ACCENTS: Ways of speaking which can reveal places or origin and, sometimes, educational and social status. Inflection, tone and choice of words usually characterize accents. Sample Question: What are you going to be fed when a New York City restaurant server says he's going to bring you an appetizer that sounds as though it should be spelled e-r-s-t-e-r-s? Answer: oysters ACRONYMS: A pronounceable word formed from the initial letter or letters of a series of words or from the major parts of compound terms. Sample Question: What acronym was coined sometime around 1957 for the term 'white Anglo-Saxon Protestant'? Answer: WASP AMERICANISMS: Words, phrases or expressions peculiar to American English. Sample Question: Which of these terms was coined in the U.S.? a. superscribe b. Super Bowl c. supercilious Answer: b. the term appeared in English sometime around 1969 AUSTRALIANISMS: Words, phrases or expressions peculiar to Australian English. Sample Question: In Australia, which of the following is colloquially known as a 'chalkie'? a. a miner of limestone b. a terrified, nearly petrified boxer c. a teacher Answer: c. a teacher BORROWED WORDS: Words adopted from other languages intact or with varying alterations in spelling, pronunciation, and, sometimes, meaning. Sample Question What word borrowed from Greek sometime around 1951 is defined as 'a thin flat bread that can be separated easily into two layers to form a pocket'? Answer: pita BRITICISMS: Words, phrases or expressions peculiar to British English Sample Question What singular version of the name of an American cereal do some British use as a way to say 'goodbye' or, before downing a drink, "Good wishes"? Answer: cheerio CALQUES: Words, phrases or expressions formed from the direct translation of the words, phrases or expressions of other languages. Sample Question: What term appeared in English in 1963 as a direct translation of the French term 'tiers monde'? Answer: third world CANADIANISMS: Words, phrases or expressions peculiar to Canadian English. Sample Question: In Canada, which of the following is commonly called 'hydro'? a. electricity b. water c. fire Answer: a. from 'hydropower' which, in Canada, is produced largely via hydro-electric generators DEFINITIONS: Meanings of words, word groups, signs, symbols. Sample Question: Which of the following is the definition of 'carhop', a term coined sometime around 1937? a. the lurching gait of an untuned car b. a hitchhiker c. a person who serves customers at a drive-in restaurant Answer: c DIALECTS: Regional varieties of a language which are distinguished from the other varieties by vocabulary, grammar, and pronunciation. Sample Question: In the Nashville, Tennessee area, is a 'mess' of something a larger, smaller, or the same quantity as a 'slew' of it? Answer: smaller DINOSAUR WORDS Words whose use or original meanings are obsolete or considered archaic. Sample Question: Which of the following defines what is meant by the word 'kith', as in the phrase 'kith and kin'? a. familiar friends, neighbors b. kiss c. kittens Answer: a EPONYMS: Words which are, or are believed to be, derived from names of persons, places, or things. Sample Question: In 1850, what Indonesian island contributed its name to English's long list of nicknames for coffee? Answer: Java EUPHEMISMS: Agreeable or inoffensive words, phrases or expressions which are substituted for those thought disagreeable and offensive for the purpose of avoiding harsh or distasteful realities. Sample Question: What level of 'fixing' is usually required for a house that real estate agencies advertise as "a fixer-upper"? a. minor b. moderate c. major Answer: c EVOLVING WORDS: Words that have undergone historical changes in spelling, pronunciation, and/or meaning. Sample Question: What section of an airplane has a name that reflects its similarity to the sites where chicken fights were once held? Answer: cockpit GLOBAL ENGLISH: English as a global language, its emergence from promitive obscurity and growth to world prominence. Sample Question: What American-based company provided the inspiration for the somewhat questionable naming of the fast-food restaurant in Luzerne, Switzerland known as 'McCheap'? Answer: McDonalds® GRAMMAR: A language's characteristic system of inflections and syntax, a system of rules that defines its grammatical structure. Sample Question: If the words 'chicken' and 'oxen' are among the few surviving examples of archaic forms of plurals, what is the meaning of the word that was spelled k-n-e-e-n in Middle English? Answer: knees HISTORY: People and events that impacted the linguistic history of English. Sample Question: The signing of what document marked the birth of American English? Answer: Declaration of Independence - which marked the country's separation from Britain HOLORIMIC PHRASES: Phrases or expressions which are heard when phrases or expressions comprised of entirely different words are spoken. Sample Question: What completely different phrase is heard when someone pronounces the name that is spelled H-y S-e-y-m-o-u-r D-a-l-e-y? Answer: I see more daily HOMOGRAPHS: Two or more words which are spelled the same, but differ in pronunciation, meaning and, often, origin. Sample Question: Farmer John liked to say that, since he only grew cabbage, carrots, and tomatoes, his entire farm was used to _____ _____ Answer: produce produce HOMONYMS: Two or more words which are spelled and pronounced the same, but differ in meaning and, often, origin. Sample Question: Identify the homonyms that unravel this riddle: boats park in them; errors are blamed on them; gardeners cut them; some women wear them. Answer: slips / slips / slips / slips HOMOPHONES: Two or more words which are pronounced the same, but differ in spelling, meaning and, often, origin. Sample Question: Identify and spell the homophones in this