English Language History Trivia Quiz

Origins & Development

100

Which language family does English belong to?
a) Uralic
b) Romance
c) Germanic
d) Slavic

✅ c) Germanic

200

2. Which major event in 1066 had a profound impact on the English language, introducing thousands of French words?

   a) The Black Death

   b) The Battle of Hastings

   c) The Peasants’ Revolt

   d) The Magna Carta

✅ b) The Battle of Hastings

300

3. What was the primary language of government and law in England from the Norman Conquest until the late 14th century?

   a) Old English

   b) Latin

   c) Anglo-Norman French

   d) Middle English

✅ c) Anglo-Norman French

400

4. Which famous literary work, written in Middle English, helped standardize the language in the 14th century?

   a) Beowulf

   b) The Canterbury Tales

   c) Le Morte d'Arthur

   d) The Divine Comedy

✅ b) The Canterbury Tales

Linguistic Evolution

100

1. Which of these Old English words is still in common use today?

   a) Þeode (meaning "people")

   b) Huð (meaning "booty")

   c) Cyning (meaning "king")

   d) Ealu (meaning "ale")

✅ c) Cyning (meaning "king")

200

2. What significant linguistic shift between the 15th and 18th centuries drastically changed English pronunciation?

   a) The Grimm’s Law Shift

   b) The Great Vowel Shift

   c) The Latin Influence Shift

   d) The Scandinavian Migration Shift

✅ b) The Great Vowel Shift

300

3. Which language contributed the largest number of loanwords to English?

   a) Norse

   b) Latin

   c) French

   d) Greek

✅ c) French

400

4. Which of the following words was borrowed from Norse rather than French or Latin?

   a) Government

   b) Sky

   c) Justice

   d) Parliament

✅ b) Sky

Modern English & Global Spread

100

1. Who was the key figure in standardizing English spelling with his 18th-century dictionary?

   a) Samuel Johnson

   b) William Shakespeare

   c) Geoffrey Chaucer

   d) Noah Webster

✅ a) Samuel Johnson

200

2. Which form of English was heavily influenced by the works of Shakespeare?

   a) Old English

   b) Middle English

   c) Early Modern English

   d) Contemporary English

✅ c) Early Modern English

300

3. What is the main reason British and American English spellings differ (e.g., "colour" vs. "color")?

   a) The influence of Irish immigration

   b) A spelling reform led by Noah Webster

   c) The Norman Conquest

   d) The Industrial Revolution

✅ b) A spelling reform led by Noah Webster

400

4. Which of these varieties of English developed from British colonial influence?

   a) Singlish

   b) Scots

   c) Gothic

   d) Old Norse

✅ a) Singlish

Fun Facts & Oddities

100

2. Which of these modern English words comes from Anglo-Saxon (Old English) rather than Latin or French?

   a) Mansion

   b) Freedom

   c) Cuisine

   d) Bouquet

✅ b) Freedom

200

What is the shortest complete sentence in English?
a) Go.
b) Run.
c) No.
d) I am.

✅ Answer: a) Go.

300

3. What percentage of English vocabulary is estimated to be derived from French and Latin?

   a) Around 10%

   b) Around 30%

   c) Around 60%

   d) Around 90%

✅ c) Around 60%

400

1. Which letter was commonly used in Old English but disappeared from Modern English?

   a) Æ (ash)

   b) Ö (o with diaeresis)

   c) ß (sharp S)

   d) Ç (cedilla C)

✅ a) Æ (ash)