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Chapter Two – Language Acquisition: A Theoretical Journey
True-False Questions
2-1
Mirror neurons offer strong support for the nature end of the argument regarding
language acquisition.
2-2
Behaviorists argue that language is something humans do, not something they
have.
2-3
According to the behaviorist view, the child is relatively passive during the process
of learning language.
2-4
Nativists stress the differences in language development while behaviorists stress
the similarities.
2-5
According to the nativist view, the child’s environment plays absolutely no role in
language development.
2-6
Attempts to teach apes to use American Sign Language have failed, but researchers
have successfully taught chimpanzees to speak at a level of competence comparable
to that of a four-year-old human child.
2-7
According to nativists, linguistic universals are evidence that humans have an
innate capacity for language.
2-8
Transformations are NOT universal rules in human languages.
2-9
There is conclusive evidence that motherese or parentese, is essential in facilitating
language acquisition.
2-10
The interactionist view emphasizes the importance of the relationship between the
child and his caregiver(s).
2-11
As the 21st century dawns, language experts have finally reached a consensus about
how children acquire language.
2-12
Classical conditioning was introduced into the behaviorist’s view of language
acquisition to help explain the acquisition of meaning.
Multiple Choice Questions
2-13
_____ suggest that children are genetically predisposed to talk.
A. Nativists
B. Socialists
C. Behaviorists
D. Cognitivists
2-14
According to the behaviorist view, ____ is the most important factor in language
acquisition.
A. genetic background
B. biological maturation
C. the environment
D. cognitive development
2-15
A(n) _____ is a verbal behavior used to name or label something, typically in
response to things or events the speaker is discussing.
A. echoic
B. tact
C. mand
D. intraverbal
2-16
A(n) _____ is a verbal behavior used to request, command, or make a demand, and it
identifies its own reinforcer.
A. echoic
B. tact
C. mand
D. intraverbal
2-17
The theorist most closely associated with the nativist view of language development
is ______.
A. Chomsky
B. Skinner
C. Staats
D. Pavlov
2-18
Which of the following is the most reasonable conclusion regarding the language
abilities of nonhuman animals.
A. Based on all the data now available, we have no reason to believe that
nonhuman animals are capable of acquiring and using a language directly
comparable to human language.
B. Nonhuman animals cannot communicate.
C. Some nonhuman animals can learn to use oral language but cannot use
American Sign Language.
D. There is evidence that some nonhuman animals have greater language abilities
than humans.
2-19
_____ are rules that describe the addition, deletion, or rearrangement of deep
structures as they are moved to the next level of structure, referred to as surface
structure, in Chomsky’s Transformational Grammar.
A. Metamorphs
B. Generatives
C. Phrase structure rules
D. Transformations
2-20
Any behavior whose frequency of occurrence can be affected by the responses which
follow it is known as a(n) _____
A. mand
B. aversive
C. operant
D. imitation
2-21
If the frequency of occurrence of a target behavior increases as a consequence of the
response that follows it, _____.
A. punishment has occurred
B. a delta stimulus occurred
C. imitation has occurred
D. reinforcement has occurred
2-22
According to the behaviorist view, reinforcing behaviors in small steps that
increasingly approximate the target or desired behavior is called _____.
A. shaping
B. punishment
C. autoclitic reinforcement
D. operants
2-23
According to the behaviorist view, the primary strategy by which children learn
language is __________.
A. imitation
B. classical conditioning
C. shaping
D. a focus on meaning
2-24
The learning of behavior through the simple pairing of one stimulus with another is
known as _____.
A. operant conditioning
B. vicarious conditioning
C. classical conditioning
D. negative reinforcement
2-25
Chomsky and other nativists contend that each person is born with a Language
Acquisition Device (LAD). They believe the LAD provides a person _____.
A. knowledge about meaning
B. general knowledge about how language is
structured.
C. surface structure
D. the unique ability to imitate
2-26
You observe a child say "cookie." His mother immediately responds with the
utterance, "Big cookie." The mother’s response would be considered _____.
A. an expansion
B. an aversive stimulus
C. negative reinforcement
D. parenting
2-27
Which of the following is a characteristic of motherese or parentese?
A. Speaks in a soft voice and at a low pitch.
B. Uses a slightly higher pitch and an exaggerated intonation pattern.
C. Speaks louder than normal and at a constant pitch.
D. Emphasizes the function words in sentences at a higher pitch.
2-28
According to the interactionist view, the child is ____ in the process of acquiring
language.
A. passive
B. not essential
C. active
D. purely reflexive
2-29
The ______ caused theorists to shift their focus from the structure of language
conveyed by grammar to the meaning that children convey through grammar as
they learn about their world.
A. competition model
B. case grammar
C. semantic revolution
D. nativist interpretation
2-30
_______, developed by Fillmore, explains the importance and influence of semantics
on the form of language.
A. case grammar
B. transformational grammar
C. language acquisition device
D. cognitive theory
2-31
According to the research regarding caregivers' speech to children, one of the
characteristics is that caregivers _____.
