WorksheetsLanguage and Linguistics Quiz
Total questions: 63
Worksheet time: 21mins
The written form of a language is called a ______.
literary tradition
oral tradition
dialect
vernacular
A form of a language spoken in a local area is called a ______.
dialect
accent
slang
jargon
A group of languages that share a common origin but have since evolved into individual languages is called a ______.
language family
dialect group
linguistic branch
speech community
A language family is a group of languages related through descent from a common ancestral language. Which of the following is an example of a language family?
Indo-European
Latin
English
Mandarin
The second-largest language family is the ______.
Sino-Tibetan language family
Indo-European language family
Afro-Asiatic language family
Austronesian language family
Which of the following is a possible prehistoric language superfamily?
Nostratic
Indo-European
Sino-Tibetan
Afro-Asiatic
When languages are depicted as leaves on trees, the trunk of the tree represents the ______.
roots
branches
language family
individual languages
What is the reason why English is the most important language in North America?
Historical colonization by English-speaking countries
Geographical proximity to English-speaking countries
Economic influence of English-speaking countries
Cultural dominance of English-speaking media
The first speakers of the language that evolved into English were which peoples?
Romans
Celts
Anglo-Saxons
Vikings
English is the most important language in North America primarily because of
migration and the fact it is a lingua franca.
its historical ties to the British Empire.
its use in international business.
its prevalence in popular media.
Categorize the English language (group, branch, family, etc).
Group
Branch
Family
Dialect
Which language group of the Germanic family is now extinct?
North Germanic
West Germanic
East Germanic
Scandinavian
What is the reason why the Icelandic language has changed so little?
Isolation from other languages
Frequent language reforms
Influence of neighboring countries
Adoption of foreign words
Which of the following is a Romance language?
English
German
Spanish
Russian
The first speakers of the language that evolved into English were tribes that lived in present day
Northern Denmark, Southern Denmark, and Northwestern Germany.
Southern France, Northern Spain, and Eastern Italy.
Western Russia, Eastern Poland, and Northern Ukraine.
Central Sweden, Southern Norway, and Eastern Finland.
Language spoken by soldiers stationed throughout the Roman Empire was called
Vulgar Latin.
Classical Latin.
Ancient Greek.
Old Italian.
What is the most widely spoken language in Brazil?
Portuguese
Spanish
French
English
English is part of which language group?
Romance
Germanic
Slavic
Celtic
English is part of which language branch?
Romance
Germanic
Slavic
Celtic
A creolized language is:
A language that has developed from a mixture of different languages.
A language that is spoken only by a small community.
A language that has no written form.
A language that is used only in formal settings.
What is the creolized language that can be found in the bayous of Louisiana?
Cajun French
Louisiana Creole
Spanish
English
Which is the most widely spoken Indo-European language?
Spanish
Hindi
English
Russian
Which of the following are the four most frequently spoken branches of Indo-European?
Germanic, Romance, Slavic, and Indo-Iranian
Celtic, Baltic, Albanian, and Armenian
Hellenic, Italic, Anatolian, and Tocharian
Baltic, Slavic, Celtic, and Germanic
The Flemings and Walloons live in Belgium. What languages do they speak?
Flemish and French
Dutch and French
German and French
Dutch and German
Which of the following are the official languages in Switzerland?
German, French, Italian, Romansh
German, French, Spanish, Romansh
German, English, Italian, Romansh
German, French, Italian, English
A language used by a government for laws, reports, and public objects such as signs, money and stamps is called
Official language
Colloquial language
Programming language
Sign language
A dialect that is well established and widely recognized as the most acceptable for government business, education, and mass communications is called
Standard dialect
Regional dialect
Colloquial dialect
Slang
A boundary between language regions is called a/an
isogloss
dialect
lingua franca
pidgin
In 1949, Hans Kurath found the greatest diversity of dialects in the USA were found in the
Northeast
South
Midwest
West
Which language is the official language in 50 countries and the most widely used second language?
Spanish
French
English
Chinese
One of the most authoritative sources of languages is called the
Oxford English Dictionary
Merriam-Webster Dictionary
Encyclopaedia Britannica
Cambridge Dictionary
Urdu is primarily spoken in which of the following countries?
India
Pakistan
Bangladesh
Nepal
The language branch for Russian is:
Romance
Germanic
Slavic
Celtic
Celtic Languages are still spoken in which of the following regions?
