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Indian traditions, languages and ethnic cultures are diverse. The various languages spoken in India are members of various linguistic families. One of the most widely used languages is Indo-Aryan, that is being spoken by 78.05% of the Indians. There are 28 states & 8 union territories in India, which is home to numerous ethnic groups. These nations and territories speak a variety of languages that shift every few kilometres. We’ll talk about India’s official language in this article. India does not have a recognised national tongue. The official Language of India is listed in the eighth schedule of the Indian Constitution. While there are more than 100 languages spoken in India, only 22 are scheduled in accordance with the eight schedules, with Hindi and English serving as official languages.
Oldest language in India
The Indo-Aryan & Dravidian language families make up most of the language families into which the languages of India are divided. Smaller groups of people speak languages from the other language families, like Sino-Tibetan and Austroasiatic. The Brhm script first appeared in the 3rd century BCE, marking the beginning of linguistic records. There are 19,500 languages used in India. 22 of them have been designated as official languages. While some of these languages are somewhat recent, others are ancient.
Tamil
Sanskrit
Urdu
Gujarati
Odia
Telugu
Malayalam
Kannada
Marathi
Bengali
Hindi
National language of India 2022
According to the constitution, Hindi & English are both regarded as India’s official languages; there is no national language. Hindi written in Devanagari is the nation’s official language, according to Article 343 of the Indian Constitution. 14 languages were first listed in the Indian constitution upon the country’s independence.
In colonial India, English, Urdu, and Hindi were the official languages. The Official Language Act of 1963 specifies the languages which can be used for Union of India official purposes, including for the Hindi High Court and for the Central and State Acts’ parliamentary proceedings.
22 official Language of India
Hindi
Bengali
Marathi
Telugu
Tamil
Gujarati
Urdu
Kannada
Odia (Oriya)
Malayalam
Punjabi
Bodo
Dogri
Kashmiri
Konkani
Maithili
Manipuri
Nepali
Sanskrit
Santali Language
Sindhi
Assamese
Hindi
The most widely spoken language in India is Hindi, which is also one of the official languages. It uses the Devanagari script and is an Indo-Aryan language. Hindi was designated as an official language of the Union in 1950 and its usage in the Devanagari script was authorised under the Indian Constitution.
In nine Indian states and three union territories, it is the official tongue. Additionally, it is a second official language in three Indian states. In addition to India, countries with Hindi-speaking populations include Bangladesh, Yemen, Mauritius, Uganda, and South Africa.
Bengali
Bengali, also known as Bangla, is the 2nd most popular language in India. There are around 9.7 billion speakers in India, or about 8% of the country’s total population. It is an Indo-Aryan tongue that is primarily used in South Asia, including several Indian states.
Marathi
Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European Language family includes the Marathi language. It is one of India’s 22 official languages and the 3rd most spoken in the country. There are around 8.3 billion speakers in India, or 6.8% of the country’s total population. It is mostly used as a co-official language in the Indian state of Maharashtra. The inhabitants of Maharashtra speak it as their native tongue as well.
Telugu
Telugu is a Dravidian language since it is a member of the Dravidian language family’s South-Central branch. It is typically spoken in India’s Yaman region, Telangana, and Andhra Pradesh. Around 73 million Telugu speakers lived in India according to the 2001 census.
Tamil
Tamil, another Dravidian language, is primarily spoken by the people of Tamil in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu and in Sri Lanka, a neighbouring nation. India had almost 60.8 million Tamil speakers according to the 2001 census. Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Pondicherry, and the state of Tamil Nadu all use it as their official language.
Gujarati
An Indo-Aryan language is Gujarati. It is primarily spoken in Gujarat and to a lesser extent in other Indian states including Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, and Karnataka. It is closely connected to Hindi and Punjabi. Gujarati speakers also found outside of India in Bangladesh, Oman, Mauritius, Singapore, Kenya, the United States, the United Kingdom, etc. 55.5 million people, or 4.5 percent of the country’s population, spoke it as of 2011.
Urdu
The Indo-Aryan part of Indo-European Language family includes Urdu as well as other Indo-Aryan languages. There are about 64 million Urdu speakers in Pakistan and India. One of India’s 22 official languages. It is used as the official language in various Indian states, including Andhra Pradesh, Jammu & Kashmir, and Uttar Pradesh.Â
Kannada
As a member of the Dravidian Language family and one of the 43 million languages spoken in India as of 2011, Kannada is indeed a Dravidian language. In addition, it if the oldest languages in which exist presently. The majority of the population of Karnataka speaks Kannada, along with certain individuals in Andhra Pradesh, Goa, Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra, and Kerala. It is also one of the 22 Scheduled Languages in India and the official language of Karnataka.
