imported>GokulNC m Mention major families |
robot: Update article (please report if you notice any mistake or error in this edit) |
||
| Line 1: | Line 1: | ||
{{Short description|Languages of a geographic region}} | {{Short description|Languages of a geographic region}} | ||
[[File:South Asian | [[File:South Asian language Families.jpg|thumb|Map of language families in [[South Asia]].]] | ||
[[File:States of South Asia.png|thumb|right|400px|The names of each state in the script of the dominant language of that state of India, part of Pakistan and the whole of Bangladesh, Bhutan, Nepal and Sri Lanka.]] | [[File:States of South Asia.png|thumb|right|400px|The names of each state in the script of the dominant language of that state of India, part of Pakistan and the whole of Bangladesh, Maldives , Bhutan, Nepal and Sri Lanka.]] | ||
[[South Asia]] is home to several hundred languages, spanning the countries of [[Bangladesh]], [[Bhutan]], [[India]], [[Nepal]], [[Pakistan]] and [[Sri Lanka]]. It is home to the third most spoken language in the world, [[ | [[South Asia]] is home to several hundred languages, spanning the countries of [[Afghanistan]], [[Bangladesh]], [[Bhutan]], [[India]], [[Nepal]], [[Pakistan]], [[Maldives]] and [[Sri Lanka]]. It is home to the third most spoken language in the world, [[Hindi–Urdu]]; and the sixth most spoken language, [[Bengali language|Bengali]]. The languages in the region mostly comprise [[Indo-Iranian languages|Indo-Iranic]] and [[Dravidian languages|Dravidian]] languages, and further members of other language families like [[Austroasiatic languages|Austroasiatic]], [[Turkic languages|Turkic]], and [[Tibeto-Burman languages|Tibeto-Burman]] languages. | ||
[[South Asian English]] is considered the international lingua franca of the [[SAARC|South Asian countries]]. | |||
== Afghanistan == | |||
{{Main|Languages of Afghanistan}} | |||
The official languages of Afghanistan are [[Pashto]] and [[Dari]], both of which are [[Iranic languages]]. Dari, an Afghan [[Register (sociolinguistics)|standardized register]] of the [[Persian language]], is considered the lingua franca of Afghanistan and used to write Afghan literature. [[Tajik language|Tajik]] is spoken by people closer to [[Tajikistan]], although officially the language is regarded same as Dari. A few [[Turkic languages]] like [[Uzbek language|Uzbek]] and [[Turkmen language|Turkmen]] are also spoken near regions closer to [[Uzbekistan]] and [[Turkmenistan]]. [[Pashto]] is widely spoken by the [[Pashtun]] people, who mainly reside towards the south of [[Afghanistan]] on the [[Pakistani]]-[[Afghanistan|Afghan]] border. | |||
== Bangladesh == | |||
{{Main|Languages of Bangladesh}} | |||
[[Bengali language|Standard Bengali]] based on [[Rarhi dialect]] (West Bengal, India) is the national language of Bangladesh. Majority of Bangladeshis speaks [[Eastern Bengali]].<ref name=":0">{{Cite web|title=Bangladesh - Languages {{!}} Britannica|url=https://www.britannica.com/place/Bangladesh/Languages|access-date=2022-01-10|website=www.britannica.com|language=en}}</ref> Native languages of Bangladesh are [[Sylheti language|Sylheti]] and [[Chittagonian language|Chittagonian]], while some ethnic minority groups also speak [[Tibeto-Burman languages|Tibeto-Burman]], [[Dravidian languages|Dravidian]] and [[Austroasiatic languages|Austro-asiatic]] languages. <ref name=":0" /> | |||
== Bhutan == | |||
{{Main|Languages of Bhutan}} | |||
[[Dzongkha]] is the national language of the [[Kingdom of Bhutan]]. Almost all the languages of Bhutan are from [[Tibetic languages|Tibetic family]] (except [[Nepali language|Nepali]], an [[Indo-Aryan language]]). | |||
== India == | == India == | ||
| Line 10: | Line 27: | ||
