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10 Most Spoken Languages in India: Language is the source of communication for every human being. Do you know which is the most beautiful and most ugly language? Now, are you ready to learn some language facts? Read further and get to know about the most spoken languages in India!
Languages in India
There are several families to which the languages mostly spoken in India have truly belonged. The major languages of India belong to Indio- Aryan languages. About 78.05% of Indians are speaking languages that belong to the Indo- Arya language family and 19.64%of the population are speaking Dravidian languages. The rest of the 2.31% of the languages spoken by the Indian population belongs to the Sino–Tibetan, Tai–Kadai and Austroasiatic language families.
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India ranked fourth for the highest number of language used by its population. The total number of languages spoken by the Indian population is 477 along with Nigeria (524), Indonesia (710) and Papua New Guinea (840) in the first second and third position respectively. According to Article 343 of the Indian Constitution, the official language of India is deemed as Hindi in the Devanagari script. Later after the amendment of the constitution, according to The Official Language Act, 1963 allowed the English language to take side with English for official purposes.
Most Spoken Languages in India 2021
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|
First, Second, and Third languages by number of speakers in India (2011 Census) |
||||||
| Language | First language speakers | First language
speakers as a percentage of total population |
Second language
speakers (millions) |
Third language
speakers (millions) |
Total speakers (millions) | Total speakers as a
percentage of total population |
| Hindi | 528,347,193 | 43.63 | 139 | 24 | 692 | 57.1 |
| English | 259,678 | 0.02 | 83 | 46 | 129 | 10.6 |
| Bengali | 97,237,669 | 8.30 | 9 | 1 | 107 | 8.9 |
| Marathi | 83,026,680 | 6.86 | 13 | 3 | 99 | 8.2 |
| Telugu | 81,127,740 | 6.70 | 12 | 1 | 95 | 7.8 |
| Tamil | 69,026,881 | 5.70 | 7 | 1 | 77 | 6.3 |
| Gujarati | 55,492,554 | 4.58 | 4 | 1 | 60 | 5.0 |
| Urdu | 50,772,631 | 4.19 | 11 | 1 | 63 | 5.2 |
| Kannada | 43,706,512 | 3.61 | 14 | 1 | 59 | 4.9 |
| Odia | 37,521,324 | 3.10 | 5 | 0.03 | 43 | 3.5 |
| Malayalam | 34,838,819 | 2.88 | 0.05 | 0.02 | 36 | 2.9 |
Spoken languages in India and Core Speakers
| Language | Core speakers |
| Hindi | 52.83 |
| Bengali | 9.72 |
| Marathi | 8.30 |
| Telugu | 8.11 |
| Tamil | 6.90 |
| Gujarati | 5.54 |
| Urdu | 5.07 |
| Kannada | 4.37 |
| Odia | 3.75 |
| Malayalam | 3.48 |
2011 Census of Indian Speakers
| 2011 Census of India | |||
| Language |
(1,210,854,977) |
2007 estimate
Worldwide total |
|
| Speakers | Percentage | Speakers | |
| Hindi | 528,347,193 | 43.63% | 366 million |
| Bengali | 97,237,669 | 8.03% | 207 million |
| Marathi | 83,026,680 | 6.86% | 68.0 million |
| Telugu | 81,127,740 | 6.70% | 69.7 million |
| Tamil | 69,026,881 | 5.70% | 66.0 million |
| Gujarati | 55,492,554 | 4.58% | 46.1 million |
| Urdu | 50,772,631 | 4.19% | 60.3 million |
| Kannada | 43,706,512 | 3.61% | 35.3 million |
| Odia | 37,521,324 | 3.10% | 32.3 million |
| Malayalam | 34,838,819 | 2.88% | 35.7 million |
Most Commonly Used Indian Language as Mother Tongue
| Mother Tongue(2011) | Speakers | Percentage |
| Hindi | 322,200,000 | 26.6% |
| Bengali | 96,180,000 | 7.94% |
| Marathi | 82,800,000 | 6.84% |
| Telugu | 80,910,000 | 6.68% |
| Tamil | 68,890,000 | 5.69% |
| Gujarati | 55,040,000 | 4.55% |
| Urdu | 50,730,000 | 4.19% |
| Bhojpuri | 50,580,000 | 4.18% |
| Kannada | 43,510,000 | 3.59% |
| Malayalam | 34,780,000 | 2.87% |
| Gujarati | 55,040,000 | 4.55% |
Hindi
The language Hindi occupies first place among the most spoken languages in India. Hindi is also the official language of India. The people of India using Hindi as their mother tongue, according to the census of 2011, has increased in the year 2011 when compared to the census of 2001. According to the census of 2001, the number of people using Hindi as the mother tongue is 41.03%. The number has increased in 2011 by 43.63%. Hindi ranked fourth among the most spoken languages in the world. The first position is occupied by Mandarin. Spanish and English occupying the second and the third position respectively.
