Indian Languages: Difference between revisions
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[[File:013-India-currency-Languagepanel-10rupees 2189.jpg|frame|From the ten rupees bill.]] |
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As any Indian will tell you, the country has a crapload of cultural diversity. Naturally, this extends to its languages as well (that's ''[[Insistent Terminology|languages]]'', not just dialects). India has hundreds of native languages spoken by different ethnic, cultural, and religious groups. At present, 22 of those languages are officially recognized by the Indian constitution, which are listed below. They span several language families including Dravidian (South), Indo-Aryan<ref> |
As any Indian will tell you, the country has a crapload of cultural diversity. Naturally, this extends to its languages as well (that's ''[[Insistent Terminology|languages]]'', not just dialects). India has hundreds of native languages spoken by different ethnic, cultural, and religious groups. At present, 22 of those languages are officially recognized by the Indian constitution, which are listed below. They span several language families including Dravidian (South), Indo-Aryan<ref>Aryan as in "Iranian", not that ''other'' kind of Aryan</ref> (everywhere ''but'' the South), Tibeto-Burman (Northeast), and Austro-Asiatic (East). And unlike most countries, there are also several different writing systems. |
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Typically, each state selects its own official language and this language is spoken by the majority of the state's population. This is fairly easy for some regions, especially the South and East, where state borders sharply correlate with linguistic and ethnic divisions. It's harder for states in Western India (which tend to be more cosmopolitan) and for states in the Northeast (which tend to have dozens of small languages instead of one lingua franca). Near state borders, people will either speak the languages of both states, or dialects that are mixtures of the two languages. Those who cross state lines often, like truck drivers, will know several languages. Otherwise, either Hindi or English is used when two people from different parts of the country need to communicate. |
Typically, each state selects its own official language and this language is spoken by the majority of the state's population. This is fairly easy for some regions, especially the South and East, where state borders sharply correlate with linguistic and ethnic divisions. It's harder for states in Western India (which tend to be more cosmopolitan) and for states in the Northeast (which tend to have dozens of small languages instead of one lingua franca). Near state borders, people will either speak the languages of both states, or dialects that are mixtures of the two languages. Those who cross state lines often, like truck drivers, will know several languages. Otherwise, either Hindi or English is used when two people from different parts of the country need to communicate. |
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