History of English Language

1 of 1 sets

1. Indo European language are believe to derive from a hypothetical language

known as……………..
A. proto – indo- european
B. germanic
C. indo- iranian
D. avestan
Answer:A

2. The earliest possible end of Proto- Indo- European linguistic unity is believed to
be around
o m
A. 3300 b c e
. c
B. 3400 bce
te
C. 3000 bce
a
D. 4000 bce

q M
Answer:B
c
Mthat forms part f the Iranian group
3. ……………..is the language
A. avestan
B. english
C. dutch
D. german
Answer:A

4. The earliest surviving written evidence of a Greek language is………….

A. mycenaean
B. avestan
C. indic
D. germanic
Answer:A

5. In which language most of the ancient Greek poetry and prose were written?
 A. mycenaean
B. greek
C. attic
D. indic
Answer:C

6. Insular celtic flourished in………….

A. england
B. ireland
C. germany
D. france
Answer:B

7. ……………is the last branch of Indo European languages to appear in written

form.
A. latvian
B. danish
C. albanian
D. lithuvanian
Answer:C

8. The term applied to certain changes in vowel in accented syllables owing to the
influence of neighbouring sounds
A. umlaut or mutation
B. ablaut
C. consonant shift
D. vowel shift
Answer:A

9. Most of the important literary works of the Old English period were written in
the ………. dialect
A. mercian
B. kentish
C. northumbrian
D. west saxon
Answer:D

View all MCQ's at McqMate.com

10. Beowulf was written in ………..dialect
A. mercian
B. west saxon
C. kentish
D. northumbrian
Answer:B

11. …………was the dialect of the Jutes who were the earliest settlers in Britain
A. kentish
B. mercian
C. west saxon
D. northumbrian
Answer:A

12. Which among are the dialects of Middle English?

A. mercian, northumbrian, northern
B. west saxon, kentish, east midland
C. northern, the midland, the southern
D. kentish, midland, mercian
Answer:C

13. The dialect of Middle English in which Chaucer wrote his poems
A. east midland
B. west midland
C. south midland
D. central midland
Answer:A

14. During the Middle English period English came under the strong influence of
the ………..language.
A. latin
B. french
C. german
D. greek
Answer:B

View all MCQ's at McqMate.com

15. Identify a word from French language which is common in usage.
A. ox
B. calf
C. sheep
D. beef
Answer:D

16. “ It is melancholy to think what English dinner table would have been like had
there been no Norman Conquest” Whose words are these
A. chomsky
B. f t wood
C. a c baugh
D. macaulay
Answer:C

17. The influence of Renaissance is most clearly seen in the introduction of a large
number of …….. and …………… words into English during the early modern
English period.
A. greek and latin
B. french and latin
C. greek and german
D. german and latin
Answer:A

18. The term Inkhorn term refers to………..words and expressions borrowed
indiscriminately from the classical languages
A. french
B. latin
C. german
D. west saxon
Answer:B

19. The Anglican Prayer Book was first issued in………….

A. 1456
B. 1540
C. 1549

View all MCQ's at McqMate.com

 D. 1500
Answer:C

20. ………….had translated the Bible in 1588

A. king james
B. coverdale
C. tyndale
D. purvey
Answer:D

21. The history of the English Bible begins with the work of …………..in 1526
A. tyndale
B. purvey
C. coverdale
D. king james
Answer:D

22. Authorized version of Bible was published in…………

A. 1600
B. 1611
C. 1612
D. 1687
Answer:B

23. The authorized version of Bible was made according to the suggestions of
……….
A. coverdale
B. dr johnson
C. king james i
D. king james ii
Answer:C

24. The vocabulary of the authorized version of the Bible adopted mainly from…..
A. kentish
B. latin
C. french

View all MCQ's at McqMate.com

 D. anglo saxon
Answer:D

25. “ After reading St. Paul’s epistle to the Hebrews, Homer and Virgil are
disgustingly tame to me Milton himself barely tolerable” Who said these words?
A. tennyson
B. coleridge
C. wordsworth
D. arnold
Answer:B

26. Printing was introduced into England in 1476 by …………….

A. william bailey
B. coverdale
C. william caxton
D. william jones
Answer:C

27. Which dialect was used by William Caxton for printing ?

A. west midland
B. east midland
C. kentish
D. central midland
Answer:B

28. The remarkable changes in the pronunciation of vowels which took place
during the transition from Middle English to Modern English are commonly
referred to as the ………
A. great vowel shift
B. consonant shift
C. addition
D. mutation
Answer:A

29. The Old English Period has been called the period of …………
A. leveled inflections

View all MCQ's at McqMate.com

 B. lost inflection
C. less inflection
D. full inflection
Answer:D

30. The Middle English Period has been called the period of ……………
A. leveled inflections
B. lost inflection
C. less inflection
D. full inflection
Answer:A

