The major part of Central Asia is dominated by which one of the following language families?
- A.Indo-European
- B.Sino-Tibetan
- C.Austric
- D.Altaic
Correct answer
Explanation
The correct answer is D, Altaic. Most of Central Asia speaks Turkic languages, which are traditionally grouped in the Altaic family.
Kazakh, Uzbek, Kyrgyz and Turkmen, the main languages of four of the five Central Asian republics, are Turkic. The Altaic grouping joins the Turkic languages with the Mongolic and Tungusic languages spoken further east, in Mongolia and Siberia. The main exception in the region is Tajik, a form of Persian, which belongs to the Indo-European family. Russian is also widely used as a second language there.
A is wrong because Indo-European languages such as Tajik are found only in a smaller part of the region. B is wrong because the Sino-Tibetan family, with Chinese, Tibetan and Burmese, lies to the east and south-east. C is wrong because Austric languages, such as Munda, Khasi and the Austronesian tongues, are spoken in South and South-East Asia and the Pacific.
Exam tip: Central Asia: Turkic (Altaic) languages; Tajik is the Indo-European exception; Sino-Tibetan to the east.
Practice Questions
View allBagram Air Base is located in
- A.Turkey
- B.Pakistan
- C.Afghanistan
- D.Israel
Show answer
Bagram Air Base lies in Parwan province of Afghanistan, about 60 km north of the capital Kabul.
Read the full explanation →Which one of the following statements is not correct?
- A.Position of the Sun, Earth and Moon in a straight line of 180° angle is known as syzygy.
- B.Syzygy conjunction causes solar eclipse.
- C.Syzygy opposition causes lunar eclipse.
- D.Syzygy conjunction occurs at the time of perihelion only.
Show answer
This statement is not correct, because conjunction happens at every new moon, about once a month, and has nothing to do with the Earth's closest point to the Sun.
Read the full explanation →Which one of the following about sugar industry of Peninsular India is not correct?
- A.High yield per hectare of sugarcane
- B.Higher sucrose content
- C.Long crushing season
- D.Most of the mills in the Peninsula are located mainly along the east coast
Show answer
This statement is not correct, because the peninsular sugar mills are concentrated mainly in Maharashtra and Karnataka, in the west and the interior of the plateau.
Read the full explanation →Which of the following statements is/are correct?
1. Visakhapatnam Port is a land-locked harbour.
2. Deendayal Port is a tidal port.
Select the correct answer using the code given below.
- A.1 only
- B.2 only
- C.Both 1 and 2
- D.Neither 1 nor 2
Show answer
Both statements describe the two ports correctly. Visakhapatnam in Andhra Pradesh is India's deepest land-locked and protected port on the east coast.
Read the full explanation →Weathering, mass wasting, erosion and transportation are indicators of which one of the following processes?
- A.Denudation
- B.Endogenetic process
- C.Diastrophism
- D.Mountain building
Show answer
Weathering, mass wasting, erosion and transportation together wear down and strip away the earth's surface, and this combined work is called denudation.
Read the full explanation →