[pre]Note that in this test, as in the textbook, the term animal is used to refer to non-human animals.[/pre]
1 Involuntary bodily behaviour of animals such as erection of hair represent which of the following types of sign?
A O3
O1 symbols
R1 See box on p.000.
O2 icons
R2 See box on p.000.
O3 indexes
R3
2 The dances of honey bees shows evidence of a limited degree of displacement.
A O1
O1 True
R1
O2 False
R2 See p.000.
3 The available evidence suggests which of the following is the most likely to be true?
A O2
O1 bee dance is primarily culturally transmitted
R1 See p.000.
O2 bee dance is primarily genetically encoded
R2
4 Evidence of a critical period for acquisition of songs by some species of song-birds argues for a genetic component to songs in that species, and some degree of cultural transmission.
A O1
O1 True
R1
O2 False
R2 See p.000.
5 There is evidence that vervet monkeys alarm calls are to some degree culturally transmitted.
A O1
O1 True
R1
O2 False
R2 See p.000.
6 Which of the following best characterises the vocalisations of apes?
A O3
O1 they are mainly culturally transmitted
R1 See p.000.
O2 they are largely voluntary
R2 See p.000.
O3 they are largely involuntary
R3
O4 they are mainly used for describing the world
R4 See p.000.
7 The number of vocalised calls used in natural (or wild) chimpanzee populations is approximately:
A O2
O1 two or three
R1 See p.000.
O2 about 20
R2
O3 about 100
R3 See p.000.
O4 about 1,000
R4 See p.000.
O5 Unlimited
R5 See p.000.
8 The intentional gestures of chimpanzees are:
A O5
O1 largely innate
R1 See p.000.
O2 entirely culturally transmitted
R2 See p.000.
O3 mainly iconic
R3 See p.000.
O4 mainly used to direct attention of conspecifics for sharing interest in some object
R4 See p.000.
O5 used for attracting attention to the signer and requesting action
R5
9 The natural vocalised calls of chimpanzees show no evidence of internal structure, or possibilities of combination.
A O1
O1 True
R1
O2 False
R2 See p.000.
10 There is no evidence of productivity in the natural communication systems of any animals.
A O2
O1 True
R1 No, some bird songs show evidence of productivity: see p.000.
O2 False
R2
11 Study of natural animal communication systems reveals which of the following?
A O1
O1 Animals do not use communication systems with the full potential of human language.
R1
O2 Some animals are capable of using systems with the full potential of human language.
R2 Read §10.1 again.
O3 Some animal communication systems show all of the design features of human languages.
R3 Read §10.1 again.
O4 None of the preceding.
R4 Read §10.1 again.
12 The novel name-new category principle is unique to human beings: other animals cannot use this strategy to determine meaning or reference of signs.
A O2
O1 True
R1 Some evidence exists of use of this principle in animals: see p.000.
O2 False
R2
13 What is one of the main reasons why early attempts to teach chimpanzees to speak failed?
A O2
O1 Poor training methods: the attempts would have succeeded otherwise.
R1 See p.000.
O2 For physiological reasons: chimps don't have the right anatomical hardware for human speech.
R2
O3 For social reasons: the chimps were not properly socialised in human families.
R3 See p.000.
O4 Bad choices of individuals: if smarter chimps were chosen they would have been successful.
R4 See p.000.
14 Chimpanzees who have been taught ASL, plastic tokens, or lexigrams, are able to put signs together into sequences to form more complex utterances.
A O1
O1 True
R1
O2 False
R2 See p.000.
15 Sign systems taught to chimpanzees reveal no evidence of which of the following design features of human language?
A O2
O1 displacement
R1 See p.000.
O2 reflexivity
R2
O3 productivity
R3 See p.000.
O4 cultural transmission
R4 See p.000.
O5 arbitrariness
R5 See p.000.
16 Roughly how many signs have chimpanzees like Kanzi learnt?
A O4
O1 two or three
R1 See p.000.
O2 about 20
R2 See p.000.
O3 about 100
R3 See p.000.
O4 200 or so
R4
O5 about 1,000
R5 See p.000.
17 Evidence indicates that chimpanzees rarely initiate communicative acts with their human trainers.
A O1
O1 True
R1
O2 False
R2 See p.000.
18 Evidence from studies of apes suggests that our common ancestors did not use vocalisations intentionally, but may have had intentional control of manual gestures.
A O1
O1 Yes
R1
O2 No
R2 See p.000.
19 According to the yakkety-yak theory (the gossip or grooming hypothesis) human language arose for the purpose of:
A O1
O1 cementing interpersonal relations among individuals
R1
O2 informing others about the social world in order to identify free-loaders
R2 See p.000.
O3 informing others about the material world in order to identify free-loaders
R3 See p.000.
O4 to foster rivalries amongst individuals and foment breaking up of social groups, leading to emergence of new languages and societies
R4 See p.000.
20 Does the available evidence from genetics conclusively prove that FOXP2 is the language gene?
A O2
O1 Yes
R1 See p.000.
O2 No
R2
21 Genetic evidence argues in favour which of the following two possibilities?
A O1
O1 FOXP2 was a target of natural selection
R1
O2 A single genetic mutation occurred in FOXP2
R2 See p.000.
22 According to the looky-look (or social cognition theory) theory we have a language ready body (including brain), but that the last steps in the emergence of language were cultural.
A O1
O1 True
R1
O2 False
R2 See p.000.
23 Which of the following is false?
A O2
O1 Many fundamental biological components and processes involved in human vocal production and perception are shared with animals
R1 This is true. See p.000.
O2 The communicative systems and abilities of animals strongly supports the gradual evolution of language from other communication systems
R2
O3 Investigation of non-human systems of communication provides a useful perspective on the evolution of language
R3 This is true. See p.000.
O4 Language evolution is best approached from various different disciplines
R4 This is true. See p.000.