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| Home > India
Fact File > Indian Languages |
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| India Fact File - Languages |
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| There are around 18 languages recognized by the
Indian Constitution. These languages are
Assamese
Bengali
Gujarati
Hindi
Kannada
Kashmiri
Konkani
Malayalam
Manipuri
Marathi
Nepali
Oriya
Punjabi
Sanskrit
Sindhi
Tamil
Telugu
Urdu
Hindi is the official and main link language
of India. Its homeland is mainly in the north of India, but
it is spoken and widely understood in all urban centers of
India. It is written in the Devanagri script, which is phonetic
and, unlike English, is pronounced as it is written. Hindi
is a direct descendant of Sanskrit through
Prakrit and Apabhramsha. It has been influenced and enriched
by Dravidian, Turkish, Farsi, Arabic, Portugese and English.
It is a very expressive language. In poetry and songs, it
can convey emotions using simple and gentle words. It can
also be used for exact and rational reasoning.
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At least 30 different languages and
around 2000 dialects have been identified. The Constitution
of India has stipulated the usage of Hindi and English to be
the two languages of official communication for the national
government. Additionally, it classifies a set of 18 Scheduled
languages which are languages that can be officially adopted
by different states for administrative purposes, and also as
a medium of communication between the national and the state
governments, as also for examinations conducted for national
government service.
As drafted, English ceased to exist as an official language
(on par with Hindi) in 1965, after which it was intended to
continue as an "associate additional official language"
until such time that a duly appointed committee can decide on
a full-scale transition to Hindi, based on a periodic review.
However, due to resentment and protests in certain non-Hindi
speaking states, the "twin language" system is still
in vogue. Due to rapid industrialization, and a bustling multinational
influence in the economy, English continues to be a popular
and influential means of communication in the government and
day-to-day business, and moves to replace it has effectively
been shelved.
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