Munda language group belongs to

The Correct answer is Austro-Asiatic.

Key Points

• Munda language group belongs to the Austro-Asiatic language family.
• This language family is one of the oldest groups of languages spoken in the Indian subcontinent.
• The Austro-Asiatic languages are primarily spoken in Southeast Asia and parts of India.
• In India, they are predominantly spoken by the tribal communities in regions like Jharkhand, Odisha, Chhattisgarh, and West Bengal.
• The Munda languages include several dialects such as Santhali, Mundari, Ho, Korku, and others.
• Santhali, a prominent language of the Munda group, was included in the Eighth Schedule of the Indian Constitution, granting it official recognition.
• The Austro-Asiatic language family is characterized by features such as monosyllabic words and the use of prefixes to indicate grammatical functions.
• The origin of the Austro-Asiatic languages is believed to be in the regions of South China and then later spread to Southeast Asia and India.
• These languages are significant in understanding the cultural heritage and linguistic diversity of tribal populations.

 Additional Information

• Indo-Aryan
  • The Indo-Aryan language family is the largest language family in India and includes prominent languages such as Hindi, Bengali, Marathi, Gujarati, Punjabi, and Urdu.
  • It is a subgroup of the Indo-European language family and is spoken by a majority of the Indian population.
  • These languages have a significant presence in North India and parts of Western and Eastern India.
  • Indo-Aryan languages are known for their rich literary traditions and contributions to Indian culture.
• Sino-Tibetan
  • The Sino-Tibetan language family includes languages spoken in Northeast India, such as Manipuri, Bodo, Mizo, and other tribal languages.
  • This group is primarily distributed across China, Tibet, Northeast India, and Southeast Asia.
  • Sino-Tibetan languages are known for their tonal features, where pitch is used to distinguish word meanings.
• Dravidian
  • The Dravidian language family is native to South India and includes languages such as Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Malayalam, and Tulu.
  • It is one of the oldest language families in the world, with roots tracing back to the Indus Valley Civilization.
  • Dravidian languages are characterized by their agglutinative structure, where words are formed by combining morphemes.