Languages of South Asia - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

South Asia

South Asia, also known as Southern Asia, is the southern region of the Asian continent, which comprises the sub-Himalayan countries and, for some authorities , also includes the adjoining countries to the west and the east...

is home to several hundred languages

Languages of India

The languages of India belong to several language families, the major ones being the Indo-European languages—Indo-Aryan and the Dravidian languages...

. Most languages spoken in India belong either to the Indo-European

Indo-European languages

The Indo-European languages are a family of several hundred related languages and dialects, including most major current languages of Europe, the Iranian plateau, and South Asia and also historically predominant in Anatolia...

(ca.

Circa

Circa , usually abbreviated c. or ca. , means "approximately" in the English language, usually referring to a date...

74%), the Dravidian

Dravidian languages

The Dravidian language family includes approximately 85 genetically related languages, spoken by about 217 million people. They are mainly spoken in southern India and parts of eastern and central India as well as in northeastern Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Nepal, Bangladesh, Afghanistan, Iran, and...

(ca. 24%), the Austroasiatic (Munda

Munda languages

-Anderson :Gregory Anderson's 1999 proposal is as follows. Individual languages are highlighted in italics.*North Munda **Korku**Kherwarian***Santhali***Mundari*South Munda **Kharia–Juang***Juang***Kharia...

) (ca. 1.2%), or the Tibeto-Burman

Tibeto-Burman languages

The Tibeto-Burman languages are the non-Chinese members of the Sino-Tibetan language family, over 400 of which are spoken thoughout the highlands of southeast Asia, as well as lowland areas in Burma ....

(ca. 0.6%) families, with some languages of the Himalayas

Himalayas

The Himalaya Range or Himalaya Mountains Sanskrit: Devanagari: हिमालय, literally "abode of snow"), usually called the Himalayas or Himalaya for short, is a mountain range in Asia, separating the Indian subcontinent from the Tibetan Plateau...

still unclassified.
The SIL

SIL International

SIL International is a U.S.-based, worldwide, Christian non-profit organization, whose main purpose is to study, develop and document languages, especially those that are lesser-known, in order to expand linguistic knowledge, promote literacy, translate the Christian Bible into local languages,...

Ethnologue lists 415 living languages for India.

Overview

Hindi (Hindi-Urdu besides many dialects of varying mutual intelligibility) is the most widespread language of India. The Indian census takes the widest possible definition of "Hindi" as a broad variety of "Hindi languages

Hindi languages

The Hindi languages, also known as Madhya and the Central Zone of the Indo-Aryan languages, is a subset of the varieties of Hindi spoken across northern India that descend from the Madhya prakrits, and includes the official languages of India and Pakistan, Hindi and Urdu...

". The native speakers of Hindi so defined accounts for about 40% of Indians.

Indian English

Indian English

Indian English is an umbrella term used to describe dialects of the English language spoken primarily in the Republic of India.As a result of British colonial rule until Indian independence in 1947 English is an official language of India and is widely used in both spoken and literary contexts...

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

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

Saraiki language

Saraiki , transliterated as Sirāikī and sometimes spelled Seraiki and Saraiki, is a standardized written language of Pakistan belonging to the Indo-Aryan languages. It is a language spoken in the heart of Pakistan...

which is languages of more than 40 million speakers in india.

Scheduled languages spoken by less than 1% of Indians are Santali

Santali language

Santhali is a language in the Santhali subfamily of Austro-Asiatic, related to Ho and Mundari. It is spoken by about six million people in India, Bangladesh, Nepal, and Bhutan . Most of its speakers live in India, in the states of Jharkhand, Assam, Bihar, Orissa, Tripura, and West Bengal. It has...

(0.64%), Manipuri (0.14%), Bodo

Bodo language

Bodo is a language that belongs to the branch of Barish section under Baric division of the Tibeto-Burman languages and spoken by the Bodo people of north-eastern India and Nepal...

(0.13%), Dogri

Dogri language

Dogri is an Indo-Aryan language spoken by about five million people in Pakistan and India, chiefly in the Jammu region of Jammu and Kashmir, but also in northern Punjab, Himachal Pradesh, other parts of Jammu and Kashmir, and elsewhere. Dogri speakers are called Dogras, and the Dogri-speaking...

