Indian Languages

Languages ​​of India

Classification of Indian languages

Unlike many foreign countries, India is a country with different cultures and a large number of completely different languages. These languages ​​are generally divided into four families. They are Proto-Australoid, Dravidian, Sino-Tibetan and Indo-Aryan. According to the 1961 census, the total number of native languages ​​in India was 1652. Of these, all belong to the above four language families.

Negroid group

Our language families originated from various human groups that came to India at various times. The Negritos from Africa are believed to have been the first to migrate to our country. Although there are descendants of those tribes in South India and East India, there are no languages ​​similar to theirs here today.

Proto-Australoid group

The Proto-Australoids arrived later. Their descendants migrated from Burma and Indo-China to Australia and Polynesia, and are the descendants of the Kol and Munda peoples of India. Indian languages ​​such as Mundari and Santali belong to the Austro-Asiatic family.

Dravidian Group

The Dravidians came to our country about 5000 years ago. They settled in South India and gave rise to the languages ​​Tamil, Telugu, Kannada and Malayalam. In addition to these developed languages, the Dravidian language family also includes many undeveloped languages ​​such as Tulu, Koda and Gondi. Among these, Tamil was the first to develop as a literary language.

Sino-Tibetan group

The next family is the languages ​​of the Sino-Tibetan or Mongoloid people who came to India. The Tibeto-Burman subfamily of this family is found in India. Examples of these are the languages ​​spoken in the northeastern states of India such as Manipuri, Angami Naga, and Mizo.

Indo-Aryan group

The Indo-Aryan family of languages ​​is a branch of the Indo-European family, the world's largest language family, which originated from the Aryans who arrived in northern India more than two thousand years ago. The Indo-Aryan language is a sub-family of the Indo-European family, the world's largest language family. The most recent language to reach India is Sanskrit. Hindi, Bengali, Punjabi, Sindhi, Marathi, Konkani, Oriya, Assamese, Maithili, Magadhi, Bhojpuri, Chota Nagpuri, Kosali, Awadhi, Urdu, Gujarati, Vraj, Dogri, Rajasthani, Pahadi, Gorkhali-Nepali, Kashmiri, etc. are all part of this family. This language family includes prakrit languages ​​such as Pali and Magadhi, as well as numerous dialects.

Different scripts in India

Harappan script

The Harappans developed writing. They were the first literate people in India. We know about the Harappan script mainly from their seals. The first example of this was found in 1853. By 1923, the entire script had been discovered. About 4000 examples of the Harappan script have been found. The Harappans did not write long inscriptions. Their inscriptions consist of only a few words. The Harappan script was written from right to left.

Brahmi script

Before the 12th century AD, Sanskrit was written in various variants of the Brahmi script. Historians believe that this writing system, which is believed to be as old as the 7th or 8th centuries BC, was probably brought to India by traders from Central Asia. Kharoshti and Gupta scripts were variants of the Brahmi script.

Kharosthi script

The Brahmi language had many variants. One of the most important of them was Kharosthi. This script was used to write Sanskrit and Prakrit in the ancient Gandhara region, which is located in present-day Afghanistan and Pakistan. Kharosthi script was also widely used in Central Asia. Kharosthi script was most popular between the 3rd century BC and the 3rd century AD. This script, written from right to left, is believed to have evolved from the Aramaic script, which is a variant of Brahmi script. We get information about Kharosthi script from stone inscriptions of early AD period and just before that.

Gupta script

Gupta script is another script used to write Sanskrit. This script evolved from the Brahmi language. By the 4th century, the Gupta script began to undergo many changes. The most important of these was the introduction of curves in the script for ease of writing and beauty. Later, the Devanagari, Sharada, and Siddha scripts were derived from Gupta script.

Sharada script

The Sharada script was derived from the Gupta script. By the 8th century, the Sharada script was widely used.

