Deck 5: Languages

Question 1

A language used by the government for business and official documents is a(n)

A) lingua franca.
B) official language.
C) vulgar Latin.
D) creole.
E) literary tradition.

Answer 1

B

Question 2

English is part of which language branch?

A) Germanic
B) North Germanic
C) West Germanic
D) Indo-European
E) Austronesian

Answer 2

A

Question 3

When languages are depicted as leaves on trees,the trunks of the trees represent

A) dialects.
B) language groups.
C) language families.
D) possible prehistoric superfamilies.
E) language sects.

Answer 3

C

Question 4

A group of languages that share a common ancestor before recorded history is a

A) dialect.
B) language branch.
C) language family.
D) language group.
E) language root.

Question 5

A literary tradition is

A) a form of a language used for official government business.
B) a form of a language spoken in a particular area.
C) a collection of languages related to each other.
D) the written form of a language.
E) the variety of dialects in a language.

Question 6

Which of the following is not one of the four most commonly spoken branches of Indo-European?

A) Balto-Slavic
B) Germanic
C) Romance
D) Greek
E) Indo-Iranian

Question 7

How many language families in the world have at least 100 million native speakers?

A) seven
B) nine
C) ten
D) twelve
E) fifteen

Question 8

According to Ethnologue,in a Language Family Tree,the trunk represents

A) dialects.
B) language families.
C) language families with at least 9 million speakers.
D) language families with at least 9 million readers.
E) a language group.

Question 9

The two most dominant language families in Africa are

A) Niger-Congo, Altaic.
B) Niger-Congo, Afro-Asiatic.
C) Nigerian, Arabic.
D) Arabic, Persian.
E) Afro-Asiatic, Altaic.

Question 10

The most important language family in Sub-Saharan Africa is

A) Khoisan.
B) Niger-Congo.
C) Nilo-Saharan.
D) Afro-Asiatic.
E) Altaic.

Question 11

When languages are depicted as leaves on trees,the roots of the trees below the surface represent

A) dialects.
B) language groups.
C) language sects.
D) language families.
E) possible prehistoric superfamilies.

Question 12

A group of languages that share a common origin but have since evolved into individual languages is a

A) dialect.
B) language branch.
C) language family.
D) language group.
E) language root.

Question 13

The second-largest language family is

A) Indo-European.
B) Sino-Tibetan.
C) Afro-Asiatic.
D) Austronesian.
E) Dravidian.

Question 14

The geographic study of the distribution of languages provides a good example of

A) the interplay between globalization and local diversity.
B) the diffusion of folk culture in different areas of the world.
C) the role and spread of religion across much of the world.
D) political conflicts that arise due to ethnic tensions.

Question 15

The main difference between languages in the same family,branch,or group is how

A) recently in time the languages were once the same.
B) closely the speakers of each language live to each other.
C) similar the cultures of the speakers of each language are.
D) All of the above

Question 16

From most distant to closest relatives,languages can be classified into

A) families, branches, and groups.
B) branches, families, and groups.
C) branches, groups, and families.
D) families, groups, and branches.
E) groups, branches, and families.

Question 17

Most languages with a literary tradition use one of the following principal writing systems:

A) Cyrillic, Latin, Chinese, Arabic
B) Greek, Latin, Chinese, Germanic
C) Latin, Arabic, Chinese, Indo-European
D) Latin, Chinese, English, Greek
E) Cyrillic, Latin, Chinese, Altaic

Question 18

Tens of thousands of years ago,languages may have been joined together as

A) branches.
B) superfamilies.
C) groups.
D) lingua franca.
E) families.

Question 19

The two largest language families in the world are

A) Indo-Iranian and Balto-Slavic.
B) Sino-Tibetan and Indo-European.
C) Afro-Asiatic and Sino-Tibetan.
D) Balto-Slavic and Sino-Tibetan.
E) Altaic and Nilo-Saharan.

Question 20

Sino-Tibetan is an example of

A) a language family.
B) a language branch.
C) a language group.
D) official language.
E) language family tree.

Question 21

The Anatolian and Kurgan Hearth theories are both an explanation of language diffusing through

A) warfare.
B) agriculture.
C) migration.
D) colonization.
E) sea voyages.

