APHG Reading Quizzes

A pidgin language * 1 point A) has no native speakers. B) is spread by folk culture. C) stems from invasion. D) cannot exist for more than a generation. E) cannot exist without globalization.

A

Australia and New Zealand's language policies differ today in that Australia * 1 point 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

British and American English differ in all but which of the following? * 1 point A) alphabet B) pronunciation C) spelling D) vocabulary E) prevalent dialects

A

Dialects developed within England primarily because * 1 point A) different Germanic and Danish 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

Official languages * 1 point A) are used by the government to conduct public and legislative business. B) ensure that everyone in the country speaks that language. C) require that all books and publications be produced in that language only. D) require all media to broadcast in that language. E) are spoken only in international and diplomatic negotiations.

A

Romance branch languages have achieved worldwide importance because A) colonial and imperial activity distributed these languages to far reaching territories. B) they are more frequently taught in middle schools today. C) they closely approximate English in grammar and vocabulary. D) they are the languages of governments. E) they alternate being the global lingua franca.

A

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

A

The Canadian Parti Québécois * 1 point A) promotes French-language cultural values and advocates sovereignty. B) promotes French as a vigorous language. C) promotes French as a standard language. D) promotes French-language cultural values and unification with France. E) promotes a stronger literary tradition of French.

A

The Nomadic Warrior Theory and the Sedentary Farmer Theory have been developed to explain the common ancestry of A) the non-Romance branches of Indo-European languages. B) Romance Languages. C) Sino-Tibetan languages. D) Afro-Asiatic languages. E) Austronesian languages

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 other. 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

Using the map below, observe that an Indo-European language is chiefly spoken in which of these countries? A) Bulgaria B) Finland C) Hungary D) Estonia E) China

A

While other influences continue today, English has its primary roots in * 1 point A) Germanic and Danish influences. B) French and Spanish influences. C) Germanic and Spanish. D) Danish and French influences. E) Scandinavian and Greek.

A

A creolized language is * 1 point 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.

B

A language that was nearly extinct in British-controlled areas but which is now being revived is * 1 point A) Slavic. B) Celtic. C) Iranian. D) English. E) Pictish.

B

A lingua franca is * 1 point A) an English word that has entered the French language. B) a language 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.

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

Catalán-Valencian-Balear represents a language and various dialects spoken in * 1 point A) Italy and the islands of Sicily and Corsica. B) Spain, Andorra, and the islands of Majorca and Ibiza. C) Greece and the islands of Ithaki and Lesbos. D) Morocco and Gibraltar. E) Switzerland and the Alsace region.

B

Gumbo and jazz are terms that originated in the English dialects of * 1 point A) New Englanders. B) African Americans. C) Jewish immigrants to the United States. D) Irish Americans. E) French Americans.

B

The Flemings and Walloons speak languages belonging to different * 1 point A) dialects. B) language branches. C) language families. D) language groups. E) language sects.

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

The three largest language families in Southeast Asia are A) Dravidian, Altaic, and Tai-Kadal. B) Austronesian, Austro-Asiatic, and Tai-Kadal. C) Austronesian, Afro-Asiatic, and Uralic. D) Korean, Japanese, and Austronesia. E) Indo-Iranian, Celtic, and Austronesia.

B

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.

B

Using the below map, observe that the Dutch language is from the branch of Indo-European known as A) North Germanic. B) West Germanic. C) Romance. D) Balto-Slavic. E) Indo-Iranian.

B

Using the below map, observe that the word "pop" is more common in * 1 point Captionless Image A) California. B) Oregon. C) Mississippi. D) Florida. E) New Mexico.

B

Using the map below, observe that the most important language family in Sub-Saharan Africa is A) Khoisan. B) Niger-Congo. C) Nilo-Saharan. D) Afro-Asiatic. E) Altaic.

B

Warlpiri rampaku is a(n) * 1 point A) institutionalized language. B) creolized language. C) scheduled language. D) part of the Received Pronunciation standards. E) extinct language.

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

An institutional language A) describes Latin as the basis for much of the English vocabulary. B) describes the language of the leading spiritual groups. C) describes the language used in education, work and mass media. D) describes the language of the medical profession. E) describes the language used in meetings at the United Nations.

C

An isogloss is * 1 point 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) a line that separates literary traditions.

C

Basque is spoken primarily in * 1 point A) Brittany. B) the Swiss Alps. C) the Pyrenees Mountains. D) Barcelona, Spain. E) Liechtenstein.

