What surprising finding does research on second-language acquisition suggest about learning new phonemes?

Correct answer: Learning completely novel phonemes may be easier than learning phonemes that are highly similar to those of the first language.

Explanation

Acquiring a second language involves mastering its phonology, syntax, and vocabulary. Research shows that interference from the first language can make it more difficult to master phonemes that are similar, but not identical, to those in one's native language, compared to learning completely new sounds.

Other questions

Question 1

What is the central claim of the linguistic relativity hypothesis, also known as the Sapir-Whorf hypothesis?

Question 2

Research by Berlin and Kay on color terms across many languages revealed two apparent linguistic universals. What is the first universal they identified?

Question 3

What distinguishes additive bilingualism from subtractive bilingualism?

Question 4

How does a pidgin language differ from a creole language?

Question 5

In the context of speech errors, what is a "spoonerism"?

Question 6

According to the study of proxemics, what is the comfortable conversational distance for people in the United States?

Question 7

When a physicist reads the sentence, 'The individual member of the social community often receives information via visual, symbolic channels,' and reinterprets it to simply mean 'People read,' which of Grice's conversational maxims is the original sentence violating?

Question 8

According to Deborah Tannen's research on the goals of conversation, what is the primary way men view the world and communication?

Question 9

The gorilla Koko demonstrated an ability to use language in a novel way. Which of the following is a famous example that illustrates this behavior?

Question 10

What is the key difference between Wernicke's aphasia and Broca's aphasia?

Question 11

What does the dual-system hypothesis of bilingualism propose?

Question 12

A study examining electrical stimulation of the brains of bilingual patients found that the representation of the weaker language was what?

Question 13

How does a simile differ from a metaphor in its structure?

Question 14

According to Irving Janis, which of the following is identified as a symptom of groupthink?

Question 15

What is echolalia, a characteristic of speech that can be observed in some individuals with autism spectrum disorder?

Question 16

What does the 'verbal overshadowing effect' refer to?

Question 17

Research on brain localization for semantic processing indicates that five regions are involved in the storage and retrieval of meaning. Which of the following is explicitly listed as one of those regions?

Question 18

What did studies of hemispheric processing in people who use sign language, such as the work by Kimura, reveal about how the brain handles signing?

Question 19

What is the primary characteristic of anomic aphasia?

Question 21

According to a study by Hoffman and colleagues, Chinese-English bilinguals were more likely to rate characters in accord with the 'shì gù' stereotype under what condition?

Question 22

Which of the following describes the speech error of perseveration?

Question 23

In the study of pragmatic reasoning schemas, what kind of situation is used to activate a 'permission schema'?

Question 24

According to the text, a study of the 1978 Jonestown, Guyana, incident, where members of a religious cult committed mass suicide, is a striking example of what phenomenon?

Question 25

What does Herbert Terrace's analysis of Nim Chimpsky's sign language use conclude?

Question 26

Neuroimaging studies of men and women performing a rhyming task revealed different patterns of brain activation. What was the observed difference?

Question 27

What is global aphasia?

Question 28

What is a dialect?

Question 29

A study on bilingualism and the onset of dementia found what potential benefit for bilingual individuals?

Question 30

What is the phenomenon of 'linguicism'?

Question 31

In the context of the Sapir-Whorf hypothesis, what was the 'verbal overshadowing effect' observed by Schooler & Engstler-Schooler?

Question 32

What is the difference between a malapropism and a spoonerism?

Question 33

What is pragmatics in the study of language?

Question 34

What is the primary difference in conversational goals between men and women, according to Deborah Tannen's research?

Question 35

What does Noam Chomsky's quote, 'finding an island of humans who could be taught to fly,' imply about animal language?

Question 36

A study on the Piraha tribe in Brazil, who have words for only the numbers 1, 2, and 'many', found that their ability to perform matching tasks declined as the number of items increased beyond three. What might this finding indicate?

Question 37

In a study on the effect of grammatical gender, native German and Spanish speakers described the word 'key' in English. How did their descriptions differ?

Question 38

Neuroscience research on bilingualism indicates that learning a second language increases the density of gray matter in which brain area?

Question 39

Which of the following conditions cited by Janis is likely to lead to groupthink?

Question 40

In studies of language recovery after trauma to the brain, what is the consistent pattern observed in bilinguals?

Question 41

According to the evolutionary view of cognition, what two kinds of inferences are particularly facilitated by social-exchange schemas?

Question 42

In a study of Korean and English speakers describing spatial actions, what percentage of Korean speakers categorized scenes based on a 'tight fit' versus 'loose fit' distinction?

Question 43

A study examining text messages found that young girls' texts differed from young boys' texts in what way?

Question 44

What is the defining characteristic of a person with Wernicke's aphasia?

Question 45

What is the 'maxim of quality' in Grice's conversational maxims?

Question 46

What is meant by the 'single-system hypothesis' of bilingualism?

Question 47

What did a study find regarding the brain of a 32-year-old French-German bilingual who suffered a stroke and received training only in German?

Question 48

According to the text, what is the 'maxim of relation'?

Question 49

What is the key difference between the communication of wild chimpanzees and human language, according to Jane Goodall's observations?

Question 50

What is the defining feature of protolanguage?