Multiple Choice
1. Employees with multi- or bilingual skills are sometimes known as __________ for their
ability to bring two groups together.
a. connecting bars
b. joining clasps
c. linking pins
d. tying links
Answer: c
2. What common argument is used to suggest that American businesspeople do not need to be
bilingual?
a. English is becoming the international language of business.
b. English is the most widely-spoken language in the world.
c. Having employees speak a second language damages the dominant reputation of American
business.
d. American employees are incapable of learning a second language as adults.
Answer: a
3. A U.S. coal company is beginning a new business partnership with mining operations in
China. Which of the following individuals would likely be the most effective translator for a
meeting?
a. an American translator who is experienced in the methods of coal mining
b. an American translator who formerly worked for the United Nations
c. a Chinese translator who is familiar with both American and Canadian English
d. a Chinese translator who understands American text messaging and slang
Answer: a
4. The anthropological term worldview refers to a system of __________.
a. languages for communicating with others
b. categories for organizing the world
c. religious roles across the life stages
d. social sets within a single culture
Answer: b
5. What is suggested by speaking the local language?
a. social equality between the foreigner and locals
b. an interest in the people and their culture
c. higher intelligence of the bilingual person
d. higher status of the local culture
Answer: b
6. What percentage of U.S. citizens has a functional proficiency in a second language?
a. less than 10 percent
b. about 25 percent
c. about 50 percent
d. more than 75 percent
Answer: a
7. Which of the following is the best way to reduce errors in translation?
a. translate the text word-for-word
b. translate the text using the most recent slang and colloquialisms
c. translate the text using very formal language
d. translate the translated message back into the original language
Answer: d
8. At a planning session, your British colleagues decide to “table” an item on the agenda. This
means you will __________.
a. postpone the item
b. pass the item on to a supervisor
c. give the item top priority
d. delete the item from your agenda
Answer: c
9. Of the several thousand known world languages, __________ are spoken by over 95% of
the world’s population.
a. more than 1,500
b. about 1,000
c. about 5,000
d. fewer than 100
Answer: d
10. Which of the following languages has the greatest number of speakers worldwide?
a. Arabic
b. Chinese
c. English
d. Spanish
Answer: b
11. Which of the following statements is true of the English or Navajo languages?
a. Navajo have more grammatical distinctions.
b. English is a more precise language.
c. There are no adjectives in Navajo.
d. There is no future tense in English.
Answer: c
12. What nation has a national “language police” to protect their language from the influx of
foreign words?
a. America
b. France
c. India
d. Japan
Answer: b
13. The Sapir-Whorf hypothesis states that language is __________.
a. the shaper of ideas
b. determined by gender
c. molded by social class
d. independent of culture
Answer: a
14. Masculine and feminine nouns are generally considered inconsequential flukes of
grammar. However, Boroditsky found that __________.
a. languages in which nouns have gender are associated with more egalitarian cultures
b. women use feminine gender forms more frequently and men use masculine forms more
frequently
c. objects with masculine genders are considered more important than those with feminine
gender markings
d. grammatical gender can influence how people think about inanimate objects
Answer: d
15. The important social distinction between uchi and soto, or __________, is also reflected
in the Japanese language.
a. male and female
b. rich and poor
c. us and them
d. family and non-family
Answer: c
16. Your new colleague from China does not have much to say during your business meeting.
What is a culturally-appropriate explanation for his silence?
a. He did not prepare well for the meeting and is confused
b. His culture places less emphasis on words and relies more on nonverbal cues.
c. He is displeased with your proposal and hopes to quickly end the meeting.
d. His culture’s ideas of politeness requires that he let you finish speaking first.
Answer: b
17. Which of the following people would be likely to have more assertive and direct speech
than a typical North American?
a. an Arab
b. a Chinese person
c. an English person
d. a Latin American
Answer: a
18. Which of these statements is true regarding gender differences in speech in the United
States?
a. Men end their sentences with a rising intonation more often than women.
b. Men phrase more of their sentences as questions than women.
c. Women phrase more of their sentences as directives than men.
d. Women use qualifiers more frequently than men.
Answer: d
19. Which of the following is an example of situational language use?
a. A journalist proofreads his writing and corrects any errors.
b. A university student studies Spanish as part of her required coursework.
c. A first-generation immigrant speaks Hindi at home but English at work.
d. A receptionist enunciates carefully when speaking to clients on the telephone.
Answer: c
20. You observe two people greeting each other. One says “Good morning, Mr. Smith”; the
other replies “Good morning, Fred.” Based on this simple exchange, what can you conclude
about their relationship?
a. This is an informal relationship between people of comparable status.
b. This is an informal relationship between people of unequal status.
c. This is a formal relationship between people of comparable status.
d. This is a formal relationship between people of unequal status.
Answer: d
21. What is the purpose of slang?
a. Slang words are easier to remember than more formal language.
b. It helps determine who is a member of an in-group and who is not.
c. It indicates higher social status and education.
d. Slang translates better into other languages.
Answer: b
22. A euphemism replaces a word that is believed to be too __________.
a. intellectual
b. lower class
c. blunt
d. modern
Answer: c
23. Why are jokes difficult in cross-cultural situations?
a. Some cultures believe that joke-telling is crude and inappropriate.
b. Some languages have no way to express humor.
c. Jokes require a deep understanding of the joke-teller’s culture.
d. Most punch lines are puns that cannot be translated into another language.
Answer: c
24. Which of these topics is generally taboo for American small talk, but would be considered
appropriate by German businesspeople?
a. politics
b. sports
c. weather
d. history
Answer: a
25. What benefit do Internet dictionaries offer over traditional printed dictionaries?
a. Internet dictionaries are edited by nonprofessionals.
b. There are virtually no space limitations on the Internet.
c. Printed dictionaries are very expensive, so Internet dictionaries are more accessible
d. Internet dictionaries are available to a wider segment of the population than printed
dictionaries.
Answer: b
Test Bank for Cultural Dimension of Global Business
Gary Ferraro, Elizabeth K. Briody
9780205900725
