FREE! Click here to Join FunTrivia. Thousands of games, quizzes, and lots more!
Quiz about Extinct Languages of the World
Quiz about Extinct Languages of the World

Extinct Languages of the World Quiz


Language can almost be considered a living thing. Languages are gradually born, can become endangered, and even become extinct. Here are a few questions on some of these languages which have died out and no longer have any native speakers.

A multiple-choice quiz by dcpddc478. Estimated time: 4 mins.
  1. Home
  2. »
  3. Quizzes
  4. »
  5. World Trivia
  6. »
  7. Languages

Author
dcpddc478
Time
4 mins
Type
Multiple Choice
Quiz #
346,775
Updated
Dec 03 21
# Qns
10
Difficulty
Average
Avg Score
8 / 10
Plays
5000
Awards
Top 20% Quiz
Last 3 plays: Waldkaeuzchen (6/10), psnz (10/10), Guest 103 (5/10).
- -
Question 1 of 10
1. Atakapa is an extinct language that was once spoken in which of the following continents? Hint


Question 2 of 10
2. Negerhollands is an extinct language that was spoken for many years on which island group that was once known as the Danish West Indies? Hint


Question 3 of 10
3. The Beothukan language became extinct along with the last of the Beothuk people in 1829. Which Atlantic island(s) did the Beothuk call home?
Hint


Question 4 of 10
4. This European extinct language was spoken in parts of Croatia and Montenegro. It was once the official language of the Republic of Ragusa. Its name comes from a region east of the Adriatic Sea and is also used for a dog breed. Which language is referred to? Hint


Question 5 of 10
5. Once spoken in modern day Spain and Portugal, which of the following is a language that died out in the 2nd century A.D. after it was replaced by Latin? Hint


Question 6 of 10
6. A relative of the Celtic language, this extinct language was once widely spoken through much of Europe, including present-day Belgium, France, Luxembourg, Switzerland, northern Italy, and western Germany. What language? Hint


Question 7 of 10
7. Some of the extinct languages in North America were spoken by native American tribes. One of them belongs to the Iroquoian language group. The name of the language comes from the river surrounding the area the tribe lived in, in the present American states of New York and Maryland. What is this language called? Hint


Question 8 of 10
8. Easterian is the extinct language that was once spoken by the indigenous people of the Easter Islands.


Question 9 of 10
9. Sumerian is the oldest known extinct language in the world for which there is unequivocal written evidence.


Question 10 of 10
10. One of the oldest languages on record, it evolved into Demotic in the 7th century BCE, then further into Coptic in the 3rd century BCE. General use of the Coptic language lasted until the 17th century CE, but since then has only been used as part of the Christian Coptic Church's liturgy. What was the original language from which the Demotic and Coptic derived? Hint



(Optional) Create a Free FunTrivia ID to save the points you are about to earn:

arrow Select a User ID:
arrow Choose a Password:
arrow Your Email:




Most Recent Scores
Nov 07 2024 : Waldkaeuzchen: 6/10
Oct 25 2024 : psnz: 10/10
Oct 23 2024 : Guest 103: 5/10
Oct 20 2024 : nikkanikachu: 10/10
Oct 14 2024 : papabear5914: 8/10
Oct 12 2024 : leith90: 10/10
Oct 11 2024 : panagos: 10/10
Oct 10 2024 : BayRoan: 7/10
Sep 25 2024 : Guest 42: 3/10

Score Distribution

quiz
Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts
1. Atakapa is an extinct language that was once spoken in which of the following continents?

Answer: North America

The language of the Atakapa Indians of southern Louisiana does not appear to be related to any other indigenous language of the area. The last native speakers of this North American language passed away in the early part of the 20th century and it is doubtful that the language could ever be revived. Less than 50 actual words of the language have been recorded.
2. Negerhollands is an extinct language that was spoken for many years on which island group that was once known as the Danish West Indies?

Answer: U.S. Virgin Islands

Negerhollands was an unusual mix of Dutch, English, French, Spanish, Danish, and African. It can be best described as a Dutch creole language. It was spoken for many years on the island group that is known today as the U.S. Virgin Islands. Once English was introduced to the islands, the use of Negerhollands began to decline. The last native speaker of the language died in 1987.
3. The Beothukan language became extinct along with the last of the Beothuk people in 1829. Which Atlantic island(s) did the Beothuk call home?

Answer: Newfoundland

'Beothuk' is Beothukan for 'people', and that is one of the few words that is still known today of that culture's language. Only about 400 words (written down) were recorded from the 19th century. There is some discussion that the language was linked to Algonquin, but the general consensus is that the language was isolated, due to the isolation of their island existence.
4. This European extinct language was spoken in parts of Croatia and Montenegro. It was once the official language of the Republic of Ragusa. Its name comes from a region east of the Adriatic Sea and is also used for a dog breed. Which language is referred to?