The [[SIL International|SIL]] Ethnologue lists 461 living languages for India. | The [[SIL International|SIL]] Ethnologue lists 461 living languages for India. | ||
[[Hindustani language|Hindustani]] is the most widespread language of India. The Indian census takes the widest possible definition of "Hindi" as the broad variety of the [[Hindi languages]]. The native speakers of Hindi so defined account for 39% of Indians. Bengali is the second most spoken language of South Asia, found in both [[Bangladesh]] and Indian states of [[West Bengal]] and [[Tripura]]. The [[International Mother Language Day]] was created by [[UNESCO]] to commemorate the [[Bengali language]].<ref name="UNESCO">{{cite web |url=https://unesdoc.unesco.org/ark:/48223/pf0000117961.page=38|title=The General Conference proclaim"International Mother Language Day" to be observed on 21 February|website=unesdoc.unesco.org |date=1999-11-16 |access-date=2019-04-21}}</ref> Other notable languages include Odia, Telugu, Punjabi, Marathi, Tamil, Urdu, | [[Hindustani language|Hindustani]] is the most widespread language of India. The Indian census takes the widest possible definition of "Hindi" as the broad variety of the [[Hindi languages]]. The native speakers of [[Hindi]] so defined account for 39% of Indians. Bengali is the second most spoken language of South Asia, found in both [[Bangladesh]] and Indian states of [[West Bengal]] and [[Tripura]]. The [[International Mother Language Day]] was created by [[UNESCO]] to commemorate the [[Bengali language]].<ref name="UNESCO">{{cite web |url=https://unesdoc.unesco.org/ark:/48223/pf0000117961.page=38|title=The General Conference proclaim"International Mother Language Day" to be observed on 21 February|website=unesdoc.unesco.org |date=1999-11-16 |access-date=2019-04-21}}</ref> Other notable languages include [[Odia language|Odia]], [[Telugu language|Telugu]], [[Punjabi language|Punjabi]], [[Marathi language|Marathi]], [[Tamil language|Tamil]], [[Urdu]], [[Sindhi language|Sindhi]], [[Kannada]], [[Pashto]], [[Malayalam]] and [[Konkani language|Konkani]]. | ||
[[ | |||
Thirteen languages account for more than 1% of Indian population each, and between themselves for over 95%; all of them are "[[Official languages of India#The languages of the Eighth Schedule to the Constitution|scheduled languages of the constitution]]." | Thirteen languages account for more than 1% of Indian population each, and between themselves for over 95%; all of them are "[[Official languages of India#The languages of the Eighth Schedule to the Constitution|scheduled languages of the constitution]]." | ||
Scheduled languages spoken by less than 1% of Indians are [[Santali language|Santali]] (0.64%), [[Meitei language|Manipuri]] (0.14%), [[Bodo language|Bodo]] (0.13%), [[Dogri language|Dogri]] (0.01%, spoken in [[Jammu and Kashmir (state)|Jammu and Kashmir]]). The largest language that is not "scheduled" is [[Bhili language|Bhili]] (0.95%), followed by [[Gondi language|Gondi]] (0.27%), [[Tulu language|Tulu]] (0.17%) and [[Kurukh language|Kurukh]] (0.099%) | Scheduled languages spoken by less than 1% of Indians are [[Santali language|Santali]] (0.64%), [[Meitei language|Manipuri]] (0.14%), [[Bodo language|Bodo]] (0.13%), [[Dogri language|Dogri]] (0.01%, spoken in [[Jammu and Kashmir (state)|Jammu and Kashmir]]). The largest language that is not "scheduled" is [[Bhili language|Bhili]] (0.95%), followed by [[Gondi language|Gondi]] (0.27%), [[Tulu language|Tulu]] (0.17%) and [[Kurukh language|Kurukh]] (0.099%) | ||
== Maldives == | |||
{{Main|Languages of Maldives}} | |||
[[Dhivehi language|Divehi]] is national language of [[Maldives]], spoken by 95% of the population. [[Arabic]] being considered as religious language and [[English language|English]] being medium of instruction for education and international purposes such as tourism. | |||
