Linguistic Diversity and Cultural Evolution Quiz

Linguistic diversity refers to the variety of languages spoken by people.

Mandarin Chinese has the highest number of native speakers globally.

Language endangerment refers to the risk of languages becoming extinct due to declining numbers of speakers.

Historical linguistics is the study of how languages change over time.

Language borrowing refers to the adoption of words or phrases from one language into another.

The Sapir-Whorf hypothesis suggests that language influences how individuals perceive and think about the world.

Language evolution is largely influenced by interactions and communication among individuals.

Creole languages emerge from the fusion of multiple languages, often due to historical circumstances such as colonization or trade.

Contact-induced language change occurs when two languages interact, leading to mutual influence and the creation of a new linguistic variety.

An extinct language is one that has no living speakers.

Max Müller is known for his contributions to historical linguistics, particularly the comparative method.

Johanna Nichols is known for her theory of language evolution called the Wave Model.

Linguistic relativism posits that language influences an individual's worldview and cognition.

Franz Boas is credited with founding the field of linguistic anthropology.

Sociolinguistics focuses on how societal factors such as class, ethnicity, and gender influence language variation.

Phonetics is the branch of linguistics that deals with the sounds of speech, including their production and perception.

Benjamin Lee Whorf introduced the idea that language shapes thought and perception, known as linguistic relativity or the Whorfian hypothesis.