Geography · 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
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Chinese Mandarin
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English
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Hindhi
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french
C
Correct answer
Explanation
Hindi is the second most spoken language globally after Chinese Mandarin, with over 600 million speakers. English is third, and French is much lower. The question notes 'Hindhi' with a typo but intends Hindi. This includes both native and second-language speakers.
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creole
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hellenic
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celtic
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scandinavian
A
Correct answer
Explanation
Creole originally referred to people born in colonies of French or Spanish settlers, distinguishing them from European-born residents. Hellenic relates to Greek culture. Celtic refers to Celtic peoples (Irish, Scottish, etc.). Scandinavian refers to Nordic peoples - none match the definition.
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mangolian
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mandarin
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french
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chinese
C
Correct answer
Explanation
A.R. Rahman has composed in Mandarin (Warriors of Heaven and Earth) and has worked on various international projects, but he has not composed a film score in French. This makes 'French' the correct answer.
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Chinese
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Japanese
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Malay
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Korean
A
Correct answer
Explanation
The Mandarin Chinese word for thank you is 'Xie Xie' (pronounced roughly like 'sh-yeh sh-yeh'). Japanese uses 'arigato', Malay uses 'terima kasih', and Korean uses 'kamsahamnida' - so Chinese (option A) is the correct answer.
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Chinese
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Korean
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Japanese
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Taiwanese
C
Correct answer
Explanation
Arigatou (or arigatou gozaimasu formally) is Japanese for thank you. Chinese uses xie xie, Korean uses gamsahamnida, and Taiwanese uses variants of Hokkien.
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Swedish
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Portugese
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Spanish
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Finnish
B
Correct answer
Explanation
Obrigado is Portuguese for thank you (used by male speakers, obrigada by females). Swedish uses tack, Spanish uses gracias, and Finnish uses kiitos.
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Portugese
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Swahili
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Hebrew
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German
D
Correct answer
Explanation
Danke is German for thank you. Portuguese uses obrigado(a), Swahili uses asante, and Hebrew uses toda.
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TURKISH
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FRENCH
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GERMAN
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ARABIC
A
Correct answer
Explanation
This appears to be a word association or specific trivia question where 'Turkish' is the intended associate for 'Coffee'. Turkish coffee is a world-renowned preparation method, making it a primary association.
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GERMAN
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FRENCH
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PORTUGESE
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TELGU
A
Correct answer
Explanation
The word 'quartz' originates from German, specifically from Middle High German 'quarz.' German mineralogy contributed significantly to geological terminology as Germany was a center for mining and mineral studies during the medieval and early modern periods.
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DUTCH
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SPANISH
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HINDI
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MALAY
B
Correct answer
Explanation
Cigar comes from Spanish 'cigarro', possibly derived from Mayan 'sikar' (to smoke). Tobacco and smoking terminology entered European languages through Spanish colonialism in the Caribbean.
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LATIN
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CELTIC
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FRENCH
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ARABIC
C
Correct answer
Explanation
Programme comes from French 'programme', which itself derives from Greek 'programma'. French is the immediate source language through which English adopted this academic and administrative term.
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French and German
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Spanish and English
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English and French
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English and Spanish
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first-generation
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second-generation
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third-generation
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forth-generation
D
Correct answer
Explanation
SQR is a fourth-generation language (4GL) because it is closer to human languages and more intuitive than lower-level languages. 4GLs are designed to be more user-friendly and require less specialized programming knowledge.
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Sixth Generation Language
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Third Generation Language
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Fifth Generation Language
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Fourth Generation Language
D
Correct answer
Explanation
SAS (Statistical Analysis System) is a Fourth Generation Language (4GL). 4GLs are designed to be closer to human language and require less programming expertise than third-generation languages like C or Java. SAS provides high-level commands for data manipulation, statistical analysis, and reporting without requiring detailed procedural programming.
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Only L1 and L2
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Only L2, L3 and L4
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Only L3 and L4
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Only L3
C
Correct answer
Explanation
L1 would be accepted by PDA, so can’t be regular.
Similarly, L2 can’t be accepted by DFA, so it is not regular.
L3 and L4 both require only finite number of zeroes. So, both are regular.