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

What is the primary language of Indian films?

  1. Hindi

  2. Tamil

  3. Telugu

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

Hindi is the primary language of Indian films, with a significant portion of films produced in Bollywood, the Hindi film industry.

Multiple choice

Which language is the official language of Sri Lanka?

  1. Sinhala

  2. Tamil

  3. English

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

Sinhala is the official language of Sri Lanka, along with Tamil.

Multiple choice

Which of the following is a variety of Awadhi?

  1. Bagheli

  2. Bundelkhandi

  3. Kannauji

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

Bagheli is a variety of Awadhi spoken in the Baghelkhand region of Madhya Pradesh.

Multiple choice

Which language is the second most spoken language in India?

  1. Bengali

  2. Telugu

  3. Marathi

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

Bengali is spoken by over 8% of the population and is the official language of West Bengal.

Multiple choice

Which language is the third most spoken language in India?

  1. Telugu

  2. Marathi

  3. Tamil

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

Telugu is spoken by over 7% of the population and is the official language of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana.

Multiple choice

Which language is the fourth most spoken language in India?

  1. Marathi

  2. Tamil

  3. Gujarati

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

Marathi is spoken by over 7% of the population and is the official language of Maharashtra.

Multiple choice

Which language is the fifth most spoken language in India?

  1. Tamil

  2. Gujarati

  3. Kannada

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

Tamil is spoken by over 6% of the population and is the official language of Tamil Nadu.

Multiple choice

Which language is the sixth most spoken language in India?

  1. Gujarati

  2. Kannada

  3. Malayalam

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

Gujarati is spoken by over 5% of the population and is the official language of Gujarat.

Multiple choice

Which language is the seventh most spoken language in India?

  1. Kannada

  2. Malayalam

  3. Odia

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

Kannada is spoken by over 4% of the population and is the official language of Karnataka.

Multiple choice

Which of the following languages is not spoken by a significant number of Indian Jamaicans?

  1. Punjabi

  2. Marathi

  3. Telugu

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

Marathi is not spoken by a significant number of Indian Jamaicans, unlike the other options.

Multiple choice

Which of the following languages is not spoken by a significant number of Indian Jamaicans?

  1. Gujarati

  2. Malayalam

  3. Bengali

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

Oriya is not spoken by a significant number of Indian Jamaicans, unlike the other options.

Multiple choice

What is the primary language of the ancient Tamil Sangam literature?

  1. Sanskrit

  2. Tamil

  3. Prakrit

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

The ancient Tamil Sangam literature, a collection of poetic works, is primarily written in the Tamil language, reflecting the rich cultural heritage of the Tamil people.

Multiple choice

What is the linguistic relationship between Nicobarese and other languages in the region?

  1. Closely related to Hindi

  2. Related to Tamil

  3. Part of the Austroasiatic family

  4. Unrelated to other languages
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
C Correct answer
Explanation

Nicobarese belongs to the Austroasiatic language family, which includes languages spoken in Southeast Asia and parts of South Asia.

Multiple choice

Which language is used for communication between different Nicobarese dialects?

  1. English

  2. Hindi

  3. Car Nicobar

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

The Car Nicobar dialect is used as a lingua franca for communication between speakers of different Nicobarese dialects.

Multiple choice

Which language is spoken by the majority of the population in Sri Lanka?

  1. Sinhala

  2. Tamil

  3. English

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

Sinhala is the official language of Sri Lanka and is spoken by the majority of the population. Tamil is also recognized as an official language and is widely spoken in the northern and eastern parts of the country.