Match the Language to the Country Quiz

Answer: Dari

Dari is a variety of Persian and is also referred to as Afghan Persian. It is one of two official languages in Afghanistan, with the other being Pashto. Dari is spoken by 50 percent of the population as a first or second language, while Pashto is spoken by 35 percent, with Dari being considered the lingua franca in the country. Dari is also spoken in Iran and Pakistan but not as an official language.

Answer: Dzongkha

Also known as Bhutanese, Dzongkha is spoken by approximately 25 percent of the population of Bhutan as a native language. The language of Sharchopka or Tshangla is actually spoken as a native tongue by a larger percentage of people (28 percent). Dzongkha is a tonal Sino-Tibetan language and is written in the Tibetan script.

There are also Dzongkha speakers in India and Nepal but not as an official language.

Answer: Malay

That Malay is the official language of Brunei may not be surprising since the country is surrounded by Malaysia (and the South China Sea), and over sixty percent of the population is of Malay heritage. Also known as Bahasa Melayu, the language is also an official language in Singapore and of course, Malaysia.

A member of the Austronesian language group, Malay is usually written in the Latin script, due to Dutch and British colonialism, but it can also be written in an Arabic script called Jawi. Both scripts are considered official in Brunei. Malay and Bahasa Indonesia are generally mutually intelligible, with both being part of the Malayan language group.

Answer: Khmer

With nearly 98 percent of Cambodians being of Khmer heritage, it's not surprising that Khmer is the official language of the country. It is a member of the Austroasiatic language group which also includes Vietnamese, but unlike Vietnamese, it isn't a tonal language. Besides Cambodia, Khmer is also spoken in neighboring regions of Vietnam and Thailand.

Answer: Malayalam

Not to be confused with Malay, Malayalam is a Dravidian language and one of the 22 officially recognized languages of India. India lists English and Hindi as official languages, but the states within India are also able to declare official languages, and Malayalam is the official language of the southern state of Kerala as well as the territory of Lakshadweep.

It is also an additional official language in the territory of Puducherry, but the main language there is Tamil. Malayalam has approximately 33 million speakers in India.

Answer: Frisian

While Dutch is the official language of the Netherlands, Frisian is one of the regional official languages; it is the official language of the Friesland province in the northwest of the country. A Germanic language, Frisian consists of three dialects spoken by the Frisian people who live in the Netherlands and Germany, with the Netherlands dialect being known as West Frisian.

The different dialects are not mutually intelligible and are often considered as separate languages. Frisian is frequently mentioned as the language most similar to English, but the languages aren't mutually intelligible.

Answer: Guarani

Guarani is one of two official languages of Paraguay, the other being Spanish. It is part of the Tupi-Guarani languages of South America. Guarani dialects are spoken in several South American countries including Bolivia and Argentina, but Paraguayan Guarani is the most spoken with an estimated five million speakers. An interesting fact about Guarani is that although it is an indigenous language spoken by the Guarani people, it is also widely spoken by non-indigenous Paraguayans.

The animal names cougar, jaguarundi and capybara come from Guarani.

Answer: Quechua

Another indigenous language of South America, Quechua was the language of the Inca empire. Spoken by around 13 percent of the population, it shares official language status with Spanish in Peru and is also an official language in Bolivia. Quechua is also spoken in Ecuador, Argentina, Chile and Columbia.

It belongs to its own language family, Proto-Quechua, consisting of forty-five or so languages and dialects in the Andean region. The words condor, llama and quinoa come from Quechua.

Answer: Kiswahili

One of the Bantu languages, Kiswahili (Swahili) shares official language status with English in Kenya, and it is widely used throughout southeast Africa as an official language or lingua franca. Although mainly written in Latin script, Kiswahili was originally written in Arabic script and Arabic has contributed to its vocabulary; the name Kiswahili came from Arabic for the term "coastal dwellers".

Answer: Bislama

Vanuatu is an archipelago nation located about a 1000 miles (1750 km) northeast of Australia. A Creole language based mainly on English with French and indigenous languages mixed in, Bislama shares official language status with English and French. It is considered the first language by around 30 percent of the population but is a second language for most of the remaining residents.

The language is related to the Pijin language of the Solomon Islands and the Tok Pisin language of Papua New Guinea and is somewhat intelligible to speakers of those languages.