LING 115: MIDTERM 2 EXAM QUESTIONS
AND ANSWERS
How can 'global language' be defined? - Correct Answers -A language which has a
special role and dominant widespread use throughout the countries of the world
What are 3 ways a language may have special status/role in other countries? - Correct
Answers -1. If it is the mother tongue (first home language) spoken by the majority of
the speakers in the country
2. If it is recognized as an official language
3. If the language is strongly promoted in education
T/F: English is considered a global language because of it's widespread mother tongue
status. - Correct Answers -FALSE
Few countries including-- USA, Canada, Britain, Ireland, Australia etc.
What language is the dominant mother tongue in most countries? - Correct Answers -
SPANISH
Mother tongue spoken in 20+ countries
In how many countries has English become the official language in? - Correct Answers -
Over 70
T/F: English is the official language in the most countries, more than any other language
in history - Correct Answers -TRUE
T/F: English is now the language most widely taught as a foreign language in schools
around the world - Correct Answers -TRUE
How many people speak English fluently around the world? - Correct Answers -One
quarter of the worlds pop; 1.2-1.5 BILLION people
T/F: Mandarin Chinese is considered a global language? - Correct Answers -TRUE
It is the second most commonly known language, but not as globally widespread since
most people who know it live in China
What causes a language to become a globally dominant language? - Correct Answers -
The success of a language as a widespread from of of communication is directly linked
to military, economic, and cultural power of its speakers
,T/F: The success of a language as a widespread form of communication is due to it
being linguistically an easy language to learn - Correct Answers -FALSE
Latin, Russian, Greek, Spanish, French, and Arabic are all really complex
How did Latin become an international language throughout the Roman Empire? -
Correct Answers -The Romans were militarily more powerful and when the military
power declined, Latin remained on as an international language throughout Roman
Empire because of the religious power of the Roman Catholic Church
History of English as a global language - Correct Answers -1. English spread throughout
the world (18th & 19th cent) as a result of military force and colonisation by the British
2. By the beginning of the 19th cent, Britain has become the worlds leading industrial
and trading country
3. By the end of the 19th cent, the USA has a population larger than any country in
western Europe, and its economy was the most productive and fastest growing in the
world
4. During the 20th cent the growth and spread of English was powered by the leading
role of the USA in the worlds economy
T/F: In the absence of a lingua franca, a very large proportion of the funds controlled by
the internation organizations may be consumed by translation costs - Correct Answers -
TRUE
Two important technological developments that have stressed the need for a global
lingua franca? - Correct Answers -1. The increase in availability of international air travel
-international business people
2. the development of email/internet/phone/fax
-email = instant copying of info to multiple locations in the world and easy
communication between people in different countried
What are the possible dangers of a global language? - Correct Answers -People who
have english as a mother tongue may become less keen to learn other languages, and
it may restrict cultural knowledge and bring less awareness of other ways of life
What are some places that are taken action against the dangers of gl? - Correct
Answers -In australia, schools are teaching japanese as the first foreign language and
schools in USA + Britian are paying more attention to Spanish
, Is language death attributed tot he rise of English as a global language? - Correct
Answers -NO; smaller languages are dying out due to the power and increasing
influence of other larger local languages which are growing
ex: Galician in Spain is threatened by Spanish
Will anything stop the growth of a global language? - Correct Answers -Machine
Translation
If progress continues in 50-100 years it might be possible for people of diff mother
tongues to communicate directly to each other via translation machines --making the
need to learn a global language unnecessary however it is going to take a long time
before it becomes widely available and economically accessible also likely that english
will become impregnable by that time
How did English begin to spread to different parts of the world? - Correct Answers --
Began four hundred years ago during the reign of Queen Elizabeth 1, Britain started to
expand its influence overseas
-built the british empire in the form of colonies
-The use of english spread to Africa, Asia, the Americas and Australasia
English speakers settled in: North America: USA CANDADA, CARIBBEAN,
AUSTRALIA, NEW ZEALAND, SOUTH AFRICA, SOUTHEAST ASIA
What can the success of English as a global language be attributed to? - Correct
Answers -Rooted in the expansion of British colonial power which peaked at the end of
the 19th cent, and then further grew with the result of the Industrial Revolution and then
the emergence of USA as a leading economic power of the 20th century
DEF: Inner Circle - Correct Answers -refers to the traditional bases of English where it is
the primary language including USA, BRITAIN, IRELAND, CANADA, AUSTRALIA, AND
NEW ZEALAND
DEF: Outer or Extended Circle - Correct Answers -involves the spread of English in non
-mother tongue settings, where the language has become part of a countrys chief
insitutions and plays an important 'second language' role. SINGAPORE, INDIA,
KENYA, + 50 countries
DEF: Expanding Circle - Correct Answers -made up of those nations which recognise
the importance of English as a foreign language but do not have either a) a history of
colonisation by members of the inner circle or b) given English any special
administrative status. CHINA, JAPAN, GREECE, POLAND (english is taught as a
foreign language)
AND ANSWERS
How can 'global language' be defined? - Correct Answers -A language which has a
special role and dominant widespread use throughout the countries of the world
What are 3 ways a language may have special status/role in other countries? - Correct
Answers -1. If it is the mother tongue (first home language) spoken by the majority of
the speakers in the country
2. If it is recognized as an official language
3. If the language is strongly promoted in education
T/F: English is considered a global language because of it's widespread mother tongue
status. - Correct Answers -FALSE
Few countries including-- USA, Canada, Britain, Ireland, Australia etc.
