Chapter 5 Sample Test

According to the diagrams in this chapter, Turkmen is part of what language branch? A) Altaic B) Germanic C) Indo-Iranian D) Romance E) Balto-Slavic

A

Australia and New Zealand's language policies differ today in that Australia A) emphasizes the English language while New Zealand gives a lot of support to linguistic diversity. B) was settled by English colonists but the original colonial language of New Zealand was French. C) recognizes Maori as an official Aboriginal language whereas New Zealand does not. D) has virtually no indigenous language speakers remaining. E) requires immigrants to take a dictation test whereas the New Zealand test is written.

A

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

A

Immigrants to which American colonies had the most diverse backgrounds in the 1700s and 1800s? A) Middle Atlantic B) New England C) Northern D) Southeast E) French Canadian

A

Russian is part of what language branch? A) Balto-Slavic B) Germanic C) Indo-Iranian D) Romance E) Altaic

A

Spanish is an important language in the United States primarily because of A) the diffusion of Spanish colonies and subsequent migration patterns. B) the Mexican conquest of the U.S. Southwest in the 1800s. C) the global dominance of the United States. D) the diffusion of Mexican colonies into the northern territories. E) official U.S. policies proclaiming Spanish a national language, along with English.

A

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) the diffusion of free markets across much of the world. E) political conflicts that arise due to ethnic tensions.

A

The large number of individual languages documented in Africa has resulted primarily from A) thousands of years of isolation between cultural groups. B) repeated invasions by outsiders. C) introduction of many different languages by the colonial powers. D) frequent migration by the different tribal groups. E) colonial administration of native lands.

A

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 one another. C) they correspond to the diffusion of free markets across much of the world. D) similar the cultures of the speakers of each language are. E) they all emerged at the same point in history, according to the Bible.

A

The maps and diagrams in this chapter show that an Indo-European language is chiefly spoken in which of these countries? A) Bulgaria B) Finland C) Hungary D) Estonia E) China

A

Which statement best describes the use of English on the Internet? A) English has become less dominant but is still the leading Internet language. B) Different Internets exist for most other widely spoken languages, like Chinese, Japanese, and Russian. C) The number of English-speaking Internet users remains above 50 percent. D) English has become more dominant as the most common language on the Internet. E) No one seems to be able to spell English correctly anymore.

A

________ is to Canada as ________ is to the United States. A) French; Spanish B) English; French C) French; English D) Conflict over ethnicity; conflict over language E) Alaska; Greenland

A

A language that was nearly extinct in British-controlled areas but which is now being revived is A) Slavic. B) Celtic. C) Iranian. D) English. E) Pictish.

B

According to the maps and diagrams in this chapter, the branch of Indo-European that includes Haitian Creole is A) European. B) Romance. C) Indo-Iranian. D) Balto-Slavic. E) Germanic.

B

According to the maps and diagrams in this chapter, the branch of Indo-European that includes Slovak is A) European. B) Balto-Slavic. C) Indo-Iranian. D) Romance. E) Germanic.

B

Analysis of the maps and diagrams in this chapter shows that the Dutch language is from the branch of Indo-European known as A) European. B) Germanic. C) Romance. D) Balto-Slavic. E) Indo-Iranian.

B

Both the Angles and the Normans contributed to the development of the English language, because they A) spoke ancient English languages. B) invaded England. C) spoke languages derived from Latin. D) diffused English around the world. E) agreed to divide Ireland from England.

B

Gumbo and jazz are terms that originated in the English dialects of A) New Englanders. B) African Americans. C) Jewish immigrants to the United States. D) Irish Americans. E) French Americans.

B

Official languages in Switzerland include all but which of the following? A) Italian B) Flemish C) Romansh D) French E) German

B

The Flemings and Walloons speak languages belonging to different A) dialects. B) language branches. C) language families. D) language groups. E) language sects.

