语言学单元自测9.doc

I. Decide whether each of the following statements is True or False. The linguistic ability of human beings depends primarily on the structure of the vocal cords. 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. 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 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， Brocas area， Wernickes 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 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 brainB. human vocal cordsC. human memoryD. human23.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. Brocas area， Wernickes area and the angular gyrusB. Brocas area， Wernickes area and cerebral cortexC. Brocas area， Wernickes area and neuronsD. Brocas area， Wernickes area and Exners area24.The _ age for the acquisition of the first language coincides with the period of brain lateralization. A. youngestB. flexibleC. optimumD. relevant25. Linguistic _ is the brains neurological specialization for language. A. fossilizationB. performanceC. competenceD. lateralization26. Our linguistic ability is a _ gift of the species gene program.A. chemicalB. physicalC. scientificD. biological27._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 GenieB. The case of Phineas GageC. The componential analysisD. The contrastive analysis28.The most important part of the brain is the outside surface of the brain， called _. A. the neuronsB. nerve pathwaysC. cerebral cortexD. sensory organs29.According to lateralization theory， which of the following is not the primary function of the left hemisphere of the brain？A. analytic reasoningB. temporal orderingC. associative thoughtD. visual and spatial skills30._ is commonly held to be an evolutionary precondition of the development of superior intelligence as well as a precondition of language acquisition. A. LateralizationB. MaturationC. Brain separationD. Memory capacity31.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. non-linguisticB. musicalC. linguisticD. natural32._ is responsible for physical articulation of utterances. A. The motor areaB. Brocas areaC. Wernickes areaD. The angular gyrus33.Language disorder resulting from a damage to _ in the brain reveals word-finding difficulties and problems with syntax. A. the motor areaB. Brocas areaC. Wernickes areaD. the angular gyrus34.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 brainB. there was no language area in the left brainC. there was one language area in the right brainD. there was more than one language area in the left brain35._ is the language center primarily responsible for converting a visual stimulus into an auditory form and vice versa. A. The motor areaB. Brocas areaC. Wernickes areaD. The angular gyrus36.The neurobiologist Eric Lenneberg is a major proponent of the idea that _. A. there is a distinction between acquisition and learningB. there is a critical period for language acquisitionC. language influences thinkingD. there is interrelationship between language and thinking37.The case of Genie shows that _. A. language can not be acquired at all after the critical periodB. Cerebral plasticity after puberty is still high enough to for a successful mastery of a new languageC. the language faculty of an average human degenerates after the critical periodD. the language learning should be done as early as possibleIV Explain the following terms. 38. psycholinguistics39. brain lateralization40. dichotic listening41. Brocas area42. angular gyms43. cerebral plasticity44. linguistic determinism45. sub-vocal speech46. cerebral cortex47. linguistic lateralization48. right ear advantage49. critical period hypothesis50. Sapir-Whorf hypothesis51. linguistic relativism52. overt thought53. intrapersonal communication54. interpersonal communicationV. Answer the following questions. 55.What are the biological foundations of language？56.What are the major mental functions under the control of each hemisphere？57.What can we do by means of dichotic listening tests？58.What is the safe conclusion from Genies case？59.How are language and thought related to each other？Suggested AnswersI. Decide whether each of the following statements is True or False. 1. F2.T3.T4.T5.T6.F7.F8.F9.T10.TII. Fill in each of the blanks below with one word which begins with the letter given. 11. Psycholinguistics12. cortex13. hemispheres14. lateralization15. genetically16. Motor17. arbitrary18. sub-vocal， overt19. relativism20. critical21. determinismIII. There are four choices following each statement. Mark the choice that can best complete the statement.22.A23.A24.C25.D26.D27.B28.C29.D30.A31.C32.A33.B34.D35.D36.B37.CIV. Explain the following terms. 38.Psycholinguistics： Psycholinguistics is the study of language in relation to the mind. 39.Brain lateralization： The localization of cognitive and perceptual functions in aparticular hemisphere of the brain is calledbrain lateralization. 