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There are around 52, 83, 47,193 people are using Hindi in India either as the mother tongue, second language or third language. The states like Himachal Pradesh, Delhi Uttarakhand, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh Uttar Pradesh and Bihar are using Hindi as their spoken language.
Hindi is the language that is descended from the Sanskrit language. The Hindi language is influenced by Portuguese, Dravidian, Arabic, English, Persian, and Turkey languages. The Hindi words can be divided into five categories namely Deshaj, Videsha Tatsama Ardhatasama and Tadbhav.
Bengali
9.72 speakers among the Indian population are using Bengali as their spoken language. The language Bengali is thus regarded as the second most spoken languages in India. Around 8.03% total population is using Bengali as the language. The Bengali language is mostly spoken in South Asia. This is an Indian- Aryan language. Bengali is the most prominent and important language of many of the states.
The natives of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands in the northeast of India is using Bengali as their official language. This language is treated as the secular language of the Old Indo Aryans. The language was mostly influenced by Persian and Arabic languages. There are various factors upon which the language can vary. The factors for the variation of the language includes pronunciation, words, phonetic form and usage. The language is widely spoken in the eastern states of West Bengal.
The states which are using Bengali as the native language includes Tripura, Jharkhand and. Assam. Bengali is part of the course offered by Karachi university and it is also spoken by the people residing in America, Australia, Japan, UK Middle East, and Canada. The National Anthem of India is in the Bengali language. The prominence of the language as a powerful tool in evoking the sense of national sentiments is evident here.
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Marathi
Marathi is belonging to the family of Indo- Aryan. Around 6.86% of the population is using Marathi as their official language. A total of 8.30 speakers are available for the language of Marathi. The Marathi is regarded as the official language of the western part of India. The states like Goa and Maharashtra are using this language with much reverence for its qualities and features. Around 42 different dialectical varieties are available for the spoken Marathi language.
Telugu
The Dravidian language, Telugu, is widely spoken in India. Many states in India are using Telegu as their native tongue. The language is mainly used in the states like Andhra Pradesh, Yanam and Telangana. The language includes dialectical varieties such as Salavari, Nellore, Comtao, Kamathi Beraad, Wadaga and Domara. There are other places like United States, United Kingdom, United Arab Emirates, South Africa, New Zealand and Australia where Telugu is used.
Tamil
The Tamil language has its roots in the Dravidian Language. It is the official language of Singapore and Sri Lanka. The Tamil language is widely spoken in India. Around 6.90 people in India are speaking the Tamil language. The Tamil language is regarded as the oldest surviving language in the world. The Tamil language has a literary tradition of about 2,000 years. The people residing on the southeastern coast are mostly using the Tamil language for communication.
Gujarati
The popular language Gujarati is spoken by more than 5.54 of the total population of India. Gujarati is the official language of Gujarat. The language is officially used by the state located in northwest India. The Gujarati language has evolved from the old Sanskrit language.
Urdu
The number of Urdu speakers in India is high. There are around 5.07 crore people who speak the Urdu language. The language Urdu is regarded as the official language of India. Urdu is also the official language of states like Bengal, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, Telangana, and Jharkhand. Urdu is the official language of Pakistan.
Kannada
Kannada has been originated from the Dravidian language family. Around 4. 37 people are using the language across India. The Kannada language is also used in the land of the United States, Canada and Australia. The speakers are belonging to the Indian diaspora. For the language of Kannada, there are around 20 different dialects available.
Odia
Odia is the official language of many parts of India. Odia is the official language of Odisha state. Around 3.75 crore people are speaking Odia across the country.
Malayalam
Malayalam is the official state language of Kerala, Puducherry and Lakshadweep. The language Malayalam is spoken by 3.48 people in India. The Malayalam language has its roots in the Dravidian language.
English language
English is also accepted as one of the official languages of India. English is also considered the official language of Arunachal Pradesh and Nagaland. Around2,59,678 English speakers can be seen in India. The English language is taught in the school and colleges and academics is mainly revolving around the universal language, English.
There is no barrier to the communication of people as India is a land of bilingualism. Most people communicate in Hindi or English. English is no longer considered a foreign language.
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