General Awareness ยท Civics Polity

Indian and Sri Lankan Languages

2,991 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 language is the second most widely spoken by the Indian diaspora in Mauritius?

  1. Bhojpuri

  2. Tamil

  3. Telugu

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

Bhojpuri is the second most widely spoken language by the Indian diaspora in Mauritius, with approximately 25% of the population speaking it.

Multiple choice

Which language is the third most widely spoken by the Indian diaspora in Mauritius?

  1. Tamil

  2. Telugu

  3. Marathi

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

Tamil is the third most widely spoken language by the Indian diaspora in Mauritius, with approximately 15% of the population speaking it.

Multiple choice

Which language is the fifth most widely spoken by the Indian diaspora in Mauritius?

  1. Marathi

  2. Gujarati

  3. Punjabi

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

Marathi is the fifth most widely spoken language by the Indian diaspora in Mauritius, with approximately 5% of the population speaking it.

Multiple choice

Which of the following is NOT a Dravidian language?

  1. Tamil

  2. Malayalam

  3. Kannada

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

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

Multiple choice

Which Dravidian language has the largest number of speakers?

  1. Tamil

  2. Telugu

  3. Kannada

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

Telugu has the largest number of speakers among Dravidian languages, with over 80 million native speakers.

Multiple choice

What is the primary geographical region where Dravidian languages are spoken?

  1. South Asia

  2. Southeast Asia

  3. East Asia

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

Dravidian languages are primarily spoken in South Asia, particularly in India, Sri Lanka, and Pakistan.

Multiple choice

Which Dravidian language is considered the oldest?

  1. Tamil

  2. Kannada

  3. Malayalam

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

Tamil is generally considered the oldest Dravidian language, with a rich literary tradition dating back several centuries.

Multiple choice

Which Dravidian language has the most extensive literary tradition?

  1. Tamil

  2. Telugu

  3. Kannada

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

Tamil has the most extensive literary tradition among Dravidian languages, with a rich body of ancient literature dating back to the Sangam period.

Multiple choice

Which Dravidian language is known for its distinctive whistled speech?

  1. Tamil

  2. Telugu

  3. Kannada

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

Kodava Takk, a Dravidian language spoken in the Kodagu region of India, is known for its distinctive whistled speech, used for long-distance communication.

Multiple choice

What is the term used to describe the Dravidian languages' unique grammatical features?

  1. Dravidian Morphology

  2. Dravidian Syntax

  3. Dravidian Phonology

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

The term 'Dravidian Morphology' is used to describe the unique grammatical features of Dravidian languages, including agglutinative morphology and the use of case markers.

Multiple choice

Which Dravidian language is known for its rich vocabulary of classical Sanskrit loanwords?

  1. Tamil

  2. Telugu

  3. Kannada

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

Telugu has a rich vocabulary of classical Sanskrit loanwords, reflecting its long history of interaction with Sanskrit and other Indo-Aryan languages.

Multiple choice

Which Dravidian language is known for its distinctive script, different from the other Dravidian languages?

  1. Tamil

  2. Telugu

  3. Kannada

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

Tamil has a distinctive script, different from the other Dravidian languages, which use variations of the Brahmi script.

Multiple choice

Which Dravidian language is known for its rich tradition of folk literature and oral storytelling?

  1. Tamil

  2. Telugu

  3. Kannada

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

Kannada has a rich tradition of folk literature and oral storytelling, with a vast collection of folk tales, legends, and ballads.

Multiple choice

Which writing system is used for the majority of languages in India?

  1. Devanagari

  2. Tamil

  3. Telugu

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

Devanagari is used for the majority of languages in India, including Hindi, Marathi, and Nepali.

Multiple choice

Which of the following is a characteristic of modern Indian languages?

  1. They are all tonal languages.

  2. They all have a complex system of verb conjugation.

  3. They all have a large number of loanwords from Sanskrit.

  4. They all have a rich oral tradition.
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
B Correct answer
Explanation

Modern Indian languages have a complex system of verb conjugation, with many different tenses, moods, and aspects.