(0.01%, spoken in Jammu and Kashmir

Jammu and Kashmir

Jammu and Kashmir is the northernmost state of India. It is situated mostly in the Himalayan mountains. Jammu and Kashmir shares a border with the states of Himachal Pradesh and Punjab to the south and internationally with the People's Republic of China to the north and east and the...

). The largest language that is not "scheduled" is Bhili

Bhili language

Bhili is a Western Indo-Aryan language spoken in west-central India, in the region east of Ahmedabad. Other names for the language include Bhagoria and Bhilboli; varieties are Wagdi and Garasia. Bhili is a member of the Bhil language family, which is related to Gujarati and the Rajasthani language...

(0.95%), followed by Gondi

Gondi language

Gondi is spoken by the Gondi people. It is a Central-Dravidian language, spoken by about two million people chiefly in the states of Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, Chhattishgarh and in various adjoining areas of neighbouring states...

(0.27%), Tulu

Tulu language

The Tulu language |?]]]) is a Dravidian language spoken by 1.95 million native speakers mainly in the southwest part of Indian state Karnataka known as Tulu Nadu. In India, 1.72 million people speak it as their mother tongue , increased by 10 percent over the 1991 census...

(0.17%) and Kurukh

Kurukh language

Kurukh , also called Kurux, Kuṛux or Kuruḵẖ, is a Dravidian language spoken by the Oraon and Kisan tribal peoples of Bihar, Jharkhand, Orissa, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, and West Bengal, India, as well as in northern Bangladesh. It is most closely related to Brahui and Malto...

(0.098980986%)

List by number of native speakers

Ordered by number of speakers as first language. South asian population in 2001 exhibited 19.4% of bilingualism and 7.2% of trilingualism, so that the total percentage of "native languages" is at about 127%.

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).