== Nepal == | == Nepal == | ||
{{Main|Languages of Nepal}} | {{Main|Languages of Nepal}} | ||
Most of the languages of [[Nepal]] either fall under [[Indo-Aryan languages]] or [[Sino-Tibetan languages]]. The official language of the country is [[Nepali language|Nepali]], earlier known as Gorkhali. | Most of the languages of [[Nepal]] either fall under [[Indo-Aryan languages]] or [[Sino-Tibetan languages]]. The official language of the country is [[Nepali language|Nepali]], earlier known as Gorkhali in the [[Kingdom of Nepal]], and is the mother tongue of around half the population. | ||
== Pakistan == | == Pakistan == | ||
{{Main|Languages of Pakistan}} | {{Main|Languages of Pakistan}} | ||
The major languages of Pakistan broadly fall under the category [[Indo-Iranian languages]], with | [[Pakistan]] is a linguistically diverse country it has many dozens of languages spoken as first languages.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Kukreja |first=Veena |date=March 2020 |title=Ethnic Diversity, Political Aspirations and State Response: A Case Study of Pakistan |url=http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/0019556120906585 |journal=Indian Journal of Public Administration |language=en |volume=66 |issue=1 |pages=28–42 |doi=10.1177/0019556120906585 |issn=0019-5561}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |title=A revealing map of the world’s most and least ethnically diverse countries |language=en-US |work=Washington Post |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/worldviews/wp/2013/05/16/a-revealing-map-of-the-worlds-most-and-least-ethnically-diverse-countries/ |access-date=2022-04-29 |issn=0190-8286}}</ref> The major languages of Pakistan broadly fall under the category [[Indo-Iranian languages]], with western regions of Pakistan (close to [[Iran]] and [[Afghanistan]]) speaking [[Iranic languages]] and eastern regions (close to India) speaking [[Indo-Aryan languages]] (with the [[Indus River]] approximately dividing the families). | ||
Other language families in Pakistan include [[Dravidian languages|Dravidian]] ([[Brahui language|Brahui]] spoken in Central [[Balochistan, Pakistan|Balochistan]]), [[Sino-Tibetan languages|Sino-Tibetan]] languages such as [[Balti language|Balti]] and [[Purgi language|Purgi]] spoken in the north-east (In [[Baltistan]] region of Pakistan), [[Nuristani languages]] such as [[Kamkata-vari language|Kamkata-vari]] spoken in the north-west (In [[Chitral Kalasha language|chitral]] region of Pakistan), [[Language isolate|Language Isolate]] [[Burushaski]] spoken in the north (In [[Gilgit Division]]), [[Turkic languages]] are also spoken in Pakistan by a few [[Kyrgyz people|kyrgyz]] families in the North and by Refugees from [[Afghan refugees|Afghanistan]] and [[China]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=The last Kirghiz khan in Gilgit {{!}} Footloose {{!}} thenews.com.pk |url=https://www.thenews.com.pk/tns/detail/575661-the-last-kirghiz-khan-in-gilgit |access-date=2022-04-29 |website=www.thenews.com.pk |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Government delivered first new Proof of Registration smartcards to Afghan refugees |url=https://www.unhcr.org/pk/12999-government-to-deliver-first-new-por-smartcards-to-afghan-refugees.html |access-date=2022-04-29 |website=UNHCR Pakistan |language=en}}</ref> | |||
