Language families and classification MCQs 50 Score: 0 Attempted: 0/50 Subscribe 1. Which term refers to a group of languages that share a common ancestral language? (A) Dialect chain (B) Language isolate (C) Language family (D) Pidgin 2. The Indo-European language family includes: (A) English, Hindi, Russian (B) Chinese, Japanese, Korean (C) Arabic, Hebrew, Swahili (D) Zulu, Xhosa, Afrikaans 3. Which of the following is a language isolate? (A) Basque (B) French (C) Tamil (D) Arabic 4. The branch of linguistics that studies language classification is called: (A) Sociolinguistics (B) Historical linguistics (C) Phonology (D) Morphology 5. The term âproto-languageâ refers to: (A) A modern language (B) An ancient script (C) A reconstructed common ancestor of a language family (D) A pidgin language 6. The Afro-Asiatic language family includes: (A) Arabic, Hebrew, Amharic (B) Hindi, Urdu, Bengali (C) Turkish, Uzbek, Kazakh (D) Finnish, Estonian, Hungarian 7. Which language family is primarily spoken in East Asia? (A) Indo-European (B) Sino-Tibetan (C) Afro-Asiatic (D) Austroasiatic 8. Which is the largest language family in terms of number of speakers? (A) Uralic (B) Niger-Congo (C) Indo-European (D) Austronesian 9. The Niger-Congo family includes most languages of: (A) Europe (B) Africa (C) South America (D) East Asia 10. Which family does the Japanese language belong to? (A) Indo-European (B) Japonic (C) Altaic (D) Dravidian 11. The Uralic language family includes: (A) Finnish, Estonian, Hungarian (B) Arabic, Persian, Turkish (C) Hindi, Punjabi, Urdu (D) Swahili, Zulu, Shona 12. Which language family includes Malay, Tagalog, and Hawaiian? (A) Indo-European (B) Sino-Tibetan (C) Austronesian (D) Uralic 13. The Dravidian language family is primarily found in: (A) Northern India (B) Southern India and Sri Lanka (C) Central Asia (D) Eastern Europe 14. A creole language develops from: (A) A language isolate (B) A fully developed pidgin (C) A dead language (D) A language family split 15. The language family that includes Quechua and Aymara is native to: (A) Africa (B) South America (C) Europe (D) Central Asia 16. The Altaic language hypothesis proposes links between: (A) Turkish, Mongolic, and Tungusic languages (B) Hindi, Persian, and Pashto (C) Japanese, Chinese, and Korean (D) Swahili, Arabic, and Berber 17. Which term refers to languages that do not belong to any known family? (A) Dialect (B) Isolate (C) Creole (D) Sub-family 18. The concept of âgenetic classificationâ of languages is based on: (A) Shared vocabulary and structure from a common ancestor (B) Geographical proximity (C) Political boundaries (D) Religious associations 19. Which of these is an Indo-Iranian language? (A) Persian (B) Japanese (C) Swahili (D) Basque 20. The term âlanguage branchâ refers to: (A) Subdivision within a language family (B) A dialect group (C) A pidgin category (D) A proto-language 21. The Romance languages include: (A) French, Spanish, Italian (B) Russian, Polish, Czech (C) Hindi, Urdu, Bengali (D) Arabic, Hebrew, Maltese 22. Which language is NOT part of the Germanic branch? (A) English (B) German (C) Dutch (D) Greek 23. The Celtic languages include: (A) Irish, Welsh, Breton (B) Italian, Spanish, Portuguese (C) Persian, Pashto, Kurdish (D) Finnish, Estonian, Sami 24. Which language family includes Vietnamese and Khmer? (A) Sino-Tibetan (B) Austroasiatic (C) Turkic (D) Uralic 25. The Semitic branch is part of which family? (A) Indo-European (B) Afro-Asiatic (C) Turkic (D) Uralic 26. Proto-Indo-European (PIE) is: (A) The ancestor of Indo-European languages (B) A modern language (C) A pidgin of Europe (D) A dialect of Greek 27. Language shift within a family refers to: (A) Changing from one language to another over time (B) Changing dialects within the same language (C) Borrowing words (D) Transliteration 28. Turkic languages include: (A) Turkish, Uzbek, Kazakh (B) Hindi, Nepali, Sinhalese (C) Finnish, Hungarian, Estonian (D) Somali, Berber, Hausa 29. Which is the primary method for reconstructing proto-languages? (A) Loanword analysis (B) Comparative method (C) Dialect mapping (D) Phonetic transcription only 30. A âmacro-familyâ in linguistics refers to: (A) A proposed grouping of several language families (B) A dialect continuum (C) A pidgin network (D) A set of creole languages 31. The term âdialect continuumâ describes: (A) Gradual change in language varieties across a geographic area (B) Languages with no relation (C) Languages that suddenly