LING 115 FINAL EXAM QUESTIONS AND
ANSWERS
If a language has over 10,000 speakers, it's safe and going to continue into the future -
Correct Answers -False
96% of the world's languages are spoken by 4% of the world's population - Correct
Answers -True
Code switching is one of the causes of language shift - Correct Answers -False
The second stand in the 3-generation language shift model is bilingualism - Correct
Answers -True
One of the places with the most language extinction is - Correct Answers -North
America
In the town of Oberwart, the oldest generation spoke - Correct Answers -Hungarian with
survival skills German
If a speaker of a minority language gets made fun of at school for not speaking the
majority language well, that speaker will most likely... - Correct Answers -Work really
hard to learn the majority language, and stop speaking the minority language because
they're ashamed of it
One of the best ways to ensure that minority language survives in the presence of a
more dominant language group is - Correct Answers -To isolate the speakers of the
minority language in a rural setting
The treatment of a Kikuyu speaker under English colonial rule in Kenya could be
described as - Correct Answers -a top-down pressure
A language with speakers in the 30's but no speakers under the age of 20 should be
described as - Correct Answers -Endangered
The 1998 earthquake in Papua New Guinea is an example of which factor that can
causes language loss - Correct Answers -Loss of speakers
What does not help language be revitalized - Correct Answers -Teaching the language
as a foreign subject in high school
,What factor was influential in the survival of Mwang - Correct Answers -The isolation of
the speakers
What did not contribute to the revival of Hebrew speakers? - Correct Answers -The
existence of living mother-tongue speakers. Being associated with the Jewish religion,
having a wealthy community looking to revive the language, and the association
between being Hebrew and Israeli did.
The Eisteddford could be described as a top-down pressure T/F - Correct Answers -F
The biggest challenge facing Hawaiian is - Correct Answers -A lack of well paying jobs
requiring Hawaiian
How many of the world's languages does David Chrystal believe will be gone in the next
100 years - Correct Answers -3,000
Karitiana is an endangered language because it has only 185 speakers T/F - Correct
Answers -False
Minority languages in regard to language shift have.... - Correct Answers -Less prestige,
fewer speakers, and are less wealthy/powerful
Immigrant communities... - Correct Answers -Often speak a minority language but can
deprive it of prestige because it's just something they do at home
Places where a minority language exists with a dominant language - Correct Answers -
Basque in Spain and indigenous languages in Americas. If everyone in Spain switches
to Spanish, then Basque is done
3 generation effect - Correct Answers -1st generation learns just enough of majority
language for survival skills, 2nd generation is bilingual and does translating for parents,
and 3rd generation is loss of minority language and move to majority
Oberwart language shift - Correct Answers -Changed hands from Hungary to Austria at
the end of WWI, 1st generation wanted kids to be proficient in German for success and
needed to learn German to communicate with the government. 2nd generation uses
German for friends and for their kids and for government officials. Third generation only
speaks survival skills Hungarian to talk to elders (only using Hungarian for church and
with grandparents)
Reasons for language shift - Correct Answers -Demographic factors, economic factors,
size of minority group, social factors, political factors, school, and intermarriage
Demographic factors - Correct Answers -Shift to majority if in urban setting, preserve
minority if rural
, Economic factors - Correct Answers -Shift to majority language if there are jobs in
majority language, preserve minority if there are jobs in it
Size of minority group - Correct Answers -If the group is small then shift to majority
language, else preserve minority language
Social pressures - Correct Answers -Peer pressure to drop minority language or not be
associated with it will result in shift to majority language. If family and friends use the
minority language it will be preserved
Political factors - Correct Answers -Government pressure to switch to the majority
language will result in shift (Kikuyu in Kenya punishment for speaking it, Welsh in Great
Britain with the Welsh Knott), and preserve minority language if the government
supports it
School Factors - Correct Answers -If schooling requires the majority language, shift,
else if school teaches minority language then preserve
Intermarriage factors - Correct Answers -Shift to majority language if marry into majority
language, preserve if the marriage is only between minority speakers
Shift minority to majority language in the direction of... - Correct Answers -Overt prestige
If a language is lost - Correct Answers -Culture and identity are lost
52% of speakers in the world speak only..... - Correct Answers -20 languages
96% of the world's languages are spoken by - Correct Answers -4% of speakers. Of
these, 47% have less than 10,000 speakers
Langauge-Threatened - Correct Answers -Used by all generations but losing speakers
Langauge-Endangered - Correct Answers -No children speakers, gone when current
generation of adults are gone
Language-Moribund - Correct Answers -No children speakers, no speakers of child
bearing years
Language death in Australia and North America - Correct Answers -70/90 Aboriginal
Languages are endangered, and 155/175 North American are endangered
The continent with the fewest langauges - Correct Answers -Europe
Where the most languages are - Correct Answers -Africa/Asia (Papua New Guinea)