31. The New English Period has been known as……………

A. leveled inflections
B. lost inflection
C. less inflection
D. full inflection
Answer:B

32. “ How barbarously we yet write and speak. Your lordship knows, and I am
sufficiently sensible in my own English” Whose words are these?
A. tennyson
B. dryden
C. johnson
D. wordsworth
Answer:B

33. in the 18th century the need for standardization and regulation of English was
summed up in the word………..
A. standardization
B. addition
C. ascertainment
D. regularization
Answer:C

34. Who defined ascertainment as a “settled rule, an established standard.”

View all MCQ's at McqMate.com

 A. dryden
B. tennyson
C. swift
D. dr. johnson
Answer:D

35. “ A proposal for Correcting, Improving and Ascertaining the English Tongue”
is the title of the letter by ………….
A. swift
B. dryden
C. tennyson
D. dr. johnson
Answer:A

36. Dr. Jonhson’s “ A Dictionary of the English Language” was published in

………
A. 1765
B. 1766
C. 1755
D. 1789
Answer:C

37. Who is the author of “ A Dictionary of the English Language?

A. jonson
B. dr. johnson
C. swift
D. king james
Answer:B

38. Who is the author of the book “Practical Grammar of the English Tongue”
A. william jones
B. werner
C. dr. johnson
D. william loughton
Answer:D

View all MCQ's at McqMate.com

39. “The Rudiment of English Grammar” was written by………
A. joseph priestley
B. william loughton
C. werner
D. dr. johnson
Answer:A

40. Who is the author of “ The British Grammar”?

A. robert lowth
B. james buchanan
C. loughton
D. swift
Answer:B

41. Who of the following announced that many languages came from one old base
language?
A. sir william jones
B. sassetti
C. jacob grimm
D. joseph greenberg
Answer:A

42. What was the second earliest form of language seen on earth?
A. cave drawings
B. cuneiform
C. english
D. indo- european
Answer:B

43. Which f the following words might be of Vicking Descent?

A. skate
B. crabby
C. rate
D. a and b
Answer:D

View all MCQ's at McqMate.com

44. Around how many words did Shakespeare invent?
A. 20.000
B. 9, 000
C. 10,000
D. 8000
Answer:A

45. During the Middle English period, many words were borrowed from which two
languages?
A. celtic and old norse
B. latin and french
C. urdu and iroquoian
D. spanish and latin
Answer:B

46. Which Anglo- Irish writer proposed the creation of an English Academy to
regulate English Usage and “ascertain” the language?
A. jonathan swift
B. samuel johnson
C. dryden
D. oliver goldsmith
Answer:A

47. The Philological society’sNew English Dictionary on Historical Principles,

begun in 1879, was eventually published under which title in 1928?
A. roget’s thesaurus
B. the king’s english
C. oxford english dictionary
D. webster’s dictionary
Answer:C

48. “The Ecclesiastical History of the English People”, a key source f information
about Anglo Saxon settlement is the work of ……….
A. william jones
B. venerable bede
C. king james i

View all MCQ's at McqMate.com

 D. william langland
Answer:B

49. Who is the author of The First English Dictionary?

A. dr. johnson
B. robert cawdrey
C. john wilkins
D. thomas sheridon
Answer:B

50. The First English Dictionary “ Table Alphabeticall” was published in…..
A. 1608
B. 1700
C. 1678
D. 1604
Answer:D

51. Who is the author of the essay “ Essay Upon Projects” that proposes an
academy of 36 “gentlemen” to dictate English usage?
A. daniel defoe
B. jonathan swift
C. oliver goldsmith
D. john wilkins
Answer:A

52. The Authorized Version of English Bible was published in which year?
A. 1607
B. 1611
C. 1612
D. 1600
Answer:B

53. Which language is the most closely related to Modern English?

A. frisian
B. german
C. gothic

View all MCQ's at McqMate.com

 D. islandic
Answer:A

54. Which language is the most closely related to Modern English

A. frisian
B. islandic
C. gothic
D. german
Answer:B

55. Cynwulf wrote during which stage of Old English?

A. prehistoric
B. late old english
C. primitive
D. early old english
Answer:D

56. Who wrote the “ Essay towards a Real character and a Philosophical
Language”?
A. john wilkins
B. james hermes
C. thomas sheridan
D. william jones
Answer:A

57. When part of one word is combined with part of another in order to form a
new word , carrying with it the ideas behind both the original terms, is known as a
……………..word
A. loan word
B. noun word
C. portmanteau word
D. blend word
Answer:C