Answer: Dalmatian

The Dalmatian language is one of the extinct Romance languages. Once it was spoken in the region known as the Republic of Ragusa or Republic of Dubrovnik. This republic had the city of Dubrovnik and ceased to exist in 1808. It formed part of the region of Dalmatia, a much larger region which holds most of the southern part of present day Croatia.
5. Once spoken in modern day Spain and Portugal, which of the following is a language that died out in the 2nd century A.D. after it was replaced by Latin?

Answer: Iberian

This unique language may have links to the Basque language but evidence to this link is lacking. Spoken by an eclectic group of people that lived along the Mediterranean coast of the Iberian Peninsula, the language has been only partially deciphered. Most evidence for this language has been found on pottery and ceramics which has made translation of this extinct language even more difficult.

The other three options are extinct languages from the continent of Africa.
6. A relative of the Celtic language, this extinct language was once widely spoken through much of Europe, including present-day Belgium, France, Luxembourg, Switzerland, northern Italy, and western Germany. What language?

Answer: Gaulish

The Gauls inhabited the region encompassed within the boundaries mentioned in the question from the Iron Age. They were completely conquered by the Romans by the mid-1st century, and were subsequently amalgamated into the Roman culture. By the time that the region was conquered by the Franks in 486, the Gaulish language was well in decline. It is believed that the language ceased to exist sometime in the 6th century.
7. Some of the extinct languages in North America were spoken by native American tribes. One of them belongs to the Iroquoian language group. The name of the language comes from the river surrounding the area the tribe lived in, in the present American states of New York and Maryland. What is this language called?

Answer: Susquehannock

The Susquehannock language was spoken by the tribe of the same name, living in the area around the Susquehanna River. This contains areas in the American states of New York, Pennsylvania and Maryland. The language became extinct around 1763. There is little left of the language. Swedish missionary Johannes Campanius wrote the book "Vocabula Mahakuassica" in 1640, which contains the basics of the language.
8. Easterian is the extinct language that was once spoken by the indigenous people of the Easter Islands.

Answer: False

This is completely false. The proper name of native language for this island is Rapa Nui. With approximately 800 speakers, Rapa Nui is what is known as an endangered language not an extinct language. It contains only ten consonants and five vowels and is not known to be related to any other Oceanic language.

The name Rapa Nui is also used to denote the island, the culture, and the people themselves. Today most of the islands inhabitants speak a form of Spanish.
9. Sumerian is the oldest known extinct language in the world for which there is unequivocal written evidence.

Answer: True

This is true. Sumerian was spoken in ancient Mesopotamia as early as the 4th millennium B.C. Around the second millennium B.C. Akadian replaced Sumerian as the spoken language and Sumerian became the language used for all religious, legal, ceremonial, and scientific purposes. It was not deciphered until the 19th century after many years of studying ancient cuneiform tablets.
10. One of the oldest languages on record, it evolved into Demotic in the 7th century BCE, then further into Coptic in the 3rd century BCE. General use of the Coptic language lasted until the 17th century CE, but since then has only been used as part of the Christian Coptic Church's liturgy. What was the original language from which the Demotic and Coptic derived?

Answer: Ancient Egyptian

Coptic, the spoken language descendant from Ancient Egyptian, died out with the conquest of Egypt by the Muslims; it was gradually replaced with Arabic. As a written language, Demotic and Coptic evolved from the Ancient Egyptian system of hieroglyphics to include alphabetics, and later even indicated vowels.
Source: Author dcpddc478

This quiz was reviewed by FunTrivia editor Bruyere before going online.
Any errors found in FunTrivia content are routinely corrected through our feedback system.
Related Quizzes
This quiz is part of series Kaffeeklatsch - Amazing Race 1:

The first Amazing Race was truly amazing! Here are all the quizzes produced by team Kaffeklatsch (Daaanieeel, dcpddc478, James25, reedy) for the race.

  1. Catch the Criminal Average
  2. The Emirates Average
  3. It's a Wild World Out There Average
  4. What's in a Name? Tough
  5. Coffee Quotes Average
  6. Some of My Favorite Cowboys Average
  7. Roll Out the Red Carpet Easier
  8. The 'Me' Decade (1970s) Average
  9. Hats of the World Very Easy
  10. At The Drop of a Hat Easier
  11. Don't Forget Your Toga! Average
  12. Got your 'Bering'? Let's explore! Average

11/11/2024, Copyright 2024 FunTrivia, Inc. - Report an Error / Contact Us