​Language Extinction: Multiple Choice Grammar Test

As economic and cultural globalization and development continue (1) _________ , growing numbers of languages will become (2) _________ and eventually, extinct. With increasing (3) _________ integration on national and regional scales, people find it easier to communicate and(4) _________ business in the dominant languages of world commerce: English, Chinese, and Spanish.

In their study of contact-induced language change, American (5) _________ Sarah Grey Thomason and Terrence Kaufman state that in situations of cultural pressure (where populations must speak a dominant language), three linguistic (6) _________ may occur: first - and most (7) _________ a subordinate population may shift (8) _________ to the dominant language, leaving the native language to a sudden linguistic death. Second, the more gradual process of language death may occur over (9) _________ generations. The third and most rare outcome is for the (10) _________ group to maintain as much of its native language as possible, while borrowing elements of the dominant(11) _________ grammar (replacing ail, or portions of, the grammar of the original language).

Institutions such as the education system, as well as (often global) forms of media such as the Internet, television, and print media play a significant role in the process of language loss. For example, (12) _________ may travel from one country to (13) _________ , their children then attend school in the country, and the schools may teach them in the official language of the country rather than their native language.