

Sapir-Whorf hypothesis

Answer 18

the idea that different language create different ways of thinking; languages establish certain mental categories or classifications of reality, almost like a grammar for organizing the worldview that in turn shapes peoples’ ways of perceiving the world

Question 19

lexicon

Answer 19

all the words for names, ideas, and events that make up a language’s dictionary

Question 20

speech register

Answer 20

the words and terminology that develop with particular sophistication to describe the unique cultural realities experienced by a group of people

Question 21

sociolinguistics

Answer 21

the study of the ways culture shapes language and language shapes culture, particularly the intersection of language with cultural categories and systems of power such as age, race, ethnicity, sexuality, gender and class

Question 22

dialect

Answer 22

a nonstandard variation of a language

Question 23

language ideology

Answer 23

beliefs and conceptions about language that often serve to rationalize and justify patterns of stratification and inequality

Question 24

code switching

Answer 24

switching back and forth between one linguistic variant and another or one language and another depending on the cultural context

Question 25

prestige language

Answer 25

a particular language variation or way of speaking associated with wealth, success, education, and power

Question 26

language loss

Answer 26

the extinction of languages that have very few speakers