Linguistic Anthropology Quiz Questions & Answers
Sociolinguistics and Language Development
9 multiple choice quiz questions with answers
Test your knowledge of sociolinguistics and language development with this quiz! From the foundational concepts of speech community and high prestige varieties to the different language codes and their impact on child development, this quiz covers a range of topics in language and society. See how m...
Test your knowledge of sociolinguistics and language development with this quiz! From the foundational concepts of speech community and high prestige varieties to the different language codes and their impact on child development, this quiz covers a range of topics in language and society. See how much you know about the pioneers of sociolinguistics, the methods used to study language variation, and the social constraints that shape language use. Take this quiz and explore the fascinating intersection of language and society!
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1. What is sociolinguistics?
- The study of society and its effect on language
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2. What are some methods used to study sociolinguistics?
- Interviews, matched-guise tests, and observations
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3. Who pioneered the study of sociolinguistics?
- Basil Bernstein and William Labov
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4. What are some demographic variables that sociolinguistics studies?
- Ethnicity, religion, and gender
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5. What is the foundational method of collecting data for sociolinguistic studies?
- Interviews
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6. What are restricted and elaborated codes according to Basil Bernstein?
- Two types of language codes
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7. What is the difference between restricted and elaborated codes?
- Restricted code is typical in environments where social roles are predetermined and communication is performed more through extraverbal means, while elaborated code is typical in environments where a variety of social roles are available to the individual
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8. What is hypercorrection in relation to speech patterns?
- A speech pattern that is overly formal
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9. What is the study of language variation concerned with?
- Social constraints determining language in its contextual environment
Test Your Knowledge of Structural Linguistics
9 multiple choice quiz questions with answers
How well do you know Structural Linguistics? Test your knowledge with this quiz that covers the basics of this theoretical approach to language and signs. From Ferdinand de Saussure's Course in General Linguistics to the influence of structuralism on other fields of inquiry, this quiz will challenge...
How well do you know Structural Linguistics? Test your knowledge with this quiz that covers the basics of this theoretical approach to language and signs. From Ferdinand de Saussure's Course in General Linguistics to the influence of structuralism on other fields of inquiry, this quiz will challenge your understanding of the key concepts and ideas of Structural Linguistics. Put your thinking cap on and get ready to dive into the world of signs and structures!
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1. What is structural linguistics?
- An analysis of language as a system of signs and structures
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2. Who pioneered structuralist linguistics?
- Ferdinand de Saussure
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3. What is the difference between structuralism and semiology?
- Structuralism is used to analyze language, while semiology is used to analyze signs in general
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4. What is the foundation of structural linguistics?
- A sign
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5. What are syntagmatic and paradigmatic relations?
- Tools for categorization of phonology, morphology, and syntax
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6. What is Saussure's concept of semiology?
- Language as arising from the interaction of form and meaning
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7. What is American structuralism based on?
- Structural psychology
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8. What is the legacy of structuralism?
- It has been influential in the development of post-structuralism and deconstruction in philosophy and literary theory
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9. What is the criticism of structuralism?
- It is not directly applicable to textual analysis
Explore the Fascinating World of Ethnolinguistics and Ethnosemantics
9 multiple choice quiz questions with answers
Test your knowledge on Ethnolinguistics and Ethnosemantics with this informative quiz! Explore the relationship between language and culture, as well as how perception and conceptualization influence language. Learn about the related branches of linguistic anthropology, including cultural linguistic...
Test your knowledge on Ethnolinguistics and Ethnosemantics with this informative quiz! Explore the relationship between language and culture, as well as how perception and conceptualization influence language. Learn about the related branches of linguistic anthropology, including cultural linguistics, and delve into the method of ethnosemantics. Discover how ethnosemantics can help anthropologists understand the way different cultures categorize and label the world around them. Take this quiz to enhance your understanding of the complex relationship between
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1. What is ethnolinguistics?
- The study of the relationship between language and non-linguistic cultural behavior of people
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2. What is ethnosemantics?
- A method of ethnographic research and ethnolinguistics that focuses on semantics by examining how people categorize words in their language
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3. What is the purpose of componential analysis in ethnosemantic analysis?
- To describe the criteria people use to classify concepts by analyzing their semantic features
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4. What does cultural linguistics explore?
- The relationship between language and cultural conceptualizations
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5. What is the theory of cultural relativity?
- A theory that states that cultural norms and values derive their meaning within a specific social context
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6. What is the relationship between ethnosemantics and cultural meanings?
- Ethnosemantics studies the way people label and classify cultural, social, and environmental phenomena in their world to understand the cultural meanings behind the way people describe things in their world
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7. What is the approach of Cultural Linguistics?
- It is viewed as deeply entrenched in the group-level, cultural cognition of communities of speakers
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8. What is the relationship between ethnolinguistics and cultural behavior?
- Ethnolinguistics studies the relationship between language and non-linguistic cultural behavior of people
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9. What is the relationship between cultural linguistics and applied linguistic research?
