What Language is Spoken in India? (Read It NOW)

India is a land of many languages – but which one is the most popular?

India has an incredibly diverse Indian population, which means that the country’s languages are significantly different. According to Ethnologue, India is home to 1,652 living languages, with over half of these spoken only by small groups or communities in remote areas. Of those 1,652 languages, though, only one is India’s most widely spoken language. Here’s more on this ancient language spoken in India and its speakers!

What is the official language of India?

The official language of India is Hindi.

However, 22 other minority languages are also spoken throughout the country. Most of these minority languages belong to the Indo-European family of languages, except Gujarati, which belongs to the Indo-Aryan branch. These regional languages are primarily spoken in specific areas – for example, Arunachal Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, and Himachal Pradesh all have their unique language. Sri Lanka and Andhra Pradesh also have their versions of Hindi. There are over 1 billion native speakers of Indo-Aryan languages in South Asia.

Which are the best Indian languages to learn?

India is home to around 22 officially recognized languages, with Hindi being the most widely spoken. However, learning Hindi as a foreign language can be difficult due to its complex grammar and script. Gujarati, on the other hand, is an Indo-European language that is native to the western Indian state of Gujarat.

It is considered one of the easiest languages for English speakers due to its simple grammar and Roman script. For those looking to learn a Dravidian language, Tamil is an excellent choice. It is the mother tongue of over 70 million people and is one of the oldest living languages in the world. You might be interested in knowing most spoken languages.

Which are the lesser-known Indian languages?

The Gujarati language is spoken by around 46 million people in India, making it the native language for 4.5% of the population. However, many other lesser-known Indian languages are spoken by smaller groups of people. Some of these include -Lingua franca (the shared common language) and Konkani (spoken by just over 2 million people).

-Malayalam (spoken by around 34 million speakers), Tamil (spoken by just over 74 million speakers), Assamese, and Kannada, both with just under 30 million speakers
-Nepali has around 8 million speakers, Sindhi just over 6 million speakers
-Marathi has around 82 million speakers, and Punjabi has 45 million

Where can you find different Indian dialects, and how do they vary from other cultures?

India is home to more than 1.3 billion people, and with that comes a wide variety of languages. According to the latest census, there are 122 major languages spoken in India. Hindi is the most common language, with 43% of the population speaking it as their first prominent language. Bengali, Telugu, Marathi, Tamil, and Urdu are also widely spoken. The Gujarati language has more native speakers (23 million) than any other Indian dialect. It is primarily spoken in the state of Gujarat and neighboring areas.

Are there any endangered Indian languages?

There are more than 19,500 languages spoken in India, according to Ethnologue. That’s the second highest number of languages in the world, after only Papua New Guinea. And while Hindi is the most widely spoken majority language in India, with about 422 million speakers, there are dozens of other majority languages that are also common.

According to a 2011 census, these include Bengali, Telugu, Marathi, Tamil, and Urdu. For example, roughly 59% of people living in West Bengal speak Bengali as their mother tongue, 56% speak Telugu as their mother tongue in Andhra Pradesh; 50% speak Marathi as their mother tongue; 41% speak Tamil as their native tongue/mother tongue, and 35% speak Urdu as their mother tongue.

Indo-Aryan Languages

The most widely spoken language in India is Hindi, with 41% of the population speaking it as their first language. Bengali, Marathi, and Telugu are also widely spoken, with around 10% of the population speaking each language. There are also several minority languages spoken in India, including Tamil, Gujarati, and Punjabi.

Andra Pradesh

Andhra Pradesh is located in the southern part of India and is home to about 84 million people. The official language of Andhra Pradesh is Telugu, but there are also many speakers of Hindi, Urdu, and English. In terms of dialects, there are three main ones spoken in Andhra Pradesh: Coastal Andhra, Rayalaseema, and Telangana.

Himachal Pradesh

Spoken in the northwestern region of India, Himachal Pradesh has several dialects of Hindi, Punjabi, and Pahari. The most common prominent language spoken in Himachal Pradesh is Hindi, followed by Punjabi and Pahari. English is also widely spoken in this state.

Madhya Pradesh

Hindi is the primary language spoken in Madhya Pradesh, with over 68% of the population speaking it. Other languages in Madhya Pradesh include Punjabi, Bengali, Marathi, and Tamil. English is also widely spoken, particularly in urban areas.

Uttar Pradesh

Hindi is the most widely spoken language in Uttar Pradesh, with over 38% of the population speaking it as their first language. However, there are also sizable populations of speakers of Urdu (24%), Bhojpuri (9%), and Punjabi (6%).

Arunachal Pradesh

Hindi is the most widely spoken language in India, with 41% of the population speaking it as their first language. However, there are 22 official languages in India, with each state having its primary language.