What language is the dominant mother tongue in most countries? - Correct Answers -
SPANISH
Mother tongue spoken in 20+ countries
In how many countries has English become the official language in? - Correct Answers -
Over 70
T/F: English is the official language in the most countries, more than any other language
in history - Correct Answers -TRUE
T/F: English is now the language most widely taught as a foreign language in schools
around the world - Correct Answers -TRUE
How many people speak English fluently around the world? - Correct Answers -One
quarter of the worlds pop; 1.2-1.5 BILLION people
T/F: Mandarin Chinese is considered a global language? - Correct Answers -TRUE
It is the second most commonly known language, but not as globally widespread since
most people who know it live in China
What causes a language to become a globally dominant language? - Correct Answers -
The success of a language as a widespread from of of communication is directly linked
to military, economic, and cultural power of its speakers
,T/F: The success of a language as a widespread form of communication is due to it
being linguistically an easy language to learn - Correct Answers -FALSE
Latin, Russian, Greek, Spanish, French, and Arabic are all really complex
How did Latin become an international language throughout the Roman Empire? -
Correct Answers -The Romans were militarily more powerful and when the military
power declined, Latin remained on as an international language throughout Roman
Empire because of the religious power of the Roman Catholic Church
History of English as a global language - Correct Answers -1. English spread throughout
the world (18th & 19th cent) as a result of military force and colonisation by the British
2. By the beginning of the 19th cent, Britain has become the worlds leading industrial
and trading country
3. By the end of the 19th cent, the USA has a population larger than any country in
western Europe, and its economy was the most productive and fastest growing in the
world
4. During the 20th cent the growth and spread of English was powered by the leading
role of the USA in the worlds economy
T/F: In the absence of a lingua franca, a very large proportion of the funds controlled by
the internation organizations may be consumed by translation costs - Correct Answers -
TRUE
Two important technological developments that have stressed the need for a global
lingua franca? - Correct Answers -1. The increase in availability of international air travel
-international business people
2. the development of email/internet/phone/fax
-email = instant copying of info to multiple locations in the world and easy
communication between people in different countried
What are the possible dangers of a global language? - Correct Answers -People who
have english as a mother tongue may become less keen to learn other languages, and
it may restrict cultural knowledge and bring less awareness of other ways of life
What are some places that are taken action against the dangers of gl? - Correct
Answers -In australia, schools are teaching japanese as the first foreign language and
schools in USA + Britian are paying more attention to Spanish
, Is language death attributed tot he rise of English as a global language? - Correct
Answers -NO; smaller languages are dying out due to the power and increasing
influence of other larger local languages which are growing
ex: Galician in Spain is threatened by Spanish
Will anything stop the growth of a global language? - Correct Answers -Machine
Translation
If progress continues in 50-100 years it might be possible for people of diff mother
tongues to communicate directly to each other via translation machines --making the
need to learn a global language unnecessary however it is going to take a long time
before it becomes widely available and economically accessible also likely that english
will become impregnable by that time
How did English begin to spread to different parts of the world? - Correct Answers --
Began four hundred years ago during the reign of Queen Elizabeth 1, Britain started to
expand its influence overseas
-built the british empire in the form of colonies
-The use of english spread to Africa, Asia, the Americas and Australasia
English speakers settled in: North America: USA CANDADA, CARIBBEAN,
AUSTRALIA, NEW ZEALAND, SOUTH AFRICA, SOUTHEAST ASIA
What can the success of English as a global language be attributed to? - Correct
Answers -Rooted in the expansion of British colonial power which peaked at the end of
the 19th cent, and then further grew with the result of the Industrial Revolution and then
the emergence of USA as a leading economic power of the 20th century
DEF: Inner Circle - Correct Answers -refers to the traditional bases of English where it is
the primary language including USA, BRITAIN, IRELAND, CANADA, AUSTRALIA, AND
NEW ZEALAND
DEF: Outer or Extended Circle - Correct Answers -involves the spread of English in non
-mother tongue settings, where the language has become part of a countrys chief
insitutions and plays an important 'second language' role. SINGAPORE, INDIA,
KENYA, + 50 countries
DEF: Expanding Circle - Correct Answers -made up of those nations which recognise
the importance of English as a foreign language but do not have either a) a history of
colonisation by members of the inner circle or b) given English any special
administrative status. CHINA, JAPAN, GREECE, POLAND (english is taught as a
foreign language)