58. Which among is an example of Portmanteau word

A. melodrama

View all MCQ's at McqMate.com

 B. tragedy
C. nickname
D. forlorn
Answer:A

59. Which among the following is the contribution of Shakespeare?

A. utopian
B. idealism
C. multitudinous
D. fairy tale
Answer:C

60. Identify the word that derived from Greek language

A. formula
B. phenomenon
C. fableaux
D. stratum
Answer:B

61. Identify the word that borrowed from Latin to English

A. formula
B. phenomenon
C. criteria
D. analogy
Answer:A

62. Identify the word that borrowed from French to English

A. phenomenon
B. guillotine
C. theatre
D. genius
Answer:B

63. Who is the author of the book “The Growth and Structure of the English
Language”?
A. otto jespersen

View all MCQ's at McqMate.com

 B. robert lowth
C. william bullokar
D. willaiam cobbett
Answer:A

64. Name of the group of related languages all derived from vulgar Latin within
historical times and forming a subgroup of the italic branch of the Indo –
European language family.
A. italic languages
B. sardinian languages
C. romanian languages
D. romance languages
Answer:D

65. Identify the language that is included in Romance languages

A. spanish
B. sanskrit
C. german
D. arabic
Answer:A

66. Identify a word that is originated from Dutch language

A. rainbow
B. landscape
C. shampoo
D. water
Answer:B

67. The word……………has been derived from Indian Language

A. rainbow
B. water
C. shampoo
D. skipper
Answer:C

View all MCQ's at McqMate.com

68. In linguistics ………….is the study of words , how they are formed, and their
relationship to other words in the same language
A. ontology
B. morphology
C. phonology
D. etymology
Answer:B

69. The branch of linguistics and logics concerned with meaning

A. morphology
B. ontology
C. semantics
D. etymology
Answer:C

70. ‘Immediate Constituent Analysis’ was first introduced by…………

A. zelling harris
B. roulon wells
C. bloomfield
D. norm chomsky
Answer:C

71. Transformational-Generative Grammar was developed by……

A. bloomfield
B. norm chomsky
C. m a k halliday
D. henderson
Answer:B

72. ………..put forward a theory called ‘Scale and Category Grammar’

A. bloomfield
B. j r firth
C. norm chomsky
D. m a k halliday
Answer:D

View all MCQ's at McqMate.com

73. The Firthian or Hallidayan theory may be said to represent the………..School
of Linguistics
A. american
B. british
C. french
D. german
Answer:B

74. ……….is an example of Freak formation

A. air- raid
B. teetotal
C. aviator
D. daisy
Answer:B

75. …………..is a semantic process by a term which at one time had a specialized
and restricted meaning comes to have a wider application.
A. specialization
B. generalization
C. deterioration
D. polarisation
Answer:B

76. A very large number of words have undergone a peculiar kind of change of
meaning which consists in the addition of what has been called …..
A. generalization
B. specialisation
C. emotional connotation
D. deterioration
Answer:C

77. …………occurs when a word gains association with a negative stimulus, to then
hold negative connotations.
A. elevation
B. shift
C. deterioration

View all MCQ's at McqMate.com

 D. generalization
Answer:C

78. ……………is a type of semantic change that happens when a word’s meaning
improves or becomes more positive over time .
A. deterioration
B. amelioration
C. generalization
D. specialization
Answer:B

79. …………..is a polite word or expression that is used to refer to things which
people may find upsetting or embarrassing to talk about.
A. anaphora
B. euphemism
C. hyperbole
D. metaphor
Answer:B

80. ……………is a grammatically simplified means of communication that

develops between two or more groups that do not have a language in common.
A. pidgin
B. creole
C. romance
D. patois
Answer:A

81. The dialect of a particular region, especially one with low status in relation to
standard language of the country is known as………..
A. pidgin
B. creole
C. patois
D. romance
Answer:C

View all MCQ's at McqMate.com

82. ………….have resulted from the interactions between speakers of nonstandard
varieties of European languages and speakers of no- European languages
A. pidgin
B. creole
C. patois
D. romance
Answer:B

83. What is the dialect of the working class of East End London ?
A. east anglian
B. lancashire
C. cockney
D. yorkshire
Answer:C

84. American English derives from …….. century British English.

A. 16th
B. 15th
C. 18th
D. 17th
Answer:D

85. Who is the author of “Decolonizing the Mind”?

A. ngugi wa thiong
B. chinua achiba
C. salman rushdie
D. bill ashcrofthe
Answer:A

86. Who wrote “ Nation and Narration”?

A. gayatri spivak
B. homi k bhabha
C. salman rushdie
D. harish trivedi
Answer:B

View all MCQ's at McqMate.com

87. “Imaginary Homelands” is the work of ………….
A. gayatri spivak
B. homi k bhabha
C. ranajit guha
D. salman rushdie
Answer:D

88. The institutionalized study of English in India began with the …………of 1835
A. macaulay minute
B. charter act
C. wood’s despatch
D. government of india act
Answer:A

View all MCQ's at McqMate.com