Question 1

Which of the following best describes a phoneme?

Accepted Answer

The basic unit of sound that can change the meaning of a word.

Question 2

A child refers to all four-legged animals as 'doggie.' This is an example of which language error?

Accepted Answer

Overextension

Question 3

Which brain region is most closely associated with language comprehension?

Accepted Answer

Wernicke's area

Question 4

According to the nativist approach, what is the 'universal grammar'?

Accepted Answer

A system of common rules and properties for learning any of the world’s languages.

Question 5

Which of the following best illustrates the concept of 'fast mapping' in language development?

Accepted Answer

A child quickly learns the meaning of a new word after hearing it once in context.

Question 6

Aphasia resulting from damage to Broca's area is most likely to cause which of the following symptoms?

Accepted Answer

Difficulty producing fluent speech

Question 7

Which of the following statements about bilingual children is supported by research?

Accepted Answer

They initially lag behind monolingual children but eventually catch up in language development.

Question 8

What is the primary function of 'pragmatics' in language?

Accepted Answer

To specify how language is used appropriately in different social contexts.

Question 9

A child says 'goed' instead of 'went.' This is an example of:

Accepted Answer

Overregularization

Question 10

Which of the following best describes 'telegraphic speech'?

Accepted Answer

Early combinations of two or more words that emphasize meaning but omit less critical words.

Question 11

According to the linguistic-relativity hypothesis, language:

Accepted Answer

Shapes and may even determine the way people of a certain culture perceive and understand the world.

Question 12

Which of the following is an example of 'joint attention'?

Accepted Answer

A parent and child both look at a dog while the parent says 'dog.'

Question 13

Which of the following best explains why infants lose the ability to distinguish non-native speech sounds by 10-12 months?

Accepted Answer

Their brains become specialized for the sounds of their native language.

Question 14

Which of the following is a cognitive advantage associated with bilingualism?

Accepted Answer

Greater cognitive flexibility and control

Question 15

A child who uses the word 'ball' only for their favorite red ball and not for other balls is demonstrating:

Accepted Answer

Underextension

Question 16

Which of the following best describes 'syntactic bootstrapping'?

Accepted Answer

Learning the meaning of a word based on where it is placed in a sentence.

Question 17

Which of the following is true about the sensitive period for language acquisition?

Accepted Answer

It occurs sometime between 5 years and puberty, after which language acquisition becomes more difficult.

Question 18

Which of the following is an example of metalinguistic awareness?

Accepted Answer

Understanding that the word 'bat' can mean an animal or a piece of sports equipment.

Question 19

A researcher plays a tape of artificial speech sounds that gradually change from /ba/ to /pa/. Adults suddenly switch from perceiving one sound to the other. This phenomenon is known as:

Accepted Answer

Categorical perception

Question 20

According to Hart & Risley (1995), what is a major factor influencing children's language development?

Accepted Answer

The affluence of the parents and the amount of speech children are exposed to at home

Language Development and Education: Key Concepts in Psychology

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