Chapter.6 Full Test Bank Testbank Language

Human Geography: People, Place, and Culture, 12^th Edition

Chapter 06 Testbank: Language

Multiple Choice

1. Belgium is a ___________ speaking country.

a) Belgae (a Celtic language)

b) Flemish (a Germanic language)

c) French (a Romance language)

d) both B and C

Difficulty: Easy

Blooms: Knowledge

Learning Objective: Explain how language can be used as a unifying or dividing force.

2. Which of the following European countries has a rather sharp division between Flemish speakers in the north and French speakers in the south?

a) the Netherlands

b) Belgium

c) Denmark

d) Andorra

Difficulty: Easy

Blooms: Knowledge

Learning Objective: Explain how language can be used as a unifying or dividing force.

3. While speakers of the English language form the largest share of Internet users, both the Chinese language and the _______ language have more speakers globally.

a) Arabic

b) Spanish

c) Japanese

d) Hindi

Difficulty: Medium

Blooms: Analysis

Learning Objective: Define language and describe the role of language in culture.

4. The French government has _________ to protect French language and culture.

a) banned foreign words in advertising and on radio and television

b) established the Académie Française to standardize the language

c) passed a law levying fines on those using foreign terms

d) all of the above

Difficulty: Easy

Blooms: Knowledge

Learning Objective: Define language and describe the role of language in culture.

5. Most linguists agree that between __________ languages exist in the world today.

a) 20 and 500

b) 500 and 2,000

c) 1,000 and 3,000

d) 5,000 and 7,000

Difficulty: Easy

Blooms: Comprehension

Learning Objective: Define language and describe the role of language in culture.

6. Hawai’i is an example of state with

a) no linguistic variation.

b) official “English only” policies.

c) official bilingual policies.

d) no official language policies.

Difficulty: Easy

Blooms: Comprehension

Learning Objective: Explain how languages are related and distributed.

7. Which is not true of Quebec?

a) First Nations people of the province speak languages other than Quebecois French.

b) The provincial government passed laws banning or controlling the use non-French languages in advertising.

c) Quebec contains areas dominated by non-French speaking minorities.

d) It is 100% French speaking.

Difficulty: Easy

Blooms: Knowledge

Learning Objective: Explain how languages are related and distributed.

8. About ____ of internet content is in English.

a) 12%

b) 27%

c) 55%

d) 82%

Difficulty: Medium

Blooms: Analysis

Learning Objective: Define language and describe the role of language in culture.

9. As of 2010 census data, which state has the highest number of counties with people five years and older speaking a language other than English at home?

a) California

b) Texas

c) New York

d) Alabama

Difficulty: Medium

Blooms: Analysis

Learning Objective: Explain how languages are related and distributed.

10. A(n) ____________________ is published, widely distributed, and purposely taught. The promotion of Irish (Celtic) in Ireland is an example.

a) standard language

b) basic language

c) extinct language

d) isolated language

Difficulty: Easy

Blooms: Knowledge

Learning Objective: Define language and describe the role of language in culture.

11. Standard Italian is the version of the language spoken in

a) Florence and Tuscany.

b) Italy north of Venice.

c) Sicily.

d) Rome.

Difficulty: Easy

Blooms: Knowledge

Learning Objective: Define language and describe the role of language in culture.

12. Dialects are distinguished by differences in

a) accents and pronunciation.

b) vocabulary.

c) syntax.

d) all of the above.

Difficulty: Easy

Blooms: Comprehension

Learning Objective: Define language and describe the role of language in culture.

13. A geographic boundary within which a particular linguistic feature occurs is called

a) an isogloss.

b) a sound shift.

c) an international border.

d) a cultural boundary.

Difficulty: Easy

Blooms: Knowledge

Learning Objective: Explain how languages are related and distributed.

14. Which of the following pairs of languages are not mutually intelligible?

a) Urdu and Hindi

b) Danish and Norwegian

c) Serbian and Croatian

d) German and Dutch

Difficulty: Hard

Blooms: Comprehension

Learning Objective: Define language and describe the role of language in culture.

15. In Illinois, people who want a soft drink with their hamburger are likely to order a

a) soda.

b) pop.

c) Coke.

d) Pepsi.