***Table: Ordered by number of native speakers***
Rank	Language	2001 censushttp://www.censusindia.gov.in/Census_Data_2001/Census_Data_Online/Language/Statement1.htm (total population 1,004.59 million)		1991 censusIndian Census http://www.ciil.org/Main/Languages/indian.htm (total population 838.14 million)		Encarta Encarta Microsoft Encarta was a digital multimedia encyclopedia published by Microsoft Corporation from 1993 to 2009. , the complete English version, Encarta Premium, consisted of more than 62,000 articles, numerous photos and illustrations, music clips, videos, interactive contents, timelines, maps and... estimate of total number of speakers worldwide (2007)
		Speakers	Percentage	Speakers	Percentage	Speakers
1	Hindi Hindi languages The Hindi languages, also known as Madhya and the Central Zone of the Indo-Aryan languages, is a subset of the varieties of Hindi spoken across northern India that descend from the Madhya prakrits, and includes the official languages of India and Pakistan, Hindi and Urdu...	422,048,642	32.03%	337,272,114	40.0%	336 M
2	Bengali Bengali language Bengali or Bangla is an eastern Indo-Aryan language. It is native to the region of eastern South Asia known as Bengal, which comprises present day Bangladesh, the Indian state of West Bengal, and parts of the Indian states of Tripura and Assam. It is written with the Bengali script...	230,000,000	20.11%	200,595,738	8.30%	207 M
3	Punjabi Punjabi language Punjabi is an Indo-Aryan language spoken by inhabitants of the historical Punjab region . For Sikhs, the Punjabi language stands as the official language in which all ceremonies take place. In Pakistan, Punjabi is the most widely spoken language...	130,000,000	15.11%	111,595,738	8.30%	207 M
4	Telugu	74,002,856	7.37%	66,017,615	7.87%	69.7 M
5	Marathi Marathi language Marathi is an Indo-Aryan language spoken by the Marathi people of western and central India. It is the official language of the state of Maharashtra. There are over 68 million fluent speakers worldwide. Marathi has the fourth largest number of native speakers in India and is the fifteenth most...	71,936,894	9%	62,481,681	7.45%	68.0 M
6	Sindhi Sindhi language Sindhi is the language of the Sindh region of Pakistan that is spoken by the Sindhi people. In India, it is among 22 constitutionally recognized languages, where Sindhis are a sizeable minority. It is spoken by 53,410,910 people in Pakistan, according to the national government's Statistics Division...	70,535,485	6.85%	65,122,848	0.248%
7	Tamil Tamil language Tamil is a Dravidian language spoken predominantly by Tamil people of the Indian subcontinent. It has official status in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu and in the Indian union territory of Pondicherry. Tamil is also an official language of Sri Lanka and Singapore...	60,793,814	5.91%	53,006,368	6.32%	66.0 M
8	Urdu Urdu Urdu is a register of the Hindustani language that is identified with Muslims in South Asia. It belongs to the Indo-European family. Urdu is the national language and lingua franca of Pakistan. It is also widely spoken in some regions of India, where it is one of the 22 scheduled languages and an...	51,536,111	5.01%	43,406,932	5.18%	60.3 M
9	Gujarati Gujarati language Gujarati is an Indo-Aryan language, and part of the greater Indo-European language family. It is derived from a language called Old Gujarati which is the ancestor language of the modern Gujarati and Rajasthani languages...	46,091,617	4.48%	40,673,814	4.85%	46.1 M
10	Kannada Kannada language Kannada or , is a language spoken in India predominantly in the state of Karnataka. Kannada, whose native speakers are called Kannadigas and number roughly 50 million, is one of the 30 most spoken languages in the world...	37,924,011	3.69%	32,753,676	3.91%	40.3 M
11	Malayalam Malayalam language Malayalam , is one of the four major Dravidian languages of southern India. It is one of the 22 scheduled languages of India with official language status in the state of Kerala and the union territories of Lakshadweep and Pondicherry. It is spoken by 35.9 million people...	33,066,392	3.21%	30,377,176	3.62%	35.7 M
12	Oriya Oriya language Oriya , officially Odia from November, 2011, is an Indian language, belonging to the Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European language family. It is mainly spoken in the Indian states of Orissa and West Bengal...	33,017,446	3.21%	28,061,313	3.35%	32.3 M
13	Nepali Nepali language Nepali or Nepalese is a language in the Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European language family.It is the official language and de facto lingua franca of Nepal and is also spoken in Bhutan, parts of India and parts of Myanmar...	23,017,446	3.21%	28,061,313	3.35%	32.3 M
