February 2023 Language Quiz

Questions for this quick geography quiz are inspired by the Language of the Day series from Ethnologue (ethnologue.com). You can further test your geographic knowledge (↗) with more quizzes from GeoFact of the Day. The answers to this quiz are listed below; enjoy and good luck!

1)       Which option is the Southeast Asian country where Pwo Western Karen is a threatened language with about 210,000 (and possibly decreasing) speakers?
A — MYANMAR
B — MADAGASCAR
C — UGANDA
D — TURKEY

2)      With only about 280 speakers, the Hiw language is used for communication in which country in Oceania?
A — SAMOA
B — VANUATU
C — TONGA

3)      Which of the following languages is not used for communication in PAPUA NEW GUINEA?
A — Opao
B — Vincentian English Creole
C — Saruga
D — Siroi

4)      Which option below is the East African country in which over 3.4 million people communicate with the Nyankore (Nkore) language?
A — UGANDA
B — TOGO
C — AZERBAIJAN
D — KAZAKHSTAN





















ANSWERS

Question 1:
A . . . . . Myanmar

Question 2:
B . . . . . Vanuatu

Question 3:
B . . . . . Vincentian English Creole

Question 4:
A . . . . . Uganda

Independence Day in Vanuatu

People all across VANUATU are celebrating their country's Independence Day today. Vanuatu achieved independence from France and the United Kingdom forty years ago in 1980. Happy Independence Day!

Vanuatu Exports

According to National Geographic MapMaker (mapmaker.nationalgeographic.org) and MIT's Observatory of Economic Complexity (atlas.media.mit.edu), the following items are major exports of VANUATU: antiques, beef, cleaning products, cocoa, coconuts and copra, coffee, dried fruit, electric lighting, fish netting, handicrafts, iron gas containers, kava, numismatic (coin) collectibles, other tropical fruits and vegetables, refined petroleum, seafood, semiconductor devices, signaling equipment, taro, tug boats, wood, and yams.

According to February 2017 statistics from the International Monetary Fund (data.imf.org), countries and territories buying and importing most of those exports include Fiji (top importer), Thailand, Japan, China, Australia, South Korea, Singapore, Venezuela, the United States, Malaysia, New Caledonia, Hong Kong, Chile, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, the United Kingdom, Kiribati, Solomon Islands, Russia, Canada, Vietnam, Turkey, Nigeria, the Netherlands, and Mongolia.

Vanuatu Endangered Species

The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species™ for VANUATU in Oceania and the South Pacific Ocean lists 1 extinct species (Tanna Ground Dove), 4 critically endangered species, and 19 endangered species. Vanuatu's four critically endangered species are the Beck's Petrel bird, Carpoxylon macrospermum palm tree, Hawksbill Turtle, and Partula milleri tropical land snail. Endangered species include the Banks Flying Fox, Black Teatfish sea cucumber, Fijian Banded Iguana, Fijian Kauri Pine, Fijian Mastiff Bat, Golden Sandfish sea cucumber, Green Turtle, Medway's Emo Skink, Polynesian Sheath-Tailed Bat, Prickly Redfish sea cucumber, Sandfish sea cucumber, Santa Cruz Ground Dove, Undulate Wrasse fish, and White-Throated Storm Petrel. Species named after Vanuatu include a bunch of birds: the Vanuatu Kingfisher, Vanuatu Scrubfowl, Vanuatu Starling, Vanuatu Thicketbird, and Vanuatu White-Eye.

Vanuatu's Geographic Location

A country of islands in the South Pacific Ocean, VANUATU is found east of the Coral Sea, which is east of Australia. Vanuatu is also north of New Caledonia (territory of islands belonging to France), southwest of the Solomon Islands, southwest of Tuvalu, and west of Fiji. By the way, Vanuatu is shaped like the letter Y!
Read my Vanuatu post for more information!

Vanuatu

VANUATU is a Y-shaped island country found east of the Coral Sea and Australia; it is part of the subregion Polynesia. Vanuatu, surrounded by the South Pacific Ocean, is west of Fiji, north of New Caledonia, and southeast of the Solomon Islands. The largest island is Espiritu Santo, but the capital is not located on this island. Port Vila (Port-Vila) is the national capital found on the southern shore of a smaller island, Efate. The official languages of Vanuatu are Bislama (a Creole language), English, and French. The currency is the Vanuatu Vatu; the ISO 4217 currency code is VUV.

Map credit:  National Geographic Mapmaker (↗)