Geography ยท General Awareness

World Languages and Geography

2,195 Questions

World languages and geography explore the distribution of major language families, official languages, and native speakers across different continents. The questions cover linguistic demographics in Africa, Europe, and the Americas. This topic is frequently asked in UPSC, SSC, and State PSC general studies papers.

Official languagesLanguage familiesWidely spoken languagesRegional languagesLinguistic geography

World Languages and Geography Questions

Multiple choice

Which language is spoken by the majority of the population in Mauritius?

  1. French

  2. English

  3. Hindi

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

Creole, a French-based language, is spoken by the majority of the population in Mauritius.

Multiple choice

Which language is spoken by the majority of the population in the Seychelles?

  1. French

  2. English

  3. Creole

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

Creole, a French-based language, is spoken by the majority of the population in the Seychelles.

Multiple choice

Which language is spoken by the majority of the population in the Comoros?

  1. Arabic

  2. French

  3. Comorian

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

Comorian, a Bantu language, is spoken by the majority of the population in the Comoros.

Multiple choice

Which language is spoken by the majority of the population in Madagascar?

  1. French

  2. English

  3. Malagasy

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

Malagasy, an Austronesian language, is spoken by the majority of the population in Madagascar.

Multiple choice

Which language is spoken by the majority of the population in the Chagos Archipelago?

  1. English

  2. French

  3. Creole

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

Creole, a French-based language, is spoken by the majority of the population in the Chagos Archipelago.

Multiple choice

Which language is spoken by the majority of the population in the Cocos (Keeling) Islands?

  1. English

  2. Malay

  3. Creole

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

Malay, an Austronesian language, is spoken by the majority of the population in the Cocos (Keeling) Islands.

Multiple choice

Which language is spoken by the majority of the population in the Christmas Island?

  1. English

  2. Malay

  3. Creole

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

English is the official language and is spoken by the majority of the population in the Christmas Island.

Multiple choice

Which language is spoken by the majority of the population in the Heard Island and McDonald Islands?

  1. English

  2. French

  3. Creole

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

The Heard Island and McDonald Islands are uninhabited, so there is no majority language spoken.

Multiple choice

Which language is spoken by the majority of the population in the British Indian Ocean Territory?

  1. English

  2. French

  3. Creole

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

The British Indian Ocean Territory is uninhabited, so there is no majority language spoken.

Multiple choice

Which extinct language was spoken by the ancient Romans and is the root of many modern Romance languages?

  1. Greek

  2. Latin

  3. Sanskrit

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

Latin, the language of the ancient Roman Empire, is an extinct Indo-European language that gave rise to many modern Romance languages, including Italian, Spanish, French, and Portuguese.

Multiple choice

What is the name of the extinct language spoken by the ancient Incas and is known for its use of quipus, a knotted string recording system?

  1. Nahuatl

  2. Quechua

  3. Maya

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

Quechua, spoken by the ancient Incas, is an extinct Quechuan language. It is known for its use of quipus, a system of knotted strings used for recording information and conveying messages.

Multiple choice

What is the term used to describe the official language of a country or region?

  1. National language

  2. Official language

  3. Native language

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

The term 'official language' refers to the language that is recognized by a government as the language of official communication, administration, and education.

Multiple choice

Which language is the most widely spoken in the world?

  1. Mandarin Chinese

  2. Spanish

  3. English

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

Mandarin Chinese is the most widely spoken language in the world, with over 1.1 billion native speakers.

Multiple choice

How many Jarawa languages are there?

  1. 1

  2. 2

  3. 3

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

There is only one Jarawa language, which is simply called Jarawa.

Multiple choice

What is the status of the Jarawa language?

  1. Endangered

  2. Critically endangered

  3. Extinct

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

The Jarawa language is critically endangered, with only a few hundred speakers remaining.