Deck 7: Native American Languages; Other Heritage Languages; Spanish As a Heritage Language

Question 1

Which of the following is NOT true regarding language and Native Americans?

A) The Native American Languages Act declared that the U.S. should take steps to support the preservation of Native American languages
B) "Native American English" refers to any dialect of English that was created on American soil
C) Native American languages show a tremendous amount of linguistic diversity, due to the fact that many of these languages are structurally and historically unrelated to one another
D) Even though perhaps hundreds of Native American languages have died out, approximately 134 are still spoken in the United States

Answer 1

B

Question 2

Thinking of the diversity of languages and dialects in the U.S., which of the following statements is NOT true?

A) "Yellow English" and "Spanglish" refer to dialects spoken by Asian and Latin American immigrants, respectively
B) Both Native American languages and creoles, such as Louisiana Creole and Hawaiian Creole, are indigenous to the area that is now the U.S.
C) Diglossia may historically be observed both in Jewish and Arabic linguistic communities
D) Revitalization efforts are underway for several Native American languages, but most, if not all of these languages are still considered to be endangered
E) Historically, the US gained Spanish and French speakers not only through immigration but also by acquiring territory where speakers of these languages resided

Answer 2

A

Question 3

Which of the following best describes a lingua franca?

A) A third common language shared by two parties who otherwise speak different languages
B) The cultural differences between linguistic groups
C) The language of the dominant group in a language contact situation
D) The language of the least dominant group in a language contact situation
E) A highly simplified linguistic system and vocabulary formed by speakers who do not otherwise share a common language

Answer 3

A

Question 4

Arabic is diglossic because:

A) Arabic writing moves from right to left
B) Like Hebrew, Arabic is a recently revitalized language
C) Arabic phonology is categorized into two forms: jargon and slang
D) The semantic structure of written Arabic is different than the phonology of regional varieties
E) Two separate forms of the language are used for different functions and purposes; standard Arabic is generally used for religious or formal writing while regional or national dialects are used for everyday speech

Question 5

Which of the following is NOT true regarding heritage languages?

A) They are sometimes referred to as "linguistic minorities"
B) The term is only applied to minority languages with significant numbers of speakers that have dominance within particular communities
C) Their speakers often face many challenges, including the inability to access legal, medical, and educational services in their native tongues
D) They are vital to the lives of their speakers, creating unity and serving as markers of identity in the communities in which they are used
E) Spanish is the most commonly used heritage language in the U.S. today

Question 6

Which of the following describes "Yellow English?"

A) Speech that is a combination of Chinese and English
B) The use of features of AAE within the Asian community
C) The negative images of Asian English perpetuated by popular culture
D) The dialect of English spoken by the pan-Asian American community
E) The creole that developed on plantations in Hawaii due to the mixture of English speakers and indentured servants

Question 7

Which of the following was the primary language of Sephardic Jews when they first immigrated to North America?

A) Yiddish
B) Ashkenazi
C) Sephardim
D) Dzhudezmo
E) Jewish English

Question 8

Which of the following statements in NOT true of Asian immigration?

A) The number of Asian immigrants to the United States has decreased significantly over the last few decades
B) The building of the transcontinental railroad was a significant factor behind Chinese immigration in the mid to late 19th century because it brought in many laborers
C) The first major Chinese immigration wave was disproportionately male
D) The second wave saw increased immigration from Korea, Cambodia, and Thailand
E) The second wave saw increased immigration of professionals and families

Question 9

Which of the following languages has been spoken for the longest time in the geographical area that is present-day United States?

A) Spanish
B) English
C) Gullah
D) Louisiana Creole
E) Portuguese

Question 10

Which of the following is NOT true of the history of German language and its speakers in the U.S.?

A) The U.S. saw highest levels of immigration of German speakers in the 19th c.
B) German speakers are still successfully resisting the shift to monolingual English, as indicated by rising numbers of heritage German classes in U.S. schools and colleges
C) The German language was used in the U.S. not only by German immigrants but also by immigrants for whom German was not a native language, such as Swedes and Norwegians, but who used it to talk to one another
D) German parochial schools existed throughout the Midwest and parts of Texas at the beginning of the 20th century
E) The anti-German sentiment during WWI and afterwards resulted in attempts to ban the German language in some states

Question 11

Which of the following statements in NOT true of Chinese heritage speakers and their history in the U.S.?

A) The number of Chinese immigrants to the United States has decreased slightly over the last few decades.
B) The building of the transcontinental railroad was a significant factor behind Chinese immigration in the 19th century
C) The first major Chinese immigration wave was disproportionately male
D) Mandarin-speaking scholars at the turn of the millennium were more socially accepted by the U.S. mainstream culture than the 19th century immigrants
E) The second wave of immigration by the Chinese began just after China's Communist Revolution in 1949 and primarily consisted of Chinese from Taiwan and Hong Kong, rather than the mainland.

Question 12

Choose two of the immigrant groups that we have discussed this semester, then compare and contrast their language use, disuse, and maintenance in terms of their community histories and contemporary situations.

Question 13

Which of the following is NOT considered a reason for the continued maintenance of Spanish in the US?

A) A large and increasing number of speakers in the U.S.
B) The close proximity to Spanish-speaking countries
C) The increased availability of Spanish language mass media
D) The increased prestige of the language through the use of Mock Spanish
E) The popularity of Spanish as a foreign language in school systems

Question 14

A family that consists of parents who are first-generation immigrants from Mexico and their US-born children have designated Tuesday nights as "Spanish-only" nights in their household. This is an example of:

A) Bilingual education
B) Language maintenance
C) Linguistic assimilation
D) Diglossia
E) Language profiling

Question 15

Define the terms "Mock Spanish" and "Spanglish" and discuss what each reveals about the connection between language and identity.