In Arunachal Pradesh, Hindi is the primary language spoken by 41% of the population. Bengali, Assamese, and Oriya are also widely spoken in this state.

Other Languages Spoken in India

Bengali

Also referred to as Bangla by native speakers, Bengali is the official language of Bangladesh. It is most commonly spoken in the Indian states of West Bengal, Lower Assam, and Tripura. Spoken by 8% of Indian citizens, Bengali is the fifth most titular spoken native language in the world. Like Hindi, it evolved from Sanskrit, as well as Pali and Prakrit, with influences from many other languages, including Persian, Portuguese, Dutch, French, and English. It is now divided into eight different groups based on geographic location.

English

Along with Hindi, English is one of the official languages ​​of the Indian federal government or central government. In some states of India, such as Nagaland and Arunachal Pradesh, English is the official language. English has been taught in Indian schools since the East India Company in the 1800s. Although English used to be associated only with colonialism, it has slowly lost its importance in recent years as English has become a more global language.

Telugu

Telugu is a Dravidian language widely spoken in India, commanding several states. The language is mainly spoken in the states of Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, and Yanam. The dialect includes Berad, Vadaga, Dommara, Salewari, Nellore, Komtao, and Kamathi, among other dialects. The language is also spoken in several countries, including the United States, United Kingdom, New Zealand, Australia, United Arab Emirates, and South Africa.

Marathi

Marathi is an Indo-Aryan language that serves as the official language of the states in the western part of the country, including Goa and Maharashtra. There are approximately 42 different dialects spoken by Marathi. There are three genders in Marathi grammar.

Tamil

Tamil is a language with Dravidian roots. Although an official language of both Singapore and Sri Lanka, it is also a widely spoken language in India. Around 67 million people in the country speak Tamil. Tamil is notable for being one of the oldest surviving languages ​​in the world. It has a literary tradition that goes back more than 2,000 years. Most Tamil languages ​​are found in southern India, near the coast of Sri Lanka.

Urdu

There are around 59 million Urdu speakers in India. Urdu also serves as one of the country’s official languages. The states of West Bengal, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, Telangana, and Jharkhand list Urdu as an official language. Urdu is also the official language of Pakistan. Urdu is a form of Hindustani.

Gujarati

Gujarati is an Indo-Aryan language spoken by around 50 million people in India. It is the official language of Gujarat, a state in northwestern India. Gujarati evolved from Sanskrit.

Other languages ​​of India and its multilingual society

More than 20 languages ​​are spoken in India. These national languages ​​include Marathi, Tamil, Urdu, Gujarati, Kannada, Malayalam, and Odia.

The many national languages ​​in India do not hinder communication between different speakers as most Indians are multilingual.

Most Indians can speak English, Hindi, and a native language. The English language is no longer considered a foreign language as it is a popular and most common way of communication between the people of southern and northern India. Non-verbal communication such as gestures is also a popular form of communication between different classical language groups in the country.

The emergence of new languages

Sanskrit has evolved, becoming easier to communicate. With its transformation, Prakrit appeared, which became widespread in the 4th-3rd centuries BC. In the future, it is also modified, and a new group appears – apabhransha. This is how new languages ​​​​have arisen, depending on the region, and they differ.

According to researchers, the dialects spoken by the peoples of the northern part of India acquired their modern form as early as 1000 AD. e. These include Bengali, Hindi-Urdu, Assamese, Marathi, Rajasthani, etc.

The Dravidian family includes the languages ​​of the southern regions of India, which developed independently, without the influence of Sanskrit. These include Tamil and Kannada, Telugu and Tulu, and Malayalam. Part of the vocabulary of some of these languages ​​was borrowed from Sanskrit, but for the most part, they received little influence from it. The situation is similar to the languages ​​​​of the Tibeto-Burman family, which are most common in the northeastern part of India.

Dialects and Unknown Languages ​​in India

In addition to the recognized constitutional languages, Hindustani, the predecessor of today’s Hindi and Urdu, or regional dialects such as Rajasthani and Bihari, are still widespread in northern India. It is also suspected that to this day; there are languages ​​spoken in India by some indigenous segments of the population that have never been recorded or studied to date. Therefore it is hardly possible to determine the exact number of languages ​​in India.

India’s writing systems

Most languages ​​use different writing systems. For example, Hindi, Nepali, Marathi, and Sanskrit use the Devanagari script. Malayalam, Telugu, Punjabi, Gujarati, and Tamil, on the other hand, all have their writing. In Urdu, on the other hand, a modified form of the Arabic script is used, similar to Kashmiri or Sindhi. These can, e.g., also use the Devanagari system.