12	Sinhalese	19,017,446	3.21%	28,061,313	3.35%	32.3 M
13	Assamese Assamese language Assamese is the easternmost Indo-Aryan language. It is used mainly in the state of Assam in North-East India. It is also the official language of Assam. It is also spoken in parts of Arunachal Pradesh and other northeast Indian states. Nagamese, an Assamese-based Creole language is widely used in...	13,168,484	1.28%	13,079,696	1.56%	15.4 M
14	Maithili Maithili language Maithili language is spoken in the eastern region of India and South-eastern region of Nepal. The native speakers of Maithili reside in Bihar, Jharkhand,parts of West Bengal and South-east Nepal...	12,179,122	1.18%
15	Bhili/Bhilodi Bhili language Bhili is a Western Indo-Aryan language spoken in west-central India, in the region east of Ahmedabad. Other names for the language include Bhagoria and Bhilboli; varieties are Wagdi and Garasia. Bhili is a member of the Bhil language family, which is related to Gujarati and the Rajasthani language...	9,582,957	0.95%	5,572,308	0.665%
16	Santali Santali language Santhali is a language in the Santhali subfamily of Austro-Asiatic, related to Ho and Mundari. It is spoken by about six million people in India, Bangladesh, Nepal, and Bhutan . Most of its speakers live in India, in the states of Jharkhand, Assam, Bihar, Orissa, Tripura, and West Bengal. It has...	6,469,600	0.64%	5,216,325	0.622%
17	Kashmiri Kashmiri language Kashmiri is a language from the Dardic sub-group and it is spoken primarily in the Kashmir Valley, in Jammu and Kashmir. There are approximately 5,554,496 speakers in Jammu and Kashmir, according to the Census of 2001. Most of the 105,000 speakers or so in Pakistan are émigrés from the Kashmir...	5,527,698
18	Gondi Gondi language Gondi is spoken by the Gondi people. It is a Central-Dravidian language, spoken by about two million people chiefly in the states of Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, Chhattishgarh and in various adjoining areas of neighbouring states...	2,713,790	0.27%	2,124,852	0.253%
19	Konkani Konkani language KonkaniKonkani is a name given to a group of several cognate dialects spoken along the narrow strip of land called Konkan, on the west coast of India. This is, however, somewhat an over-generalisation. Geographically, Konkan is defined roughly as the area between the river Damanganga to the north...	2,489,015	0.24%	1,760,607	0.210%
20	Dogri Dogri language Dogri is an Indo-Aryan language spoken by about five million people in Pakistan and India, chiefly in the Jammu region of Jammu and Kashmir, but also in northern Punjab, Himachal Pradesh, other parts of Jammu and Kashmir, and elsewhere. Dogri speakers are called Dogras, and the Dogri-speaking...	2,282,589	0.22%
21	Khandeshi	2,075,258	0.21%
22	Kurukh Kurukh language Kurukh , also called Kurux, Kuṛux or Kuruḵẖ, is a Dravidian language spoken by the Oraon and Kisan tribal peoples of Bihar, Jharkhand, Orissa, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, and West Bengal, India, as well as in northern Bangladesh. It is most closely related to Brahui and Malto...	1,751,489	0.17%	1,426,618	0.170%
23	Tulu Tulu language The Tulu language \|?]]]) is a Dravidian language spoken by 1.95 million native speakers mainly in the southwest part of Indian state Karnataka known as Tulu Nadu. In India, 1.72 million people speak it as their mother tongue , increased by 10 percent over the 1991 census...	1,722,768	0.17%	1,552,259	0.185%
24	Meitei (Manipuri)	1,466,705^*	0.14%	1,270,216	0.151%
25	Bodo Bodo language Bodo is a language that belongs to the branch of Barish section under Baric division of the Tibeto-Burman languages and spoken by the Bodo people of north-eastern India and Nepal...	1,350,478	0.13%	1,221,881	0.146%
26	Khasi Khasi language Khasi is an Austro-Asiatic language spoken primarily in Meghalaya state in India by the Khasi people. Khasi is part of the Austroasiatic family of languages, and is fairly closely related to the Munda branch of that family, which is spoken in east&endash;central India.Although most of the 865,000...	1,128,575	0.112%
27	Mundari Mundari language The Mundari are a small ethnic group of South Sudan and one of the Nilotic peoples.The group is composed of cattle-herders and agriculturalists and are part of Karo people which also includes Bari, Pojulu, Kakwa, Kuku and Nyangwara...	1,061,352	0.105%
28	Ho Ho language Ho is a Munda language of the Austroasiatic language family spoken primarily in India by about 3,803,126 people. It is written with the Devanagari and the Varang Kshiti scripts. It is spoken by the Ho people. 0.103% of India's Population speaks this language as per the 2001 census.The Script was...	1,042,724	0.103%

