INTRODUCTION TO LINGUISTICS

I. FILL IN THE BLANKS: Supply the following blanks with word/s to complete the
differences or similarities of human and animal system of communication. (10 points)
1. The signs of animal systems are ________.
2. Humans must acquire language through ________ to a speech community.
3. The ________ of human languages are definitely not inborn.
4. Animal systems are set responses to ________.
5. Animal communication system is unlike the repertoire of ________ in a 12 month old infant.
6. In animal systems, each ________ has one and only one function. More than one sign cannot
share the same meaning.
7. Animal signal are not naturally used in ________ ways. Animal systems are essentially noncreative.
8. Unlike animals, human can ________, they can use language to distort or extend the world
around them.
9. Animal system seems not to ________ from generation to generation.
10. Because it is a vehicle for creativity, ________ language is very changeable.
II. MODIFIED TRUE OR FALSE: Write TRUE if the statement is correct. Otherwise,
underline the incorrect word/s that make/s the statement incorrect and write the
appropriate word/s before the number. (40 points)
1. Karl Von Frich discovered Italian honeybee dances.
2. The round dance indicates the source of nectar is within 20 feet of the hive.
3. The sickle dance is performed to indicate that the source of nectar is beyond 60 feet
from the hive.
4. The tail-wagging dance indicates the source of nectar is 20 to 60 feet from the hive;
5. Bird songs consist of one or more short notes and seem to be instinctive responses to
danger, nesting, flocking and a few other basic situations.
6. Bird calls are used primarily by meals to attract mates or establish territory.
7. Prof. and Mrs. M.N. Kellogg became the first American family to raise chimpanzee and
a child together (their son Donald).
8. Drs. Beatrice and Allen Gardner at the University of Nevada in 1980 first attempted to
capitalize upon the ability of a chimpanzee by teaching her human sign language.
9. Prof. Herbert S. Terrace in 1996 of Columbia University attempted to answer the
question whether chimpanzees can make grammatical sentences.
10. No special effort was made to teach Gua to talk; like the human baby, she was simply
exposed to a speaking household.
11. Viki learned over 130 human languages sings, as well as how to combine them into
utterances of several signs.
12. Since the utterances of Washoe were typically answers to questions posed to her
(What is that?), it is not clear whether she was attempting to make a new word.
13. When Nim was three months, he produced his first sign drink. But his later
utterances never progressed much beyond the two-or-three-sign stage.
14. Washoe was never able to say more and the words she did say were very difficult to
understand in order to produce a and p, she had to hold her lips together with her finger.
15. Viki appeared to understand a great deal after six years of training, but she was able
to produce only four words: mama, papa, cup and up.
16. The plan was to raise Nim in a rich human environment, teach him ASL, and then
analyze, just as childrens language is analyzed, the chimps emerging ability to combine
signs into utterances, paying special attention to any evidence that he could indeed
produce grammatical signed sentences.
17. Gua was able to sign, Please tickle hug hurry, Gimme food drink.
18. Washoe appeared to use her signs in a creative way: on seeing a duck for the first
time she signed water bird.
19. Terrace concluded that there was no evidence that the chimp could produce anything
that might be called semantics.
20. The signs of animal communication are more like inborn and voluntary human
reactions such as laughter, crying, and sneezing than they are like human language.

1. The signs of animal systems are inborn.

2. Humans must acquire language through exposure to a speech community.
3. The words of human languages are definitely not inborn.
4. Animal systems are set responses to stimuli.
5. Animal communication system is unlike the repertoire of sounds of a 12 month old infant.
6. In animal systems, each signal has one and only one function. More than one sign cannot
share the same meaning.
7. Animal signal are not naturally used in novel ways. Animal systems are essentially noncreative.
8. Unlike animals, human can lie, they can use language to distort or extend the world around
them.
9. Animal system seems not to change from generation to generation.
10. Because it is a vehicle for creativity, human language is very changeable.
Karl Von Frisch discovered Italian honeybee dances.
The round dance indicates the source of nectar is within 20 feet of the hive.
The tail-wagging dance is performed to indicate that the source of nectar is beyond 60 feet from
the hive.
The sickle dance indicates the source of nectar is 20 to 60 feet from the hive;
Prof. and Mrs. M.N. Kellogg became the first American family to raise chimpanzee and a child
together (their son Donald).
No special effort was made to teach Gua to talk; like the human baby, she was simply exposed
to a speaking household.
Viki appeared to understand a great deal after six years of training, but she was able to produce
only four words: mama, papa, cup and up.
Viki was never able to say more and the words she did say were very difficult to understand in
order to produce a and p, she had to hold her lips together with her finger.
Drs. Beatrice and Allen Gardner at the University of Nevada in 1996 first attempted to capitalize
upon the ability of a chimpanzee by teaching her human sign language.
Washoe learned over 130 human languages sings, as well as how to combine them into
utterances of several signs.
Washoe was able to sign, Please tickle hug hurry, Gimme food drink.
Washoe appeared to use her signs in a creative way: on seeing a duck for the first time she
signed water bird.
Since the utterances of Washoe were typically answers to questions posed to her (What is
that?), it is not clear whether she was attempting to make a new word.
Prof. Herbert S. Terrace (1980) of Columbia University attempted to answer the question
whether chimpanzees can make grammatical sentences.
Terrace concluded that there was no evidence that the chimp could produce anything that might
be called a sentence.
The plan was to raise Nim in a rich human environment, teach him ASL, and then analyze, just
as childrens language is analyzed, the chimps emerging ability to combine signs into
utterances, paying special attention to any evidence that he could indeed produce grammatical
signed sentences.
When Nim was four months, he produced his first sign drink. But his later utterances never
progressed much beyond the two-or-three-sign stage.