Question 22

What are the major differences between the Nomadic Warrior and Sedentary Farmer theories in explaining the origins of Proto-Indo-European speakers?

A) The Nomadic Warrior Theory suggests that Kurgans migrated to set up trade routes and the Sedentary Farmer Theory suggests that Indo-European diffused into Europe and South Asia by military conquest.
B) The Nomadic Warrior Theory suggests that Kurgans largely migrated northward in search of grasslands and the Sedentary Farmer Theory describes migration to the south.
C) The Nomadic Warrior Theory suggests that Kurgans migrated by means of military superiority and the Sedentary Farmer theory describes much earlier people that diffused into Europe and South Asia along with agricultural practices.
D) Kurgans migrated to present day Spain by 3500 B.C, but the people described by the Sedentary Farmer Theory were already in Spain at that time.
E) Kurgans were the first Proto-Indo-European speakers according to the Nomadic-Warrior Theory. According to the Sedentary-Farmer Theory, the Kurgans never existed.

Question 23

Which of the following is not a Romance language?

A) Bulgarian
B) Italian
C) Portuguese
D) Romanian
E) French

Question 24

According to Colin Renfrew's Anatolian hearth theory,Indo-European languages diffused across Europe

A) entirely by sea.
B) by way of the Kurgan homeland.
C) by warriors on horseback.
D) with the diffusion of agriculture.
E) following the silk road.

Question 25

British and American English differ in all but which of the following?

A) alphabet
B) pronunciation
C) spelling
D) vocabulary
E) prevalent dialects

Question 26

English is part of which language family?

A) Germanic
B) North Germanic
C) West Germanic
D) Indo-European
E) Romance

Question 27

The origin of English words is dominated by

A) Germanic languages.
B) Romance languages.
C) Greek.
D) Celtic influence.
E) Viking influence.

Question 28

The predominant language branch of Russia and Central Europe is

A) Finno-Ugric.
B) Romance.
C) Celtic.
D) Scandinavian.
E) Balto-Slavic.

Question 29

Marija Gimbutas' theory points to the first speakers of the Indo-European language as the ancient

A) Celts.
B) Germans.
C) Kurgans.
D) Russians.
E) Dravidians.

Question 30

Which branch of Indo-European has the most native speakers?

A) Indo-Iranian
B) Germanic
C) Romance
D) Balto-Slavic
E) Greek

Question 31

English is part of the Germanic branch

A) just recently because of the European Union.
B) that also includes Italian and Portuguese.
C) because England adopted the written language of Germany.
D) because 1500 years ago Germanic tribes invaded England.
E) because it is not considered an Indo-European language.

Question 32

The Romance languages evolved from ________ spoken by the ________ 2,000 years ago.

A) Latin, Romans
B) Greek, Greeks
C) Romania, Romanian people
D) Latin, monks
E) Greek, Romans

Question 33

The Kurgans

A) conquered much of East Asia several thousand years ago.
B) were a Germanic tribe that invaded England.
C) were horse and cattle herders from the grassland steppes of present day Russia and Kazakhstan.
D) preserved Basque in present-day Spain.
E) were the earliest speakers of Sino-Caucasian.

Question 34

A form of a language spoken in a local area is a

A) dialect.
B) language branch.
C) language family.
D) language group.
E) language root.

Question 35

Immigrants to which American colonies had the most diverse backgrounds?

A) Middle Atlantic
B) New England
C) Northern
D) Southeast
E) French Canadian

Question 36

Dialects developed within England primarily because

A) different Germanic invaders settled in different regions.
B) the Normans invaded from the south.
C) the Viking invaders did not remain long in England.
D) British Received Pronunciation became the standard dialect.
E) commerce developed more slowly in England than on the European continent.

Question 37

Russian is part of what language branch?

A) Balto-Slavic
B) Germanic
C) Indo-Iranian
D) Romance
E) Altaic

Question 38

An isogloss is

A) a form of a language spoken in a local area.
B) a collection of unique words.
C) a boundary between language regions.
D) a blending of two language families.
E) None of these answers is correct.

Question 39

When people who speak a given language migrate to a different location and become isolated from other members of their group,

A) their language usually shows very little change even over a long period of time.
B) they immediately develop a literary tradition.
C) various dialects may develop.
D) they lose their linguistic abilities.
E) subgroups form multiple languages.

