Language questions divide into alphabets and scripts, which are pure
memory, and etymology, which is pure story — and both are asked far more often
than people expect, because they produce short, unambiguous answers.
Alphabets, letters and numerals
The Greek alphabet in order is the highest-value list here: it is asked
directly, and it also underlies questions in maths, science, fraternities,
hurricanes and brand names. The NATO phonetic alphabet is the second. After
those: Roman numerals, the number of letters in various alphabets, which
alphabets are written right to left, and which languages use no alphabet at
all.
Scripts with a story attached are asked disproportionately:
Linear B and its decipherment,
the Rosetta Stone,
the Cherokee syllabary invented by
one man, and
the Phaistos disc, still undeciphered.
Morse code and what SOS does not stand
for is a standard trap.
Words and where they came from
Etymology questions ask which language a word entered English from, what an
acronym originally stood for, and what a word used to mean. Setters especially
like words whose popular origin story is wrong — and there are a great many:
the invented etymologies and
the snow-words claim are the two
that come up most.
Demonyms — what you call a person from a given place — are a reliable
tie-breaker, particularly the irregular ones. Constructed languages surface
through Esperanto, and
why English is spelled as it
is underlies more questions than it appears in. Phrases and idioms have
their own page.
NATO phonetic alphabet — I?
Answer India
Roman numerals — what is XL?
Answer 40
NATO phonetic alphabet — G?
Answer Golf
Roman numeral C?
Answer 100
The four official languages of Switzerland?
Answer German, French, Italian, Romansh
Which language has the most speakers in total, first and second combined?
Answer English
Official language of Brazil?
Answer Portuguese
How many letters in the Greek alphabet?
Answer 24
Roman numeral L?
Answer 50
Roman numerals — what is MCMXCIX?
Answer 1999
Country with the most official languages?
Answer Bolivia (37)
Which is the most widely spoken Semitic language?
Answer Arabic
Demonym for someone from The Netherlands?
Answer Dutch
NATO phonetic alphabet — Q?
Answer Quebec
NATO phonetic alphabet — O?
Answer Oscar
NATO phonetic alphabet — N?
Answer November
Which European language has no known relation to any other?
Answer Basque
NATO phonetic alphabet — L?
Answer Lima
Which country has by far the most languages, over 800?
Answer Papua New Guinea
Greek alphabet — letter #4?
Answer Delta
NATO phonetic alphabet — T?
Answer Tango
Which language is spoken in Barcelona alongside Spanish, and is the sole official language of Andorra?
Answer Catalan
NATO phonetic alphabet — R?
Answer Romeo
What is a word or phrase that reads the same backwards called?
Answer A palindrome
NATO phonetic alphabet — X?
Answer X-ray
Which constructed language was devised by L. L. Zamenhof in 1887?
Answer Esperanto
NATO phonetic alphabet — C?
Answer Charlie
NATO phonetic alphabet — V?
Answer Victor
NATO phonetic alphabet — W?
Answer Whiskey
NATO phonetic alphabet — M?
Answer Mike