List of languages by number of native speakers in India

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India is home to several hundred languages. Most languages spoken in India belong either to the Indo-European (ca. 74%), the Dravidian (ca. 24%), the Austroasiatic (Munda) (ca. 1.2%), or the Tibeto-Burman (ca. 0.6%) families, with some languages of the Himalayas still unclassified.

The SIL Ethnologue lists 415 living languages for India.

[edit] Overview

Hindi (Standard Hindi in addition to many dialects of varying mutual intelligibility, forming a macrolanguage) is the most widespread language of India. The Indian census takes the widest possible definition of "Hindi" as a broad variety of "Hindi languages". The native speakers of Hindi so defined accounts for about 40% of Indians.

Indian English is recorded as the native language of 226,449 Indians in the 2001 census. English is the second "language of the Union" besides Hindi.^[1]

Thirteen languages account for more than 1% of Indian population each, and between themselves for over 95%; all of them are "scheduled languages of the constitution" except Saraiki which is languages of more than 40 million speakers^{[citation needed]} in india.^{[dubious – discuss]}

Scheduled languages spoken by less than 1% of Indians are Santali (0.64%), Nepali (0.28%), Sindhi (0.25%), Manipuri (0.14%), Bodo (0.13%), Dogri (0.01%), spoken in Jammu and Kashmir). The largest language that is not "scheduled" is Bhili (0.95%), followed by Gondi (0.27%), Tulu (0.17%) and Kurukh (0.098980986%)

[edit] List by number of native speakers

Ordered by number of speakers as first language. Indian population in 1991 exhibited 19.4% of bilingualism and 7.2% of trilingualism, so that the total percentage of "native languages" is at about 127%.

[edit] More than one million speakers

The 2001 census recorded 29 individual languages as having more than 1 million native speakers (0.1% of total population).

* Excludes figures of Paomata, Mao-Maram and Purul sub-divisions of Senapati district of Manipur for 2001.
** The percentage of speakers of each language for 2001 has been worked out on the total population of India excluding the population of Mao-Maram, Paomata and Purul subdivisions of Senapati district of Manipur due to cancellation of census results.

[edit] Unofficial Language

• There is a controversy around including sambalpuri language or Kosali language in the 8th schedule of the constitution.Kosali language is spoken by a population totalling around 9,001,406 acc. to 2001 census. Kosal language is spoken in ten district of the western orissa region .Though sambalpuri is spoken by one-third majority of people in Orissa state,the orissa state govt. is not recognising it as an official language.However many political leaders of the western orissa region are trying to get it recognised at the centre.

[edit] 100,000 to one million speakers

[edit] 10,000 to 100,000 speakers

The following are SIL Ethnologue estimates:

[edit] Fewer than 10,000 speakers

• Zome: 9,112
• Bondo: 9,000
• Khamti: 8,879
• Bhalay: 8,672
• Digaro-Mishmi: 8,622
• Paliyan: 8,615
• Holiya: 8,000
• Rongpo: 7,500
• Malankuravan: 7,339
• Mannan: 7,289
• Pao: 7,223
• Simte: 7,150
• Nagarchal: 7,090
• Chiru: 7,000
• Miju-Mishmi: 6,500
• Kinnauri, Harijan: 6,331
• Sanskrit: 6,106
• Turi: 6,054
• Darlong: 6,000
• Kinnauri, Bhoti: 6,000
• Kurumba, Mullu: 6,000
• Urali: 5,843
• Sulung: 5,443
• Chamari: 5,324
• Bhatola: 5,045
• Nicobarese, Southern: 5,045
• Aiton: 5,000
• Balochi, Eastern: 5,000
• Kom: 5,000
• Phake: 5,000
• Katkari: 4,951
• Maldivian: 4,500
• Chin, Bawm: 4,439
• Manda: 4,036
• Gahri: 4,000
• Hruso: 4,000
• Kupia: 4,000
• Sajalong: 4,000
• Naga, Moyon: 3,700
• Naga, Chothe: 3,600
• Thulung: 3,313
• Naga, Monsang: 3,200
• Malapandaram: 3,147
• Sherdukpen: 3,100
• Gata': 3,055
• Brokskat: 3,000
• Dzongkha: 3,000
• Koireng: 3,000
• Kurmukar: 3,000
• Naga, Puimei: 3,000
• Singpho: 3,000
• Zyphe: 3,000
• Rawat: 2,926
• Byangsi: 2,829
• Teressa: 2,767
• Aimol: 2,643
• Kurumba, Alu: 2,500
• Stod Bhoti: 2,500
• Kudiya: 2,462
• Bijori: 2,391
• Kadar: 2,265
• Nicobarese, Central: 2,200
• Shumcho: 2,174
• Darmiya: 2,027
• Chaura: 2,018
• Kota: 2,000
• Nihali: 2,000
• Tinani: 2,000
• Jangshung: 1,990
• Chaudangsi: 1,825
• Na: 1,500
• Kanashi: 1,400
• Naga, Kharam: 1,400
• Bellari: 1,352
• Khamba: 1,333
• Merwari: 1,312
• Mru: 1,231
• Kinnauri, Chitkuli: 1,060
• Bugun: 1,046
• Rangkas: 1,014
• Lohar, Gade: 1,009
• Phudagi: 1,009
• Lhomi: 1,000
• Lisu: 1,000
• Yakha: 1,000
• Naga, Tarao: 870
• Bateri: 800
• Parenga: 767
• Korlai Creole Portuguese: 750
• Lohar, Lahul: 750
• Tukpa: 723
• Indo-Portuguese: 700
• Toda: 600
• Sunam: 558
• Naga, Purum: 503
• Chinali: 500
• Varhadi-Nagpuri: 463
• Dhimal: 450
• Allar: 350
• Ralte: 303
• Jad: 300
• Jarawa: 300
• Koda: 300
• Zakhring: 300
• Majhi: 246
• Aranadan: 236
• Pankhu: 234
• Shom Peng: 223
• Vishavan: 150
• Hinduri: 138
• Nahari: 108
• Sentinel: 101
• Mugom: 100
• Önge: 96
• Gurung, Western: 82
• Godwari: 61
• Khamyang: 50
• Great Andamanese: 25

[edit] See also

• Official languages of India
• Badaga _spoken by 20000 people in ooty

[edit] References

• Data table of Census of India, 2001
• Language Maps from Central Institute of Indian Languages
• SCHEDULED LANGUAGES IN DESCENDING ORDER OF SPEAKERS' STRENGTH - 2001
• COMPARATIVE RANKING OF SCHEDULED LANGUAGES IN DESCENDING ORDER OF SPEAKERS' STRENGTH-1971, 1981, 1991 AND 2001
• Census data on Languages

[edit] External links

• Major Indian Languages
• Ethnologue report
• Central Institute of Indian Languages