Language Questions
Instructions: On a separate sheet of paper, explain the following questions IN DETAIL. The
answers should be more than a sentence or bullet point. Please use all the materials given to help
you understand the concepts.

What is language? Explain how a gesture can be considered language, even if no word is
spoken.

Define and explain how the following are used to create language:
o Morpheme
o Syntax
o Phoneme
o Grammar
o Semantics

How can a language die? Explain how English has changed over the course of many
centuries.

Language development:
o How many words does an average person have in their vocabulary?
o Describe the process a child goes through from ages 3 months to 2 years in
developing language.
o Why does learning a language become harder as a person ages?
o Describe the following people’s language theories (be sure to explain where they
fall in the nature vs. nurture argument)
 Vygotsky
 Skinner
 Piaget
 Bruner
 Chomsky

How do our experiences and perceptions affect our language? (Be sure to mention
Whorf’s Theory of Language Relativity here)

Yankee/Rebel Quiz Score –

What Kind of American Do You Speak? –