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

What is the primary dialect of Malayalam spoken in the Mahe region of Puducherry?

  1. Malabar

  2. Travancore

  3. Cochin

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

The Mahe dialect is spoken in the Mahe region of Puducherry, which is an enclave surrounded by Kerala.

Multiple choice

Which dialect of Malayalam is known for its distinct vocabulary and pronunciation, influenced by French?

  1. Malabar

  2. Travancore

  3. Cochin

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

The Mahe dialect is known for its distinct vocabulary and pronunciation, influenced by French due to the historical French colonial rule in the Mahe region.

Multiple choice

What is the name of the dialect of Malayalam spoken in the Kasaragod district of Kerala?

  1. Malabar

  2. Travancore

  3. Cochin

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

The Kasaragod dialect is spoken in the Kasaragod district of Kerala, which is located on the border with Karnataka.

Multiple choice

Which of the following is a characteristic feature of the Kasaragod dialect of Malayalam?

  1. Use of retroflex consonants

  2. Nasalization of vowels

  3. Elision of final consonants

  4. Influence of Kannada vocabulary
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
D Correct answer
Explanation

The Kasaragod dialect is known for its influence of Kannada vocabulary due to its proximity to Karnataka.

Multiple choice

What is the primary dialect of Malayalam spoken in the Wayanad district of Kerala?

  1. Malabar

  2. Travancore

  3. Cochin

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

The Wayanad dialect is spoken in the Wayanad district of Kerala, which is located on the border with Karnataka and Tamil Nadu.

Multiple choice

Which dialect of Malayalam is known for its unique vocabulary and pronunciation, influenced by Kannada and Tamil?

  1. Malabar

  2. Travancore

  3. Cochin

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

The Wayanad dialect is known for its unique vocabulary and pronunciation, influenced by Kannada and Tamil due to its geographical location.

Multiple choice

Which of the following is not a classical language of India?

  1. Sanskrit

  2. Tamil

  3. Telugu

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

Sanskrit, Tamil, Telugu, and Kannada are the four classical languages of India.

Multiple choice

Which Indian language has the largest number of speakers?

  1. Hindi

  2. Bengali

  3. Telugu

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

Hindi is the most widely spoken language in India, with over 400 million speakers.

Multiple choice

Which Indian language is spoken in the state of Andhra Pradesh?

  1. Telugu

  2. Hindi

  3. Kannada

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

Telugu is the official language of the state of Andhra Pradesh.

Multiple choice

Which ancient language is used in the liturgy of the Hindu faith?

  1. Latin

  2. Greek

  3. Sanskrit

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

Sanskrit is the liturgical language of the Hindu faith.

Multiple choice

Which of the following is a characteristic feature of Dravidian languages?

  1. Subject-Verb-Object word order

  2. Verb-Subject-Object word order

  3. Object-Verb-Subject word order

  4. Subject-Object-Verb word order
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
A Correct answer
Explanation

Dravidian languages typically follow a Subject-Verb-Object word order, where the subject comes before the verb and the object comes after the verb.

Multiple choice

What is the general term for the case marking system found in Dravidian languages?

  1. Ergative-Absolutive

  2. Nominative-Accusative

  3. Dative-Accusative

  4. Genitive-Accusative
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
A Correct answer
Explanation

Dravidian languages generally employ an Ergative-Absolutive case marking system, where the subject of an intransitive verb or the object of a transitive verb is marked with the absolutive case, while the subject of a transitive verb is marked with the ergative case.

Multiple choice

Which of the following is a common phonological feature of Dravidian languages?

  1. Retroflex consonants

  2. Dental consonants

  3. Labial consonants

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

Dravidian languages often have a series of retroflex consonants, which are pronounced with the tongue curled back towards the roof of the mouth.

Multiple choice

Which of the following is a common type of compound in Dravidian languages?

  1. Noun-Noun compounds

  2. Verb-Noun compounds

  3. Adjective-Noun compounds

  4. Adverb-Verb compounds
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
A Correct answer
Explanation

Noun-Noun compounds are a common type of compound in Dravidian languages, where two nouns are combined to form a new noun with a new meaning.

Multiple choice

Which of the following is a common type of reduplication in Dravidian languages?

  1. Full reduplication

  2. Partial reduplication

  3. Echo reduplication

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

Full reduplication is a common type of reduplication in Dravidian languages, where the entire word is repeated.