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Quiz about Languages and Language Origins

Languages and Language Origins Quiz

Language history, origins, and usage.

A multiple-choice quiz by the_rat_woman. Estimated time: 4 mins.

Author
the_rat_woman

Time
4 mins

Type
Multiple Choice

Quiz #
140,245

Updated
Nov 01 23

# Qns
10

Difficulty
Average

Avg Score
7 / 10

Plays
1869

Last 3 plays: Guest 65 (6/10), Dodger26 (3/10), Guest 173 (7/10).

One at a Time - Single Page - Timed Game

Question 1 of 10

1. Yiddish primarily finds its roots in which two languages? Hint

German and Arabic

Arabic and Hebrew

Hebrew and Sanskrit

Hebrew and German

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Question 2 of 10

2. What language group is the primary origin of English? Hint

Germanic

Greek

Latin

French

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Question 3 of 10

3. While "Old English" is considered to be the language of books translated or written during the early "Middle Ages", TRUE Old English is best described as what? Hint

Gaelic

High German

Anglo-Saxon

Greco-Roman

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Question 4 of 10

4. Farsi (otherwise known as "Persian") is a(n) _______ language? Hint

Ancient Greek

Arabic

Indo-European

Mongolian

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Question 5 of 10

5. Which of the following languages, in its pure form, is considered a "dead" language? Hint

Creole

Punjabi

Latin

Mandarin

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Question 6 of 10

6. At least six of the seven days of the week are named, in English, after the gods of what ancient tribes? Hint

Greeks

Anglo-Saxons

Romans

Scots

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Question 7 of 10

7. The U.S. used the ______ language to code certain secret information during World War II to "stump" enemy intelligence.

Answer: (One Word)

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Question 8 of 10

8. What is now the official language of China? Hint

Hunan

Cantonese

Mandarin

Hmong

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Question 9 of 10

9. This word is derived from an old Arabic phrase meaning "hashish user". Hint

hacker

assassin

habit

assistant

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Question 10 of 10

10. Which of these languages is NOT a Norse (Northern Germanic) language? Hint

Icelandic

Danish

Finnish

Swedish

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Most Recent Scores

Apr 25 2024 : Guest 65: 6/10
Apr 19 2024 : Dodger26: 3/10
Apr 15 2024 : Guest 173: 7/10
Mar 25 2024 : Angiedd555: 6/10
Mar 01 2024 : Guest 86: 7/10
Mar 01 2024 : Guest 60: 8/10
Feb 29 2024 : Guest 195: 10/10
Feb 27 2024 : Guest 31: 6/10
Feb 27 2024 : Guest 157: 7/10

Score Distribution

Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts

1. Yiddish primarily finds its roots in which two languages?

Answer: Hebrew and German

Yiddish came about with the migration of Hebrews into Central Europe, and the assimilation of German into their own language.

2. What language group is the primary origin of English?

Answer: Germanic

English is the "offspring" of mainly Germanic languages, due to the migration of the Angles, Saxons and Norse (Scandinavian) tribes, into the British Isles. It does, however, contain many words from other languages, such as Latin and Greek and of course from French.

3. While "Old English" is considered to be the language of books translated or written during the early "Middle Ages", TRUE Old English is best described as what?

Answer: Anglo-Saxon

The oldest form of what is now called "English" was a combination of the tribal languages of the Saxons and the Angles, which, due to migration between the two peoples, were eventually combined to form the language (and the combined "tribe") of Anglo-Saxon.

4. Farsi (otherwise known as "Persian") is a(n) _______ language?

Answer: Indo-European

Farsi (the main language of Iran - and some surrounding areas) is an Indo-European language, although it has taken on some Arabic words since the invasion of Islam in the 12th century.

5. Which of the following languages, in its pure form, is considered a "dead" language?

Answer: Latin

Although there are five major languages which are Latin in origin (Spanish, Portuguese, Italian, French and Romanian), "old" Latin is only an official language in the special case of Vatican City.

6. At least six of the seven days of the week are named, in English, after the gods of what ancient tribes?

Answer: Anglo-Saxons

Sunday is "Sunna's" Day, Monday is "Moon's" Day, Tuesday is "Tiw's" Day, Wednesday is "Woden's (or "Odin's)" Day, Thursday is "Thunar's (or Thor's)" Day, Friday is either "Frigga's" Day or "Freyja's" Day (the jury is still out on "Friday" - it is one goddess or the other). All are of the pantheon of the Anglo-Saxon tribes. Only Saturday is questionable (may be named after the Roman god Saturn).

7. The U.S. used the ______ language to code certain secret information during World War II to "stump" enemy intelligence.

Answer: Navajo

Navajo is an unwritten, very complex language. U.S. intelligence hired Navajos to write "uncrackable" codes during WWII, and the results were quite effective! The Navajo "code-talkers" were finally recognized and awarded in 1992.

8. What is now the official language of China?

Answer: Mandarin

Although there are many languages and dialects in China, the official language (as mandated by the present government) is Mandarin.

9. This word is derived from an old Arabic phrase meaning "hashish user".

Answer: assassin

Although there is speculation as to whether the drug hashish was a reward for, or the reason for, the fierce and bloodthirsty fighting of some Muslim warriors againt Christian armies in the 11th century, the word comes from old Arabic, "Hashishin" (loosely translated as "hashish user").

10. Which of these languages is NOT a Norse (Northern Germanic) language?

Answer: Finnish

All the Scandinavian languages are Germanic. Finnish belongs to the Finno-Ugrian group, which includes Hungarian and Estonian.

Source: Author the_rat_woman

This quiz was reviewed by FunTrivia editor Beatka before going online.
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