ANTH Cultural and Linguistic Anthropology 3 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: Study of the relationship between language and social factors such as class, region, and gender is called:
- Sociolinguistics (Correct answer)
- Historical linguistics
- Phonetics
- Semantics
Correct answer: Sociolinguistics
Sociolinguistics examines how language varies and changes across social groups and contexts.
Question 2: A kinship system that traces descent through the mother's line is called:
- Matrilineal (Correct answer)
- Patrilineal
- Bilateral
- Neolocal
Correct answer: Matrilineal
In a matrilineal system, group membership and inheritance pass through the female line.
Question 3: Clifford Geertz argued that ethnography should provide a 'thick description,' meaning it should:
- Interpret the meanings behind behavior (Correct answer)
- Count observable behaviors
- Measure genetic traits
- Reconstruct proto-languages
Correct answer: Interpret the meanings behind behavior
Thick description interprets the layered cultural meanings that give social actions significance, not just the surface behavior.
Question 4: The variety of language a speaker uses that signals a specific social context, such as formal versus casual speech, is a:
- Register (Correct answer)
- Dialect
- Pidgin
- Isolate
Correct answer: Register
Register refers to the way speakers adjust vocabulary and style to fit a social situation.
Question 5: A simplified language that emerges so groups without a common tongue can communicate, with no native speakers, is a:
- Pidgin (Correct answer)
- Creole
- Dialect
- Register
Correct answer: Pidgin
A pidgin is a simplified contact language with no native speakers; when children grow up speaking it natively, it becomes a creole.
Question 6: The exchange system Malinowski documented in the Trobriands, involving the circulation of shell valuables, is the:
- Kula ring (Correct answer)
- Potlatch
- Moka
- Bridewealth
Correct answer: Kula ring
The Kula ring is a ceremonial exchange network in which shell necklaces and armbands circulate among Trobriand island communities.
Question 7: Nonverbal communication using body movements, gestures, and facial expressions is studied under:
- Kinesics (Correct answer)
- Proxemics
- Phonology
- Morphology
Correct answer: Kinesics
Kinesics is the study of body motion and gesture as a form of communication.
ANTH Cultural and Linguistic Anthropology 3
Study of the relationship between language and social factors such as class, region, and gender is called: