Which of the following are common characteristics of all human languages?

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1. Which statement is true concerning the relationship between talk and/or language and/or communication?

1. Communication is one kind of language.
2. Communication is one kind of talk.
3. Language is one kind of communication.
4. Language is one kind of talk.

Answer: 

c. Language is one kind of communication.

2. The term linguistic creativity refers to the ability to produce and understand an infinite number of ______.

1. new thoughts and ideas
2. new poems and novels
3. sentences and the ability to create new words
4. sentences, but not the ability to create new words

Answer: 

c. sentences and the ability to create new words

3. Young children demonstrate linguistic creativity ______.

1. in grammatical errors which they have imitated from their parents
2. by creating their own nursery rhymes and stories
3. by imitating nursery rhymes and stories from their parents
4. in grammatical errors which they have not imitated from their parents

Answer: 

d. in grammatical errors which they have not imitated from their parents

4. If chimpanzees could be taught language, then we could conclude that language ______.

1. is unique to humans only because it has been passed on from one generation to another
2. cannot be genetically determined in humans
3. is much easier to learn than once thought
4. cannot be genetically determined in chimpanzees

Answer: 

a. is unique to humans only because it has been passed on from one generation to another

5. The chimpanzee Washoe was taught American Sign Language (ASL) because ______.

1. ASL is simpler than spoken language and will therefore be easier to learn
2. spoken language is not possible because the chimpanzee larynx is positioned too low in the neck to facilitate the production of speech sounds
3. spoken language is not possible because the chimpanzee larynx is positioned too high in the neck to facilitate the production of speech sounds
4. chimpanzees are extraordinarily dexterous and can easily form the hand shapes necessary for sign language 

Answer: 

c. spoken language is not possible because the chimpanzee larynx is positioned too high in the neck to facilitate the production of speech sounds

6. The male bonobo chimpanzee, Kanzi, was taught language using a lexigram keyboard. Lexigrams are equivalent to ______.

1. Chinese characters; a single word can be used to convey an entire sentence
2. Chinese characters; a single symbol can represent a whole word
3. words in ancient Greek; a single symbol can be used to convey an entire sentence
4. words in ancient Greek; a single symbol can be used to represent a whole word

Answer: 

b. Chinese characters; a single symbol can represent a whole word

7. Pilley and Reid (2011) claim that a border collie, Chaser, has learned more than one thousand words. Their claim is based on the finding that Chaser was ______.

1. 92% accurate in retrieving any named item from the full collection she was trained on
2. not just responding to a global situation (‘fetch the ball’); she could distinguish between different commands (e.g. ‘take the ball’ versus ‘paw the ball’)
3. 92% accurate in retrieving items, each with their own unique name (proper nouns)
4. able to respond to the global testing situation and understand three different verbs: take, paw and nose

Answer: 

b. not just responding to a global situation (‘fetch the ball’); she could distinguish between different commands (e.g. ‘take the ball’ versus ‘paw the ball’)

8. The African grey parrot, Alex, could label 50 different objects. He was taught by observing two humans: one ‘training’ the other, with rewards given for successful learning. Alex responded by competing for rewards with the human being trained. This approach is known as ______.

1. the rival/association technique
2. the model/rival technique
3. the model/association technique
4. the model/pavlovian technique

Answer: 

b. the model/rival technique

9. Chimpanzees combine signs to produce sequences which ______.

1. have no reliable use of order to convey different meanings
2. are  in short sequences (2 or 3 signs), but much less so in longer sequences
3. show a diverse range of combinations for conveying different meanings
4. show a limited, but reliable, range of combinations for conveying different meanings

Answer: 

a. have no reliable use of order to convey different meanings

10. Attempts to teach human language to chimpanzees have demonstrated that ______.

1. comprehension of language is possible, but language production is beyond them
2. production of language is possible, but language comprehension is beyond them
3. some aspects of grammar can be learned, but morphology is beyond them
4. some aspects of language can be learned, but grammar is beyond them

Answer: 

d. some aspects of language can be learned, but grammar is beyond them

11. With respect to Hockett’s design features for language, chimpanzees demonstrated their grasp of each of the following, to some degree at least, ______.

1. rapid fading, specialization, learnability
2. semanticity, arbitrariness, displacement
3. discreteness, vocal-auditory channel, creativity
4. broadcast transmission, prevarication, duality of patterning

Answer: 

b. semanticity, arbitrariness, displacement

12. The categorical perception of speech sounds refers to the tendency to perceive a whole range of different ______.

1. meanings as belonging to a single semantic category
2. sounds as belonging to a single semantic category
3. meanings as belonging to a single phoneme category
4. sounds as belonging to a single phoneme category

Answer: 

d. sounds as belonging to a single phoneme category

13. A surprising number of animals have been found to possess human-like categorical perception, including ______.

1. tamarin monkeys, budgerigars and hedgehogs
2. border collie dogs, bonobo chimpanzees and tamarin monkeys
3. bonobo chimpanzees, tamarin monkeys and dolphins
4. chinchillas, tamarin monkeys and quail 

Answer: 

d. chinchillas, tamarin monkeys and quail 

14. The term statistical learning refers to the ability to process and recall specific sequences within a ______.

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