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Quiz about Official Languages of the World
Quiz about Official Languages of the World

Official Languages of the World Quiz


An official language is one that has been declared by governments as having special legal status within a country. Some have none, while others have several. How many can you recognize?

A multiple-choice quiz by timence. Estimated time: 4 mins.
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Author
timence
Time
4 mins
Type
Multiple Choice
Quiz #
375,283
Updated
Dec 03 21
# Qns
10
Difficulty
Tough
Avg Score
6 / 10
Plays
312
- -
Question 1 of 10
1. At the turn of the 21st century, what was the most common official language in the world (as measured by the number of countries with this official designated language)? Hint


Question 2 of 10
2. Which small South American country that borders both Brazil and Argentina declared 37 official languages in their 2009 constitution? Hint


Question 3 of 10
3. What was the total number of official national languages spoken in USA, UK and Australia combined at the turn of the 21st century? Hint


Question 4 of 10
4. South Africa had exactly one official language at the turn of the 21st century.


Question 5 of 10
5. When South Sudan formed its own country in 2011, what official language(s) did its new government declare? Hint


Question 6 of 10
6. How many official languages did Canada have at the turn of the 21st century? Hint


Question 7 of 10
7. In 2012, the Ukrainian Parliament unanimously agreed to add Russian to the list of its official languages.


Question 8 of 10
8. Which of these countries had the largest number of official languages at the turn of the 21st century? Hint


Question 9 of 10
9. It took until the year 2015 for a nation to add sign languages as an official language.


Question 10 of 10
10. Which of these is NOT an official language? Hint



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Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts
1. At the turn of the 21st century, what was the most common official language in the world (as measured by the number of countries with this official designated language)?

Answer: English

According to the CIA World Factbook, over 50 countries had English as one of their official languages at the turn of the 21st century. French and Arabic were next most popular (over 20 countries with each).
2. Which small South American country that borders both Brazil and Argentina declared 37 official languages in their 2009 constitution?

Answer: Bolivia

Bolivia set a world record with this declaration by agreeing that all their indigenous languages, including some that were extinct, were to be official. These were declared along with commonly spoken Spanish, Quecha and Aymara.
3. What was the total number of official national languages spoken in USA, UK and Australia combined at the turn of the 21st century?

Answer: 0

None of these countries has an official language at the national level. Several US states have declared their own formal languages (usually English), but these are not classified as official at a national level.
4. South Africa had exactly one official language at the turn of the 21st century.

Answer: False

South Africa is known as the 'rainbow nation' and has a large diversity of cultures. Along with this comes many official languages, including IsiZulu, IsiXhosa, English and Afrikaans.
5. When South Sudan formed its own country in 2011, what official language(s) did its new government declare?

Answer: English

Despite its inhabitants speaking an estimated 60 or more languages, this new independent nation chose English as its one and only official language.
6. How many official languages did Canada have at the turn of the 21st century?

Answer: 2

Canada's official languages are English and French, recognizing the large French-speaking population (about one-fifth of the country).
7. In 2012, the Ukrainian Parliament unanimously agreed to add Russian to the list of its official languages.

Answer: False

A Russian language bill in May 2012 actually caused a brawl among parliamentarians. Opponents to the bill wanted to retain Ukrainian as the one and only language. This was not the first time this has happened in the Ukraine. One member of Parliament was taken to hospital after suffering a blow to the head.
8. Which of these countries had the largest number of official languages at the turn of the 21st century?

Answer: Luxembourg

France (French), Germany (German) and Cuba (Spain) all had one official language. Luxembourg had a total of 3: Luxembourgish, French and German.
9. It took until the year 2015 for a nation to add sign languages as an official language.

Answer: False

There are at least two that added them before 2015: New Zealand added sign languages to their official list (along with Maori and English) in 2006, and Zimbabwe added them in 2013. Several other countries have also recognized sign languages in the constitutions alongside spoken languages.
10. Which of these is NOT an official language?

Answer: Austrian

Portuguese is the official language of Portugal and Brazil; Catalan of Andorra; and Arabic of a large number of countries in the Middle East. Austrian is not a language at all: German is the official language of Austria.
Source: Author timence

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