* 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.

100,000 to one million speakers

30	Kui Kui language Kui language may refer to:* Kui language , a Central Dravidian language of India*Kui language , a Trans–New Guinea language...	916,222
31	Garo Garo language Garo is the language of the majority of the people of the Garo Hills in the Indian state of Meghalaya. Garo is also used in Kamrup, Dhubri, Goalpara and the Darrang districts of Assam, India as well as in neighboring Bangladesh...	889,479
32	Kokborok Kokborok language The Borok language, or Kok Borok, also spelled Kokborok and also known as Tripuri, is the native language of the Tripuri people of the Indian state of Tripura and neighboring areas of Bangladesh. The word Kok Borok is a compound of kok "language" and borok "people", which is used specifically for...	854,023
33	Mizo Mizo language The Mizo language is natively spoken by Mizo people in Mizoram, a state in the Indian Union; Chin State of Burma and in the Chittagong Hill Tracts of Bangladesh. The language is also known as Lushai , as Lusei people are the first clan who have an external exposure...	674,756
34	Halabi	593,443
35	Korku Korku language The Korku language is the language of the Korku tribe of central India. It belongs to the Kolarian or Munda family, isolated in the midst of a Dravidian population. The Korkus are also closely associated with the Nihali people, many of whom have traditionally lived in special quarters of Korku...	574,481
36	Munda Munda languages -Anderson :Gregory Anderson's 1999 proposal is as follows. Individual languages are highlighted in italics.North Munda KorkuKherwarianSanthaliMundariSouth Munda Kharia–JuangJuang**Kharia...	469,357
37	Dhivehi Dhivehi language Maldivian is an Indo-Aryan language predominantly spoken by about 350,000 people in the Maldives where it is the national language. It is also the first language of nearly 10,000 people in the island of Minicoy in the Union territory of Lakshadweep, India where the Mahl dialect of the Maldivian...	400,000
38	Mishing Mishing language Mishing is a Tibetan–Burman language spoken by the Mishing people. There are over 500,000 speakers of the language. It is also known as Plains Miri or Takam....	390,583	0.047%
39	Karbi/Mikir Karbi The Karbis, mentioned as the Mikir in the Constitution Order of the Government of India, are one of the major ethnic groups in North-east India and especially in the hill areas of Assam. They prefer to call themselves Karbi, and sometimes Arleng . The term Mikir is now not preferred and is...	366,229	0.044%
40	Saurashtra Saurashtra language Sourashtra or "Sourashtras" or ꢱꣃꢬꢵꢰ꣄ꢜ꣄ꢬꢵ refers to a community of people who had their original homes in Gujarat and presently settled almost in all major Towns of Tamil Nadu and are concentrated more in Madurai which is considered as their cultural Headquarters.They have also settled in...	310,000	0.037%
41	Savara Savara language The Savara language is a South-Central Dravidian language. It is known to be written using the Oriya and Telugu scripts, as well as its own writing system....	273,168	0.033%
42	Koya Koya language Koya is a South Central Dravidian language of the Kui-Gondi subgroup.It is variously written in the Oriya, Telugu, Devanagari or Roman script...	270,994	0.032%
43	Kharia Kharia language The Kharia language is an Austro-Asiatic language that is primarily spoken by indigenous Kharia people of eastern India.-Classification:Kharia belongs to the Kharia–Juang branch of the Munda language family...	225,556	0.027%
44	Khond/Kondh Khonds Khonds, or Kandhs are an aboriginal tribe of India, inhabiting the tributary states of Orissa and Srikakulam, in the Visakhapatnam districts of Andhra Pradesh. Their main divisions are into Kutia, or hill Khonds and plain-dwelling Khonds; the landowners are known as Raj Khonds. They are hunter...	220,783	0.026%
45	English English language English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...	178,598	0.021%
46	Nishi Nishi (Tribe) - Nyishi People :The Nyishi people principally inhabit the Indian state of Arunachal Pradesh. Known as the Nyishi ....	173,791	0.021%
47	Ao Ao language Mongsen Ao is a Tibeto-Burman language spoken by the Ao of Nagaland in northeast India. Conventionally classified as "Naga", the Ao languages are not clearly related to other Naga languages. Gordon estimates that there are 141,000 speakers of Mongsen and Chungli Ao.Missionary grammars from the...	172,449	0.021%
48	Sema Sema language Sema, or Sumi, is a Naga language of Nagaland state, India. It is spoken by the Sumi Naga people....	166,157	0.020%
49	Kisan Kisan Tribe Kisan Tribe in Orissa are found in Sundergarh, Mayurbhanj, Sambalpur and Keonjhar. They are traditional farmers and food gathering people. They speak the Kurukh language along with Kosli, Hindi and English....	162,088	0.019%
50	Adi Adi people The Adi, or Bangni-Bokar Lhoba people is a major collective tribe living in the Himalayan hills of Arunachal Pradesh, and they are found in the temperate and sub-tropical regions within the districts of East Siang, Upper Siang, West Siang and Dibang Valley. The older term Abor is a deprecated...	158,409	0.019%
51	Rabha Rabha Rabha is a little known Scheduled Tribe community of West Bengal and Assam. The language/dialect spoken by the Rabha people is also of the same name. In West Bengal, Rabha people mainly live in Jalpaiguri district and Cooch Behar district. Moreover, almost, 70 per cent of them live in...	139,365	0.017%
52	Konyak Konyak The Konyak are a Naga people, and are recognised among other Naga by their tattoos, which they have all over their face and hands. They are called the land of Angh's. They have the largest population among the Nagas....	137,722	0.016%
53	Malto	108,148	0.013%
54	Thado Thado language Thado is a Kukish language of India and Burma....	107,992	0.013%
55	Tangkhul Tangkhul Tangkhul is a Naga tribe living in the Indo-Burma border area occupying the Ukhrul district in Manipur, India and the Somra Tangkhul hills in Upper Burma. Despite this international border, the Tangkhul have continued to regard themselves as one nation...	101,841	0.012%

