Eternal India Encyclopedia

EXPRESSIONS OF INDIA

Eternal India

encyclopedia

DATA BANK

ASSAMESE

: Indo-Aryan language family. Developed by

original Austric inhabitants who ruled Assam (ancient Kamrup)

from 1230-1800 A.D. Sino-Tibetan influences. Earliest reference

to Assamese found in 7th century journals of Hiuen Tsang, a

Chinese pilgrim. Present form has considerable Sanskrit influence

and allied to Bengali in script, grammar & pronunciation.

Interlinked with

Apabhrahmsha

(Magadhi) and

Prachya

(Magadhi) particularly in Bengal/Assam bordering districts. Early

Christian Missionaries adopted this language for their literary

works and encouraged its spread.

States

Speakers

WORLD RANK: 36

Assam

60.0%

NO. OF SPEAKERS: 23 m

Arunachal Pradesh

4.2%

Meghalaya

INDIA RANK: *

Nagaland

1.7%

SPEAKERS IN INDIA : *

BENGALI

: Indo- Aryan family, some Dravidian influence.

Emerged between the 10th and 12th centuries from Magadhi

Prakrit. Patronised by Muslim rulers who introduced Persian words

& literary forms. Heavily influenced by Sanskrit in vocabulary &

grammar. Script derived from eastern variety of Brahmi script

called "Kutila". Bengali developed both as a literary language and

had a colloquial form - a situation termed as "Diglossia".

Christian and Western impact noticeable from 19th century.

Emerence of literary giants Raja Ram Mohan Roy, Bankim Chan-

dra, Michael Madhusudan Dutt, Rabindranath Tagore, lifted the

language to great heights.

States

Speakers

Manipur

1.3%

W.Bengal

86.3%

Delhi

Tripura

69.6%

Sikkim

A & N Is.

24.7%

Madhya Pr.

0.4%

Assam

19.5%

Chandigarh

0.3%

Meghalaya

9.0%

Maharashtra

Mizoram

Pondicherry

Arunachal Pr. 7.2%

WORLD RANK:7

Nagaland

3.6%

NO. OF SPEAKERS 189 m

Bihar

3.0%

INDIA RANK: 3

Orissa

1.5%

SPEAKERS IN INDIA : 7.8%

GUJARATI

: Indo -Aryan family emerged in 12th century. Origin

Apabhrahmsha (dialect of Saurashtri) a mixture of the speech of the

Gujar tribe. Persian, Arabic, Turkish & Portuguese influence due to

Gujarat's contact by sea with foreign countries. Gujarati is also

spoken in Kenya and Uganda, due to the influx of mostly Gujarati

Indians during the British rule.

States Speakers

Daman & Diu

94.3%

Karnataka 0.1%

Gujarat

90.7%

Pondicherry 0.1%

D. & N. Haveli

23.4% ‘

Chandigarh 0.1%

Maharashtra

2.7%

Rajasthan 0.1%

WORLD RANK: 28

Tamil Nadu

0.5%

NO.OF SPEAKERS : 39 m

Madhya Pradesh

0.4%

INDIA RANK : 7

Delhi

0.3%

SPEAKERS IN INDIA : 5.0%

HINDI

: Origin 1000 A.D. name derived from

Sindu

(Sanskrit

meaning collection of water). During early period Hindi influ-

enced by

Apabhrahmshas,

Sanskrit, Pali, Prakrit; during Mughal

period Hindi adopted Arabic and Persian words. Later under Eu-

ropean influence, French, English words were inducted.

Spoken by almost 40% of Indians; Global rank is 3rd. Official

language of the Government of India developed from the Khari

Boli dialect. Uses Devanagari script. Hindi is spoken primarily in

Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan.

Internationally, it is found in Indonesia, Mauritius, Sri Lanka,

Trinidad, Surinam, Fiji and parts of Africa.

States Speakers

Rajasthan

89.9% Orissa

2.3%

Uttar Pradesh

89.7% Meghalaya

Himachal Pr.

89.0% Gujarat

Haryana

Goa

Madhya Pradesh 84.4% Karnataka

Bihar

80.2% D.&N. Haveli

1.7%

Delhi

76.3% Tripura

1.3%

Chandigarh

55.1% Daman & Diu

A & N Islands

18.1% Manipur

0.7%

Jammu & Kas.

16.9% Mizoram

0.5%

Punjab

14.6% Tamil Nadu

Maharashtra

6.7%

West Bengal

5.9% Pondicherry

Sikkim

4.7% WORLD RANK:3

Arunachal Pr.

3.8% NO. OF SPEAKERS: 383 m

Nagaland

3.2% INDIA RANK: 1

Andhra Pradesh

2.6%

SPEAKERS IN INDIA - 39.9%

KANNADA

: Dravidian family. Oldest sample of Kannada

available is dated to the Halmidi inscription of 450 A.D. Kannada

also found in Satara district of Maharashtra, district of Ananta-

pur, Andhra Pradesh, and Kotagiri, Tamil Nadu.

States

Speakers

Delhi 0.1%

Karnataka

65.1%

Pondicherry 0.1%

Goa

3.3% A & N Is. 0.1

Tamil Nadu

2.4% WORLD RANK: 27

Maharashtra

1.5% NO.OF SPEAKERS : 43 m

Andhra Pradesh 0.9% INDIA RANK: 8

Kerala

0.3% SPEAKERS IN INDIA : 4.1 %

KASHMIRI

: Kashmiri is in the Indo-Aryan family. Essentially

a Sanskritic language, it also has Perso-Arabic influences, nota-

bly in its script. There exists both a "Sanskritized" and a "Per-

sianized" dialect which are not Hindu nor Muslim

per se

but more

related to sub-culture.

States Speakers

WORLD RANK: 53

J & K 52.4%

NO.OF SPEAKERS : 4 m

Himachal Pradesh 0.7%

INDIA RANK : *

Chandigarh 0.1% SPEAKERS IN INDIA : *