Test Bank for A Concise Introduction to Linguistics, 6th edition Bruce Rowe and Diane Levine All Chapters 1-14 Covered

Information i Classification: i General

,Information i Classification: i General

, Chapter 1 The Nature of Communication i i i i i




True/False Questions i




1. Linguistic competence refers to the subconscious knowledge of one’s language.
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Answer: T
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2. Language is dependent on hearing or speech. Answer: F i i i i i i i i




3. In Chapter 1, we discuss various types of animal communication because
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comparison of those systems of communication can aid us in understanding
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human communication.
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4. All animals have a language. Answer: F
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5. Bird calls tend to be species specific. Answer: F
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6. Bird songs tend to be species specific. Answer: T
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7. All researchers now agree that apes can learn language. Answer: F
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8. A person who stutters has a problem with linguistic competence. Answer: F
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9. The fact that many new words are added to English each year demonstrates that
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English, like any language, is an open system. Answer: T
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10. Birds and bees generally learn most of their communication systems from other
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members of their social groups. Answer: F
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11. The terms language and communication can be used interchangeably because
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they mean the same thing. Answer: F
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Information i Classification: i General

, 12. One difference between apes’ use of sign “language” and a human’s use of
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language, is that apes seldom initiate communication whereas humans, including
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young children, frequently initiate communication with others. Answer: T
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13. Humans communicate in both verbal and nonverbal ways. Answer: T
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14. Redundancy in a message helps overcome “static”. Answer: T i i i i i i i i




15. Bird songs are generally more elaborate than birdcalls. Answer: T
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16. The characteristic of languages that allow people to coin new words as needed is
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called discreteness. Answer: F
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17. Linguistic forms, such as words or sentences, have an arbitrary relationship to
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their meaning. Answer: T
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18. Compared to nonhuman communication, human linguistic communication tends to
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be stimulus-bound. Answer: F
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19. The fact that a person can talk about the past or anticipate the future illustrates the
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characteristic of language called displacement. Answer: T
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20. Some researchers believe that Kanzi processes a basic understanding of simple
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grammar. Answer: T
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21. Alex the parrot, as well as the apes that have been used in language experiments,
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have been able to learn language at the level of about a five-year-old human.
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Answer: F i




22. Culture shock occurs when a person interacts with a person or people from a foreign
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culture and disorientation and anxiety occurs when social expectations are not met
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because of a lack of knowledge of the norms of the other’s culture. Answer: T
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Information i Classification: i General