199 Language Trivia Questions with Answers
199 public questions with answers, drawn from the well. How many can you answer?
Language trivia covers the history, structure, writing systems, and global family tree of human languages. Questions move from English and Germanic languages to Romance languages, ancient scripts, extinct tongues, linguistic terminology, and modern alphabets used around the world.
You might identify the first complete Oxford English Dictionary edition, explain code-switching between languages, or recognize Russian as a language written in the Cyrillic alphabet. Other clues involve Linear B and the decipherment of Mycenaean Greek, Sumerian cuneiform, Braille’s raised-dot system, and Andorra’s official language. With 200 questions, this collection works for classroom revision, linguistics enthusiasts, pub quizzes, and broad general-knowledge game nights.
Which branch of the Germanic language family does English belong to?
Answer
West Germanic
What linguistic term means switching between two or more languages in a conversation?
Answer
Code-switching
Which extinct language was deciphered from Linear B tablets in the 1950s?
Answer
Mycenaean Greek
What is the oldest known writing system of ancient Mesopotamia?
Answer
Cuneiform
What alphabet is used to write modern Russian?
Answer
Cyrillic
How many cases are traditionally listed for Finnish nouns?
Answer
Fifteen
How many scripts appear on the Rosetta Stone?
Answer
Three
Which Native American scholar created the Cherokee syllabary?
Answer
Sequoyah
Which king is credited with creating the Korean alphabet Hangul?
Answer
Sejong the Great
What is the Korean alphabet called?
Answer
Hangul
What is the hypothetical proto-language from which all Indo-European languages descended called?
Answer
Proto-Indo-European
What is the study of the structure of sentences called?
Answer
syntax
What is the national language of Pakistan?
Answer
Urdu
What language family includes Georgian, Svan, and Mingrelian?
Answer
Kartvelian
Which script was invented for the Korean language?
Answer
Hangul
Which language is a classic example of an isolating language?
Answer
Mandarin Chinese
What is the study of the sounds of human speech called?
Answer
Phonetics
What is the world's oldest known written language?
Answer
Sumerian
What is the term for a word that imitates the sound it describes?
Answer
Onomatopoeia
What is the common English name for the symbol '@'?
Answer
At sign
What term describes a language with no native speakers still used in some contexts?
Answer
Dead language
What is the name of the ancient language of Hindu scriptures?
Answer
Sanskrit
What is the ancient Egyptian writing system using pictures?
Answer
Hieroglyphics
What is the Japanese writing system used for foreign words?
Answer
Katakana
What writing system is used for most European languages?
Answer
Latin script
What is the most common vowel sound in English?
Answer
Schwa
What part of speech is the word 'slowly'?
Answer
Adverb
What is the term for words that imitate sounds, like 'buzz'?
Answer
Onomatopoeia
In child language acquisition, what is the single-word stage called?
Answer
Holophrastic stage
What is a word formed by blending two words, like 'brunch'?
Answer
Portmanteau
Which country has 11 official languages?
Answer
South Africa
Language trivia — quick answers
What are good language trivia questions?
Good language trivia mixes history, vocabulary, grammar, language families, and writing systems. Examples include asking when the Oxford English Dictionary was completed, what code-switching means, which language is official in Andorra, what Linear B recorded, and which alphabet is used for modern Russian.
How hard is Language trivia?
The difficulty ranges from introductory to advanced. Basic questions may ask for the Cyrillic alphabet or Braille, while harder ones involve language classification, ancient writing systems, extinct languages, dictionary history, and the relationship between scripts and the languages that use them.
What is code-switching?
Code-switching is the practice of alternating between two or more languages, dialects, or language varieties during a conversation or sometimes within a single utterance. Speakers may switch to express identity, signal a change in audience, quote someone, emphasize an idea, or use the expression that best fits the context.
What is the oldest known writing system of Mesopotamia?
Cuneiform is generally considered the oldest known writing system of ancient Mesopotamia. It first developed among the Sumerians in the late fourth millennium BCE, initially to record administrative information. Its wedge-shaped marks were pressed into clay tablets, and the system was later adapted for languages including Akkadian, Elamite, and Hittite.
What is Linear B?
Linear B is an ancient writing system used mainly on Crete and mainland Greece during the Mycenaean period. British architect Michael Ventris deciphered it in the 1950s, demonstrating that it records an early form of Greek. The script appears on clay tablets documenting administration, supplies, personnel, and religious offerings.