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#1
By TheQuizWire•Hard
Which language family covers the widest geographical area?
💡 Explanation:The Austronesian family spans from Madagascar to Easter Island, covering a vast oceanic expanse.
#2
By TheQuizWire•Medium•✅ Fact Checked
The Strong Sapir-Whorf Hypothesis (Determinism) asserts that language primarily dictates what?
💡 Explanation:The Sapir-Whorf Hypothesis, also known as Linguistic Relativity, has two main forms. The Strong Version (Linguistic Determinism) argues that an individual's language completely determines or limits their thought processes and perception of the world. The concepts and categories available in one's language are said to restrict what one can think. The Weak Version (Linguistic Influence/Relativity) suggests that language merely influences or biases thought, making certain concepts easier or more frequent to consider, but not impossible to grasp. Options A and B are general sociolinguistic or psycholinguistic factors, and Option D relates to Noam Chomsky's Generative Grammar/Universal Grammar, a contrasting theory.
#3
By TheQuizWire•Medium
Which major branch of linguistics is primarily concerned with the systematic study of meaning in language?
💡 Explanation:Semantics is the sub-discipline of linguistics dedicated to studying the meanings of words, phrases, and sentences. It analyzes the relationship between signifiers (words, signs) and what they stand for.
#4
By TheQuizWire•Medium
What is the approximate number of distinct, living human languages currently estimated to be spoken across the world?
💡 Explanation:Linguists and organizations like Ethnologue consistently estimate the total number of distinct, living languages currently spoken worldwide to be around 7,000. It is also estimated that roughly half of these languages are currently endangered and may become extinct within the next century.
#5
By TheQuizWire•Medium
Arabic and Hebrew belong to which language family?
💡 Explanation:Arabic and Hebrew are Semitic languages, which are part of the broader Afro-Asiatic family.
#6
By TheQuizWire•Hard
Which country has the highest linguistic diversity?
💡 Explanation:Papua New Guinea is home to over 800 distinct living languages, the highest concentration globally.
#7
By TheQuizWire•Medium
Which branch of linguistics focuses on the study of language ‘in use,’ examining how contextual factors influence the interpretation and meaning of utterances beyond the literal definitions of words and sentences?
💡 Explanation:Pragmatics is the study of how context, social setting, and speaker intention affect the meaning and understanding of language. While semantics deals with the literal meaning inherent in the words (meaning in language), pragmatics deals with meaning in context (meaning in use).
#8
By TheQuizWire•Hard
What concept suggests no inherent connection between a word’s sound and its meaning?
💡 Explanation:Ferdinand de Saussure's concept of 'arbitrariness' states the link between the signifier (word) and signified (concept) is conventional, not natural.
#9
By TheQuizWire•Medium
Which language family includes Mandarin Chinese?
💡 Explanation:Sino-Tibetan is the second-largest language family, encompassing Mandarin Chinese and Tibetan.
#10
By TheQuizWire•Medium
Who proposed the theory of Generative Grammar?
💡 Explanation:Noam Chomsky revolutionized linguistics with his theory of Generative Grammar and innate language capacity.
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