Scientists have named and cataloged 1.3 million species. How many more species there are left to discover is a question that has hovered like a cloud over the heads of taxonomists for two centuries.
English is commonly spoken in government. In Maldives the national and official language is Dhivehi. English and some Indian languages are also spoken in Maldives. Most languages in South Asia are closely tied to particular nations, and as a result, further divide the people from one another.
Languages of Sri Lanka. Several languages are spoken in Sri Lanka within the Indo-Aryan, Dravidian and Austronesian families. Sri Lanka accords official status to Sinhalese and Tamil. The languages spoken on the island nation are deeply influenced by the languages of neighbouring India, the Maldives and Malaysia.