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Languages of India

Explorer · ages 7 and underAdapted from Wikipedia
A map showing the many languages spoken across different regions of India.

Many Languages

India has many languages. They belong to several language families, which are groups of languages that grew from the same roots. The biggest groups are the Indo-Aryan languages, spoken by about 78% of Indians, and the Dravidian languages, spoken by about 20%. Together, these are sometimes called Indic languages.

India has the second highest number of languages in the world. Only Papua New Guinea has more. The People's Linguistic Survey of India counts 780 languages.

Hindi and English

Hindi has the most first-language speakers in India today. It is also a lingua franca across much of northern and central India. Hindi is written in Devanagari script.

Many people also use English. English is still important, especially in higher education and in some parts of the Indian government. Some people think Hindi is the national language of India, but the Constitution does not give any language that title.

Languages in the Constitution

The Eighth Schedule of the Indian Constitution lists 22 languages. These languages get official support. Some languages, such as Sanskrit, Tamil, and Malayalam, have been given the title of classical language. This title is for languages with a rich heritage.

Persian was once the court language in India for several centuries. Today, India's languages keep changing and growing, and many people speak more than one language.

Quiz time!

3 questions about Languages of India

Question 1 of 3

Which country has more languages than India?

Pictures

An illustrated page from a Bhagavata manuscript from the Dakhinpat Sattra, written in Early Assamese script.
A red and white danger sign in India warns people about electricity. It uses the skull and crossbones symbol and is written in eight languages so that many people can read it.
A road sign in the city of Kochi, showing directions for drivers and travellers.
A map showing where native Hindi speakers live across India.
A colorful chart showing the fastest-growing languages in India based on the 2011 census, with Hindi in first place, followed by Kashmiri, Gujarati and Meitei (Manipuri), and Bengali. Each language name is written in its own writing system.
Signs at the Bengaluru Palace show information in several languages, including Hindi, Kannada, Tamil, Telugu, and Malayalam, so visitors from many places can understand them.
A map showing the languages spoken across Northeast India, highlighting the region's rich cultural and linguistic diversity.
An ancient Tamil Brahmi inscription carved into rock at Arittapatti village, near Madurai in India, dating back to about the 2nd century BCE.
An ancient stone inscription from Ayodhya, India, dating back to the 1st century BCE. It is written in Sanskrit and helps historians learn about early life in the region.
The Halmidi inscription, written in Old Kannada script, is considered the oldest known complete inscription in the Kannada language. It was carved in about 450 CE and can be found in Halmidi village, Karnataka, India.
A page from the Yumbanlol, an old copper manuscript written in the Meetei Mayek script of the Meitei language. It is from the Manipur region of India and dates back to about the 6th century. The text gives advice on family life and running a household.
Present-day geographical distribution of the major Indo-Aryan language groups. Romani, Domari, Kholosi, Luwati, and Lomavren are outside the scope of the map.  Pashai (Dardic)  Khowar (Dardic)  Shina (Dardic)  Kohistani (Dardic)  Kashmiri (Dardic)  Punjabi (Northwestern)  Sindhi (Northwestern)  Rajasthani (Western)  Gujarati (Western)  Khandeshi (Western)  Bhili (Western)  Western Pahari (Northern)  Central Pahari (Northern)  Eastern Pahari (Northern)  Western Hindi (Central)  Eastern Hindi (Central)  Bengali-Assamese (Eastern)  Bihari (Eastern)  Odia (Eastern)  Halbic (Eastern)  Marathi-Konkani (Southern)  Sinhala (Southern)  Dhivehi (Southern)(not shown: Kunar (Dardic), Chinali-Lahuli (Unclassified))
Distribution of the Dravidian languages
Official languages of India by state and union territory. Hindustani refers to both Hindi and Urdu in this map.
Cuneiform tablet containing a letter from Tushratta of Mitanni to Amenhotep III-(of 13 letters of King Tushratta). (Tushratta letter en:Amarna letter EA 19, reverse)
Kollam Tharisappalli copper plates (849 CE), also known as Kollam/Quilon Syrian copper plates, or Kottayam inscription during the reign of Sthanu Ravi Varma, to the Syrian Christian leader Maruvan Sapir Iso. It grants land for the construction of a Syrian Church near Kollam (Kerala). The script is Vatteluttu.
Sahodara Inscription in Tirahuta script / Mithilakshar Script. Location of it is Sahodara temple in West Champaran Bihar. Villagers informed that many sculptures from this temple have been stolen/smuggled to international gray art market.
Urajam inscription written in old Odia found at Dhabaleswara temple at Urjam village in Srikakulam district depicting a royal charter recording gift of a pavilion.
Seal, signature and handwriting of Maratha Senadhurandar Mudhoji Bhonsle I of Chandrapur and Nagpur. This text is written in Modi script which was used as an alternative script for Marathi.
A Meitei language stone inscription in Meitei script about a royal decree of a Meitei king found in the sacred site of God Panam Ningthou in Andro, Imphal East, Manipur
Development of Odia script

Keep exploring

Hindi
English language
India
Papua New Guinea
Lingua franca
North India

This article is a child-friendly adaptation of the Wikipedia article on Languages of India, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

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