B

The charts or diagrams in this chapter indicate that the percentage of Altaic language speakers in the world is greater than the percentage speaking ________ languages. A) Sino-Tibetan B) Austro-Asiatic C) Indo-European D) Niger Congo E) Austronesian

B

The charts or diagrams in this chapter indicate that the percentage of Austronesian language speakers in the world is greater than the percentage speaking ________ languages. A) Sino-Tibetan B) Dravidian C) Indo-European D) Niger-Congo E) Afro-Asiatic

B

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.

B

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.

C

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.

C

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.

C

The Icelandic language has changed less than any other Germanic language because of A) Iceland's close contact with other people and activities. B) migration by German tribes. C) Iceland's relative isolation from other places. D) the extinction of the East Germanic group. E) continuous exchange with Norway and Sweden.

C

The Kurgans A) conquered much of East Asia several thousand years ago. B) were a Germanic tribe that invaded England. C) were herders from the steppes of Central Asia. D) preserved Basque in present-day Spain. E) were the earliest speakers of Sino-Caucasian, which they diffused through conquest.

C

The language maps in this chapter show that Urdu is one of the most important languages of A) Bangladesh. B) Iran. C) Pakistan. D) Sri Lanka.

C

The survival of any language relies on A) rapid migration into other areas. B) the efficient "corrections" of the global free market. C) the political and military strength of its speakers. D) the spread of its speakers' material culture. E) the homogenization of its dialects.

C

Whatever In the 1700s, 1800s, and afterward, English diffusion has been strongly related to colonialism and imperialism in many parts of the world because A) conquered populations refused to use English while colonial and imperial expansion was underway. B) as imperial Russia and China expanded they used English as a lingua franca in Asia. C) conquered peoples wishing to participate in the new government and the increasingly global economy felt pressured to learn English. D) people in conquered countries knew that in the distant future, English would become the main language associated with exports of popular culture, such as Disney cartoons and Hollywood movies. E) religious missionaries from every European country used English-language translations of the Bible.

C

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, despite the appearance of a small number of changes typical of different dialects. B) they immediately develop a literary tradition. C) isolation usually results in the differentiation of one language into dialects, followed eventually by two distinct languages. D) they lose their linguistic abilities. E) groups form multiple dialects.

C

Which group of the Germanic family is extinct? A) West Germanic B) North Germanic C) East Germanic D) South Germanic E) Uber Germanic

C

Colin Renfrew's research constitutes much of the ________ Hypothesis. A) Nomadic Herder B) Kurgan Farmer C) Nomadic Warrior D) Sedentary Farmer E) Silk Road Trader

D

The language spoken by soldiers stationed throughout the Roman Empire was known as A) Official Latin. B) Romance language. C) standard language. D) Vulgar Latin. E) Catalan Latin.

D

The maps in this chapter show that the second most widely spoken language family in Europe is A) Balto-Slavic. B) Indo-European. C) Romance. D) Uralic. E) Celtic.

D

According to the maps and diagrams in this chapter, England was invaded by tribes from A) English-speaking areas B) Uric-speaking areas C) Native American-speaking areas D) Italian-speaking areas E) Germanic-speaking areas

E

An analysis of the maps and diagrams in this chapter shows that Indo-European speakers dominate A) Estonia B) Madagascar C) Malaysia D) Finland E) Sweden

E

An analysis of the maps and diagrams in this chapter shows that every European country is dominated by Indo-European speakers except A) Spain, Italy, and Portugal. B) Romania, Serbia, and Slovenia. C) Germany, Austria, and Switzerland. D) Denmark, Sweden, and Norway. E) Finland, Hungary, and Estonia.

E

Celtic languages A) were threatened by extinction in England. B) are still spoken by people in France. C) have been revived in some parts of the British Isles. D) have an extensive body of literature. E) all of the above

E

The English language is a "second" or "third" language in many regions where it is used as a(n) A) colonial dialect. B) expansion diffusion. C) Indo-European import. D) global lingua. E) lingua franca.

E