Devanagari script

The ' Devanagari ' script is used to write Sanskrit today. However, Sanskrit began to be widely written in this script only after about the 12th century. The word Devanagari is formed by combining the words ' Deva ' and ' Nagri '. This means the script of God. The Devanagari script came into use from about the 7th century. This script changed to its present form in the 11th century. In addition to Sanskrit, the Devanagari script is also used to write Prakrit, Hindi, Nepali and Marathi languages. The most important feature of this script is the long lines above the letters. Devanagari became the official script of the Sanskrit language in the 15th century AD.

Hindi script

Hindi and many regional dialects of Hindi popular in North India are written in the 'Devanagari' script.

Gurmukhi script

The oldest written document in the Punjabi language is the ' Janam Sakhis '. The Janam Sakhis and the Sikh holy book ' Adi Granth ' are written in the ' Gurmukhi ' script. Gurmukhi means ' from the face of the Guru '. It is a script closely related to the ' Brahmi ' script. The ' Shamukhi' script is also used in Punjabi. Muslims in Punjab and Pakistani writers adopted the Persian script. However, the Persian script could not record all the sounds of Punjabi.

Urdu script

Urdu is a language that is closely related to Hindi, Persian and Arabic. The grammar and vocabulary of Hindi and Urdu are almost identical. The Urdu script is a modification of the Arabic script. Urdu is written from right to left.

Bengali script

The Bengali script evolved from the Eastern Brahmi script called 'Kudila', which developed around the 7th century.

Assamese script

Bengali and Assamese are very closely related. Except for two letters, the scripts of these two languages ​​are the same.

Manipuri script

Manipuri has its own script. This script, known as Meetei Mayek, has been widely replaced by the Bengali script. However, efforts are now underway to preserve its own script.

Nepali script

Nepali is a language of the Indo-Aryan language family, derived from Sanskrit. Nepali is written in the Devanagari script.

Gujarati script

The Gujarati script uses a modified form of Devanagari.

Marathi script

The Marathi script uses a modified form of Devanagari.

Konkani script

Konkani is written in the Devanagari script, which is also used to write Hindi and other languages. Konkani texts have also been printed in Roman script in Goa.

Sindhi script

Devanagari, Persian, and Lando scripts were used to write Sindhi, which has six dialects. In 1852, an artificial script with 52 letters was introduced. It was called Arabi-Sindhi. It existed for about 100 years. The Persian-Arabic script that is in use today was created at the end of the 19th century.

Kashmiri script

Among Kashmiri speakers, there are those who use Persian and Arabic words more, and those who use words derived from Sanskrit. This difference is also seen in writing. Some use the Persian script, while others write in the Sharada and Devanagari scripts.

Malayalam scripts

The original script of the languages ​​used in India is 'Brahmi'. Kharoshti, Devanagari and Dravidian are variants of Brahmi. Vattezhuthu is a regional variant that evolved from Dravidian. Kolezhuthu is also a regional script variant. Malayalam was written in scripts like Vattezhuthu, Kolezhuthu and Malayanma.   Vattezhuthu was a script system that was popular in Kerala in the 15th century. Kolezhuthu is another script that evolved from it. The name Kolezhuthu came from the fact that it was written with a stick or a stick on a palm leaf. In the 16th century, it was due to the efforts of Ezhuthachan that all those old scripts were revised and the Malayalam letters that are popular today were formed. The modern Malayalam script was formed from the Arya script or Grantha script.

Tamil script

The Tamil alphabet was developed from the Brahmi script. The Tamil alphabet continued to change until the introduction of printing in the 16th century. Compared to other Dravidian languages, Tamil has fewer letters.

Kannada script

The Kannada alphabet is derived from the Brahmi script. The Kannada script is the second oldest of the four major Dravidian scripts.

Telugu script

Its script, derived from the Brahmi script, is closely related to Kannada. The Telugu script is the third oldest of the four major Dravidian scripts.

