SOLVED

1) Which of the following statements about language is true? a. It is symbolic. b. It can be written, spoken, or signed. c. It is capable of an infinite set of meaningful utterances. d. All of the above 2) The authors provide a brief conversation between two students discussing tickets for a game. The inferences we make about this discussion indicate that a. the ways in which language can be interpreted are extremely limited. b. our ability to understand “slang” is very limited because it is a cognitively taxing event. c. most language use is quite literal. d. our ability to understand language requires implicit skills in accessing knowledge and interpreting phrases. 3) Newspaper headlines, such as “Killer Sentenced to Die for Second Time in 10 Years,” may strike us as funny. From the perspective of language, this is because the phrase or headline a. lacks subject-verb agreement. b. has no literal interpretation. c. has ambiguous syntax. d. is impossible to interpret. 4) As symbol systems of communication, most languages a. are arbitrary in the relationship between words and meaning. b. do not have concepts that are unique to just one particular language. c. can be translated to another without impaired meanings of complex concepts. d. generally match sounds to the meaning of words. 5) Language is a. a communication system that requires little implicit processing. b. rarely ambiguous. c. a symbol system of communication. d. a communication system that includes words, but not gestures. 6) Carl is reading the newspaper and laughs when he sees the headline “Drunk Gets Nine Months in Violin Case”. From the perspective of language, Carl most likely finds this humourous because the phrase or headline a. lacks subject-verb agreement. b. has ambiguous syntax. c. has no literal interpretation. d. has ambiguous word interpretations. 7) Much of our language use serves non-informational purposes, such as a. maintaining social relationships. b. telling the barista that we want a skim latte. c. providing directions to an event. d. advising a friend what time to show up at a party. 8) We often do not consider the complexity of language. This is in part because a. our use of language is generally automatic. b. language acquisition requires little practice. c. language acquisition is easy. d. humans do not often consider complex phenomena. 9) The level of analysis of language that focuses on the sounds people use when then speak and listen is called a. morphemes. b. phonemes. c. syntax. d. semantics. 10) The level of analysis of language that focuses on the smallest units of meaningful speech is called a. morphemes. b. phonemes. c. syntax. d. extralinguistic.