Geography · General Awareness
World Languages and Geography
2,320 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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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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Kiev
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Sofia
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Amharic
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Dutche
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Serbian
A
Correct answer
Explanation
Kiev (Kyiv) is the capital city of Ukraine. Sofia is the capital of Bulgaria, Amharic is an Ethiopian language, Dutch is from the Netherlands, and Serbian is from Serbia/Montenegro.
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Kiev
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Sofia
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Amharic
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Dutche
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Serbian
B
Correct answer
Explanation
Sofia is the capital and largest city of Bulgaria. Kiev is the capital of Ukraine, Amharic is a language of Ethiopia, Dutch is associated with the Netherlands, and Serbian is associated with Serbia.
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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.
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Hindi
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Urdu
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Arabic
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Japanese
C
Correct answer
Explanation
The UN has six official languages: Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Russian, and Spanish. Arabic was added later than the original five. Hindi and Urdu are not official UN languages, and Japanese is not among them either.
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English (United)
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English (United States)
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English (United Kingdom)
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English (United City)
B
Correct answer
Explanation
English (United States) is the default keyboard language for Windows installations in the US region. This is the most common default for English-language Windows installations globally.
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widely
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elaborately
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obviously
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notoriously
A
Correct answer
Explanation
'Widely' is the correct adverb to describe how extensively something is spread or distributed. 'Most widely spoken' is a standard collocation in English for describing language prevalence. 'Elaborately' means with great detail, 'obviously' means clearly, and 'notoriously' means famously for something negative. None of these fit the context of describing how many people speak a language.
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Common speech
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Universal language
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Lingua franca
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Working language
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Language contact
C
Correct answer
Explanation
A lingua franca, also known as bridge language, common language, trade language or vehicular language, is a language or dialect systematically used to make communication possible between people who do not share a native language or dialect.
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vernacular language
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II language
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Hindi
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English
D
Correct answer
Explanation
NCF 2005 acknowledges that while mother tongue should be the primary medium of instruction at initial stages, English can be one of the languages used for learning activities that develop the child's awareness of the world, alongside the home language.