Here’s a multilingual sign photographed in Waikiki, Hawaii by John Anderson. Can you identify the languages on it?
10 thoughts on “Language quiz”
English
Japanese
Thai
Vietnamese
Chinese
Korean
Bengali
Hawaiian
Tagolog
Filipino
Marshallese
Samoan
Spanish
Tongan
English
Japanese
Lao
Vietnamese
Mandarin
Korean
Khmer
Hawaiian
Tagalog
Iloko
Marshallese
Samoan
Spanish
Tongan
English
Japanese
Thai
Vietnamese
Chinese (Simplified Characters)
Korean
Khmer
Hawai’ian
Tagalog
Iloilo
Marshallese
Samoan
Spanish
Tongan
A question for those doing the quiz: How do you decide which language is which?
Here’s my list:
English (my native language)
Japanese (I recognise the script and can read some of the words)
Thai (recognise the script)
Vietnamese (mainly the accents which are pretty unique, otherwise, the way it’s written in monosyllabes and the consonant combinations/positions would give it away)
Chinese, simplified (recognise the script, recognise some simplified radicals)
Korean (recognise the script)
Khmer (recognise the script)
I would say Hawaiian because of the number of apostrophe-like characters (which would ‘okina if it’s Hawaiian) and the lack of an “f”
I would guess Tagalog because of the word “mga”. The use of ng and syllables ending in consonants make me think it’s a language from the Indonesia area.
I would guess Indonesian because it’s similar to the one above.
I had absolutely no idea about this one.
This one looks like a Pacific Austronesian language, but I couldn’t say which.
Spanish (can read some of it)
Another Pacific Austronesian language.
English, Japanese, Thai, Vietnamese, Chinese, Korean, Lao, Hawaiian, and Spanish I can easily discern. The other languages appear to be Pacific Austronesian ones. What they are, I don’t know.
Top/Left:
1: English
2: Japanese
3: Lao
4: Vietnamese
5: Chinese
6: Korean
7: Kmer
8: Hawaiian
9: Tagalog
10: Ilocano
Right:
11: Marshallese
12: Tongan
13: Spanish
14: Tahitian
d.m.f.
I agree with D.M.Falk, with a very small correction:
Kmer > Khmer.
Script No. 3 is Lao, not Thai, although they are very similar.
Woo hoo! There is only one word in the Korean sample I don’t know, and one unknown verb-ending (but I do know the verb stem it’s applied to). I guess that’s proof of how far I’ve come in just 5.5 months here in Seoul.
English
Japanese
Thai
Vietnamese
Chinese
Korean
Bengali
Hawaiian
Tagolog
Filipino
Marshallese
Samoan
Spanish
Tongan
English
Japanese
Lao
Vietnamese
Mandarin
Korean
Khmer
Hawaiian
Tagalog
Iloko
Marshallese
Samoan
Spanish
Tongan
English
Japanese
Thai
Vietnamese
Chinese (Simplified Characters)
Korean
Khmer
Hawai’ian
Tagalog
Iloilo
Marshallese
Samoan
Spanish
Tongan
A question for those doing the quiz: How do you decide which language is which?
Here’s my list:
English (my native language)
Japanese (I recognise the script and can read some of the words)
Thai (recognise the script)
Vietnamese (mainly the accents which are pretty unique, otherwise, the way it’s written in monosyllabes and the consonant combinations/positions would give it away)
Chinese, simplified (recognise the script, recognise some simplified radicals)
Korean (recognise the script)
Khmer (recognise the script)
I would say Hawaiian because of the number of apostrophe-like characters (which would ‘okina if it’s Hawaiian) and the lack of an “f”
I would guess Tagalog because of the word “mga”. The use of ng and syllables ending in consonants make me think it’s a language from the Indonesia area.
I would guess Indonesian because it’s similar to the one above.
I had absolutely no idea about this one.
This one looks like a Pacific Austronesian language, but I couldn’t say which.
Spanish (can read some of it)
Another Pacific Austronesian language.
English, Japanese, Thai, Vietnamese, Chinese, Korean, Lao, Hawaiian, and Spanish I can easily discern. The other languages appear to be Pacific Austronesian ones. What they are, I don’t know.
Top/Left:
1: English
2: Japanese
3: Lao
4: Vietnamese
5: Chinese
6: Korean
7: Kmer
8: Hawaiian
9: Tagalog
10: Ilocano
Right:
11: Marshallese
12: Tongan
13: Spanish
14: Tahitian
d.m.f.
I agree with D.M.Falk, with a very small correction:
Kmer > Khmer.
Script No. 3 is Lao, not Thai, although they are very similar.
Here’s the answers:
Matt got them all right – well done!
Source: http://www.ctahr.hawaii.edu/NEW/GermCity/TOOLS/HWSPGM7.pdf (PDF)
ooh thankyou 😀
Woo hoo! There is only one word in the Korean sample I don’t know, and one unknown verb-ending (but I do know the verb stem it’s applied to). I guess that’s proof of how far I’ve come in just 5.5 months here in Seoul.