A short quiz and primer on language varieties to test your translation knowledge.
With these questions about translation, test how good your knowledge is!
Do you know how many languages there are? Which one does not have any alphabet? What are the most spoken languages in the UK besides English, or the top worldwide languages? Find out by completing our translation quiz, a chance to test your knowledge of hard translation facts you might need to learn.
Most Important Question About Translation
What is language? This is the critical question we ask ourselves before tackling a translation project.
As defined by Britannica, language is "a system of conventional spoken, manual (signed), or written symbols by means of which human beings, as members of a social group and participants in its culture, express themselves". This just makes translation all the more interesting!
Different Types of Languages
There are different types of language varieties. The following are some examples:
- Standard / Polite / Formal – the language that follows the rules and is referred to as the 'proper' form of English (read about the English Received Pronunciation).
- Colloquial / Informal – anything that is not formal, often referred to as spoken language.
- Regional Dialect – based on regionally specific use. For instance, in the UK there is a clear distinction between the English spoken in the North and in the South. You can even find localised dialects spoken in specific cities (e.g. Geordie in Newcastle).
- Social Dialect – emerged based on a specific class or culture, sometimes referred to as a minority dialect. For example, African American Vernacular English is seen to be part of this category.
- Jargon – special words and phrases used by particular groups of people, especially in their work (Cambridge Dictionary).
- Slang – vocabulary, idiom, etc, that is not appropriate to the standard form of a language or to formal contexts, and is characteristically more metaphorical and transitory than standard language (Collins).
These are all things we have to be aware of as a voice over company here at GoLocalise. We translate in over 300 languages!
Translation Practice Questions
The original article features an interactive quiz widget ("Test Your Language Knowledge") that you click to start. The quiz asks tricky questions about translation and languages, such as how many languages exist, which language has no alphabet, and the most spoken languages in the UK and worldwide. It scores your answers so you can try again to beat your previous score.
Don't worry if you didn't manage to get them all right, there were some tricky questions in there. You always have the chance to give it another go and increase your previous score!
FUN FACT! Did you know that the Cambodian (Khmer) language possesses the longest alphabet, with more than 73 characters?
At GoLocalise, as well as providing audio and video translation services, we also provide voice over and subtitling and captioning services. We'd love to hear from you whether you need translation, voice-overs or subtitles.
Ready to discuss your next project? Get a quote today.
