UNH ANTH 411 EXAM 2 | QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS | 2026 UPDATE | WITH COMPLETE
SOLUTION
language - (ANSWER)- a particular type of communication system that is symbolic and learned; has a set
of rules for generating speech and helps us interpret culture
- easily flexible; meanings can be changed and new symbols created
animal/human communication - (ANSWER)- the ability to use sounds or symbols to communicate with
each other; language for animals is biologically inherited whereas humans learn it
- ability to answer questions without the assistance of others; emotional associations under certain
situations
Signifier/Signified - (ANSWER)- Symbolic Signs are established by convention, usage, and history.
They express a perceived (but arbitrary) connection between a signifier (conveyer of meaning) and a
signified (what is conveyed)
- Signifier=bald eagle --> American flag=Signified
Indexical Signs - (ANSWER)- something directly observable points to a linked association (ex: dark cloud
= stormy/rainy weather)
- INDEXical --> Index finger points to something
Iconic Signs - (ANSWER)- represents what it stands for (ex: printer symbol/clip-art resembles exactly
what is stands for)
- No smoking sign
Creole - (ANSWER)- formed from pidgin, mother tongue (has native speakers), more complex; language
of a population
,UNH ANTH 411 EXAM 2 | QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS | 2026 UPDATE | WITH COMPLETE
SOLUTION
- As pidgins change into creoles over several generations, their vocabularies enlarge.
Code-Switching/Diglossia - (ANSWER)- switching back and forth between dialects depending on social
situation
Phonemes - (ANSWER)- distinct unit of sound that changes the meaning of a word; gin, kin, win, sin -->
in
Morphemes - (ANSWER)- the smallest combination of sounds that have meaning and cannot be broken
into smaller meaningful units
-cow is one morpheme while cowboy is composed of two (cow and boy)
Syntax - (ANSWER)- the standardized set of rules that determine how words should be combined to
make sense to speakers of a language
- All native speakers of a language learn the basic rules of syntax as they grow up
Paralanguage - (ANSWER)- non-verbal communication that emphasizes body language and voice
nuances as means of expressing thoughts and feelings
- gestures and expressions that accompany speech and shape its meaning and interpretation
- many expressions are universally recognizable but require contextual interpretation
Kinesics - (ANSWER)- communication through body movement; highly culture-bound; the language of
gestures, expressions, and postures
, UNH ANTH 411 EXAM 2 | QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS | 2026 UPDATE | WITH COMPLETE
SOLUTION
Power-posing - (ANSWER)- ted talk by Amy Cuddy, body language can affect how we feel and how we
are perceived, open poses = powerful, closed poses = submissive, "fake it until you become it" (which is
kind of a shitty motto)
- open postures cause our brains to produce testosterone, which makes us feel powerful and confident,
while closed postures leads to the production of cortisone, which makes us feel sad, depressed, scared,
and powerless.
iHunch - (ANSWER)- technology is worsening our posture because we tend to lean over devices to read
them, creates more negative feelings and projects submissive body language
Socio-linguistics - (ANSWER)- The study of the ways in which culture shapes language, language shapes
culture, and particularly the intersection of language with cultural categories/systems of power like race,
gender, class, and age.
-William Labov's work on accent and social class in NYC; went to 3 different department stores that
could be associated with varying social class; found that the higher the status, the more the use of the
letter "r" in speech
Gendered communication - (ANSWER)- Difference Model (Tannen)
- Men and women belong to different subcultures; They think and communicate in uniquely male and
female ways; Gendered patterns are taught and learned early, and then reinforced
Sapir-Whorf Hypothesis - (ANSWER)- language is shaping force which predisposes people to see the
world in a certain way, guides their thinking and behaviordifferent languages=different ways of thinking
- there are certain thoughts of an individual in
one language that cannot be understood by those
who live in another language; The hypothesis states that the way people think is strongly affected by
their native languages.