- The approach of Cultural Linguistics has been adopted in several areas of applied linguistic research, including intercultural communication, second language learning, Teaching English as an International Language, and World Englishes
Quiz
9 multiple choice quiz questions with answers
Test your knowledge on the life and work of Edward Sapir, a prominent American linguist and anthropologist. From his contributions to the development of linguistics in the United States to his work on the relationship between language and culture, this quiz covers the important aspects of Sapir's le...
Test your knowledge on the life and work of Edward Sapir, a prominent American linguist and anthropologist. From his contributions to the development of linguistics in the United States to his work on the relationship between language and culture, this quiz covers the important aspects of Sapir's legacy. See how much you know about his studies on Indigenous languages, his role in developing the concept of phoneme, and his involvement in the international auxiliary language movement. Take the quiz and discover more about this influential figure
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1. What was Edward Sapir's field of study?
- Both Anthropology and Linguistics
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2. Where was Edward Sapir born?
- Poland
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3. What did Sapir study at Columbia University?
- Germanic Linguistics
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4. What was Sapir's contribution to the study of Indigenous languages?
- He was the first to prove that comparative linguistics can be applied to indigenous languages
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5. What was Sapir's contribution to the understanding of phonology?
- He developed the modern concept of the phoneme
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6. What is the principle of linguistic relativity?
- The idea that language and culture influence each other
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7. What was Sapir's view on the importance of psychology to anthropology?
- It is important for the ways in which culture and society develop
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8. What languages did Sapir specialize in studying?
- Athabascan languages, Chinookan languages, and Uto-Aztecan languages
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9. What was Sapir's involvement with the International Auxiliary Language movement?
- He worked with Yiddish, Hebrew, Chinese, and Germanic languages
Benjamin Lee Whorf
9 multiple choice quiz questions with answers
Test your knowledge of Benjamin Lee Whorf, an American linguist known for his work on linguistic relativity, also known as the Sapir-Whorf hypothesis. From his studies of indigenous languages in North America to his controversial claims about how language shapes our perception of the world, Whorf's...
Test your knowledge of Benjamin Lee Whorf, an American linguist known for his work on linguistic relativity, also known as the Sapir-Whorf hypothesis. From his studies of indigenous languages in North America to his controversial claims about how language shapes our perception of the world, Whorf's work has been both influential and controversial. This quiz will challenge you to recall the key aspects of Whorf's life and work, from his time studying chemical engineering to his contributions to comparative linguistics and met
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1. What is the Sapir-Whorf hypothesis?
- The hypothesis that language structure shapes how speakers perceive and conceptualize the world
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2. What did Whorf study as a young man?
- Biblical Hebrew and indigenous languages of Mesoamerica
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3. What language did Whorf receive a grant to study in Mexico?
- Nahuatl
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4. What was Whorf's profession before turning to linguistics?
- Chemical engineer
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5. Who was Whorf's mentor?
- Edward Sapir
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6. What is the distinction between overt and covert grammatical categories?
- A distinction invented by Whorf that has become widely influential in linguistics and anthropology
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7. What is Whorf's most famous work?
- His 1940 essay, 'Science and Linguistics'
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8. What is Whorf's theory of linguistic relativity?
- The language we speak influences the way we think about the world
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9. What is Whorf's legacy in the field of linguistics?
- Subject to both criticism and rehabilitation, with some scholars seeking to highlight the subtleties of his thinking and others dismissing his ideas as unsound or ridiculous
Language Contact and Evolution
9 multiple choice quiz questions with answers
Test your knowledge on language contact and its influence on language evolution with this informative quiz! Learn about the various phenomena that can occur when speakers of different languages interact and how this can lead to the development of new languages, dialects, and speech varieties. Explor...
Test your knowledge on language contact and its influence on language evolution with this informative quiz! Learn about the various phenomena that can occur when speakers of different languages interact and how this can lead to the development of new languages, dialects, and speech varieties. Explore the different ways that languages can influence each other and the factors that determine the direction of this influence. Whether you're a linguistics enthusiast or just curious about how languages evolve over time, this quiz is sure to challenge and enlighten you.
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1. What is language contact?
- The interaction between speakers of two or more languages or dialects that can influence each other
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2. What are some phenomena that can result from language contact?
- Language convergence, borrowing, and relexification
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3. What is the most common way that languages influence each other?
- The exchange of words (lexical diffusion)
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4. What is language shift?
- When one language has a higher social position, leading to language endangerment or extinction
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5. What is stratal influence?
- When people retain features of the substratum as they learn the new language, leading to the development of a new variety
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6. What is a possible outcome of language contact between people without a common language?
- The formation of pidgins and creoles or mixed languages
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7. What is a possible outcome of language contact between sign languages and oral languages?
- Language contact can happen between sign languages or between sign languages and oral languages
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8. What is code-switching?
- The practice of alternating between two or more languages or varieties of language in a single conversation
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9. What is the direction of influence of language when it is one-sided?
- One language influences the other but not vice versa
