The Global Advisor Newsletter - Test your Linguistic Knowledge

1) Which is more effective for accurate communication?

a) Proper English
b) Slang
c) Each is more effective for a particular audience.
d) No difference. Both are just as effective

2) Which of the following is a true statement?

a) Women and men speak so differently that they can be said to speak different languages.
b) Humans are the only animal that can communicate by language.
c) To be a "real" language, it must be spoken.
d) Proper ways of speaking do not change over time.

3) According to the experts, which of the following is true?

a) It is a natural progression for a spoken language to become a written language.
b) The language we speak determines how we perceive the word and experience time and reality.
c) Language acquisition is tied to general intelligence.
d) To be a "real" language, it must be spoken.

4) The branch of linguistics dealing with sounds and sound changes is:

a) Phonemics
b) Phonetics
c) Morphology
d) Phonology

5) Approximately how many languages are spoken today?

a) Five hundred
b) Ten thousand
c) One hundred
d) Six thousand

6) The part of grammar dealing with the way in which linguistic elements are put together to form constituents is called:

a) Synthetic
b) Syntactics
c) Syntax
d) Synthesis

7) Ebonics is:

a) A hard heavy wood yielded by various Old World tropical dicotyledonous trees.
b) A nonstandard variety of English spoken by some African Americans.
c) A tree yielding ebony
d) Slang

8)Pahlawi, Farsi and Dari are major languages of which country?

a) Iran
b) Afghanistan
c) Iraq
d) Egypt

9) What's the world's most widely spoken language?

a) English
b) Spanish
c) Mandarin
d) French

10) The study of human speech including the units, nature, structure, and modification of language is called:

a) Linguist
b) Linguistics
c) Communication
d) Phonetics