Instructions: For each question, click on the radio button beside your answer. When you have completed the entire quiz, click the “Submit my answers” button at the bottom of the page to receive your results.

Question 1:

What is a low-context culture?
a) A culture that uses only oral communication
b) A culture that uses language to make messages clear and explicit
c) A culture that expresses messages indirectly
d) A culture that uses both spoken and written communication

Question 2:

What is communication divergence?
a) A communication strategy that emphasizes difference and distance
b) A communication strategy that emphasizes similarity and affinity
c) A communication strategy that emphasizes personal responsibility
d) A communication strategy that resists accepting personal responsibility

Question 3:

What is the definition of language?
a) A set of rules that controls how words are pronounced and combined
b) The words and phrases that identify a specific culture or region
c) The rules that control the everyday use of words and meaning
d) A collection of symbols controlled by rules and used to exchange messages

Question 4:

What are connotations?
a) The dictionary definition of a word
b) The extended or accumulated meanings of a word
c) The use of a pleasant word instead of an unpleasant word
d) The context in which a word or phrase is spoken

Question 5:

What does “responsibility” refer to with regard to language?
a) The speaker’s willingness to own or accept the consequences of a message
b) The choice to use non-sexist and non-racist diction
c) The various rule sets that shape a language
d) The decision to avoid euphemism and equivocal phrasing

Question 6:

What is jargon?
a) A loaded word
b) A word or phrase that substitutes a mild idea for an unpleasant idea
c) A communication strategy that resists accepting personal responsibility
d) A specialized vocabulary used by people in a specific profession or with a common background

Question 7:

What is emotive language?
a) Language that considers the sensitivity of the message recipient
b) Language used by people who share a cultural background
c) Language that communicates the speaker’s attitude rather than objective description
d) Language that communicates an interpretation rather than a factual statement

Question 8:

Relative words refer to language that gains meaning through comparison.
a) True
b) False

Question 9:

One way to avoid being confused by inferential statements presented as factual statement is by using perception checking.
a) True
b) False

Question 10:

Linguistic relativism refers to the idea that language has a strong influence on perception.
a) True
b) False

Higher Education

Understanding Human Communication, Third Edition: Chapter 3