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Germanic Languages for Kids! Trivia Quiz

Many languages spoken around the world today are descended from "Proto-Germanic" which was spoken around 15 centuries ago. This quiz takes a look at some of them.

A multiple-choice quiz by lorance79. Estimated time: 3 mins.

Author
lorance79

Time
3 mins

Type
Multiple Choice

Quiz #
352,193

Updated
Dec 03 21

# Qns
10

Difficulty
Very Easy

Avg Score
9 / 10

Plays
1596

Awards
Top 20% Quiz

Last 3 plays: characharaboy (10/10), Rumpo (10/10), masfon (10/10).

One at a Time - Single Page - Timed Game

Question 1 of 10

1. This is one of the most commonly spoken languages in the world. Shakespeare wrote in this language. Hint

Cantonese

French

English

Spanish

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Question 2 of 10

2. This language is spoken by Jewish people in many parts of the world. Words like bagel, klutz and schmaltz come from this language. Hint

French

Arabic

Yiddish

Portuguese

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Question 3 of 10

3. This is the official language of a small European country whose capital is Copenhagen. Hans Christian Andersen wrote his fairy tales in this language. Hint

Russian

Danish

Hindi

Japanese

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Question 4 of 10

4. The nationality of the chef on 'The Muppet Show' means that he might be speaking which language? Hint

Polish

Swedish

Burmese

Dutch

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Question 5 of 10

5. I show my good manners by saying bitte and danke in this language, which is spoken in Austria and Switzerland, among other countries. Hint

Catalan

Pashto

German

Persian

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Question 6 of 10

6. Singer Bj�rk has hit songs in English, but she also sings in this language. Hint

Bavarian

Greek

Malay

Icelandic

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Question 7 of 10

7. If I'm having trouble understanding someone, I might say they are speaking double this language. Hint

Inuit

Spanish

Dutch

Hindi

8. Some languages are mutually intelligible, which means that people who speak them can understand each other pretty well. Swedish is mutually intelligible with which other Scandinavian language? Hint

Norwegian

Maltese

Romansch

Irish

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Question 9 of 10

9. Aardvark, apartheid, springbok and trek are all words from this language which is spoken in South Africa. Hint

Polish

Punjabi

Afrikaans

Turkish

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Question 10 of 10

10. It might sound like this was spoken by ancient Egyptian kings, but it's actually the official language of an island group south-east of Iceland. Hint

Mongolian

Swahili

Faroese

Hebrew

Most Recent Scores

Dec 11 2024 : characharaboy: 10/10
Dec 10 2024 : Rumpo: 10/10
Nov 25 2024 : masfon: 10/10
Nov 25 2024 : Nicobutch: 10/10
Nov 20 2024 : redwaldo: 10/10

Score Distribution

Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts

1. This is one of the most commonly spoken languages in the world. Shakespeare wrote in this language.

Answer: English

English is the native language of more than 350 million people, and is estimated to be understood by another 500 million or more. It is the official language of over 50 countries.

2. This language is spoken by Jewish people in many parts of the world. Words like bagel, klutz and schmaltz come from this language.

Answer: Yiddish

Yiddish is a mixture of Hebrew and Aramaic, with sprinklings of other languages, and is written in the Hebrew alphabet. Israel and the United States are the countries where it is most commonly spoken.

3. This is the official language of a small European country whose capital is Copenhagen. Hans Christian Andersen wrote his fairy tales in this language.

Answer: Danish

Danish is mainly spoken in Denmark (no surprises there) and Greenland as well as some parts of Germany. At the turn of the 21st century around 6 million people spoke Danish.

4. The nationality of the chef on 'The Muppet Show' means that he might be speaking which language?

Answer: Swedish

Swedish is the official language of Sweden (no surprises there) and is spoken by around 10 million people. The Swedish chef on 'The Muppet Show' mostly speaks gibberish. Fun fact: in Sweden, they call him the Norwegian chef!

5. I show my good manners by saying bitte and danke in this language, which is spoken in Austria and Switzerland, among other countries.

Answer: German

German has over 100 million native speakers. It has official language status in Germany (obviously), Austria, Switzerland, Liechtenstein and Luxembourg, and is also one of the official languages of the European Union. Its reach extends beyond Europe--the African country of Namibia, which is a former colony of Germany, had German as an official language between 1984 and 1990.

6. Singer Bj�rk has hit songs in English, but she also sings in this language.

Answer: Icelandic

Icelandic is spoken in...wait for it...Iceland, and also parts of Denmark. It is closely related to Faroese. Roughly one-third of a million people speak Icelandic.

7. If I'm having trouble understanding someone, I might say they are speaking double this language.

Answer: Dutch

"Double Dutch" is an English phrase that means gibberish or incomprehensible speech. In fact, Dutch is used (and understood!) by more than 25 million people in countries as diverse as Belgium, Suriname, South Africa and Indonesia. Not bad at all for a language that originated in a country as small as the Netherlands.

8. Some languages are mutually intelligible, which means that people who speak them can understand each other pretty well. Swedish is mutually intelligible with which other Scandinavian language?

Answer: Norwegian

Norwegian is used little outside Norway, where it has approximately 5 million native speakers. There are two official forms of Norwegian endorsed by the government, as well as numerous regional dialects.

9. Aardvark, apartheid, springbok and trek are all words from this language which is spoken in South Africa.

Answer: Afrikaans

Afrikaans developed from the Dutch language spoken by Dutch settlers in South Africa in the 17th century, picking up new words from the languages of other cultural groups in the region. It is now commonly used in South Africa and Namibia as well as Botswana and Zimbabwe. It is estimated that around 15-20 million people speak Afrikaans, of which one-third claim it as their mother tongue.

10. It might sound like this was spoken by ancient Egyptian kings, but it's actually the official language of an island group south-east of Iceland.

Answer: Faroese

This one is pretty obscure, unless you live way up in the cold northern seas. Fewer than 100,000 people speak Faroese nowadays.

Faroese descended from the Old West Norse language used in the Middle Ages. It is related to the modern-day languages Norwegian and Icelandic, so it's more likely to be understood by vikings than pharaohs!

Source: Author lorance79

This quiz was reviewed by FunTrivia editor NatalieW before going online.
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