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Questions and Answers
Which language family does English belong to?
Which language family does English belong to?
- Indo-European (correct)
- Niger-Congo
- Sino-Tibetan
- Afro-Asiatic
What is the origin of the name 'English'?
What is the origin of the name 'English'?
- The Normans, a group of people from Normandy
- The Saxons, a North Germanic tribe
- The Angles, one of the ancient Germanic peoples (correct)
- The Jutes, a Germanic tribe
How many sovereign states have English as an official language or one of the official languages?
How many sovereign states have English as an official language or one of the official languages?
- 59 (correct)
- 42
- 25
- 71
What percentage of total speakers of the Germanic language branch does English account for?
What percentage of total speakers of the Germanic language branch does English account for?
Which organization is English a co-official language of?
Which organization is English a co-official language of?
Which word class is the largest in English?
Which word class is the largest in English?
What has Modern English largely abandoned from Indo-European?
What has Modern English largely abandoned from Indo-European?
What indicates grammatical function for nouns, adjectives, and articles in English?
What indicates grammatical function for nouns, adjectives, and articles in English?
Which language feature does English retain more strongly for personal pronouns?
Which language feature does English retain more strongly for personal pronouns?
In what range of registers is Standard English used?
In what range of registers is Standard English used?
Study Notes
Language Classification
- English belongs to the West Germanic branch of the Indo-European language family
Origin of the Name 'English'
- The name 'English' originates from theAngles, a Germanic tribe that inhabited England
Official Language Status
- English is an official language or one of the official languages in over 60 sovereign states
Germanic Language Branch
- English accounts for around 70% of total speakers of the Germanic language branch
International Organization
- English is a co-official language of the United Nations (UN)
English Linguistics
- The largest word class in English is verbs
- Modern English has largely abandoned grammatical case from Indo-European
- Word order and prepositions primarily indicate grammatical function for nouns, adjectives, and articles in English
- English retains strong inflectional endings for personal pronouns
Standard English
- Standard English is used in a range of registers, from formal writing to informal conversation
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Description
Test your knowledge of the English language with this trivia quiz. Learn interesting facts about the history, speakers, and global significance of English.
