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Linguistic Landscape of South Asia

Linguistics

A study of the historical, genetic, and structural characteristics of South Asian languages.

South Asia Indo-Aryan Dravidian Linguistics

15 Questions Medium Apr 1, 2026

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About this Study Set

This study set covers Linguistics through 15 practice questions. A study of the historical, genetic, and structural characteristics of South Asian languages. Every question includes the correct answer so you can learn as you go — pick any format above to get started.

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Browse all 15 questions from the Linguistic Landscape of South Asia study set below. Each question shows the correct answer — select a study format above to practice interactively.

1 Which language family does the majority of languages in Northern India belong to?

A Dravidian
B Indo-Aryan
C Austroasiatic
D Tibeto-Burman

2 The concept of the 'Dravidian' language family was first systematically proposed by which scholar?

A Robert Caldwell
B George Grierson
C William Jones
D Suniti Kumar Chatterji

3 Which of these is the most widely spoken language belonging to the Munda branch of the Austroasiatic family?

A Khasi
B Santali
C Nicobarese
D Ho

4 What is the primary characteristic of the 'South Asian Linguistic Area' (Sprachbund)?

A Shared genetic origin
B Common script evolution
C Shared syntactic and phonological features despite diverse origins
D Uniform grammatical gender systems

5 Which script is considered the ancestor of almost all modern South Asian writing systems, including Devanagari?

A Kharosthi
B Brahmi
C Indus Script
D Grantha

6 The 'Great Andamanese' languages have historically been classified under which broader, controversial grouping?

A Andamanese isolate
B Indo-Pacific
C Austronesian
D Sino-Tibetan

7 Which language is legally recognized as a 'Classical Language' of India, notable for its 2,000-year-old literary tradition?

A Marathi
B Bengali
C Tamil
D Gujarati

8 The Shina and Kashmiri languages belong to which sub-branch of the Indo-Iranian family?

A Dardic
B Nuristani
C Iranian
D Indic

9 Which linguistic feature is commonly found in Dravidian languages but is rare in Indo-Aryan languages?

A Agglutination
B Vowel harmony
C Tonal phonemes
D Initial consonant clusters

10 What is the term for the literary dialect of Tamil that differs significantly from the spoken colloquial form?

A Manipravalam
B Sanskritic Tamil
C Sen-Tamil
D Dakhini

11 The Burushaski language is unique in South Asia because it is classified as a:

A Dravidian dialect
B Language isolate
C Tibeto-Burman language
D Indo-Aryan substratum

12 Which of the following South Asian languages is written in the Thaana script?

A Divehi
B Sinhala
C Dzongkha
D Lepcha

13 The concept of 'Retroflex consonants' as a widespread feature in South Asian languages is an example of what phenomenon?

A Areal diffusion
B Genetic inheritance
C Loanword adaptation
D Morphological simplification

14 Which language acts as the primary lingua franca in the context of the 'Dakhini' dialect spoken in the Deccan region?

A Urdu
B Marathi
C Telugu
D Kannada

15 The Sinhala language, spoken primarily in Sri Lanka, belongs to which linguistic branch?

A Dravidian
B Indo-Aryan
C Austronesian
D Tai-Kadai

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