APHG Chapter 5 Test Questions – Flashcards
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1) 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.
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A
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2) 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.
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D
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3) ________ 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
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A
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4) 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.
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A
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5) 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.
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D
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6) English has achieved unprecedented acceptance globally due to A) the role of colonialism and imperialism. B) its role as the common language of a global economy and culture. C) the rise of popular culture and the decline of folk culture. D) the diffusion of religion from MDCs to LDCs.
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B
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7) Germanic invaders of England included which tribe? A) Angles B) Saxons C) Jutes D) Normans E) A, B, and C
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E
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8) 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.
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B
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9) English is the most important language in North America primarily because of A) the diffusion of English colonies. B) the Norman conquest. C) the global dominance of the United States. D) official government policy. E) prohibitions against foreign languages.
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A
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10) The first speakers of the language that evolved into English were tribes tha t lived in presentday A) France. B) Denmark. C) United States. D) Italy. E) Switzerland.
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B
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11) 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.
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A
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13) Immigrants to which American colonies had the most diverse backgrounds? A) Middle Atlantic B) New England C) Northern D) Southeast E) French Canadian
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A
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14) 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) all of the above
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C
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15) When people who speak a given language migrate to a different location and b ecome isolated from other members of their group A) their language usually shows very little change even over a long period of ti me. B) they immediately develop a literary tradition. C) isolation usually results in the differentiation of one language into two. D) they lose their linguistic abilities. E) groups form multiple dialects.
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C
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16) The main difference between languages in the same family, branch, or group i s 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
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A
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17) 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.
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B
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18) 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.
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C
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19) The second-largest language family is A) Indo-European. B) Sino-Tibetan. C) Afro-Asiatic. D) Austronesian. E) Dravidian.
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B
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20) Which of the following is not a Romance language? A) Bulgarian B) Italian C) Portuguese D) Romanian E) French
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A
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21) The language spoken by soldiers stationed throughout the Roman Empire was kn own as A) a dialect of Latin. B) a Romance language. C) a standard language. D) Vulgar Latin. E) Catalan.
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D
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22) The most widely spoken language in Brazil is A) Creole. B) French. C) Portuguese. D) Spanish. E) Catalan.
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C
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23) 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.
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B
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24) The most widely spoken Indo-European language is A) English. B) Hindi. C) Spanish. D) Bengali. E) none of the above
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A
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25) The four most frequently spoken branches of Indo-European include all but A) Balto-Slavic. B) Celtic. C) Indo-Iranian. D) Romance. E) Germanic
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B
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26) The two most important languages in South America are A) Dutch and English. B) English and Spanish. C) French and Spanish. D) Portuguese and Spanish. E) Creole and Portuguese.
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D
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27) Urdu is the most important language of A) Bangladesh. B) India. C) Iran. D) Pakistan. E) Sri Lanka.
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D
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28) Russian is part of what language branch? A) Balto-Slavic B) Germanic C) Indo-Iranian D) Romance E) Altaic
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A
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29) 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
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E
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30) 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.
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C
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31) 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 Russi a and Kazakhstan. D) preserved Basque in present-day Spain. E) were the earliest speakers of Sino-Caucasian.
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C
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32) According to Colin Renfrew's Anatolian hearth theory, Indo-European language s 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.
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D
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33) An Indo-European language is spoken in which of these European countries? A) Bulgaria B) Finland C) Hungary D) Estonia E) all of the above
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A
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34) 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.
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B
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35) 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.
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E
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36) When languages are depicted as leaves on trees, the trunks of the trees repr esent A) dialects. B) language groups. C) language families.D) possible prehistoric superfamilies. E) language sects.
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C
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37) Every European country is dominated by Indo-European speakers except A) Spain, Italy, and Portugal. B) Germany, Austria, and Switzerland. C) Denmark, Sweden, and Norway. D) Finland, Hungary, and Estonia.
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D
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38) English is part of which language group? A) Germanic B) North Germanic C) West Germanic D) Indo-European E) Semitic
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C
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39) English is part of which language branch? A) Germanic B) North Germanic C) West Germanic D) Indo-European E) Austronesian
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A
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40) English is part of which language family? A) Germanic B) North Germanic C) West Germanic D) Indo-European E) Romance
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D
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41) Which group of the Germanic family is extinct? A) West Germanic B) North Germanic C) East Germanic D) South Germanic E) Uber Germanic
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C
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42) The Icelandic language has changed less than any other Germanic language bec ause 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.
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C
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43) The language family encompassing the languages of the People's Republic of C hina is A) Indo-European. B) Indo-Iranian. C) Mandarin. D) Sino-Tibetan. E) Austro-Asiatic.
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D
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44) The language spoken by the greatest number of native speakers in the world i s A) Cantonese. B) English. C) Hindi. D) Mandarin. E) Spanish.
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D
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45) Chinese is written in the form of A) a literary tradition. B) an alphabet. C) ideograms. D) Cantonese. E) phonemes.
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C
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46) The second most widely spoken language family in Europe is A) Balto-Slavic. B) Indo-European. C) Romance. D) Uralic. E) Celtic.
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D
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47) The large number of individual languages documented in Africa has resulted p rimarily from A) thousands of years of isolation between tribal 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.
