1 The linguistic diversity of the world is decreasing rapidly. A O1 O1 True R1 O2 False R2 Actually it is decreasing rapidly: see p.000. 2 Which of the following corresponds best to the linguistic conception of a single language? A O1 O1 mutually intelligibile varieties R1 O2 varieties associated with a religion R2 See p.000 on the linguistic conception of a language. O3 varieties associated with an individual speaker R3 See p.000 on the linguistic conception of a language. O4 varieties associated with a nation state R4 See p.000 on the linguistic conception of a language. 3 If you were to draw a graph showing the number of speakers of languages against numbers of languages with those speakerships, would this look like a normal bell curve? A O2 O1 Yes R1 No. Recall from pp.000 that a few languages have a large number of speakers and a large number of languages have relatively few speakers. This does not fit a bell curve distribution. O2 No R2 4 Languages are genetically related if they: A O2 O1 are typologically similar R1 Not necessarily. See box on p.000. O2 derive from a single proto-language R2 O3 are spoken by genetically related groups of people R3 Not necessarily. See p.000. O4 are spoken in the same geographical region (e.g. contintent) R4 Not necessarily. See p.000. O5 share the same two parent languages R5 Genetically related languages have a single parent language. See p.000. 5 The regional density of languages correlates directly with population density. A O2 O1 True R1 Not always; see p.000. O2 False R2 6 The most reliable method of establishing the genetic relatedness of a group of languages is: A O2 O1 mass-comparison R1 See p.000 and p.000. O2 comparative method R2 O3 lexicostatistics R3 See p.000 and p.000. O4 typology R4 No. See p.000. 7 Cognates are lexical items that: A O3 O1 are identical in form and meaning in a pair of languages R1 Recall the definition of cognates from §16.2, p.000. O2 are similar in form and meaning in a pair of languages R2 Recall the definition of cognates from §16.2, p.000. O3 derive from the same item in an ancestor language R3 O4 have been borrowed from another language R4 Recall the definition of cognates from §16.2, p.000. O5 are accidentally similar in form and meaning R5 Recall the definition of cognates from §16.2, p.000. 8 If you were going to reconstruct proto-Indo-European (p.000), the ancestor language of most languages spoken in Europe, which of the following glosses would you not set about establishing cognate sets for? A O4 O1 'water' R1 No, you should include cognate sets for this word; it is basic. O2 'up' R2 No, you should include cognate sets for this word; it is basic. O3 'stand' R3 No, you should include cognate sets for this word; it is basic. O4 'musket' R4 O5 'father' R5 No, you should include cognate sets for this word; it is basic. 9 Even if all languages spoken today do derive from a single ancestor language, it is unlikely this will ever be convincingly demonstrated. A O1 O1 True R1 O2 False R2 It is unlikely since languages change so quickly that an ancestor language spoken over 50,000 years ago is not likely to be reconstructible. 10 The method of mass comparison can be useful as an initial step in determining which languages in a set of languages are genetically related. A O1 O1 True R1 O2 False R2 It can be useful as a first step, to provide indication of which languages are likely to be genetically related. See p.000. 11 Basic vocabulary of a language is believed to be more resistant to replacement by borrowing than non-basic vocabulary. A O1 O1 True R1 O2 False R2 See pp.000, 000. 12 Lexicostatistics is a statistical tool developed for which of the following purposes? A O2 O1 determining if languages are genetically related R1 No. The method of lexicostatistics can only be properly applied once the genetic relatedness of a set of languages has been established. See p.000. O2 determining subgrouping within an established genetic family R2 O3 determining whether languages have borrowed extensively from one another R3 No. This is not a use of lexicostatistics. See p.000. O4 determining if languages are typologically similar R4 No. Lexicostatistics has nothing to do with typology. See p.000. O5 none of the preceding R5 See p.000. 13 Language isolates are languages that: A O1 O1 are not known to be related to any other languages R1 O2 are spoken on isolated islands R2 See p.000. O3 have no dialectal or sociolectal varieties R3 See p.000. O4 are separated geographically from other members of their family R4 See p.000. 14 Does a large number of lexical similarities between a pair of languages indicate that are genetically related? A O2 O1 Yes R1 No: they may be unrelated languages that borrowed extensively from one another. See p.000. O2 No R2 15 Which of the following regions is the most linguistically diverse in terms of numbers of languages? A O3 O1 Europe R1 See p.000. O2 North America R2 See p.000. O3 New Guinea and nearby islands R3 O4 Tasmania R4 See p.000. O5 China R5 See p.000. O6 Africa R6 See p.000. 16 It is generally presumed that the area where a family of languages shows the greatest linguistic diversity is the homeland of the family. A O1 O1 True R1 O2 False R2 See p.000. 17 What is the largest genetic family in terms of number of speakers? A O5 O1 Sino-Tibetan R1 See p.000. O2 Austronesian R2 See p.000. O3 Afroasiatic R3 See p.000. O4 Niger-Congo R4 See p.000. O5 Indo-European R5 18 Which of the following four putative families of African languages is the best established? A O3 O1 Khoisan R1 This has the poorest support: see p.000. O2 Nilo-Saharan R2 See p.000. O3 Afroasiatic R3 O4 Niger-Congo R4 See p.000. 19 Rudimentary languages that sometimes arise in contact situations, when speakers of mutually unintelligible languages come into contact with one another in a limited range of social interactions are called: A O2 O1 creoles R1 Read p.000 again. O2 pidgins R2 O3 hibrid languages R3 Read p.000 again. O4 mixed languages R4 Read p.000 again. O5 lingua francas R5 Read p.000 again. 20 Is it true that creoles are full languages, with lexical and grammatical complexities comparable with those of other languages? A O1 O1 Yes R1 O2 No R2 See p.000. 21 Which of the following is a mixed language? A O4 O1 Tok Pisin R1 This is a creole lanuage: see p.000. O2 Pidgin Yimas R2 This is a pidgin: see p.000. O3 Fanagalo R3 This is a pidgin: see p.000. O4 Michif R4 O5 Cree R6 Cree is an Algonquian language; it is not a mixed language: see p.000. 22 In a mixed language it is possible for two distinct phonological systems to coexist. A O1 O1 True R1 O2 False R2 No, two phonological systems can coexist in a mixed language, as in Michif (p.000). 23 Which one of the following types of language is not a contact language? A O2 O1 mixed languages R1 This is a type of contact language: see p.000. O2 language isolates R2 O3 pidgins R3 This is a type of contact language: see p.000. O4 creoles R4 This is a type of contact language: see p.00. O5 all of the above are contact languages R5 No. Language isolates are not contact languages.