Theorists
Applied theories 1
Applied theories 2
Vocabulary 1
Vocabulary 2
100

Which theorist(s) developed the Sapir-Whorf hypothesis?

Edward Sapir and Benjamin Whorf

100

Jared is asking his girlfriend to marry him. HER _____________ is being threatened. 

Negative face

100

Jeffrey lies to his Mom about how he wrecked the car. He is breaking a conversation convention called the __________. 

Maxim of quality

100
Please give me a synonym for colloquial.

Conversational

Vernacular

Informal

Casual

100

People from London speak English differently from people in the north of the country. They have different __________. 

Dialects

200

Which theorist(s) developed the maxims most humans follow when they are in conversation with one another?

Paul Grice

200

Andy often finds himself posturing as really tough around his wrestling teammates, but he opens up about his interest in piano with his girlfriend. Which theory could explain this behavior?

Goffman's dramaturgical approach

(it's OK if the group describes Goffman's approach in other words)

200

Allison is a beautiful actress walking down the red carpet. She trips and falls on her face while everyone is watching. Her ____________ is being threatened. 

Positive face

200

Please give me a gender marked noun in English.

policeman

cleaning lady 

etc.

200

A teacher gains the respect of her students by speaking in standard grammar and using the textbook terminology correctly. 

overt prestige

300

Which theorist developed the concept of Face and the idea that we perform different versions of our self?

Erving Goffman

300

When Joe Starks purposely uses educated language to confuse and make himself look smarter than the residents of Eatonville, he is breaking a conversational rule called _________. 

Maxim of Manner

300

Sally is five and often talks a mile a minute, long after her mother has stopped paying attention. Sally is breaking a conversational convention that most people follow. It is called the _____________.

Maxim of quantity

300

The belief that all varieties and dialects of a language are valid is an example of ____________. 

Descriptivism

300

The President speaks in standard English for most of the speech, but then speaks in a strong, southern dialect at the end to connect with the audience (covert prestige applies, but I'm asking for a different answer here)

code-switching

400

Which theorist(s) developed the Language of Thought Hypothesis (LOTH)?

Jerry Fodor

400

Throughout her life, Angela absorbs the idea that women tend to be evaluated on their attractiveness in most situations, even when it is not relevant. She absorbs this idea through many, many interactions with other human beings. Which theory applies? There are two possible answers.

Vygotsky's ideas about interaction- we learn cultural norms from others

Skinner's ideas about interactions - we learn language and develop a sense of self through interaction

400

Writers often imitate characters' internal thoughts with language and sentences. Which theory supports their decision to do this? 

Language of Thought Hypothesis

400
Frederick keeps annoying his friends at lunch because the ONLY thing he will talk about is his crush, even when his friends are trying to talk about other topics. Fred is breaking the _____________. 

Maxim of relevance

400

In Haiti, some people believe that French is the "proper" way to speak and that Haitian French Creole is "improper." This belief is an example of _____________. 

prescriptivism

500

Which theorist(s) developed politeness theory?

Levinson and Brown

500

Which theory applies to this situation: Navajo-speaking children pay more attention to the shapes of objects than English-speaking children because they change verbs according to the shape of the object. 

Sapir-Whorf hypothesis

500

At age 12, Caleb has a more developed sense of self than Charlie at age 5. Which theory supports this?

Piaget's stages of cognitive development

500

Which linguistic term applies to this situation: a person who is not Irish speaks in a country Irish brogue (dialect and accent) to impress locals at an Irish pub. 

Covert prestige

500

A language becomes ____________ when it is documented in a dictionary and/or adopted as the official language of a country. 

Codified