Odia
Odia, originally referred as Oriya, is an Indo-Aryan language. In addition, the Indian government has declared it as a classical language.
The native language of the people of Odisha, Odia is spoken by about 31 million people in India.
Malayalam
Dravidian language Malayalam is primarily spoken in Lakshadweep, Puducherry, and Kerala. In these states, it is also the official language and is utilised in daily communication as well as in government, business, and education.
Punjabi
The Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European Language family includes the Punjabi language. It is primarily used as a 1st language in the Indian state of Punjab. It is both the official Language of Punjab, India, and the religion of the Sikhs.
Bodo
The Sino-Tibetan language of Bodo, also referred to as Boro, is primarily spoken by Boro people in Bangladesh as well as the north-eastern parts of India, including Assam and Meghalaya. It is a member of the Sino-Tibetan language family’s Tibeto-Burman branch.
Dogri
Dogri is an Indo-Aryan language spoken in northern India and is a member of the Indo-Aryan family of Indo-European languages. About 5 million Dogri speakers live in India, the majority of whom come from the region of Jammu & Kashmir.
Kashmiri
The Dardic subgroup of the Indo-Aryan languages includes Kashmiri, a Dardic language. About 7.0 million people in India speak it, the most of whom are from Jammu & Kashmir. There are several Kashmiri speakers in the POK as well. According to the 2001 census, India had about 5.4 million speakers of Kashmiri.
Konkani
Along India’s western coast, the Indo-Aryan language of Konkani is primarily spoken in the states of Goa, Kerala, and Maharashtra. It is a member of Southern Indo-Aryan Language family’s Marathi-Konkani group. The Indian constitution lists it as one among the 22 scheduled or official languages, and Goa has made it its official language.
Maithili
Maithili, which is a member of Indo-Aryan branch of Indo-European Language family, is also recognized as Maitili, Methli, Bihari, and Tirahutia, among other names. It is one of the 22 scheduled or official languages of India and is primarily used in the states of Bihar and Jharkhand, as well as in Nepal, a neighbouring nation.
Manipuri
Manipuri, commonly referred to as Meitei, is a Tibeto – Burman Language which is a member of the Sino-Tibetan linguistic family. Manipur, an Indian state in the northeast, is where it is most often spoken. In addition to this, it is also somewhat spoken in Bangladesh, Myanmar, Assam, Tripura, and Mizoram. It was added to India’s 22 recognised or scheduled languages in 1992.
Nepali
The Indo-European Language family includes Nepali, an Indo-Aryan tongue. As it was spoken in Khasa Empire in the 13th & 14th centuries, it was once known as Khas Kura. As a result of its many diverse dialects, including Acchami, Humli, Baitadeli, Dadelhuri, Bajurali, Darhuli, Gandakeli, Soradi, and others, Nepali is a macrolanguage.
Sanskrit
The ancient language of India, Sanskrit, is also the liturgical language of Buddhism, Jainism, as well as Hinduism. It is the oldest and most Systematic Language in the world and a member of the Indo-European language family, which includes the Indic languages. The earliest variety of Sanskrit, Vedic, dates to the second millennium BC. Classical Sanskrit is a descendent of it. The Rig Veda, which consists of 1028 hymns written between 1500 and 1200 BCE, also uses Vedic Sanskrit.
Santali
The Munda subfamily of Austroasiatic Languages includes Santali, also known as Santhali. It is primarily spoken in Assam, Odisha, Jharkhand, Mizoram, Tripura, and West Bengal in India.
Sindhi
An Indo-Aryan language belonging to the Indo-European Language family is Sindhi. In 2011, there were roughly 1.7 million Sindhi speakers in India. No Indian state uses it as its official language, despite it being a recognised scheduled language in India. However, the Indian government permitted it to be both a choice of language and a medium of instruction in India. It is utilised as a third language that may be chosen in Gujarat, Rajasthan, and Madhya Pradesh.
Conclusion
India is renowned for having a wide variety of languages, customs, and cultural practises. In India, there are over 700 different languages. India, however, lacks a national tongue. There are 22 official or scheduled languages that are granted governmental acknowledgement and support, according to the eighth schedule of the Indian Constitution. However, no language has been awarded the designation of national language by the Indian constitution.