Official languages ​​of India

The absence of a common language in India, where there were more than 1,500 native languages, was a big problem. Even after independence, our Constituent Assembly could not reach a decision on this issue. Finally, voting was held and Hindi was chosen with a majority of the President's ' casting vote '. Thus, Hindi became the official language of India. Article 343 of the Constitution of India talks about the official language status of Hindi. Along with this, the Constitution stipulates that English can also be used for official purposes. Hindi got this status because about 46 percent of the country's population speaks Hindi and its similar languages, Urdu and Hindustani.

The Eighth Schedule of the Constitution initially included 14 languages. The first official language commission of India was formed in 1955. B.G. Kher was its chairman. In 1967, Sindhi was included in the Eighth Schedule through the 21st Constitutional Amendment. In 1992, Konkani, Manipuri, and Nepali were included through the 71st Constitutional Amendment. In 2003, Dogri, Bodo, Santali, and Maithili were also included in the Eighth Schedule through the 92nd Constitutional Amendment. Now, there are 22 official languages. These are the languages ​​spoken by about 91 percent of the country's population. The official languages ​​are Assamese, Bengali, Bodo, Dogri, Gujarati, Hindi, Kashmiri, Kannada, Konkani, Maithili, Malayalam, Manipuri, Marathi, Nepali, Oriya, Punjabi, Sanskrit, Santali, Sindhi, Tamil, Telugu and Urdu.

Classical languages ​​of India

The central government has notified four criteria for granting classical status to a language.

Criterion 1 - The earliest texts or recorded history of a language should be 1500 - 2000 years old.

Criterion 2 - Those who have used the language for generations must have an ancient literature or texts that they consider to be their great heritage.

Criterion 3 - There must be a literary tradition that is unique and not borrowed from another language-speaking group.

Criterion 4 - A classical language must be distinct from or unrelated to later language varieties.

The following Indian languages ​​have been granted classical status: Tamil ( 2004), Telugu ( 2008), Kannada ( 2008 ), Malayalam ( 2013), Odia ( 2014), Assamese ( 2024), Bengali ( 2024), Marathi (2024), Pali ( 2024), and Prakrit ( 2024).

Tamil

Tamil is a major language of the Dravidian language family. It is the official language of Tamil Nadu and the Union Territory of Puducherry. Tamil has the oldest literature among the Dravidian languages. The earliest literature in Tamil, the Sangam literature, is about 2300 years old. The history of Tamil can be divided into three periods based on changes in grammar and vocabulary. Ancient Tamil (450 BC - AD 700), Medieval Tamil (AD 700 - AD 1600), and Modern Tamil (from AD 1600). The letters of Tamil came from the Brahmi script. In 2004, Tamil was recognized as a classical language.

Sanskrit

Sanskrit is the noble language that is the hallmark of ancient Indian culture. Very few people have Sanskrit as their mother tongue. But Sanskrit is a language that can be called their own by everyone in every part of India. Sanskrit is the only language that has contributed to the growth and literary progress of all other Indian languages. The Aryans who came to India in various communities at different times spread Sanskrit here. 'Ashtadhyayi', written by Panini about 2500 years ago, is a famous grammar book in Sanskrit. Vedic Sanskrit and Classical Sanskrit are two branches of Indo-Aryan languages. Sanskrit was recognized as a classical language in 2005.

Telugu

Telugu is the main language of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, as well as Yanam, a part of Puducherry. Telugu is one of the main languages ​​of the Dravidian language family. There is an argument that Telugu was later derived from the Sanskrit word 'Trilinga'. Historians say that the first written documents in Telugu date back to 575 BC. Its script, which was derived from the Brahmi script, is closely related to Kannada. The influence of Sanskrit is abundantly visible in Telugu. In 2008, the Government of India granted Telugu the status of a classical language.

Kannada

Kannada, a member of the Dravidian language family, is the official language of the state of Karnataka. It is also known as Kannana. Kannada is the second oldest of the four major Dravidian languages. The Kannada script is derived from the Brahmi script. There are three stages in the development of the Kannada language: Old Kannada (450–1200 AD), Medieval Kannada (1200–1700 AD), and Modern Kannada (from 1700 AD). Kannada has several varieties, including Southern Kannada, Northern Kannada, and Coastal Kannada. In 2008, the Government of India granted Kannada the status of a classical language.