statement: "The cobbler made and _____ thick-_____ shoes." Answer: s-o-l-d / s-o-l-e-d IDIOMS: Expressions whose meanings cannot be determined from the literal interpretation or the combined meanings of their words. Sample Question: What is meant by the statement: "He's a Benedict Arnold"? Answer: He's a traitor JARGON: The specialized, obscure and often pretentious, language of a trade, profession, or other group. Sample Question: What swinging ground sport delights in airborne creatures like 'birdies' and 'eagles'? Answer: golf LETTER WORDS: Words derived from the letters, usually the first letters, of other words but which are pronounced by their letters. Sample Question: In the jargon of sports, what is meant by the letter word RBI? Answer: runs batted in LEXICOGRAPHY: The making or editing of a dictionary. Sample Question: To which of these categories do etymologists assign the terms 'woof woof' and 'bowwow'? a. canine vocabulary b. onomatopoetic words c. pidgin English Answer: b. LINGUISTICS: The study of human speech. Sample Question: During the presidential campaign of 2000, the Chicago Tribune reported that candidate George W. Bush's speeches were chracterized by which of the following? a. "powerful eloquence" b. "fluent bilingualism" c. "goofy grammar and verbal wreckage" Answer: c LITERACY: The quality or state of being able to read and write. Sample Question: What term was coined in 1926 for 'the gestures, movements, and mannerisms by which a person or animal communicates with others'? Answer: body language MALAPROPISMS: The use of a word that sounds somewhat like the one intended but which, in the context, is comically wrong. Sample Question: What did Jake Garbles really mean to say when he said, "My goal is to be a wealthy typhoon"? Answer: "My goal is to be a wealthy tycoon." NAMES / NICKNAMES: Names are distinctive designations of persons, places, or things; nicknames are alternate names that are usually descriptive and used instead of or in addition to proper names. Sample Question: By what nickname is George Herman Ruth better known? Answer: Babe NEW ZEALANDISMS: Words, phrases, or expressions peculiar to New Zealand English. Sample Question: Which of these words do New Zealanders define as a person who is mean and stingy? a. mingie b. grumpus c. blighty Answer: a. ONOMATOPOETIC WORDS: Words derived by the vocal imitation of the associated sounds. Sample Question: What word that appeared in English sometime during the 14th century imitates the sound made by a snake? Answer: hiss ORTHOGRAPHY: That part of linguistics concerned with letters and spelling. Sample Question: According to anecdotal reports from teachers, what 20th century product's commercials caused TV-mesmerized school children to misspell the word 'relief'? Answer: Rolaids® - According to the commercials: "R-O-L-A-I-D-S spells relief". OTHER LANGUAGES: Languages other than English. Sample Question: What holiday celebrates the Mexican defeat of France's Emperor Napoleon III at Puebla, Mexico on May 5, 1862? Answer: Cinco de Mayo PIDGINS & CREOLES: Pidgins are simplified forms of speech used for communication between people who speak different languages; Creoles are advanced pidgins or languages that have evolved from pidgins and which, usually, serve as the native languages of individual speech communities. Sample Question: What reduplicative defined as 'a dummy' appeared in English in 1928? Answer: dum-dum PORTMANTEAU WORDS: Words derived from the blending of two or more different words. Sample Question: What toy famous around the world has a name that means 'to collect' in Latin, but originated as a trademark as a play on the Danish words for 'play well', which are spelled l-e-g and g-o-d-t? Answer: Lego® - a trademark of Lego Systems, Inc. QUOTATIONS: Phrases, expressions, or statements relevant to the origins, history and/or evolution of English. Sample Question: Who coined the phrase "a diamond is forever"? a. The DeBeers Consolidated Mines company b. Marilyn Monroe c. J.P. Morgan Answer: a.-the monopolistic South African producer of diamonds founded by Cecil Rhodes SEXIST ENGLISH: Questions related to the historical male-gender biases of English. Sample Question: What term that appeared in the jargon of the business world in 1925 was defined as 'a unit of work performed by one person in one day'? Answer: man-day SLANG: Colloquial words or expressions derived from coinings or the arbitrary alteration of other words or expressions, and whose usual purpose is to belittle, exaggerate or make humorous. Sample Question: The words 'greenback' 'moola' and 'scratch' are often used as slang-type synonyms of what word? Answer: money SOCIOLINGUISTICS: The influence of sociocultural factors, especially changes, on linguistic behavior. Sample Question: The movement to rid English of its historical anti-female words and usage biases began during the 1960s in which of these countries? a. United States b. England c. Australia Answer: a. SPOONERISMS: Phrases or sentences comprised of misplaced or transposed letters, syllables and/or whole words. Sample Question: During WWI, what did Reverend William Spooner intend to say when he said, "When the boys come home from France, we'll have the hags flung out"? Answer: "When the boys come home from France, we'll have the flags hung out." TRUE OR FALSE: Questions with 50:50 probability. Sample Question: Since the word 'racism' did not appear in English until sometime around 1936, racist behavior did not exist among speakers of English before 1936. Answer: False - The appearance of the word suggests a new sensitivity to a behavior that is probably as old as humanity. WORD ORIGINS: Questions on the etymological roots of words. Sample Question: Which of the synonyms 'eyren' or 'eggs' came from Norse, the language of the Vikings? Answer: eggs-eyren was the Old English word for eggs |