Chapter 5 Languages

1. Clicker Questions Chapter 5 Languages Tim ScharksGreen River College

2. Which category describes a language that is the safest from any threat of disappearing? • vigorous • in trouble • institutional • developing • dying

3. When a language branch splits into another set of branches, the resulting group is called a language • family. • group. • sub-branch. • leaf. • superfamily.

4. The most-used language in the world is • English. • Spanish. • Indo-European. • Mandarin. • French.

5. Though dominated by the Indo-European family, the second-most-common language family in the Western Hemisphere is • Quechuan. • Austronesian. • Dravidian. • Afro-Asiatic. • Uralic.

6. Of the choices listed below, which language branch of the Indo-European family is less widely spoken? • Germanic • Romance • Greek • Indo-Iranian • Balto-Slavic

7. Both theories of the origin of Indo-European language rely on the assumption that • some Indo-European languages are not related to other Indo-European languages. • the first speakers must have been nomadic warriors. • the first speakers must have been sedentary farmers. • they have a common origin in Latin. • common words reveal a common point of originin history.

8. English is quite different from German because • it is not a member of the Germanic branch. • the Norman invasion brought French influences. • it is combined with Spanish words to form Spanglish. • Vikings brought new words to the language. • the language developed in isolation from outside influences.

9. Which of the following is evidence of the role of English as a global lingua franca? • Lingua franca means “language of the Franks.” • English was spread around the world with British colonization. • Chinese languages present a very compact way to present information on social media feeds. • More than half of all websites are in English. • English may be spoken in a simplified pidgin form.

10. English is the primary language of the United States but • there is no official language of the United States. • it is not the majority language of some states. • individual states are not allowed to make laws about language. • it is not an official language anywhere else in the world. • other countries refuse to recognize its legitimacy in international relations.

11. Dialectical differences between British and American English exist because of isolation and partly because • of the long distance between the United States and United Kingdom. • British people wanted to sound superior. • there were other English colonies around the world. • American English is easier to understand. • of a desire to create a uniquely American form of the language.

12. Which of the following is not a major dialectical region of the United States? • Eastern • Midlands • Northern • Southeastern • Western

13. Governments may attempt to strengthen cultural unity by • recognizing multiple dialects as independent languages. • welcoming the influences of other languages. • designating an official or standard language. • simplifying the official language by removing words. • ignoring language entirely.

14. Which country has seen conflict expressed as a well-defined language boundary dividing the country? • Belgium • Canada • Nigeria • Switzerland • United States

15. A language is classified as “dying” when • it is spoken primarily as a second language. • its only remaining fluent speakers are very old. • it is basically a dialect of another language. • parents are no longer teaching it to their children. • it is spoken in only one place on Earth.

16. Which language below is least spoken? • Welsh • Cornish • Breton • Irish • Scottish Gaelic

17. Isolated languages may nonetheless be used for daily communication as a first language and therefore be considered • extinct. • diffuse. • endangered. • vigorous. • unchanging.

18. The book’s example of an old language that has been revived is • Light Warlpiri. • Hebrew. • Irish. • Portuguese. • Vulgar Latin.