Malayalam

Some historians believe that the name given to the country, meaning 'the land of mountains', was later adopted by the language. In addition to Kerala, Malayalam is one of the official languages ​​of Lakshadweep and Puducherry. There are two main arguments related to the origin of Malayalam. One of them is that Malayalam was formed from medieval Tamil. The second is that Malayalam was formed from Dravida. It can be said that old Malayalam grew in three branches. The first was the pure Malayalam of folk songs. The second was Malayalam influenced by Tamil. The third was influenced by Sanskrit. Malayalam grew by adopting many words from Sanskrit. In 2013, the Government of India granted Malayalam the status of a classical language.

Odia

Odia is the official language of the state of Odisha. The original name of the Odia language, which originated from the primitive form of the language Magadhi, was Oriya. It was renamed Odia in 2011. It is believed that Odia emerged as a separate language in its present form around the 10th century. The influence of the ancient languages ​​'Ardha Magadhi' and 'Shauryaseni' can be seen in this language. In 2014, Odia was granted the status of a classical language.

Assamese

Assamese is an important Indo-Aryan language of the eastern part of India. Bengali and Assamese are closely related. Except for two letters, the scripts of these two languages ​​are the same. The grammar of both is also similar. However, the speech style is different in both languages. Half of the words in Assamese come from Sanskrit. The influence of Hindi, Marathi, Gujarati, Arabic, Persian, Portuguese, and English languages ​​can also be seen in the Assamese language. In 2024, Assamese was granted classical language status.

Bengali

Bengali is the mother tongue of the Indian state of West Bengal and the neighboring country of Bangladesh. It was formed around the 10th century from the ancient spoken language from Banaras to Guwahati. It has been influenced by many languages ​​that existed in the Indian subcontinent namely Sanskrit, Maithili, Oriya, and Bhojpuri. In particular, the Bengali language has evolved through three stages of development. These stages are Old Bengali (AD 950–1350), Middle Bengali (AD 1350–1800), and Modern Bengali (AD 1800 onwards). In 2024, Bengali was granted classical language status.

Marathi

Marathi is the oldest of the Indo-Aryan languages. The development of the Marathi language began in the 13th century. Many historians say that Marathi developed from a language form called 'Prakrit Maharashtrian'. Sanskrit has played a crucial role in the development of the Marathi language. Three-quarters of the vocabulary of the Marathi language comes from Sanskrit. The growth of Marathi literature was in three phases: Old Marathi (up to 1350 AD), Medieval Marathi (from 1350 AD to 1800 AD), and Modern Marathi (after 1800 AD). Marathi was granted classical language status in 2024.

Pali

Pali is a prakrit language of the Indo-Aryan language family that existed in ancient India. Pali was the language of the Buddhists. The Buddha preached his sermons in Pali, the language of the common people. Buddhist scriptures were also written in Pali. Religious texts such as the Tripitakas and Jataka stories were written in Pali. Buddhist texts such as the Deepavamsa and the Mahavamsa were also written in Pali. In 2024, the Pali language was granted classical language status.

Prakrit

Prakrit is a general term for a group of languages ​​spoken in ancient India. It belongs to the Middle Indo-Aryan language family. Although closely related to Sanskrit, Prakrit languages ​​were simpler and closer to spoken language. They were mainly used from 500 BCE to 1000 CE. Prakrit languages ​​are languages ​​that evolved from Vedic Sanskrit. The most important of these are Maharashtrian, Shauryaseni, Magadhi, and Paisachi. Prakrit Maharashtrian was the most widely spoken language in the southeastern regions of India in the 800s AD. The modern Indo-Aryan phase dates from 1000 AD. The spoken languages, called 'degenerates', emerged from the literary languages ​​Prakrit during this period. Prakrit was given classical language status in 2024.