Q 01/05

Which member of the British royal family did Tok Pisin speakers call 'nambawan pikinini bilong Misis Kwin'?

A) Prince Charles

B) Prince Andrew

C) Princess Anne

D) Princess Margaret

Answer · why

A) Prince Charles

Prince Charles was the 'number-one child belonging to Mrs Queen', a title that shows how Tok Pisin spins long descriptions out of a few short English-...

Q 02/05

Which horror-film monster takes its name from a Haitian Creole word with roots in Central African languages?

A) Vampire

B) Zombie

C) Banshee

D) Ghoul

Answer · why

B) Zombie

Zombie comes from Haitian Creole 'zonbi', which dictionaries link to Kimbundu 'nzumbi'. In Haitian folklore it is a corpse raised by magic such as wit...

Q 03/05

Which music player takes the first half of its name from a Gullah word meaning bawdy or disorderly?

A) Gramophone

B) Walkman

C) Jukebox

D) Boombox

Answer · why

C) Jukebox

Jukebox borrows 'juke' from Gullah, the creole of the Sea Islands off Georgia and South Carolina. The word first described rowdy 'juke joints', so man...

Q 04/05

Pitkern, a creole blending English and Tahitian, is spoken by descendants of mutineers from which Royal Navy ship?

A) HMS Beagle

B) HMS Victory

C) HMS Endeavour

D) HMS Bounty

Answer · why

D) HMS Bounty

HMS Bounty mutineers took Tahitian captives, mostly women, to remote Pitcairn Island after the 1789 mutiny. The mixed speech they needed there is stil...

Q 05/05

Which snack food is called a 'goober' in the American South, a Central African word also used in Gullah?

A) Pecan

B) Peanut

C) Cashew

D) Hazelnut

Answer · why

B) Peanut

Peanut is 'nguba' in Kongo and Kimbundu. Enslaved Africans carried the word to the American South, where it lives on in Gullah, the Sea Islands creole...