appear (D) Creoles only 32. Which language family does Korean belong to? (A) Japonic (B) Koreanic (C) Turkic (D) Austronesian 33. Which of the following is NOT a criterion for classifying languages? (A) Phonology (B) Morphology (C) Genetic inheritance (D) Political alliance 34. The term âfalse cognatesâ refers to: (A) Words that look similar but have different origins (B) Words that share roots (C) Borrowed vocabulary (D) Ancient scripts 35. Glottochronology is used to: (A) Estimate the time of divergence of languages (B) Analyze phonemes (C) Study sentence structure (D) Classify scripts 36. Which language family does Swahili belong to? (A) Afro-Asiatic (B) Niger-Congo (C) Austronesian (D) Dravidian 37. Borrowed words between unrelated languages are called: (A) Loanwords (B) Cognates (C) Dialects (D) Proto-forms 38. The Finno-Ugric group is part of which family? (A) Uralic (B) Turkic (C) Indo-European (D) Altaic 39. The Bantu languages are a subgroup of: (A) Niger-Congo family (B) Afro-Asiatic family (C) Dravidian family (D) Sino-Tibetan family 40. Which of these is an extinct language family? (A) Tocharian (B) Indo-European (C) Uralic (D) Turkic 41. The Austro-Tai hypothesis proposes a link between: (A) Austronesian and Tai-Kadai languages (B) Turkic and Mongolic languages (C) Dravidian and Indo-European languages (D) Semitic and Indo-Iranian languages 42. Which of the following is a pidgin-turned-creole language? (A) Haitian Creole (B) Latin (C) Basque (D) Sanskrit 43. The term âsubstratum languageâ refers to: (A) A language influencing another during language contact (B) A fully extinct language (C) A proto-language (D) A dialect within a branch 44. Language isolates challenge: (A) Genetic classification methods (B) Phonetic transcription (C) Syntax analysis (D) Writing systems 45. Which is a Semitic language? (A) Hebrew (B) Pashto (C) Turkish (D) Bengali 46. The term âlingua francaâ differs from a language family because: (A) It is a bridge language for communication between groups (B) It is an ancient script (C) It is a genetic ancestor (D) It is always native 47. Which of these is part of the Celtic branch? (A) Gaelic (B) Greek (C) Latin (D) Persian 48. The classification of languages into families helps linguists: (A) Trace human migration and history (B) Eliminate dialects (C) Standardize grammar rules (D) Create new scripts 49. An extinct language is: (A) A language with no native speakers remaining (B) A dialect continuum (C) A proto-language only (D) A creole 50. Why is language classification important in linguistic anthropology? (A) It reveals cultural and historical connections (B) It limits language diversity (C) It standardizes world languages (D) It removes loanwords  1. Foundations of Linguistic Anthropology MCQsDefinition, scope, and history MCQsLanguage vs. communication MCQsHuman language vs. animal communication MCQsKey figures in linguistic anthropology MCQs2. Language Structure MCQsPhonetics and Phonology MCQsMorphology MCQsSyntax MCQsSemantics MCQsPragmatics MCQs3. Language Acquisition and Socialization MCQsFirst language acquisition MCQsSecond language acquisition MCQsLanguage learning in cultural context MCQsEnculturation through language MCQs4. Language, Culture, and Thought MCQsSapirâWhorf hypothesis (linguistic relativity) MCQsLanguage and worldview MCQsEthnosemantics and ethnoscience MCQsMetaphor and cognition MCQs5. Sociolinguistics in Anthropology MCQsLanguage and identity MCQsMultilingualism and diglossia MCQsCode-switching and code-mixing MCQsGender and language use MCQsSocial class, ethnicity, and speech variation MCQs6. Discourse and Performance MCQsNarrative analysis MCQsSpeech acts and pragmatics MCQsVerbal art and performance MCQsConversation analysis MCQs7. Historical and Comparative Linguistics MCQsLanguage families and classification MCQsLanguage change and evolution MCQsComparative method in anthropology MCQsLanguage contact, pidgins, and creoles MCQs8. Writing Systems and Literacy MCQsOrigins of writing MCQsTypes of writing systems (logographic, syllabic, alphabetic) MCQsLiteracy and power MCQsOral vs. literate traditions MCQs9. Language and Power MCQsLanguage and politics MCQsHegemony and resistance through language MCQsIdeologies of language MCQsLanguage policy and planning MCQs10. Applied Linguistic Anthropology MCQsEndangered languages and revitalization MCQsForensic linguistics in anthropology MCQsLanguage in education and law MCQsGlobalization and linguistic diversity MCQs