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Languages In India That Are Recognised By Indian Constitution States

Languages In India That Are Recognised By Indian Constitution States

 

“Yeh toh sach hai ki pyaar ki koi bhi bhasha nahi hoti,” but there are many languages in India that makes this nation so diversified. “Thoda apna sa lagta hai jab mil baithe do log ek language bolne wale.”

 

 

The 8th schedule of the Indian Constitution States, Articles 344(1) and 351 have 22 recognised languages.

 

 

1. Assamese: Native language of Assam, spoken by nearly 14 million speakers. The same language is also spoken in other Indian places like Arunachal Pradesh and Nagaland.

 

 

2. Bengali: After Hindi, Bengali is the second most spoken language. West Bengal remains a diversified cultural state. Bangladesh considers Bengali as its first language.

 

 

3. Boro: Co-official language of Assam (Bodoland is an autonomous region). Another of the languages in India, written in the Devanagari script. It is also used as a medium of instruction in schools and colleges.

 

 

4. Dogri: It is chiefly spoken in Jammu and in some parts of Himachal Pradesh. Rouf is a traditional Dogri Dance Form.

 

 

5. Gujarati: More than 70 years old language spoken by 5.54 crores people. Other than India, in some parts of Pakistan, Gujarati is also used.

 

 

6. Hindi: Written in Devanagri script, it is one of the most spoken languages in India with 52.83 crores speakers. In 1954, the Constituent of the Indian Assembly replaced Urdu with Hindi as the official language of the Republic of India. So, 14 September is known as Hindi Diwas.

 

 

7. Kannada: Written in Kannada script, many South Indian States (Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu) speak the Kannada language apart from Karnataka. One of the languages in India that got featured in the Wikipedia Logo.

 

 

8. Kashmiri: Earlier, Kashur was the official language of Kashmir. But, in 2020 Parliament of India suggested and passed a bill declaring Kashmiri as the official language of Jammu and Kashmir. Many parts of Pakistan also speak Kashmiri.

 

          

9. Konkani: The official language of Goa. It is believed that word is derived from the Kukkana tribe. According to Hindu mythology, Konkan means a ‘Piece of Earth’. It is written in several scripts like Devanagari, Roman, Kannada and Malayalam.

 

 

10. Maithili: Most of the people of India and Nepal speak the Maithili language, another of the languages in India that are scripted in Devanagari. The people of Bihar and Jharkhand also know this language, becoming part of the 30 million Maithili-speakers.

 

 

11. Malayalam: Mostly spoken by the people of Kerala and Union territories Lakshadweep and Puducherry. English is the second most language spoken by Malayalam speakers. The word is formed by joining two words mountain (Mala) and place (Alam). ‘Ki’ and ‘Ka’ are gender-neutral terms in Malayalam.

 

 

12. Meiti: In 1992, Meiti or Manipuri got recognition as an official language of India. Apart from Manipur, people from Assam and Tripura also speak the language. It literally means a “member of a community”.

 

 

13. Marathi: More than 90 million speakers speak Marathi. Also called, Maharashtri, Malhatee, and Maharathi, it is the official language of Maharashtra and the co-official language of territories Daman and Diu and Dadra and Nagar Haveli. It is said that in the 12 Century, the first book was written. It was published in Marathi, before any other Indian language.

 

 

14. Nepali: In many contexts, Nepali people are also called Gorkhali and Parbatiya. Khas Kura is the old name for Nepali. It is the official language of Nepal, also spoken in the Indian states of West Bengal and Sikkim.

 

 

15. Odia: Nearly 82% of the Odisha population speak Odia. (Earlier, it was spelt as Oriya). The language is considered to be the 6th classical language. It is also used in West Bengal, Jharkhand, and Chattisgarh.

 

 

16. Punjabi: Positioned at 10 in terms of speaking languages in India. There are millions of people in Pakistan, Canada and the UK that speak Punjabi frequently. The language can be written in two scripts. India prefers Gurumukhi script and Pakistan, Shahmukhi.

 

 

17. Sanskrit: Considered the oldest language (3,500 years old) in the world. All the Vedas were written in Sanskrit. An amazing fact about the language is that for each word, there are many synonyms in Sanskrit. For example, it has 70 synonyms for the word “water”. Many English words are derived from Sanskrit. Like, Geometry from Jamiti, Trigonometry from Trikonamiti. In London James Junior School, Britain and some schools in Ireland, Sanskrit is compulsory.

 

 

18. Santhali: Nearly 7.6 million people of countries India, Bangladesh, Bhutan, and Nepal speak Santhali. In 2013 University Grants Commission of India permitted the National Eligibility Test in the Santhali or Santali language.

 

 

19. Sindhi: One of the languages in India that did not make the list of official languages in many Indian states. Many people belonging to Sindhi communities usually speak in the Sindhi language. Populations living in areas like Sindh, Pakistan, talk in Sindhi.

 

 

20. Tamil: Under the Indian classical language, Tamil was the first language to be considered by UNESCO. Apart from Tamil Nadu, Tamil is the official language of nations Singapore and Sri Lanka. The word “Tamil” has many meanings. Few of them are beautiful, sweet and natural.

 

 

21. Telugu: Telugu is the official language of Indian states Andhra Pradesh and Telangana. It stands as the highest native speaking language in India. It is also considered as one of the classical languages. The US consider Telugu as the fastest-growing language. A street in Myanmar is named “Malle Poola Dibba” (Street of Jasmines).

 

 

22. Urdu: In India, Urdu is known for its rich culture and heritage. It is the official language in Pakistan, but India, Bangladesh and Nepal also have Urdu-speaking people. Do you know you use Urdu words in your daily life? A few of them are science, mind, jail court, library, car, etc.

 

FYI, English is not included in the eighth schedule. Though, it is used as an official language meant for the official documentation.

 

 

Language is a crucial mode of communication that can take place in many forms: symbols, signs, numerical, verbal, eye contact, etc. Language is an expression that represents cultures and makes us apart from animals, turning us into humans.

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