Exam 1

Question 1

How did the Hopi’s Language Work

Answer 1

They used evidence based wording

using two different “that’s”

Question 2

What are the two forms of evidence did the Hopi’s use

what are the different meanings of “that”

Answer 2

1. Direct Sensory Awareness- using evidence you see
2. Inference- using evidence and guessing on something

Question 3

What was the Berlin & Kay study

(hint: rainbow)

Answer 3

This study was testing the Sapir-Whorf hypothesis doing a color survey to see it language influences how ppl percieve color

Question 4

What did the Berlin & Kay study show as result

(the study that used color to see how langauge affects identifying it)

Answer 4

Showed little evidence of effects of color vocab on color cognition

Question 5

What was the Winawer study

(the second part of the Berlin & Kay study of color)

Answer 5

Tested Russain speakers and english speakers on identifying the color blue since in Russian there is more names for different shades of blue

Question 6

What was the finding of the Winawer study & what did it prove

(the study about the color of blue shades)

Answer 6

Language influenced how speaker categorize colors, russains saw blue as belonging to different catagories for the different shades, but english speakers did not.
It proved that the influence of language is subtle and supports linguistic relativity

Question 7

What was Wundt thought on the study of language

Answer 7

Analyzing complex sensations & feelings, ??

Question 8

Who was B F Skinner

what type of linguist was he

Answer 8

Psychologic behavorialist

Question 9

What did B F Skinner think language was a result of

Answer 9

Language behavior subject to same stimulus response reinforcements
Immiate behavior for reward

Question 10

What did B F Skinner examine

Answer 10

objective, observable behavior

Question 11

Who was Chomsky

what type of linguist was he

Answer 11

Generative linguistics that showed synatic structures

Question 12

What did Chomsky think about studying linguistics

Answer 12

Studying only linguistic behavior is not sufficent (need to study more then observations)

Question 13

What was Chomskys Deep vs surface process

Answer 13

Deep: looking at the linguistic units and rules showing how different
Surface: only reading the sentence and not the meaning

Question 14

What did the Wug test show

Answer 14

That different plurals work in different endings

Question 15

What does Plin being in the englush language but Lpin not show us

Answer 15

Shows that Lpin is out of our combination of sounds in the english language so it is not accepted

Question 16

How can even children construct good sentences

Answer 16

the unconsious rules that we develop

Question 17

What is the different between descriptive and prescriptive grammar, and which one do linguist use

Answer 17

Descriptive grammar, used by linguists is what ppl do with knowledge
Prescriptive grammar is certain way of using language is wrong according to some authority

Question 18

What is an example of presriptive grammar

Answer 18

spliting infinitives

Question 19

What are the possible origins of language

Answer 19

1. immitating natural sounds
2. genetic mutation
3. emotional sounds
4. social interactions
5. vocal tract and other physical components developed

Question 20

What is linguistic determinism and linguitic relativity, which one is stronger

Answer 20

determinism- stronger, language determines way we think and percieve the world
relativity- language influences the way we think

Question 21

What is languistic competence and linguistic performance

Answer 21

competence- what language system should do under ideal situations
performance- what language system actually does in situation

Question 22

What are the properties of human language and explain them

Answer 22

1. creativity- can combine properties and be infinitely creative
2. symbolic system- artbitrary, relation between how word looks/sounds and what it means
3. rule-governed- unconsious rules telling us how to use it

define arbitrary- relation amond words and meaning

Question 23

What is the genetic hypothesis

Answer 23

genetic mutation causing language that since born human we already had knowledge of language

Question 24

What is langue vs parole

Answer 24

langue- language system
parole- act of using language

Question 25

what is the difference between absolute vs relative frame of reference

Answer 25

absolute- external reference- north/south
relative- viewer centered- left/right

Question 26

What was the Brown Levinson experiment adn its findings

(frame of reference)

Answer 26

testing ppl by putting items on a table and having them put them back in the same order to see is frame of reference matters, but flawed since both groups studied in different environment

Question 27

What was the Li & Gleitment experiment

related to the brown levinson frame of reference

Answer 27

Proved the brown levinson was wrong and the landmarks affect frame of reference and it is not influenced by language BUT MAY INFLUENCE IT

Question 28

What was the Chen’s experiment about language and money

Answer 28

thought that english speakers were wore at saving money since they have a past/preset/future term in thier langauge and mandarin does not

Question 29

Why was the Chen’s experiment about money not trustworthy

Answer 29

he was not a linguist, thought that future tense terms lead to more risky behavior, future tense can be marked without using a future marking

Question 30

How do meerkats and elephants communicate

Answer 30

elephants- through their feet stomping and picking up on the vibrations and rumbling that can travel for miles
meerkat- through 25 different danger calls to tell the type and how close thte threat is

Question 31

What kind of experiments did they do to tell how meerkats and elephants communicate

Answer 31

they tested the elephants with drumbs in the groud and speakers for low rumbling then rewarded if they responded correctly
the meerkats were tested with stuffed predators at different speeds and distances to see how they would react

Question 32

How do fiddler crabs communicate and how does it compare with human language

Answer 32

claw waving to eachother, major differences: no systematic, rule-governed system with no creavtity, uses small number of fixed symbols

Question 33

What is the epaulet-showing communication system of red-winged blackbirds and what does it communicate and compare with human language

Answer 33

shows them to stay away from them and their area, it has no creativity

Question 34

What are the three properties of the dance that bees use to communicate food sources and how are they represented

Answer 34

1. direction- round- 5 meters, sicle and tail wagging- respect to the sun
2. quality- amoung og wags and intensity shows how good the source (more intense, better source)
3. distance- round dance 5 meter, sickle dance 5-20m, tail wagging >20m (wag length tells how far)

Question 35

What does it mean to say that human language is “species uniform”

Answer 35

potentially uiquely human and biological endowment

Question 36

how does the bee dance compare with human language

Answer 36

it is a symbolic system- the distance represents parameters of food source, allows encoding and infinite number of messages (creative?)