ANSWERS
If a language has over 10,000 speakers, it's safe and going to continue into the future -
Correct Answers -False
96% of the world's languages are spoken by 4% of the world's population - Correct
Answers -True
Code switching is one of the causes of language shift - Correct Answers -False
The second stand in the 3-generation language shift model is bilingualism - Correct
Answers -True
One of the places with the most language extinction is - Correct Answers -North
America
In the town of Oberwart, the oldest generation spoke - Correct Answers -Hungarian with
survival skills German
If a speaker of a minority language gets made fun of at school for not speaking the
majority language well, that speaker will most likely... - Correct Answers -Work really
hard to learn the majority language, and stop speaking the minority language because
they're ashamed of it
One of the best ways to ensure that minority language survives in the presence of a
more dominant language group is - Correct Answers -To isolate the speakers of the
minority language in a rural setting
The treatment of a Kikuyu speaker under English colonial rule in Kenya could be
described as - Correct Answers -a top-down pressure
A language with speakers in the 30's but no speakers under the age of 20 should be
described as - Correct Answers -Endangered
The 1998 earthquake in Papua New Guinea is an example of which factor that can
causes language loss - Correct Answers -Loss of speakers
What does not help language be revitalized - Correct Answers -Teaching the language
as a foreign subject in high school
,What factor was influential in the survival of Mwang - Correct Answers -The isolation of
the speakers
What did not contribute to the revival of Hebrew speakers? - Correct Answers -The
existence of living mother-tongue speakers. Being associated with the Jewish religion,
having a wealthy community looking to revive the language, and the association
between being Hebrew and Israeli did.
The Eisteddford could be described as a top-down pressure T/F - Correct Answers -F
The biggest challenge facing Hawaiian is - Correct Answers -A lack of well paying jobs
requiring Hawaiian
How many of the world's languages does David Chrystal believe will be gone in the next
100 years - Correct Answers -3,000
Karitiana is an endangered language because it has only 185 speakers T/F - Correct
Answers -False
Minority languages in regard to language shift have.... - Correct Answers -Less prestige,
fewer speakers, and are less wealthy/powerful
Immigrant communities... - Correct Answers -Often speak a minority language but can
deprive it of prestige because it's just something they do at home
Places where a minority language exists with a dominant language - Correct Answers -
Basque in Spain and indigenous languages in Americas. If everyone in Spain switches
to Spanish, then Basque is done
3 generation effect - Correct Answers -1st generation learns just enough of majority
language for survival skills, 2nd generation is bilingual and does translating for parents,
and 3rd generation is loss of minority language and move to majority
Oberwart language shift - Correct Answers -Changed hands from Hungary to Austria at
the end of WWI, 1st generation wanted kids to be proficient in German for success and
needed to learn German to communicate with the government. 2nd generation uses
German for friends and for their kids and for government officials. Third generation only
speaks survival skills Hungarian to talk to elders (only using Hungarian for church and
with grandparents)
Reasons for language shift - Correct Answers -Demographic factors, economic factors,
size of minority group, social factors, political factors, school, and intermarriage
Demographic factors - Correct Answers -Shift to majority if in urban setting, preserve
minority if rural
, Economic factors - Correct Answers -Shift to majority language if there are jobs in
majority language, preserve minority if there are jobs in it
Size of minority group - Correct Answers -If the group is small then shift to majority
language, else preserve minority language
Social pressures - Correct Answers -Peer pressure to drop minority language or not be
associated with it will result in shift to majority language. If family and friends use the
minority language it will be preserved
Political factors - Correct Answers -Government pressure to switch to the majority
language will result in shift (Kikuyu in Kenya punishment for speaking it, Welsh in Great
Britain with the Welsh Knott), and preserve minority language if the government
supports it
School Factors - Correct Answers -If schooling requires the majority language, shift,
else if school teaches minority language then preserve
Intermarriage factors - Correct Answers -Shift to majority language if marry into majority
language, preserve if the marriage is only between minority speakers
Shift minority to majority language in the direction of... - Correct Answers -Overt prestige
If a language is lost - Correct Answers -Culture and identity are lost
52% of speakers in the world speak only..... - Correct Answers -20 languages
96% of the world's languages are spoken by - Correct Answers -4% of speakers. Of
these, 47% have less than 10,000 speakers
Langauge-Threatened - Correct Answers -Used by all generations but losing speakers
Langauge-Endangered - Correct Answers -No children speakers, gone when current
generation of adults are gone
Language-Moribund - Correct Answers -No children speakers, no speakers of child
bearing years
Language death in Australia and North America - Correct Answers -70/90 Aboriginal
Languages are endangered, and 155/175 North American are endangered
The continent with the fewest langauges - Correct Answers -Europe
Where the most languages are - Correct Answers -Africa/Asia (Papua New Guinea)