Question 40

The first speakers of the language that evolved into English were tribes that lived in present-day

A) France.
B) Denmark.
C) United States.
D) Italy.
E) Switzerland.

Question 41

Spanish is increasingly important in the United States because

A) of large-scale immigration from Latin America.
B) 27 states have made it an official language.
C) schools are increasingly requiring it for high school graduation.
D) of increasing exports to Mexico and other Spanish-speaking countries.
E) None of these answers is correct; Spanish is decreasing in importance.

Question 42

The Flemings and Walloons live in what country?

A) Belgium
B) France
C) South Africa
D) Switzerland
E) Liechtenstein

Question 43

Switzerland has four official languages.What conditions exist in Switzerland that allows the peaceful coexistence of the four official languages?

A) There is a strict policy of national government control that keeps the peace.
B) Switzerland created a government that places considerable power in small communities.
C) The Swiss government established the four languages in the constitution when the country was formed.
D) The people of Switzerland voted for a law that says that if a given language represents 10% of the total, the language will become an official language.
E) The languages do not really coexist in peace, there is constant protest by the majority of people in Switzerland to declare two official languages: French and German.

Question 44

Basque is a good example of a(n)

A) language family.
B) language group.
C) lingua franca.
D) isolated language.

Question 45

Two billion people live in a country where English is an official language.In the United States,diffusion of English into another language is most prevalent

A) in large cities.
B) in states that border Mexico.
C) near major airports.
D) in agricultural areas.
E) in states that do not have English as an official language.

Question 46

Multiple dialects of American English formed because of

A) isolation from one another after independence.
B) different cultural influences on each group.
C) the Atlantic Ocean.
D) invasions, including by the Angles, Normans, and Saxons.
E) differences in the dialects of the colonial settlers.

Question 47

According to Ethnologue,a language is considered to be ________ if the only fluent people are older than ________ age.A language is considered ________ if it ceases to be used by people in daily activities.

A) dying, 50 year of, endangered
B) dying, child-rearing, extinct
C) extinct, 50 year of, extinct
D) extinct, child-rearing, endangered
E) endangered, 50 year of, dying

Question 48

Québec has acted to protect the French language by

A) outlawing other languages in public.
B) electing English-speaking leaders.
C) accepting only French-speaking immigrants.
D) having one of the strongest economies in Canada.
E) requiring its use on signs.

Question 49

A fairly recent example of a dialect changing status to a distinct language is

A) English.
B) Catalan.
C) Valencian.
D) Galician.
E) Spanish.

Question 50

The following are all true about isogloss except

A) isogloss is a word-usage boundary.
B) an isogloss can be constructed for each word.
C) every word has a unique isogloss.
D) boundary lines of different words coalesce in some locations to form regions.
E) isogloss only describes boundaries for nouns and verbs, not adjectives.

Question 51

A creolized language is

A) extinct.
B) a mix of indigenous and colonial languages.
C) an isolated language family.
D) a possible prehistoric superfamily.
E) a revived formerly extinct language.

Question 52

Dialects developed within the United States primarily because of

A) diffusion going westward.
B) differences in the dialects among the original settlers along the Atlantic Coast colonies.
C) the Civil War.
D) a lack of available transportation between the regions.
E) differences in the climate between the regions.

Question 53

Valencian is currently

A) classified as a dialect, although many of its speakers would prefer to have it classified as a distinct language.
B) classified as a distinct language by a law passed by the Spanish government.
C) classified as a dialect because there are so few speakers.
D) not considered a dialect because there is no written language.
E) a dead language since so few people speak it.

Question 54

A language without known language relatives is a(n)

A) lingua franca.
B) vulgar Latin.
C) isolated language.
D) isogloss.
E) pidgin language.

Question 55

What motivated Noah Webster to create the first comprehensive American dictionary?

A) It would help establish a national language, reduce cultural dependence on England, and inspire national pride.
B) There was already a well-established American English dialect.
C) He wanted to simplify the written language for the less educated people in the United States.
D) He wanted to incorporate words from Native American languages.
E) It would quickly establish English as the official language over German, French, or Spanish.

Question 56

Nigeria's cultural diversity is summed up by

A) the diverse ecosystems that make up the country.
B) the more than 500 distinct languages spoken there.
C) its location in western Africa.
D) its colonial history under the British.
E) the movement of the capital from Lagos to Abuja.

