Quiz - Interesting facts about languages in Europe

The quiz to mark this year’s European Day of Languages has ended – answers were accepted until 1 October 2023.

The winners:

Main prize: Radek Bak

Small prizes: Michal Džmura, Simona Gilarová, Elena Gottwaldová, Renata Grégrová, Lucie Nováková, Klára Slebodníková, Aneta Süsmilichová, Petr Švéda a Jana Tomčíková.

Correct answers

  1. There are 200–300 indigenous languages in Europe. How many of them have the status of an official language of the European Union?
    a/ 27
    b/ 12
    c/ 24
    correct answer: c/
  2. Which one of these languages is not an official language of the European Union?
    a/ Irish
    b/ Luxembourgish
    c/ Maltese
    correct answer: b/
  3. You can't teach an old dog new tricks. In Estonia, they can’t teach one animal to dance. Which one?
    a/ a frog
    b/ a bear
    c/ a horse
    correct answer: b/
  4. “It is all Greek to me“ is an idiom expressing that something is difficult to understand. Where do the Germans find themselves if they do not have the slightest clue about what is going on?
    a/ a Czech village
    b/ a Czech film
    c/ a Russian village
    correct answer: a/
  5. In English, before someone takes a picture, the person taking the picture may say “cheese!” In Spanish, before a picture taken, the person taking the picture may say almost anything, but one word is quite common. Which one?
    a/ Cebolla (onion)
    b/ Patata (potato)
    c/ Queso (cheese)
    correct answer: b/
  6. Home sweet home. In many languages, people have a phrase to express one's pleasure or relief at being in one's own home. Where do they say “Povsod je lepo, doma je najlepše“?
    a/ in Slovenia
    b/ in Lithuania
    c/ in Slovakia
    correct answer: a/
  7. In what unique way do the inhabitants of La Gomera in the Canary Islands communicate across deep valleys and narrow gorges?
    a/ By singing
    b/ By whistling
    c/ By smoke signals
    correct answer: b/
  8. The yogurt in your fridge comes most probably from a local supermarket. However, where does the word “yogurt” come from?
    a/ from Turkish
    b/ from French          
    c/ from Greek
    correct answer: a/
  9. A hungry man is not picky about his culinary choices. In Czech we say that hunger is the best cook. In Swedish, however, the hunger excels as something else. It is the best…?
    a/ sauce
    b/ waiter
    c/ spice
    correct answer: c/
  10. In English we throw in the towel, the Spaniards throw the rope together with the bucket. Where do they throw a spear into a thorn bush (Baciti koplje u trnje)?
    a/ Croatia
    b/ Greece
    c/ Hungary
    correct answer: a/