The national uniting medium of Pakistan is [[Urdu]], a persianized register of the [[Hindustani language]]. The major native languages of Pakistan are [[Balochistan|Baluchi]], [[Punjabi language|Punjabi]], [[Sindhi language|Sindhi]], [[Saraiki language|Saraiki]], [[Pashto]], while more than 70 other languages like [[Shina language|Shina]], [[Balti language|Balti]], [[Gujarati language|Gujarati]],<ref>{{Cite web |date=2018-10-02 |title=Karachi’s Gujarati speaking youth strive to revive Jinnah’s language |url=https://www.arabnews.pk/node/1381116/pakistan |access-date=2022-04-29 |website=Arab News PK |language=en}}</ref> [[Bengali language|Bengali]]<ref>{{Cite web |date=2012-01-16 |title=Five million illegal immigrants residing in Pakistan |url=http://tribune.com.pk/story/322325/five-million-illegal-immigrants-residing-in-pakistan |access-date=2022-04-29 |website=The Express Tribune |language=en}}</ref> etc. are also spoken. | |||
== Sri Lanka == | |||
{{Main|Languages of Sri Lanka}} | |||
[[Sinhala language|Sinhala]] and [[Tamil language|Tamil]] are the official languages of Sri Lanka, with [[Sri Lankan English]] as the link language. Tamil is a South-Dravidian language, and Sinhala belongs to the Insular Indic family (along with [[Dhivehi language|Dhivehi]] of [[Maldives]]). [[Vedda language|Vedda]] is said to be the indigenous language of Sri Lanka before the arrival of Aryans and Dravidians. | |||
== See also == | == See also == | ||
* [[Languages of | * [[Languages of Asia]] | ||
* [[Languages of Pakistan]] | |||
* [[Languages of Bangladesh]] | * [[Languages of Bangladesh]] | ||
* | * India: | ||
** [[Official languages of India]] | ** [[Official languages of India]] | ||
** [[List of languages by number of native speakers in India]] | ** [[List of languages by number of native speakers in India]] | ||
* [[Languages of Maldives]] | * [[Languages of Maldives]] | ||
==References== | ==References== | ||
Latest revision as of 20:15, 27 June 2022
South Asia is home to several hundred languages, spanning the countries of Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Nepal, Pakistan, Maldives and Sri Lanka. It is home to the third most spoken language in the world, Hindi–Urdu; and the sixth most spoken language, Bengali. The languages in the region mostly comprise Indo-Iranic and Dravidian languages, and further members of other language families like Austroasiatic, Turkic, and Tibeto-Burman languages.
South Asian English is considered the international lingua franca of the South Asian countries.
Afghanistan[edit | edit source]
The official languages of Afghanistan are Pashto and Dari, both of which are Iranic languages. Dari, an Afghan standardized register of the Persian language, is considered the lingua franca of Afghanistan and used to write Afghan literature. Tajik is spoken by people closer to Tajikistan, although officially the language is regarded same as Dari. A few Turkic languages like Uzbek and Turkmen are also spoken near regions closer to Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan. Pashto is widely spoken by the Pashtun people, who mainly reside towards the south of Afghanistan on the Pakistani-Afghan border.
Bangladesh[edit | edit source]
Standard Bengali based on Rarhi dialect (West Bengal, India) is the national language of Bangladesh. Majority of Bangladeshis speaks Eastern Bengali.[1] Native languages of Bangladesh are Sylheti and Chittagonian, while some ethnic minority groups also speak Tibeto-Burman, Dravidian and Austro-asiatic languages. [1]
Bhutan[edit | edit source]
Dzongkha is the national language of the Kingdom of Bhutan. Almost all the languages of Bhutan are from Tibetic family (except Nepali, an Indo-Aryan language).
India[edit | edit source]
Most languages spoken in India belong either to the Indo-Aryan (c. 74%), the Dravidian (c. 24%), the Austroasiatic (Munda) (c. 1.2%), or the Tibeto-Burman (c. 0.6%) families, with some languages of the Himalayas still unclassified. The SIL Ethnologue lists 461 living languages for India.
