General Awareness ยท Civics Polity

Indian and Sri Lankan Languages

3,062 Questions

Indian and Sri Lankan languages cover various linguistic families, regional dialects, and official state languages. A significant focus is placed on Dravidian languages and their distinctive scripts. Strengthen your general awareness of regional language distribution for upcoming tests.

Dravidian language familyOfficial state languagesRegional Indian dialectsSri Lankan languagesLinguistic communities

Indian and Sri Lankan Languages Questions

Multiple choice

Which of the following is another endangered language spoken in Sri Lanka?

  1. Tamil

  2. Sinhala

  3. Burgher

  4. Malay
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
C Correct answer
Explanation

The Burgher language is spoken by the Burgher people, a community of mixed European and Sri Lankan descent. It is classified as an endangered language by UNESCO.

Multiple choice

Which of the following is a third endangered language spoken in Sri Lanka?

  1. Tamil

  2. Sinhala

  3. Malay

  4. Portuguese
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
C Correct answer
Explanation

The Malay language is spoken by the Malay people, a community of Muslim traders and merchants. It is classified as an endangered language by UNESCO.

Multiple choice

Which of the following is a characteristic feature of the Malay language in Sri Lanka?

  1. Lexical borrowing

  2. Simplified grammar

  3. Creole language

  4. All of the above
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
A Correct answer
Explanation

The Malay language in Sri Lanka has lexical borrowing from Sinhala, Tamil, and English.

Multiple choice

Which language family do the Dravidian languages belong to?

  1. Indo-European

  2. Sino-Tibetan

  3. Dravidian

  4. Austroasiatic
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
C Correct answer
Explanation

The Dravidian languages form a distinct language family, unrelated to other major language families such as Indo-European or Sino-Tibetan.

Multiple choice

What is the approximate number of Dravidian languages spoken today?

  1. 20

  2. 50

  3. 72

  4. 100
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
C Correct answer
Explanation

There are approximately 72 Dravidian languages spoken today, with the majority of them found in South India.

Multiple choice

Which Dravidian language has the largest number of speakers?

  1. Telugu

  2. Tamil

  3. Kannada

  4. Malayalam
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
A Correct answer
Explanation

Telugu is the Dravidian language with the largest number of speakers, with over 80 million native speakers primarily located in the state of Andhra Pradesh, India.

Multiple choice

Which Dravidian language is considered to be the most conservative in terms of retaining its original features?

  1. Tamil

  2. Malayalam

  3. Kannada

  4. Telugu
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
A Correct answer
Explanation

Tamil is considered to be the most conservative Dravidian language, having retained many of its original features and exhibiting a relatively slow rate of change over time.

Multiple choice

Which Dravidian language has been influenced the most by Sanskrit?

  1. Telugu

  2. Kannada

  3. Malayalam

  4. Tamil
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
A Correct answer
Explanation

Telugu has been influenced the most by Sanskrit due to its geographical proximity to the Indo-Aryan languages and its long history of interaction with Sanskrit-speaking cultures.

Multiple choice

Which Dravidian language has influenced Southeast Asian languages the most?

  1. Tamil

  2. Malayalam

  3. Kannada

  4. Telugu
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
A Correct answer
Explanation

Tamil has influenced Southeast Asian languages the most due to its historical role as a language of trade and cultural exchange in the region.

Multiple choice

Which sound shift is characteristic of the Dravidian languages?

  1. Grimm's Law

  2. Verner's Law

  3. Ruki's Law

  4. Kannada's Law
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
D Correct answer
Explanation

Kannada's Law is a sound shift that occurred in the Dravidian languages, resulting in the change of certain consonants in specific positions.

Multiple choice

Which language was primarily written in the Nandinagari script?

  1. Sanskrit

  2. Prakrit

  3. Tamil

  4. Kannada
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
A Correct answer
Explanation

The Nandinagari script was primarily used to write Sanskrit texts.

Multiple choice

Which language family is the most widely spoken in India?

  1. Indo-Aryan

  2. Dravidian

  3. Sino-Tibetan

  4. Austroasiatic
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
A Correct answer
Explanation

The Indo-Aryan language family is the most widely spoken in India, with over 70% of the population speaking an Indo-Aryan language as their first language.

Multiple choice

Which of the following is not a major Dravidian language?

  1. Telugu

  2. Kannada

  3. Malayalam

  4. Bengali
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
D Correct answer
Explanation

Bengali is an Indo-Aryan language, while Telugu, Kannada, and Malayalam are all Dravidian languages.

Multiple choice

Which of the following is not a factor that has influenced the evolution of languages in India?

  1. Migration

  2. Trade

  3. Climate

  4. Religion
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
C Correct answer
Explanation

Migration, trade, and religion have all been major factors in the evolution of languages in India, while climate has had a less significant impact.

Multiple choice

Which language is the official language of the Lakshadweep Islands?

  1. Malayalam

  2. Hindi

  3. English

  4. Dhivehi
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
A Correct answer
Explanation

Malayalam is the official language of the Lakshadweep Islands, as it is the most widely spoken language in the region.