01
Choose one
1 point
Which description most precisely defines an accent?
Free Practice Quiz Question List
09 Language Variation Online Quiz Questions
Use this free practice quiz with 20 questions to review 09 Language Variation, test your knowledge, and prepare for your next test or exam.
20 questions
02
True or false
1 point
A speaker's accent or dialect is a natural form of language variation, not by itself evidence of a communication disorder.
- A
True
- B
False
03
Fill in the blank
1 point
The field that studies how linguistic choices relate to social life is .
04
Choose all
1 point
Which features can differ between dialects? Select all that apply.
- A
Pronunciation
- B
Word forms
- C
Sentence patterns
- D
Vocabulary
- E
Only spelling conventions
05
True or false
1 point
If a linguistic pattern is associated with a social group, that association is a tendency and does not determine how every individual in the group speaks.
- A
True
- B
False
06
Choose one
1 point
In the example “She be working on Saturdays,” what meaning does habitual be convey?
- A
She is working at this exact moment.
- B
She usually works on Saturdays.
- C
She worked once on a Saturday in the past.
- D
She might work on Saturday, but no pattern is implied.
07
Written response
1 point
A person uses more formal vocabulary in a job interview than with close friends. What is this adjustment in language use called?
08
Fill in the blank
1 point
The boundary between a language and a dialect may reflect as well as linguistic differences.
09
Written response
1 point
What two-word term describes the social status a variety may gain when institutions favor it in schools, government, or professional settings?
10
Choose all
1 point
Which conclusions about listeners' judgments of linguistic features are supported? Select all that apply.
- A
They can reveal social beliefs or stereotypes about speakers.
- B
They prove that one dialect is inherently more logical than another.
- C
They can contribute to unfair evaluations in classrooms or workplaces.
- D
They show that a speaker's language is not systematic.
11
Choose one
1 point
A speaker emphasizes local linguistic features when speaking with neighbors. What is a reasonable interpretation of this choice?
- A
The speaker has one fixed identity that cannot change across settings.
- B
The speaker is making a linguistic error by using local features.
- C
The speaker may be expressing affiliation with a place or community.
- D
The speaker is unable to use other varieties.
12
True or false
1 point
Because members of a community share linguistic resources, variation within one speaker is unrelated to variation across speakers.
- A
True
- B
False
13
Open ended
1 point
A workplace evaluator marks a systematic feature of an applicant's dialect as an error. Explain why this judgment is not justified by the feature alone, and describe one possible consequence for the applicant.
14
Written response
1 point
What term describes a socially recognized dialect whose conventions may be favored and taught by institutions?
15
Written response
1 point
What term describes a rule-governed variety associated with a group of speakers?
16
Choose one
1 point
In the example “She be working on Saturdays,” what meaning does habitual be convey in African American English?
- A
She is working on one particular Saturday.
- B
She regularly works on Saturdays.
- C
She has stopped working on Saturdays.
- D
She might work on a Saturday in the future.
17
Choose one
1 point
What can a speaker's linguistic choices communicate about identity?
- A
They necessarily reveal the speaker's fixed identity.
- B
They can express affiliation with a place, community, or peer group without necessarily indicating a fixed identity.
- C
They prove that one dialect is linguistically superior to another.
- D
They show that language variation is random rather than systematic.
18
Choose one
1 point
Two speech varieties have substantial linguistic differences, but people disagree about whether they are separate languages or dialects. Which consideration best explains why the classification may not follow linguistic differences alone?
- A
It is determined only by whether the varieties have different pronunciations.
- B
It can reflect political and historical factors as well as linguistic differences.
- C
A dialect is simply a variety without grammatical rules.
- D
A language has no variation, while a dialect does.
19
Choose one
1 point
A school teaches a standard variety and expects students to use it in formal assignments. What conclusion is best supported about the standard variety's status?
- A
Its institutional prestige reflects social status, not inherent linguistic superiority.
- B
It is favored because other dialects lack systematic rules.
- C
Its institutional use proves that it is more expressive than other dialects.
- D
It is not a dialect because it is taught in schools.
20
Choose one
1 point
A speaker emphasizes local speech features with neighbors but uses a more widely shared variety in another setting. Which interpretation best fits this pattern?
- A
A speaker's linguistic features always reveal one fixed identity.
- B
Using a widely shared variety means a speaker has rejected every local affiliation.
- C
Combining features associated with several groups is not possible.
- D
A speaker may use different features to present different aspects of identity in different settings.