that can best complete the statement:
33. _______ is concerned with the social significance of language variation and language use in different speech communities. A. Psycholinguistics B. Sociolinguistics C. Historical linguistics D. General linguistics
34. The most distinguishable linguistic feature of a regional dialect is its _____.
A. use of words B. use of structures C. accent D. morphemes
35. ____ is speech variation according to the particular area where a speaker comes from. A. Regional variation B. Language variation C. Social variation D. Register variation
36. _______ are the major source of regional variation of language. A. Geographical barriers
B. Loyalty to and confidence in one’s native speech
C. Physical discomfort and psychological resistance to change D. Social barriers
37. _________ means that certain authorities, such as the government choose, a particular speech variety, standardize it and spread the use of it across regional boundaries. A. Language interference B. Language changes C. Language planning D. Language transfer
38. _________ in a person’s speech or writing usually ranges on a continuum from casual or colloquial to formal or polite according to the type of communicative situation. A. Regional variation B. Changes in emotions C. Variation in connotations D. Stylistic variation
39. A ____ is a variety of language that serves as a medium of communication among groups of people for diverse linguistic backgrounds. A. lingua franca B. register C. Creole D. national language
40. Although _______ are simplified languages with reduced grammatical features, they are rule-governed, like any human language.
A. vernacular languages B. creoles C. pidgins D. sociolects
41. In normal situations, ____ speakers tend to use more prestigious
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forms than their ____ counterparts with the same social background. A. female; B. male; C. old; D. young; male female young old
42. A linguistic _______ refers to a word or expression that is prohibited by the “polite” society from general use. A. slang euphemism D. taboo B. C. jargon Ⅳ. Define the following terms: 43. sociolinguistics community 44. speech 45. speech variety46. language 47. idiolect language planning 48. standard 49. nonstandard 59. taboo language 60. euphemism 50. lingua franca 51. pidgin 52. Creole 53. diglossia 54. Bilingualism 55. ethnic dialect 56. Sociolect 57. register 58. slang
Ⅴ. Answer the following questions as comprehensively as possible. Give examples for illustration if necessary:
61. Discuss with examples that the speech of women may differ from the speech of men.
62. Discuss with examples some of the linguistic differences between Standard English and Black English.
63. What is a linguistic taboo? What effect does it have on our use of language?
Chapter 9 Psycholinguistics
Ⅰ. Decide whether each of the following statements is True or False: 1. The linguistic ability of human beings depends primarily on the structure of the vocal cords.
2. Human beings are the only organisms in which one particular part of the left half of the brain is larger than the corresponding part of the right half.
3. The case of Phineas Gage suggests that if our language ability is located in the brain, it is clear that it is not situated right at the front. 4. In general, the right side of the brain controls voluntary movements of, and responds to signals from, the left side of the body, whereas the left side controls voluntary movements of, and responds to signals
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from, the right side of the body.
5. Language functions are believed to be lateralized primarily in the left hemisphere of the brain.
6. The language we speak determines the way we perceive the world and therefore the nature of thought.
7. Human beings can not think without language, just as they can not speak without thinking.
8. If a language lacks a word, its speakers will not be able to grasp its concept.
9. Generally speaking, left hemisphere is responsible for language and speech, analytic reasoning, associative thought, etc., while the right hemisphere is responsible for perception of nonlinguistic sounds, holistic reasoning, recognition of musical melodies, etc.
10. Language by no means determines the ways we perceive the objective world, but by its convenience, availability, and habitual use, does influence the perceptions of human being.
Ⅱ. Fill in each of the blanks below with one word which begins with the letter given:
11. P_________ is the study of language in relation to the mind.
12. The most important part of the brain is the outside surface of the brain, called the cerebral c_________, which is the decision-making organ of the body.
13. The brain is divided into two roughly symmetrical halves, called h_________, one on the right and one on the left.
14. The localization of cognitive and perceptual functions in a particular side of the brain is called l__________.
15. Brain lateralization is g__________ programmed, but takes time to develop.
16. In addition to the m________ area which is responsible for physical articulation of utterances, three areas of the left hemisphere are vital to language, namely, Broca’s area, Wernicke’s area and the angular gyrus.
17. The relationship between the name and the meaning of a word is quite a______________.
18. When language and thought are identical or closely parallel to each other, we may regard thought as s________ speech and speech as o__________ thought.
19. Because languages differ in many ways, Whorf believed that speakers of different languages perceive and experience the world
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differently, relative to their linguistic background. This notion is called linguistic r__________.
20. The basic essentials of the first language are acquired in the short period from about age two to puberty, which is called the c____ period for first language acquisition.
21. The strong version of Sapir-Whorf hypothesis has two aspects: linguistic d_______ and linguistic relativism.
Ⅲ. There are four choices following each statement. Mark the choice that can best complete the statement:
22. Human linguistic ability largely depends on the structure and dynamics of _________. A. human brain B. human vocal cords C. human memory D. human
23. Psychologists, neurologists and linguists have concluded that, in addition to the motor area which is responsible for physical articulation of utterances, three areas of the left brain are vital to language, namely, _______.
A. Broca’s area, Wernicke’s area and the angular gyrus B. Broca’s area, Wernicke’s area and cerebral cortex C. Broca’s area, Wernicke’s area and neurons
D. Broca’s area, Wernicke’s area and Exner’s area
24. The ____ age for the acquisition of the first language coincides with the period of brain lateralization. A. youngest B. flexible C. optimum D. relevant 25. Linguistic ____ is the brain’s neurological specialization for language. A. B. C. D. fossilization performance competence lateralization 26. Our linguistic ability is a ________ gift of the species’ gene program. A. chemical B. physical C. scientific D. biological 27. ________shows that if our language ability is located in the brain, it is clear that it is not situated right at the front of the brain. A. The case of Genie B. The case of Phineas Gage C. The componential analysis D. The contrastive analysis 28. The most important part of the brain is the outside surface of the brain, called _________. A. the B. nerve C. cerebral D. sensory neurons pathways cortex organs
29. According to lateralization theory, which of the following is not the
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primary function of the left hemisphere of the brain? A. analytic reasoning B. temporal ordering C. associative thought D. visual and spatial skills 30. _______ is commonly held to be an evolutionary precondition of the development of superior intelligence as well as a precondition of language acquisition. A. Lateralization B. Maturation C. Brain separation D. Memory capacity
31. The dichotic listening research shows that the left hemisphere is not superior for processing all sounds, but only for those that are ________ in nature. A. B. musical D. natural non-linguistic C. linguistic
32. _______ is responsible for physical articulation of utterances. A. The motor area B. Broca’s area C. Wernicke’s area D. The angular gyrus
33. Language disorder resulting from a damage to _________ in the brain reveals word-finding difficulties and problems with syntax. A. the motor area B. Broca’s area C. Wernicke’s area D. the angular gyrus
34. In 1874, the young German physician Carl Wernicke published his discovery in a paper which contributed to the hypothesis that __________.
A. there was only one language area in the left brain B. there was no language area in the left brain C. there was one language area in the right brain
D. there was more than one language area in the left brain
35. __________ is the language center primarily responsible for converting a visual stimulus into an auditory form and vice versa. A. The motor area B. Broca’s area C. Wernicke’s area D. The angular gyrus
36. The neurobiologist Eric Lenneberg is a major proponent of the idea that ________.
A. there is a distinction between acquisition and learning B. there is a critical period for language acquisition C. language influences thinking
D. there is interrelationship between language and thinking 37. The case of Genie shows that ____________.
A. language can not be acquired at all after the critical period
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