Question 57

Hebrew is an example of

A) an isolated language.
B) an extinct language.
C) a revived language.
D) a language family.
E) an Altaic language.

Question 58

The Flemings and Walloons speak languages belonging to different

A) dialects.
B) language branches.
C) language families.
D) language groups.
E) language sects.

Question 59

________ is to Canada as ________ is to the United States.

A) French; Spanish
B) Presidential government; parliamentary government
C) Conflict over ethnicity; conflict over language
D) Northern hemisphere; southern hemisphere
E) Dialect; accent

Question 60

Official languages in Switzerland include all but which of the following?

A) Italian
B) Flemish
C) Romansh
D) French
E) German

Question 61

English is the leading language on the Internet

A) and is growing in its share of users.
B) but is becoming less important.
C) because English characters are the most common on computer keyboards.
D) because the Internet is written in English.
E) but other Internets exist for languages like Russian and Chinese.

Question 62

In what ways do American and British English differ? What geographic factors explain the similarities and differences in American and British English?

Question 63

What geographic factor accounts for the fact that both Americans and the British speak English?

Question 64

Name the world's largest language family (used by nearly half of the world's population).

Question 65

Germanic invaders of England included which tribe?

A) Angles
B) Saxons
C) Jutes
D) Normans
E) All of these groups except Normans

Question 66

How may have people from Anatolia been important to the geography of language?

Question 67

Name the world's second largest language family (used by over one-fifth of the world's population).

Question 68

In what three ways does the English used in the United States differ from the English used in the United Kingdom?

Question 69

A language's survival depends on

A) its similarity to other languages.
B) the ease foreign speakers have in learning it.
C) its existence on a small island.
D) the political and military strength of its speakers.
E) the homogenization of its dialects.

Question 70

All but which are true about the English language?

A) It is a lingua franca.
B) Recent growth in use is due to expansion diffusion.
C) It is an Indo-European language.
D) It is an isogloss.
E) It is the leading language of the Internet.

Question 71

Why do people in different regions of the United States speak English differently?

Question 72

Which statement is not true about lesser-used languages?

A) Even today, new languages are being identified and documented.
B) Irish was once the principal language of Ireland, but after centuries of being a colony of the United Kingdom, Irish today is extinct.
C) Cornish became extinct in the 18ᵗʰ century but revived in the 20ᵗʰ century.
D) The number of languages in the world is declining.
E) Around 100,000 people speak Scottish Gaelic.

Question 73

The residents of Hong Kong,China are exposed to a lot of English especially because

A) it is an easier language to speak and understand.
B) all television programming is in English.
C) it was until recently a British colony.
D) many Australian tourists visit each year.
E) None of these explanations is correct.

Question 74

Who were the Kurgans and how may they have been important to the geography of language?

Question 75

A lingua franca is

A) an English word that has entered the French language.
B) a language that is mutually understood by people who have different native languages.
C) an extinct language that has been revived.
D) an official language in a region of the world different from where the language originated.
E) a language used by French colonial administrations.

Question 76

How do we know that all Indo-European languages have a common ancestor?

Question 77

Both the Angles and the Normans contributed to the development of the English language because they

A) spoke Germanic languages.
B) invaded England.
C) spoke languages derived from Latin.
D) diffused English around the world.
E) agreed to divide England.

Question 78

In San Jose,California,it is common to have street signs and government-published material in English,Spanish,and Vietnamese.Should cities like San Jose use public funds to do this?

Question 79

Why did Israel choose to revive Hebrew when Israel was established as an independent country in 1948?

A) The refugees and migrants who arrived in Israel were already fluent in Hebrew.
B) for purely religious motives
C) No other language could so symbolically unify the disparate cultural groups in the new country.
D) to separate themselves from their Arabic speaking neighbors
E) There was already a full modern Hebrew dictionary that made the transition straightforward.

Question 80

All statements below are true about a lingua franca except:

A) The leading lingua franca today is English.
B) A lingua franca is a language that is mutually understood by people who have different native languages.
C) Swahili in East Africa is an example of a lingua franca.
D) Hindi in South Asia is an example of a lingua franca.
E) A lingua franca is a language that was originated by French speakers and used as a mutually understood language.