India Languages
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Background[edit | edit source]
The Constitution of India specifies the official language of the Union is Hindi, written in Devanagari script, and English. Originally, English was to be an official language only until 1962. The 1963 Official Languages Act allows English to continue as an official language until changed by legislation. Each state, union territory, and autonomous region has the right to designate official languages for that area.
Most of the languages spoken in India are part of either the Indo-Aryan or Dravidian language families. Indo-Aryan languages are found in the north, and Dravidian in the south. The 2001 census of India identified 122 major languages spoken in the country. The Constitution lists 22 scheduled languages, which are recognized by the government. There are also six classical languages, which have strong literary traditions and a large body of written literature.
Languages[edit | edit source]
Hindi, Bengali, Marathi, Telugu, Tamil, Gujarati, Urdu, Kannada are the first language of over 80% of the population. Many of the people are multilingual, and according to the 2011 census nearly 130 million persons, or 10.67% per cent, speak English as a first, second, or third language.Expansion depth limit exceeded
Scheduled Languages[edit | edit source]
This table lists the 22 scheduled languages and the states, union territories, or regions where they are spoken.Expansion depth limit exceeded
| Language | Where Spoken |
|---|---|
| Assamese | Assam |
| Bengali | Assam, Tripura, West Bengal |
| Gujarati | Gujarat, Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu |
| Hindi | Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, Jharkhand, Ladakh, Lakshadweep, Madhya Pradesh, National Capital Territory of Delhi, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, West Bengal |
| Kannada | Karnataka |
| Kashmiri | Jammu and Kashmir |
| Konkani | Konkan region of Goa |
| Malayalam | Kerala, Lakshadweep, Pucucheery |
| Manipuri | Manipur |
| Marathi | Maharashtra |
| Nepali | Sikkim, West Bengal |
| Oriya | Odisha, West Bengal, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh |
| Punjabi | National Capital Territory of Delhi, Punjab, West Bengal |
| Sanskrit | Uttarakhand |
| Sindhi | Sindh |
| Tamil | Puducherry, Tamil Nadu |
| Telugu | Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, West Bengal |
| Urdu | Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, National Capital Territory of Delhi, Telangana, Uttar Pradesh |
| Bodo | Boro |
| Santhali | Assam, Bihar, Jharkhand, Mizoram, Odisha, Tripura, West Bengal |
| Maithili | Bihar, Jharkand |
| Dogri | Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Punjab |
Classical Languages[edit | edit source]
Classical languages are determined by age (1500-2000 years), an existing body of texts considered to be a "valuable heritage', an original literary tradition, and distinct from the modern version.Expansion depth limit exceeded The six classical languages of India, and the year they were declared to be classical, are: {{Expansion depth limit exceeded|2|
- Kannada (2008)
- Malayalam (2013)
- Odia (2014)
- Sanskrit (2005)
- Tamil (2004)
- Telugu (2008)
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Languages by State and Union Territory[edit | edit source]
This table lists each State or Union Territory and its official language.
| Locality | Type | Official Language |
|---|---|---|
| Andaman and Nicobar Islands | Union Territory | Hindi, English |
| Andhra Pradesh | State | Telugu, Urdu |
| Arunachal Pradesh | State | English |
| Assam | State | Assamese, Bodo, Bengali |
| Bihar | State | Hindi, Urdu |
| Chandigarh | Union Territory | English |
| Chhattisgarh | State | Chhattisgarh, Hindi |
| Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu | Union Territory | Gujarati, Hindi, Marathi, English |
| Goa | State | Konkani |
| Gujarat | State | Gujarati |
| Haryana | State | Hindi |
| Himachal Pradesh | State | Hindi |
| Jammu and Kashmir | State | Kashmiri, Dogri, Urdu, Hindi, English |
| Jharkhand | State | Hindi |
| Karnataka | State | Kannada |
| Kerala | State | Malayalam |
| Ladakh | Union Territory | Hindi, English |
| Lakshadweep | Union Territory | Malayalam, Hindi, English |
| Madhya Pradesh | State | Hindi |
| Maharashtra | State | Marathi |
| Manipur | State | Manipuri |
| Meghalaya | State | English |
| Mizoram | State | Mizo, English |
| Nagaland | State | English |
| National Capital Territory of Delhi | Union Territory | Hindi, Urdu, Punjabi |
| Odisha | State | Odia, English |
| Puducherry | Union Territory | Tamil, French, English |
| Punjab | State | Punjabi |
| Rajasthan | State | Hindi, English |
| Sikkim | State | English, Nepali, Sikkimese, Lepcha |
| Tamil Nadu | State | Tamil, English |
| Telangana | State | Telugu, Urdu |
| Tripura | State | Bengali, English, Kokborok |
| Uttar Pradesh | State | Hindi, Urdu |
| Uttarakhand | State | Hindi, Sanskrit |
| West Bengal | State | Bengali, Nepali, Urdu, Hindi, Odia, Santali, Punjabi, Kamtapuri, Rajbanshi, Kurmali, Kurukh, Telugu |
Resources[edit | edit source]
Hindi[edit | edit source]
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- Lexilogos: Hindi dictionary
- Omniglot: Hindi Script
- Hindi online dictionary
- Library of Congress: Hindi transliteration information (PDF)
- MyLanguages.org: Hindi to Latin (phonetics) Converter
- MyLanguages.org: Learn Hindi
- Hindi language overview
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Bengali[edit | edit source]
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- Lexilogos: Bengali dictionary
- Bengali language overview
- Bengali basics and grammar
- BDWord.com: Bengali Dictionary online
- Library of Congress: Bengali Romanization Table (PDF)
- MyLanguages.org: Bengali Transliteration
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Marathi[edit | edit source]
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- Lexilogos: Marathi dictionary
- Omniglot: Marathi
- University of Chicago, Digital Dictionaries of South Asia: Marathi and English
- MyLanguages.org: Learn Marathi
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Telugu[edit | edit source]
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- Lexilogos.com: Telugu Dictionary
- Omniglot: Telugu alphabet, pronunciation and language
- MyLanguages.org: Learn Telugu
- MyLanguages.org: Telugu Alphabet
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Tamil[edit | edit source]
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- Lexilogos.com: Tamil Dictionary
- Tamildict.com
- Tamil Typing
- Shabdkosh: English Tamil Dictionary and Translation
- University of Chicago, Digital Dictionaries of South Asia: Tamil Lexicon
- ilanguages.org: Learn Tamil
- Learn 101- Tamil
- University of Pennsylvania, Web Assisted Learning and Teaching of Tamil (WALTT): Learning and Teaching Tamil
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Gujarati[edit | edit source]
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- Lexilogos: [http://www.lexilogos.com/english/gujarati_dictionary.htm Gujarati dictionary
- Omniglot: Gujarati alphabet, pronunciation and language
- MyLanguages.org: Learn Gujarati
- MyLanguages.org: Gujarati to Latin (phonetics) Converter
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Urdu[edit | edit source]
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- Lexilogos: Urdu dictionary
- Omniglot: Urdu alphabet, pronunciation and language
- MyLanguages.com: Urdu to Latin (phonetics) Converter
- MyLanguages.com: Learn Urdu
- Urdu language overview
- UrduWord.com: Urdu online dictionary
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Kannada[edit | edit source]
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- Lexilogos: Kannada dictionary
- Omniglot: Kannada alphabet, pronunciation and language
- MyLanguages.com: Kannada Alphabet
- MyLanguages.com: Learn Kannada
- All Language Resources: How to Learn Kannada
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References[edit | edit source]
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