Hindustani is the most widespread language of India. The Indian census takes the widest possible definition of "Hindi" as the broad variety of the Hindi languages. The native speakers of Hindi so defined account for 39% of Indians. Bengali is the second most spoken language of South Asia, found in both Bangladesh and Indian states of West Bengal and Tripura. The International Mother Language Day was created by UNESCO to commemorate the Bengali language.[2] Other notable languages include Odia, Telugu, Punjabi, Marathi, Tamil, Urdu, Sindhi, Kannada, Pashto, Malayalam and Konkani.
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."
Scheduled languages spoken by less than 1% of Indians are Santali (0.64%), 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 (0.099%)
Maldives[edit | edit source]
Divehi is national language of Maldives, spoken by 95% of the population. Arabic being considered as religious language and English being medium of instruction for education and international purposes such as tourism.
Nepal[edit | edit source]
Most of the languages of Nepal either fall under Indo-Aryan languages or Sino-Tibetan languages. The official language of the country is Nepali, earlier known as Gorkhali in the Kingdom of Nepal, and is the mother tongue of around half the population.
Pakistan[edit | edit source]
Pakistan is a linguistically diverse country it has many dozens of languages spoken as first languages.[3][4] The major languages of Pakistan broadly fall under the category Indo-Iranian languages, with western regions of Pakistan (close to Iran and Afghanistan) speaking Iranic languages and eastern regions (close to India) speaking Indo-Aryan languages (with the Indus River approximately dividing the families).
Other language families in Pakistan include Dravidian (Brahui spoken in Central Balochistan), Sino-Tibetan languages such as Balti and Purgi spoken in the north-east (In Baltistan region of Pakistan), Nuristani languages such as Kamkata-vari spoken in the north-west (In chitral region of Pakistan), Language Isolate Burushaski spoken in the north (In Gilgit Division), Turkic languages are also spoken in Pakistan by a few kyrgyz families in the North and by Refugees from Afghanistan and China.[5][6]
The national uniting medium of Pakistan is Urdu, a persianized register of the Hindustani language. The major native languages of Pakistan are Baluchi, Punjabi, Sindhi, Saraiki, Pashto, while more than 70 other languages like Shina, Balti, Gujarati,[7] Bengali[8] etc. are also spoken.
Sri Lanka[edit | edit source]
Sinhala and Tamil are the official languages of Sri Lanka, with Sri Lankan English as the link language. Tamil is a South-Dravidian language, and Sinhala belongs to the Insular Indic family (along with Dhivehi of Maldives). Vedda is said to be the indigenous language of Sri Lanka before the arrival of Aryans and Dravidians.
See also[edit | edit source]
References[edit | edit source]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 "Bangladesh - Languages | Britannica". www.britannica.com. Retrieved 2022-01-10.
- ↑ "The General Conference proclaim"International Mother Language Day" to be observed on 21 February". unesdoc.unesco.org. 1999-11-16. Retrieved 2019-04-21.
- ↑ Kukreja, Veena (March 2020). "Ethnic Diversity, Political Aspirations and State Response: A Case Study of Pakistan". Indian Journal of Public Administration. 66 (1): 28–42. doi:10.1177/0019556120906585. ISSN 0019-5561.
- ↑ "A revealing map of the world's most and least ethnically diverse countries". Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved 2022-04-29.
- ↑ "The last Kirghiz khan in Gilgit | Footloose | thenews.com.pk". www.thenews.com.pk. Retrieved 2022-04-29.
- ↑ "Government delivered first new Proof of Registration smartcards to Afghan refugees". UNHCR Pakistan. Retrieved 2022-04-29.
- ↑ "Karachi's Gujarati speaking youth strive to revive Jinnah's language". Arab News PK. 2018-10-02. Retrieved 2022-04-29.
- ↑ "Five million illegal immigrants residing in Pakistan". The Express Tribune. 2012-01-16. Retrieved 2022-04-29.
- Data table of Census of India, 2001
- "Indian Language Family". Central Institute of Indian Languages. Archived from the original on 15 June 2002.
- 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