Difficulty: Medium

Blooms: Analysis

Learning Objective: Explain how languages are related and distributed.

16. The most widely distributed language family is ______________.

a) Saharan

b) Sino-Tibetan

c) Indo-European

d) Dravidian

Difficulty: Easy

Blooms: Comprehension

Learning Objective: Explain how languages are related and distributed.

17. The most widely used Indo-European language today is

a) English.

b) German.

c) Spanish.

d) Chinese.

Difficulty: Easy

Blooms: Knowledge

Learning Objective: Explain how languages are related and distributed.

18. The language most widely used as a second language by hundreds of millions of people in India, Africa and elsewhere is

a) Spanish.

b) French.

c) Arabic.

d) English.

Difficulty: Easy

Blooms: Knowledge

Learning Objective: Explain how languages are related and distributed.

19. The predominant languages spoken on Madagascar are not of an African language family, but belong to a(n)

a) Indo-European family.

b) Sino-Tibetan family.

c) Dravidian family.

d) Austronesian family.

Difficulty: Easy

Blooms: Knowledge

Learning Objective: Explain how languages are related and distributed.

20. Latin octo (eight) became Italian otto, Spanish ocho, and French huit.  This is an example of a ____________, which is a word that has the same linguistic derivation as another word.

a) deterioration

b) cognate

c) dialect

d) isogloss

Difficulty: Medium

Type: Application

Learning Objective: Explain how languages are related and distributed.

21. Persian, Pashto and Baluchi are all part of the __________ branch of the language tree.

a) Indic

b) Baltic

c) Iranian

d) Greek

Difficulty: Hard

Blooms: Application

Learning Objective: Explain how languages are related and distributed.

22. The process of language divergence happened long ago between Spanish and Portuguese, and is now happening in

a) Korea

b) Hawai’i

c) Turkey

d) Iran

Difficulty: Medium

Type: Knowledge

Learning Objective: Explain how languages are related and distributed.

23. The language tree diagram of language divergence has some branches with dead ends. These represent

a) standardized or non-changing languages.

b) language subfamilies.

c) isolated languages.

d) extinct languages.

Difficulty: Easy

Blooms: Knowledge

Learning Objective: Explain how languages are related and distributed.

24. The Proto-Indo-European language homeland lies somewhere south of the

a) Mediterranean Sea.

b) Baltic Sea.

c) Black Sea.

d) Sea of Okhotsk.

Difficulty: Medium

Blooms: Analysis

Learning Objective: Explain how languages are related and distributed.

25. The two theories of the Proto-Indo-European language dispersal are the conquest theory and

a) the spread of agriculture.

b) massive migration.

c) extensive trade routes.

d) missionary activity.

Difficulty:

Easy

Blooms: Knowledge

Learning Objective: Explain how languages are related and distributed.

26. The Indo-European language family prevails on the map of Europe. Which country listed below has a language which is not in the Indo-European family?

a) Germany

b) Italy

c) Iceland

d) Hungary

Difficulty: Easy

Blooms: Knowledge

Learning Objective: Explain how languages are related and distributed.

27. Subsequent migrations and empire building caused the decline and marginalization of this subfamily which had brought Indo-European languages to Europe 3,000 years ago.

a) Romance

b) Germanic

c) Celtic

d) Turkic

Difficulty: Easy

Blooms: Comprehension

Learning Objective: Explain how languages are related and distributed.

28. Bantu migrations marginalized this once widespread African language family which now is found only in dry regions of southwestern Africa.

a) Niger-Congo family

b) Khoisan family

c) Afro-Asiatic family

d) Sudanic Subfamily

Difficulty: Easy

Blooms: Knowledge

Learning Objective: Explain how languages are related and distributed.

29. The linguistic map of Nigeria reflects extreme fragmentation with more than ____ languages spoken.

a) 15

b) 25

c) 200

d) 500

Difficulty: Easy

Blooms: Knowledge

Learning Objective: Explain how languages are related and distributed.

30. Nigeria predominantly teaches in ____ in many primary and secondary schools despite its linguistic diversity.

a) Hausa

b) Yoruba

c) Ibo

d) English

Difficulty: Medium

Blooms: Knowledge

Learning Objective: Explain how languages are related and distributed.