40.Dichotic listening： a research technique which has been used to study how the brain controls hearing and language， with which subjects wear earphones and simultaneously receive different sounds in the right and left ear， and are then asked to repeat what they hear. Dichotic listening research makes use of the generally established fact that anything experienced on the right-hand side of the body is processed in the left hemisphere of the brain， and vice versa. A basic assumption， thus， would be that a signal coming in the right ear will go to the left hemisphere and a signal coming in the left ear will go to the right hemisphere.41.Brocas area： It refers to the frontal lobe in the left cerebral hemisphere， which is vital to language. This area is discovered by Paul Broca， a French surgeon and anatomist.42.Angular gyms： The angular gyrus lies behind Wernickes area. The angular gyrus is the language center responsible for converting a visual stimulus into an auditory form and vice versa. This area is crucial for the matching of a spoken form with a perceived object， for the naming of objects， and for the comprehension of written language， all of which require connections between visual and speech regions.43.Cerebral plasticity： According to Lenneberg， prior to the end of the critical period， both hemispheres are involved to some extent in language and one can take over if the other is damaged. This neurological flexibility is called cerebral plasticity.44.Linguistic determinism： a theory put forward by the American anthropological linguists Sapir and Whorf， which states that the way people view the world is determined by the structure of their native language. 45.Sub-vocal speech： a term used to refer to thought when thought and language are identical or closely parallel to each other.46.Cerebral cortex： the outside surface of the brain which receives messages from all the sensory organs and where human cognitive abilities reside. 47.Linguistic lateralization： It refers the brains neurological specialization for language. 48.Right ear advantage： The speech signals presented in the right ear goes directly to the left brain， while the speech signals in the left ear must first go to the right hemisphere， from where it is transferred to the left side of the brain for processing. Since the speech signals in the left ear takes a non-direct route and a longer time before processing than a linguistic signal received through the right ear， linguistic stimuli heard in the left ear are reported less accurately than those heard in the right ear. This phenomenon is called the right ear advantage.49.Critical period hypothesis： The critical period hypothesis refers to a period in ones life extending from about age two to puberty， during which the human brain is most ready to acquire a particular language and language learning can proceed easily， swiftly， and without explicit instruction.50.Sapir-Whorf hypothesis： a theory put forward by the American anthropological linguists Sapir and Whorf which states that the way people view the world is determined wholly or partly by the structure of their native language. 51.Linguistic relativism： Whorf believed that speakers of different languages perceive and experience the world differently， relative to their linguistic background， hence the notion oflinguistic relativism. 52.Overt thought： When language and thought are identical or closely parallel to each other， we may regard speech as overt thought.” 53.Intrapersonal communication： It means that language users use language to facilitate thinking， speech behavior and action for the individual.54.Interpersonal communication： It means language users use language to convey information， thoughts and feelings from one person to another， or to control each others behavior.V. Answer the following questions. 55.What are the biological foundations of language？Of all organisms， human beings are the only spontaneous creators and users of highly sophisticated languages that permit the communication of a wide range of knowledge and ideas. Evidently， our linguistic ability does not depend primarily on the structure of our vocal cords， for other mammals also have vocal cords. Human linguistic ability largely depends， instead， on the structure and dynamics of the human brain. As far as is currently known， 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. This has led to the belief that human language is biologically， or more exactly， neurologically， based. 56. What are the major mental functions under the control of each hemisphere？Psychological research suggests that both hemispheres perform important mental functions and they differ only in the manner in which they treat incoming stimuli. For example， the right hemisphere processes stimuli more holistically and the left hemisphere more analytically. Brain lateralization for major mental functions under the control of each hemisphere is given as follows：（1） Left hemisphere Right hemisphere language and speech perception of nonlinguistic sounds analytic reasoningholistic reasoning temporal orderingvisual and spatial skills reading and writing recognition of patterns calculationrecognition of musical melodies associative thought Because each cerebral hemisphere has unique functional superiority， it is accurate to think of the hemispheres as complementarily specialized. 57.What can we do by means of dich