Scotland, Ireland, Wales, Brittany, and the Isle of Man
Spain, Portugal, Italy, and Greece
Germany, Austria, Switzerland, and Belgium
Norway, Sweden, Denmark, and Finland
Which language was threatened by extinction in England?
Welsh
Cornish
Gaelic
Manx
Marija Gimbutas' theory concerning the Indo-European language is known as:
The Kurgan Hypothesis
The Anatolian Hypothesis
The Out of Africa Theory
The Multiregional Continuity Model
The Kurgans are known for being:
A group of ancient nomadic people
A type of burial mound
A modern-day political organization
A fictional race in a movie
One would most likely find speakers of Basque in:
Catalonia
Galicia
Andalusia
The Basque Country
Colin Renfrew's Anatolian hearth theory suggests that the spread of Indo-European languages originated from which region?
Anatolia
Central Asia
The Balkans
The Caucasus
The language family encompassing the languages of the People's Republic of China is:
Indo-European
Sino-Tibetan
Afro-Asiatic
Austroasiatic
What are the two largest language families in the world?
Indo-European and Sino-Tibetan
Afro-Asiatic and Austronesian
Niger-Congo and Dravidian
Uralic and Altaic
Which language is spoken by the greatest number of native speakers in the world?
English
Mandarin Chinese
Spanish
Hindi
What are ideograms?
Symbols representing ideas or concepts
A type of musical notation
A form of digital communication
A style of painting
Dialects developed within England primarily because of
geographical isolation
cultural exchange
political influence
technological advancement
Which of the following is a way that British and American English are different?
Spelling variations
Pronunciation differences
Vocabulary differences
Grammar rules
One way that British and American English are similar is:
They both use the same alphabet.
They have the same pronunciation for all words.
They have identical vocabulary.
They use the same spelling for all words.
What is meant when one speaks of “revived” languages?
Languages that have been brought back into use after being extinct or nearly extinct.
Languages that are newly created and have no historical roots.
Languages that are spoken by a large number of people worldwide.
Languages that are used exclusively in digital communication.
Which of the following is an example of a revived language?
Latin
Sanskrit
Hebrew
Ancient Greek
What is the second most widely spoken language family in Europe?
Slavic
Germanic
Romance
Celtic
What is the most important language family in Sub-Saharan Africa?
Niger-Congo
Afro-Asiatic
Nilo-Saharan
Khoisan
What is a language called that is mutually understood by people who have different native languages?
Lingua Franca
Dialect
Pidgin
Creole
Which American colony had the most diverse backgrounds?
Virginia
Massachusetts
New York
Georgia
An isogloss is a line on a map that separates areas with different linguistic features.
True
False
Which of the following is an example of an isogloss?
The line separating areas where 'soda' and 'pop' are used to refer to carbonated drinks.
The boundary between regions where 'you all' and 'y'all' are used.
The division between areas where 'bucket' and 'pail' are used.
Franglais is a blend of which two languages?
French and English
Spanish and English
French and Spanish
German and English
Taglish is a combination of which two languages?
Tagalog and English
Tagalog and Spanish
English and Spanish
Tagalog and Filipino
Denglish is a blend of which two languages?
German and English
Dutch and English
Danish and English
French and English
Which of the following is the most important language family, branch, and individual languages in South America?
Indo-European, Romance, Spanish
Sino-Tibetan, Sinitic, Mandarin
Afro-Asiatic, Semitic, Arabic
Niger-Congo, Bantu, Swahili
What is the most important language branch in northwestern Europe, southwestern Europe, and Eastern Europe?
Germanic, Romance, Slavic
Celtic, Romance, Baltic
Uralic, Romance, Slavic
Germanic, Celtic, Uralic
A pidgin language is:
A fully developed language with native speakers.
A simplified language that develops as a means of communication between groups that do not have a language in common.
A language that is only used in written form.
A language that is used exclusively in religious contexts.
Which of the following is NOT one of the most frequently spoken branches of the Indo-European language branch?
Germanic
Romance
Slavic
Sino-Tibetan
Which of the following languages are spoken in Brazil?
Spanish and French
Portuguese and Spanish
Portuguese and English
Portuguese and German
How many languages are spoken in the world today?
Approximately 3,000
Approximately 5,000
Approximately 7,000
Approximately 9,000