A. seldom repeat their own utterances
B. use long, complex sentences
C. introduce significant pauses between utterances
D. talk at a faster than normal rate
2-32
Nativists note that all languages have structural categories that correspond to
subject and predicate and that all languages have rules to indicate changes in tense
and plurality. These findings are referred to as _____.
A. distinctive features
B. linguistic universals
C. rules of English grammar
D. multicultural variation
2-33
According to Chomsky’s Transformational Grammar, phrase structure rules _____.
A. add, rearrange, or delete elements of the deep structure.
B. operate on deep structure to derive surface structure
C. describe the underlying relationships of words and phrases in the deep
structure.
D. revise the phonology of a sentence.
2-34
Transformational rules _____.
A. specify the elements of phrase structures
B. allow us to change the meaning of a sentence
C. specify the elements to be contained in the deep structure
D. describe the rearrangement of deep structures as they are moved to surface
structure
2-35
You observe a child point to a chair and identify it by saying, “Chair.” The
behaviorist would most likely call this operant a(n) _____.
A. mand.
B. autoclitic.
C. tact.
D. echoic.
2-36
You observe a child attempt to grab a ball that is out of reach. She looks at you and
shouts, “Ball!” The behaviorist would most likely call this operant a(n) _____.
A. tact.
B. mand.
C. echoic.
D. autoclitic.
2-37
In the sentence, “The dog was bitten by the cat,” the noun phrase, “the cat,” is which
of the following cases?
A. Dative
B. Instrumental
C. Experiencer
D. Agent
2-38
In the sentence, “The screwdriver was used to open the door,” the noun phrase, “The
screwdriver,” is which of the following cases?
A. Agent
B. Instrumental
C. Dative
D. Objective
2-39
According to Fillmore, the constituents of a sentence are modality and proposition.
The term proposition refers to _____.
A. aspects such as tense and mood
B. the function of the verb in the sentence
C. the noun-verb relationship that defines the meaning of an utterance
D. the relationship of the verb to the adverbials in the sentence
2-40
The semantic approach to the explanation of language acquisition proposed by
Bloom and others assumes that _____.
A. syntax and semantic components are developing at the same time
B. syntax is acquired just prior to the development of meaning
C. content or meaning precedes the development of language form
D. nonlinguistic context is not a factor in determining meaning
2-41
The basic assertion of the Information Processing view of language acquisition is
that _____.
A. function, not abstract grammar, generates language structure
B. a child is born with knowledge of the grammars of the world
C. acquisition can best by explained by principles of learning
D. human beings are limited in their capacity to process information
2-42
According to the Information Processing theory, the processing patterns responsible
for the acquisition of language are _____.
A. serial
B. parallel
C. serial and parallel
D. random
2-43
The speech act proposed by Searle (1976) which is most concerned with the motive
or purpose underlying an utterance is the _____ act.
A. illocutionary
B. locutionary
C. perlocutionary
D. predicating
Essay Questions
2-44
Compare and contrast the following theoretical perspectives: (a) nativism versus
behaviorism and (b) interactionist interpretation versus cognitive theory.
2-45
Using two examples, describe the way cross-linguistic studies provide information
on the ways in which language learning is influenced by the input received from the
communication partner.
2-46
Describe how the behaviorists use operant and classical conditioning to explain
language acquisition.
2-47
Briefly describe how an Information Processing model based on parallel distributed
processing, such as the competition model, attempts to explain language acquisition.
2-48
Describe the cognitive interpretation of language development.
2-49
Compare and contrast the Language Acquisition Device of the nativists and the
Parallel Distributed Processing device of the informational processing theorists.
2-50
Where would you place the social interactionist view along the nature versus
nurture continuum? Justify your answer.
Chapter Two – Language Acquisition: A Theoretical Journey
True/False Questions
2-1
True
2-2
True
2-3
True
2-4
False
2-5
False
2-6
False
2-7
True
2-8 True
2-9
False
2-10 True
2-11 False
2-12 True
Multiple Choice Questions
2-13 A. Nativists
2-14 C. the environment
2-15 B. tact
2-16 C. mand
2-17 A. Chomsky
2-18 A. Based on all the data now available, we have no reason to believe that
nonhuman animals are capable of acquiring and using a language directly
comparable to human language.
2-19 D. Transformations
2-20 C. operant
2-21 D. reinforcement has occurred
2-22 A. shaping
2-23 A. imitation
2-24 C. classical conditioning
2-25 B. general knowledge about how language is structured
2-26 A. an expansion
2-27 B. Uses a slightly higher pitch and an exaggerated intonation pattern.
2-28 C. active
2-29 C. semantic revolution
2-30 A. case grammar
2-31 C. introduce significant pauses between utterances
2-32 B. linguistic universals
2-33 C. describe the underlying relationships of words and phrases in the deep
structure.
2-34 D. describe the rearrangement of deep structures as they are moved to
surface structure
2-35 C. tact.
2-36 B. mand
2-37
2-38
2-39
2-40
2-41
2-42
2-43
D.
B.
C.
C.
A.
B.
A.
Agent
Instrumental
the noun-verb relationship that defines the meaning of an utterance
content or meaning precedes the development of language form
function, not abstract grammar, generates language structure
parallel
illocutionary