State PCS
Bhumij, a tribal language spoken in Jharkhand, West Bengal and Odisha, belongs to which group of languages?
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Answer: Option D — Munda (Austroasiatic)
Detailed Solution
Bhumij is the language of the Bhumij tribe, who live mainly in Jharkhand (East and West Singhbhum, Seraikela-Kharsawan and Ranchi), West Bengal (Purulia, Bankura and Paschim Medinipur), and Odisha (Mayurbhanj), with smaller groups in Assam. Bhumij belongs to the Munda branch of the Austroasiatic language family. It is very closely related to Mundari, the language of the Munda tribe, and to Ho, so the Bhumij are often described as being closely related to the Munda people.
The Munda languages are the Indian branch of the Austroasiatic family, which also includes Khmer (Cambodia), Vietnamese and the Khasi language of Meghalaya. The Munda languages are spoken mainly by tribal communities in eastern and central India. The major ones are:
Santhali: the largest Munda language, written in the Ol Chiki script; included in the Eighth Schedule in 2003.
Mundari: spoken by the Munda tribe.
Ho: spoken by the Ho tribe, written in the Warang Citi script.
Kharia, Bhumij, Korku, Sora (Savara), Juang and Gadaba.
The Bhumij people took part in the anti-British "Bhumij Revolt" (also called the "Ganga Narayan Hangama") of 1832-33, led by Ganga Narayan Singh, in the Jungle Mahals area of Bengal.
Other language families in India:
- Dravidian: Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Malayalam, Gondi and Kurukh (the Oraon tribe of Jharkhand speak Kurukh, a Dravidian language, even though they live alongside Munda-speaking tribes).
- Tibeto-Burman: Bodo, Manipuri, Mizo, Garo.
- Indo-Aryan: Hindi, Bengali, Odia and others.
Why not the other options?
- ✗Dravidian languages in Jharkhand include Kurukh (Oraon) and Malto.
- ✗Tibeto-Burman languages are spoken mainly in the North-East.
- ✗Indo-Aryan languages include Hindi and Bengali, which many Bhumij also speak.
Quick tip
Remember: Bhumij = Munda (Austroasiatic) language, close to Mundari and Ho; Santhali = largest Munda language (Ol Chiki); Kurukh (Oraon) = Dravidian.
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Languages & Scripts — Preparation
This question tests your understanding of Languages & Scripts, a key topic in the General Knowledge section. The detailed solution above uses a step-by-step approach to show the reasoning, and where available, a shortcut that helps you solve similar questions in under 90 seconds during the actual exam.
This topic covers the languages of India, the 22 languages in the Eighth Schedule of the Constitution, classical languages, official languages of states, scripts such as Brahmi, Kharosthi and Devanagari, and the most widely spoken languages of the world. Questions often ask which languages have classical status, which language is official in a particular state, or how many languages the Eighth Schedule contains. Remember the amendments that added languages to the Eighth Schedule (for example, the 92nd Amendment added Bodo, Dogri, Maithili and Santhali). Because the list of classical languages has grown over time, check the latest official count before your exam. Practise the languages and scripts questions below, written in the style of the general awareness sections of exams such as SSC, banking, railways, CUET GAT, MAH CET and CLAT. Each question comes with a detailed explanation that adds related facts, so every question helps you revise more than one point.