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 Dravidian language has a rich tradition of oral literature, including epic poems and folk tales?

  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 oral literature, with epic poems like 'Pampa Bharata' and folk tales like 'Kathe Saritsagara' being notable examples.

Multiple choice

What is the term used for the Dravidian grammatical feature where verbs can be marked for tense, aspect, and mood?

  1. Tense marking

  2. Aspect marking

  3. Mood marking

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

Dravidian languages use inflection to mark verbs for tense, aspect, and mood, indicating the time, duration, and modality of an action or event.

Multiple choice

Which Dravidian language has a unique writing system called 'Kannada script'?

  1. Tamil

  2. Telugu

  3. Kannada

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

Kannada has its own unique writing system called 'Kannada script', which is derived from the ancient Brahmi script and has been in use for over 1,000 years.

Multiple choice

What is the term used for the Dravidian grammatical feature where nouns can be marked for case, indicating their syntactic function in a sentence?

  1. Case marking

  2. Number marking

  3. Gender marking

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

Dravidian languages use case marking to indicate the syntactic function of nouns in a sentence, showing their relationship to other elements.

Multiple choice

What is the term used for the Dravidian grammatical feature where verbs can be marked for person, number, and gender?

  1. Person marking

  2. Number marking

  3. Gender marking

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

Dravidian languages use inflection to mark verbs for person, number, and gender, indicating who is performing the action and its scope.

Multiple choice

The first regional novel in India was written in which language?

  1. Bengali

  2. Marathi

  3. Hindi

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

The first regional novel in India was written in Bengali by Bankim Chandra Chatterjee in 1865.

Multiple choice

Which of the following regional languages has a significant body of literature written in the Devanagari script?

  1. Marathi

  2. Gujarati

  3. Telugu

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

Marathi has a significant body of literature written in the Devanagari script, including works by saints like Tukaram and Dnyaneshwar.

Multiple choice

Which of the following regional languages has a significant body of literature written in the Tamil script?

  1. Tamil

  2. Malayalam

  3. Kannada

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

Tamil has a significant body of literature written in the Tamil script, including works by poets like Thiruvalluvar and Bharathiyar.

Multiple choice

Which of the following regional languages has a significant body of literature written in the Malayalam script?

  1. Tamil

  2. Malayalam

  3. Kannada

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

Malayalam has a significant body of literature written in the Malayalam script, including works by poets like Vallathol Narayana Menon and Kumaran Asan.

Multiple choice

Which of the following regional languages has a significant body of literature written in the Kannada script?

  1. Tamil

  2. Malayalam

  3. Kannada

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

Kannada has a significant body of literature written in the Kannada script, including works by poets like Kuvempu and D.R. Bendre.

Multiple choice

Which language is spoken by the second largest number of people in India?

  1. Bengali

  2. Telugu

  3. Marathi

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

Bengali is the second most widely spoken language in India, with over 90 million native speakers.

Multiple choice

Which language is spoken by the third largest number of people in India?

  1. Telugu

  2. Marathi

  3. Tamil

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

Telugu is the third most widely spoken language in India, with over 80 million native speakers.

Multiple choice

Which language is spoken by the fourth largest number of people in India?

  1. Marathi

  2. Tamil

  3. Gujarati

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

Marathi is the fourth most widely spoken language in India, with over 70 million native speakers.

Multiple choice

Which language is spoken by the fifth largest number of people in India?

  1. Tamil

  2. Gujarati

  3. Kannada

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

Tamil is the fifth most widely spoken language in India, with over 60 million native speakers.

Multiple choice

Which language is closely related to Dhivehi?

  1. Sinhala

  2. Tamil

  3. Kannada

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

Sinhala, the official language of Sri Lanka, is closely related to Dhivehi and shares many similarities in vocabulary and grammar.