31. Which development helped with the rise of national languages beginning in the fourteenth century?

a) invention of the printing press

b) agricultural revolution

c) Celtic migrations

d) fall of the Roman Empire

Difficulty: Easy

Blooms: Knowledge

Learning Objective: Explain how language can be used as a unifying or dividing force.

32. A language that is used among speakers of different languages for the purposes of trade and commerce is

a) a standardized language.

b) a common language.

c) a lingua franca.

d) a lingua germanica.

Difficulty: Medium

Blooms: Comprehension

Learning Objective: Explain how language can be used as a unifying or dividing force.

33. English is to lingua franca as _____________ is to pidgin language.

a) French

b) Creole

c) Portuguese

d) Chinese

Difficulty: Medium

Blooms: Application

Learning Objective: Explain how language can be used as a unifying or dividing force.

34. Over time a pidgin language may gain native speakers, becoming the first language children learn in the home. This is called a

a) dialect.

b) creole language.

c) language subfamily.

d) lingua franca.

Difficulty: Easy

Blooms: Knowledge

Learning Objective: Explain how language can be used as a unifying or dividing force.

35. The adoption of official languages such as English in India and Malaysia, along with the adoption of second official languages from among the indigenous languages spoken reflects

a) linguist divergence.

b) a country’s colonial history.

c) creolization.

d) linguas franca.

Difficulty: Medium

Blooms: Comprehension

Learning Objective: Explain how language can be used as a unifying or dividing force.

36. In practice, every country is ____, meaning more that more than one language is spoken.

a) multilingual

b) monolingual

c) unilingual

d) non-lingual

Difficulty: Easy

Blooms: Knowledge

Learning Objective: Explain how language can be used as a unifying or dividing force.

37. To deal with linguistic as well as cultural diversity, many former African colonies adopted an official language from

a) the most widely-spoken indigenous language.

b) an Austronesian and therefore neutral language.

c) the language of the former colonial power.

d) an invented language with no historical connections.

Difficulty: Medium

Type: Comprehension

Learning Objective: Explain how language can be used as a unifying or dividing force.

38. The systematic study of the origin and meaning of place names is called

a) deep reconstruction.

b) namology.

c) toponymy.

d) lexicography.

Difficulty: Easy

Blooms: Knowledge

Learning Objective: Determine the role language plays in making places.

39. Clusters of French toponyms in Louisiana, Dutch toponyms in Michigan and Welsh toponyms in Pennsylvania reflect

a) descriptive toponyms.

b) folk toponyms.

c) commemorative toponyms.

d) the shift of names associated with migration.

Difficulty: Easy

Blooms: Comprehension

Learning Objective: Determine the role language plays in making places.

40. Leopoldville, Congo becomes Kinshasa and Salisbury, Zimbabwe becomes Harare. These are examples of

a) colonial toponyms.

b) descriptive toponyms.

c) migration effects.

d) post-colonial toponyms.

Difficulty: Medium

Blooms: Application

Learning Objective: Determine the role language plays in making places.

41. After the breakup of the Soviet Union, Leningrad was renamed

a) Yeltsinburg.

b) Misk.

c) New Leninburg.

d) St. Petersburg.

Difficulty: Easy

Blooms: Knowledge

Learning Objective: Determine the role language plays in making places.

42. The greatest concentration of streets memorializing Martin Luther King is found in:

a) the West

b) the Northeast, particularly Massachusetts

c) the Midwest, especially Illinois

d) the South, especially Georgia

Difficulty: Medium

Blooms: Application

Learning Objective: Determine the role language plays in making places.

43. The naming of sports stadiums and other facilities for corporations (e.g., Petco Park, FedEx Field, Coors Field) is an example of

a) hubris.

b) memorial toponyms.

c) commodification.

d) post-modern toponyms.

Difficulty: Easy

Blooms: Knowledge

Learning Objective: Determine the role language plays in making places.

44. When African colonies became independent countries, one of the first acts of many of the new governments was to

a) conduct a census.

b) build a new capital city.

c) change the names of places that had been named after colonial figures.

d) build new road systems.

