Languages

A potpourri of different cultures, religions and beliefs & being a vast country, India has lot of cultural and geographical diversities.  A number of different languages are spoken across the country.

All the languages have originated from the great languages of the past. Some of these languages are accepted nationally, while others are accepted as dialects of particular regions.

The earliest language of India was the language of Indus Valley civilization, but due to very less availability of their script, it has not been deciphered properly.

Indian languages have a long literary history. Eighteen languages are officially recognized in India of which Sanskrit and Tamil share a long history of more than 5,500 and 3,200 years respectively. Some of the ancient languages in India do not have written forms.

All these languages have originated from the great languages of the past. Indian languages come from four distinct families. These languages are: Indo-European, Dravidian, Mon-Khmer, and Sino-Tibetan. Majority of Indian population uses Indo-European and Dravidian languages. Indo-European is spoken by approximately 72% Indians while Dravidian language is spoken by 22% Indians.

The language families divide India geographically too. Indo-European languages dominate the northern and central India while in south India; mainly languages of Dravidian origin are spoken. In eastern India languages of Mon-Khmer group is popular. Sino Tibetan languages are spoken in the northern Himalayas and close to Burmese border.

Population of Tribal or Aboriginal speaking language in India may be more than some of the European languages. For instance, Bhili and Santali both tribal languages have more than 4 million speakers.

The vividness is such that schools in India teach more than 50 different languages; there are Films in 16 languages, Newspapers in more than 90 languages and radio programs in approximately 71 languages!

English language enjoys a special status and remains the additional official language of India.  Officially English has a status of assistant language, but in fact it is now the most important language of India. It is probably the most read and written language in India. After Hindi, English is the most commonly spoken language in India

English symbolizes in Indians minds, better education, better culture and higher intellect. Indians who know English often mingle it with Indian languages in their conversations. It is also usual among Indians to abruptly move to speak fluent English in the middle of their conversations. English also serves as the communicator among Indians who speak different language.