EX: the colors we see are predetermined by what our culture prepares us to see.
SOLUTION
language - (ANSWER)- a particular type of communication system that is symbolic and learned; has a set
of rules for generating speech and helps us interpret culture
- easily flexible; meanings can be changed and new symbols created
animal/human communication - (ANSWER)- the ability to use sounds or symbols to communicate with
each other; language for animals is biologically inherited whereas humans learn it
- ability to answer questions without the assistance of others; emotional associations under certain
situations
Signifier/Signified - (ANSWER)- Symbolic Signs are established by convention, usage, and history.
They express a perceived (but arbitrary) connection between a signifier (conveyer of meaning) and a
signified (what is conveyed)
- Signifier=bald eagle --> American flag=Signified
Indexical Signs - (ANSWER)- something directly observable points to a linked association (ex: dark cloud
= stormy/rainy weather)
- INDEXical --> Index finger points to something
Iconic Signs - (ANSWER)- represents what it stands for (ex: printer symbol/clip-art resembles exactly
what is stands for)
- No smoking sign
Creole - (ANSWER)- formed from pidgin, mother tongue (has native speakers), more complex; language
of a population
,UNH ANTH 411 EXAM 2 | QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS | 2026 UPDATE | WITH COMPLETE
SOLUTION
- As pidgins change into creoles over several generations, their vocabularies enlarge.
Code-Switching/Diglossia - (ANSWER)- switching back and forth between dialects depending on social
situation
Phonemes - (ANSWER)- distinct unit of sound that changes the meaning of a word; gin, kin, win, sin -->
in
Morphemes - (ANSWER)- the smallest combination of sounds that have meaning and cannot be broken
into smaller meaningful units
-cow is one morpheme while cowboy is composed of two (cow and boy)
Syntax - (ANSWER)- the standardized set of rules that determine how words should be combined to
make sense to speakers of a language
- All native speakers of a language learn the basic rules of syntax as they grow up
Paralanguage - (ANSWER)- non-verbal communication that emphasizes body language and voice
nuances as means of expressing thoughts and feelings
- gestures and expressions that accompany speech and shape its meaning and interpretation
- many expressions are universally recognizable but require contextual interpretation
Kinesics - (ANSWER)- communication through body movement; highly culture-bound; the language of
gestures, expressions, and postures
, UNH ANTH 411 EXAM 2 | QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS | 2026 UPDATE | WITH COMPLETE
SOLUTION
Power-posing - (ANSWER)- ted talk by Amy Cuddy, body language can affect how we feel and how we
are perceived, open poses = powerful, closed poses = submissive, "fake it until you become it" (which is
kind of a shitty motto)
- open postures cause our brains to produce testosterone, which makes us feel powerful and confident,
while closed postures leads to the production of cortisone, which makes us feel sad, depressed, scared,
and powerless.
iHunch - (ANSWER)- technology is worsening our posture because we tend to lean over devices to read
them, creates more negative feelings and projects submissive body language
Socio-linguistics - (ANSWER)- The study of the ways in which culture shapes language, language shapes
culture, and particularly the intersection of language with cultural categories/systems of power like race,
gender, class, and age.
-William Labov's work on accent and social class in NYC; went to 3 different department stores that
could be associated with varying social class; found that the higher the status, the more the use of the
letter "r" in speech
Gendered communication - (ANSWER)- Difference Model (Tannen)
- Men and women belong to different subcultures; They think and communicate in uniquely male and
female ways; Gendered patterns are taught and learned early, and then reinforced
Sapir-Whorf Hypothesis - (ANSWER)- language is shaping force which predisposes people to see the
world in a certain way, guides their thinking and behaviordifferent languages=different ways of thinking
- there are certain thoughts of an individual in
one language that cannot be understood by those
who live in another language; The hypothesis states that the way people think is strongly affected by
their native languages.
EX: the colors we see are predetermined by what our culture prepares us to see.
