The Case of the Disappearing Words

The _____ studied how to revive an extinct language.

• term

• lecture

• fluently

• linguists

How can we save the endangered languages?

• hearing them in music only

• teaching them schools, have radio shows

• just recording them for the history books

• by going to Science Museums

According to “The Case of the Disappearing Words,” which of the following is true of languages today?

• The number of languages in use is declining, so people are working to preserve them.

• The number of languages in use is increasing as people communicate with different cultures.

• The number of languages in use is stable thanks to new appreciation for their importance.

• The number of languages in use was declining, but the efforts of linguists have helped to increase them.

According to “The Case of the Disappearing Words,” what is one important reason that people stop speaking a language?

• They want to be accepted by other people.

• They do not have books written in the language.

• They realize another language is more advanced.

• They do not think the language should be preserved.

According to “The Case of the Disappearing Words,” what did Eliezer Ben-Yehuda do to help bring back the Hebrew language? Choose all that apply.

• 
  He wrote religious texts in Hebrew.

• 
  He founded a nation that spoke Hebrew.

• He created Hebrew words for modern things.

• He convinced teachers to hold classes in Hebrew.

According to “The Case of the Disappearing Words,” which of the following is most likely to be true of a critically endangered language (the most endangered category of language)?

• There are no known people who speak the language.

• 
  Few people other than grandparents speak the language.

• Children are the only ones who regularly speak the language.

• The language is spoken regularly indoors but not much outdoors.

According to “The Case of the Disappearing Words,” what strategy did Hawaiians use to help their language come back?

• They opened a school where only Hawaiian is spoken.

• They created an app where people can text in Hawaiian.

• They preserved recordings of people speaking in Hawaiian.

• They opened a museum dedicated to the Hawaiian language.

Which quotation from “The Case of the Disappearing Words” most clearly supports the idea that people stop speaking a language because they want to be accepted by others?

• Now Navajo children are unlikely to grow up speaking the language fluently.

• 
  Earth is home to around 7,000 languages, but linguists are rushing to catalog them because around half are expected to disappear by 2100.

• Sometimes younger generations stop learning a language because parents want children to fit in and get jobs in the majority culture.

• Sometimes societies force minorities to give up language and traditions.

ccording to “The Case of the Disappearing Words,” which of the following is an important benefit of saving a language?

• It can introduce people to new sounds.

• It can help people create new languages.

• It can help people develop new technologies.

• It can teach people new things about the world.

According to “The Case of the Disappearing Words,” which of the following is an important benefit of saving a language is because it can teach people new things about the world.

• The term for eelgrass in Mexico’s Seri language alerted scientists that eelgrass, unlike most sea grasses, is a nutritious food.

• 
  In Welsh, it rains not cats and dogs, but old wives and walking sticks.

• Cherokee speakers can use an app that lets them text in their native alphabet.

• 
  Students can keep learning in Hawaiian into college and beyond—the University of Hawaii offers a Ph.D. in the Hawaiian language.