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A
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48) The most important language family in Sub-Saharan Africa is A) Khoisan. B) Niger-Congo. C) Nilo-Saharan. D) Afro-Asiatic. E) altaic.
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B
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49) African languages are distinguished by the fact that A) most have a literary tradition. B) none are spoken by more than one million people. C) most belong to the Nilo-Saharan language family. D) even the most important language family is spoken by only a small percentage of Africans. E) linguists continue to add newly discovered languages to the African list.
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E
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50) 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.
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C
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51) The Flemings and Walloons live in what country? A) Belgium B) France C) South Africa D) Switzerland E) Liechtenstein
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A
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52) The survival of any language relies on A) rapid migration into other areas. B) the political and military strength of its speakers. C) the spread of its speakers' material culture. D) the homogenization of its dialects.
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B
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53) The Flemings and Walloons speak languages belonging to different A) dialects. B) language branches. C) language families. D) language groups. E) language sects.
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B
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54) Official languages in Switzerland include all but which of the following? A) Italian B) Flemish C) Romansh D) French E) German
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B
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55) A pidgin language A) has no native speakers. B) is spread by popular culture. C) stems from folk culture. D) all of the above E) none of the above
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A
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56) Basque is a good example of a(n) A) language family. B) language group. C) lingua franca. D) isolated language.
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D
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57) Australia and New Zealand's language policies differ today in that Australia A) regards English as a way to promote cultural diversity while New Zealand give s greater support to other languages. B) was settled by English colonists but the original colonial language of New Ze aland was French. C) recognizes Maori as an official Aboriginal language whereas New Zealand does not. D) requires immigrants to take a dictation test whereas the New Zealand test is written.
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A
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58) Basque is spoken primarily in A) Brittany. B) the Swiss Alps. C) the Pyrenees Mountains. D) Barcelona, Spain. E) Liechtenstein.
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C
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59) 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 la nguages. C) an extinct language that has been revived. D) an official language in a region of the world different from where the langua ge originated. E) a language used by French colonial administrations.
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B
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60) Franglais is A) the lingua franca of France. B) a dialect of French. C) the standard language of French. D) the use of English in the French language. E) a language used by French colonial administrations.
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D
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61) 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 Chines e, Japanese, and Russian. C) The number of English-speaking Internet users continues to be above 50%. D) English has become more dominant as the most common language on the Internet.
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A
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62) All languages have a literary tradition but these traditions are being lost.
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F
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63) Language is a part of culture.
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T
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64) The present distribution of languages around the world is due to technological advances and the diffusion of popular culture.
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F
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65) The Angles, Jutes, and Saxons were Celtic tribes who invaded England 1500 years ago.
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F
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66) English was spread around the world through the establishment of British colonies.
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T
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67) Regional dialects in England can be traced back to the settlement patterns o f the Angles, Saxons, and Jutes.
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T
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68) Americans spell words differently than the British primarily because of a st rong nationalfeeling in the United States for an independent identity.
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T
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69) New Englanders use a different dialect of English than other Americans becau se they came from different regions of England
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T
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70) Nearly half the people in the world speak an Indo-European language.
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T
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71) Germanic, Romance, and Latin are all branches of Indo-European.
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F
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72) Evidence suggests the first speakers of Indo-European were the Kurgans.
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T
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73) Indo-European divided into different branches because of isolation of differ ent speakers.
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T
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74) The most spoken language in China is Cantonese.
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F
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75) The most frequently spoken Afro-Asiatic language is Arabic.
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T
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76) A language family is a collection of languages related through a common ance stral language existing before recorded history.
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T
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77) Switzerland has four official languages.
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T
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78) Icelandic has probably changed less over time than any other Germanic langua ge.
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T
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79) Basque is the only non-Indo-European language currently spoken in Europe.
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F
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80) Hebrew is an example of an extinct language.
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F
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81) What geographic factor accounts for the fact that both Americans and the Bri tish speak English?
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Answer: migration from Britain to the American colonies
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82) What geographic factor accounts for the fact that both Americans and the Bri tish use different dialects of English?
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Answer: Both languages diverged because of isolation between the United States a nd Britain.
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83) In what three ways does the English used in the United States differ from th e English used in the United Kingdom?
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Answer: vocabulary; spelling; pronunciation
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84) What is the most important language FAMILY in South America? What is the most important language BRANCH of that family in South America? What are the two most important INDIVIDUAL languages in South America?
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Answer: Indo-European; Romance; Spanish, Portuguese
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85) Name the world's largest language family (used by nearly half of the world's population).
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Answer: Indo-European
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86) Name the world's second largest language family (used by nearly one-fourth o f the world's population).
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Answer: Sino-Tibetan
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87) Name the most important language branch in each region of Europe. a. northwestern b. southwestern c. eastern
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Answer: a. Germanic; b. Romance; c. Slavic or Balto-Slavic
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88) What is the significance of the Kurgans for the study of the geography of la nguages?
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Answer: proposed to be the first speakers of Indo-European language
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89) What is the primary language family in the Middle East? What is the predominant individual language in the Middle East?
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Answer: Afro-Asiatic; Arabic
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90) In what country do the Flemings and Walloons live? What is the official language in the southern half of that country?
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Answer: Belgium; Flemish or Dutch; French