Difficulty: Easy

Blooms: Knowledge

Learning Objective: Determine the role language plays in making places.

True/False

45. The Basque language, Euskera, is spoken only in Spain.

Difficulty: Medium

Blooms: Application

Learning Objective: Explain how languages are related and distributed.

46. Bulgarians speak a Slavic language.

Difficulty: Medium

Blooms: Comprehension

Learning Objective: Determine the role language plays in making places.

47. The predominantly French-speaking capital city of Belgium (Brussels) is located in the Flemish-speaking northern area of the country.

Difficulty: Easy

Blooms: Knowledge

Learning Objective: Determine the role language plays in making places.

48. American, Canadian, and Russian governments have all worked to insure the preservation of minority native languages within their borders.

Difficulty: Easy

Blooms: Knowledge

Learning Objective: Determine the role language plays in making places.

49. Mandarin, the language in and around the Chinese capital Beijing, was chosen as the official standard language for the whole country.

Difficulty: Easy

Blooms: Knowledge

Learning Objective: Define language and describe the role of language in culture.

50. Even if the written form of a statement adheres to a standard language, the accent of a person who reads it aloud will reveal their regional home.

Difficulty: Medium

Blooms: Application

Learning Objective: Define language and describe the role of language in culture.

51. The criteria of mutual intelligibility to determine the difference between a dialect and a language is accepted by most linguists.

Difficulty: Easy

Blooms: Knowledge

Learning Objective: Define language and describe the role of language in culture.

52. Indo-European and Amerindian language families predominate in the western hemisphere.

Difficulty: Medium

Blooms: Application

Learning Objective: Explain how languages are related and distributed.

53. The Dravidian family of languages are spoken in southern India.

Difficulty: Medium

Blooms: Application

Learning Objective: Explain how languages are related and distributed.

54. Linguistic extinction occurs when all the speakers of a language either die or choose to speak another language.

Difficulty: Easy

Blooms: Comprehension

Learning Objective: Explain how languages are related and distributed.

55. Euskera, the Basque language, is not related to any other language in Europe.

Difficulty: Easy

Blooms: Knowledge

Learning Objective: Explain how languages are related and distributed.

56. English is a major language of cross-cultural communication.

Difficulty: Easy

Blooms: Knowledge

Learning Objective: Explain how languages are related and distributed.

57. Lasker, North Carolina, named for Alaska, is an example of a toponym based upon a mistake.

Difficulty: Medium

Blooms: Knowledge

Learning Objective: Determine the role language plays in making places.

58. There are no streets named for Martin Luther King, Jr., in Montana.

Difficulty: Medium

Blooms: Analysis

Learning Objective: Determine the role language plays in making places.

59. The 1997 revolution in Zaire resulted in the change of the name of the country to Democratic Republic of Congo. This is an example of a post revolution toponym.

Difficulty: Medium

Blooms: Comprehension

Learning Objective: Determine the role language plays in making places.

Essay

60. Indo-European languages belong to the largest language family in the world. Describe how and where linguists believe this family originated and how it has evolved. Analyze the linguistic techniques and theories used to answer this question.

Difficulty: Hard

Blooms: Analysis

Learning Objective: Explain how languages are related and distributed.

61. Analyze the map of European languages (Fig. 6.12) and explain the existence and distribution of Celtic and Uralic (Hungarian, Finnish) languages.

Difficulty: Medium

Blooms: Analysis

Learning Objective: Explain how languages are related and distributed.

62. The French example demonstrates the conflicting forces of globalized language and local or national language.  Describe how the French have responded, and how successful they have been.

Difficulty: Easy

Blooms: Comprehensive

Learning Objective: Define language and describe the role of language in culture.

63. Distinguish between dialect, pidgin language, and creole. Why is it often difficult to distinguish one from another?

Difficulty: Medium

Blooms: Comprehension

Learning Objective: Define language and describe the role of language in culture.

64. Consider some of the place-names (toponyms) in your state or locality. Apply as many of the ten types of place-names devised by Prof. George Stewart to classify some of your local place-names. Do his categories overlap in some cases?

Difficulty: Medium

Blooms: Application

Learning Objective: Determine the role language plays in making places.

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