C

Hebrew is an example of * 1 point A) an isolated language. B) an extinct language. C) a revived language. D) a language family. E) an Altaic language.

C

In England, its standard language is known as * 1 point A) the King's English. B) Higgins and Pickering Pronunciation. C) Received Pronunciation (RP). D) Midlands English (MP). E) Doolittle Pronunciation (DP).

C

The Chinese language has a distinct advantage in social media because * 1 point A) its characters add to the emoticons in use today. B) Chinese is today's lingua franca. C) Chinese logograms represent an information rich yet space saving form of communication on Twitter. D) its logograms are easily translated to English using half the space. E) China embraces the use of social media.

C

The Galician Association of the Language and the Academy of the Galician Language disagree as to whether Galician should be considered a * 1 point A) pidgin or a creole. B) language family or a language branch. C) dialect or a language. D) standard language or a scheduled language. E) vigorous language or a developing language.

C

The Icelandic language has changed less than any other Germanic language because of * 1 point 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, identified as the first Proto-Indo-European speakers by archaeologist Marija Gimbutas 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 today's Russia and Kazakhstan. D) preserved Basque in present-day Spain. E) were the earliest speakers of Sino-Caucasian, which they diffused through conquest.

C

Unlike the Slavic languages which split into three branches, Romance languages form one branch because A) there was limited migration in this part of Europe. B) there was no literary tradition of the language. C) Romance languages derive from a single root language, Latin. D) Romance languages derive from a single root language, Arabic. E) migration efforts were slowed by intervening obstacles.

C

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.

C

When people who speak a given language migrate to a different location and become isolated from other members of their group * 1 point 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

A language that is unrelated to any other is a(n) * 1 point A) developing language. B) scheduled language. C) vulgar language. D) isolated language. E) endangered language.

D

A regional variation of a language including a distinctive vocabulary, spelling, and pronunciation of words is called a(n) * 1 point A) vigorous language. B) isogloss. C) developing language. D) dialect. E) official language.

D

According to Colin Renfrew's research, Indo-European languages diffused across Europe A) entirely by sea. B) by way of the Kurgan homeland. C) with the conquests of warriors on horseback. D) with the diffusion of agriculture. E) following the traders on the silk road.

D

Catalán is most closely associated with which Spanish city? * 1 point A) Madrid B) Cordoba C) Valencia D) Barcelona E) Seville

D

In fourteenth century England, the Statute of Pleading of 1362 represents a move to change the official language from ________ to English. A) Celtic B) Danish C) Flemish D) French E) Spanish

D

Scandinavian languages such as Norwegian and Swedish all derive from which Indo-European language branch? A) Indo-Iranian B) Balto-Slavic C) Romance D) Germanic E) Armenian

D

The Indo-European and Sino-Tibetan language families are spoken by approximately ________ percent of the world's population. A) 25 B) 50 C) 33 D) 66 E) 90

D

The best example of a literary tradition is A) the diffusion of television and radio broadcasts. B) the religious rituals and traditions of ancient European civilizations. C) the classification system used by Ethnologue. D) the historical documents and religious texts of the ancient Maya that were partly destroyed by Spanish conquerors. E) the variety of dialects in a language used in obscure examples of spoken poetry.

D

The contemporary distribution of languages around the globe is largely a result of A) social media. B) the Internet. C) Rosetta Stone sales. D) migration. E) high school requirements to learn a second language.

D

The language family encompassing the languages of the People's Republic of China is A) Indo-European. B) Indo-Iranian. C) Mandarin. D) Sino-Tibetan. E) Austro-Asiatic.

D

Using the map below, observe that Uralic speakers dominate A) Estonia. B) Madagascar. C) Malaysia. D) Finland. E) Sweden.

D

According to biologist Quentin Atkinson, the world's languages originated in A) North America. B) South America. C) Europe. D) Asia. E) Africa.

E

Carmel O'Shannessy, a linguist from the University of Michigan, recorded this new language in Australia's Northern Territory. * 1 point A) Kora Aka B) Myaamia C) Clallam D) Liv E) Warlpiri rampaku

E

Using the map below, observe 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

Using the map below, the Germanic invaders of England included which groups or tribes? * 1 point Captionless Image A) Germans, Normans, and Danes B) Scots, Normans, and Welsh C) Irish, Welsh, and English D) Scots, Irish, and Welsh E) Angles, Jutes, and Saxons

E

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.

E