10,000 to 100,000 speakers

		1991 census	SIL estimate
55	Kolami Kolami language Kolami is a tribal Central Dravidian language used in Andhra Pradesh and Maharashtra states of India. It takes route from the central branch of Dravidian Language tree and falls under Kolami–Paraji group of languages....	98,281 (0.012%)	115,000 (1997) Northwestern: 50,000; Southeastern: 10,000
56	Angami Angami language Angami is a Tibeto-Burman language spoken in the Naga Hills in the northeastern part of India, in Kohima district, Nagaland....	97,631 (0.012%)	109,000 (1997)
57	Kodagu	97,011 (0.012%)	122,000
58	Dogri Dogri language Dogri is an Indo-Aryan language spoken by about five million people in Pakistan and India, chiefly in the Jammu region of Jammu and Kashmir, but also in northern Punjab, Himachal Pradesh, other parts of Jammu and Kashmir, and elsewhere. Dogri speakers are called Dogras, and the Dogri-speaking...	89,681 (0.011%)	(Pakistan+India: 2.1 million)
59	Dimasa Dimasa language Dimasa language is a Tibeto-Burman language spoken by the Dimasa people in the state of Assam in North East India.-Phrases:English / Dimasa1)Where are you? = Ning baraha dong?2)I am here. = Ang eraha dong?...	88,543 (0.011%)	106,000
60	Lotha Lotha language The Lotha language is spoken by approximately 80,000 people in the northeastern Indian state of Nagaland. It is centered in the small district of Wokha . This district has many villages such as Merapani, Englan, Pakti and others, where the language is widely spoken and studied...	85,802 (0.010%)	80,000 58 Kabuli 80,000
61	Mao	77,810 (0.009%)	81,000
62	Tibetan Tibetan language The Tibetan languages are a cluster of mutually-unintelligible Tibeto-Burman languages spoken primarily by Tibetan peoples who live across a wide area of eastern Central Asia bordering the Indian subcontinent, including the Tibetan Plateau and the northern Indian subcontinent in Baltistan, Ladakh,...	69,146 (0.008%)	124,280 (1994)
63	Kabui (Rongmei)	68,925 (0.008%)	59,000 (1997)
64	Phom	65,350 (0.008%)	34,000 (1997)

The following are SIL Ethnologue estimates:

	estimated native speakers
Gaddi	120,000
Pardhi	119,700
Pardhan Pardhan language Pardhan is a South-Central Dravidian language spoken in India, mostly in Andhra Pradesh, Adilbad District; Madhya Pradesh, Seoni, Mandla, Chhindawara, Hoshangabad, Betul, Balaghat, Jabalpur districts; Chhattisgarh, Raipur, Bilaspur districts; Maharashtra, Bhandara, Garhchiroli, Nagpur, Wardha, and...	116,919
Churahi	110,552
Sauria Paharia Sauria Paharia language The Sauria Paharia language is spoken in the Bihar and West Bengal states of India, and some pockets of Bangladesh.Most of the speakers are in India with around 110,000...	110,000
Kullu	109,000
Bhattiyali	102,252
Ladakhi Ladakhi language The Ladakhi language , now also called Bhoti, and by linguists more generally called Western Archaic Tibetan when the Balti and Burig or Purig or Purki dialects are included, is the predominant language in the Ladakh region of the Jammu and Kashmir state of India, and is also spoken in Baltistan...	102,000
Dungra Bhil	100,000
Adiwasi Garasia	100,000
Rajput Garasia	100,000
Noiri Noiri language Bhilori is a Bhil language of India, intermediate between Vasavi Gujarati and Bareli Pauri. There are 100,000 of each of the two varieties, Dungra and Noiri, which are highly intelligible with each other....	100,000
Jaunsari	97,000
Pnar Pnar language Pnar is an Austro-Asiatic language spoken in India and Bangladesh.- Vowels :- Consonants :...	84,000
Andh Andh language The Andh language, also known as Andhi, is spoken by somewhere between 80,000 and 100,000 Andhs in India.The language is unclassified. Although these numbers sound substantial, it appears Andh may be losing ground with many Andhs speaking Marathi at home....	80,000
Mara Mara language The Mara language is a language spoken by Mara people living in South Mizoram, India and the adjacent people living in Chin State in Burma, formerly Burma.The Mara language belongs to the Kukish branch of the Tibeto-Burman family of languages...	79,000 (India: 47,000 Burma:32,000)
Mawchi	76,000
Bishnupriya	75,000
Duruwa Duruwa language Duruwa language , also called, Parji is a Central Dravidian language spoken by the ‘Dhurwa’ tribe, a Scheduled tribe people of India, in the districts of Koraput and Bastar in Chhattisgarh State...	75,000
Lodhi Lodhi language Lodhi is a Munda language, or perhaps dialect cluster, of India that has been strongly influenced by neighboring Eastern Indic languages.... :	75,000
Bhadrawahi	69,000
Eastern Magar	67,691
Balti Balti language Balti is a language spoken in Baltistan, in Gilgit-Baltistan of Pakistan and adjoining parts of Ladakh. Baltistan, before 1948, was part of Ladakh province. The Balti language is a dialect of the Ladakhi language, a form of Tibetan. It is mutually intelligible with Ladakhi proper and Burig...	67,000
Korwa Korwa language Korwa, or Koraku , is a Munda language of India.Korwa is a dialect continuum. The two principal varieties are Korwa and Koraku , spoken by the Korwa and Kodaku people. The Kodaku in Jharkand call their language "Korwa". Both speak Sadri, Kurukh, or Chhattisgarhi as a second language, or in the...	66,000
Mahali	66,000
Rana Tharu	64,000
Paniya Paniya Paniya is one of the languages of India. It is a language of the scheduled tribes with a majority of its speakers in the state of Kerala. It is also called as Pania, Paniyan and Panyah. It belongs to the Dravidian family of languages. According to the 1981 Census, there were 63,827 speakers of...	63,827
Rathwi Bareli	63,700
Rawang	60,536
Sansi	60,000
Kachari Kachari language Kachari is a Tibeto-Burman language spoken by about 59,000 people in Assam, India.Less than 30% of the Kachari people speak the Kachari language as their mother tongue. Most grow up speaking Assamese instead....	59,000
Bazigar	58,236
Agariya Agariya language The Agariya language is spoken by the Agariya people, especially in Madhya Pradesh in India. It is a Munda language....	55,757
Kanjari	55,386
Mal Paharia Mal Paharia language Mal Paharia, is an Indo-Aryan language spoken by about 60,000 of 111,000 ethnic Mal Paharia in the states of Jharkhand and West Bengal in India and possibly in Bangladesh. There is a positive attitude amongst speakers of the language, and the language health is considered vigorous. Nonetheless,...	51,000
Poumei Naga	51,000
Bodo Parja	50,000
Hmar Hmar language The Hmar language belongs to the Kukish branch of the Tibeto-Burman family of languages. The speakers of the language are also known as Hmar.Hmar speakers are scattered over a vast area in Mizoram, Manipur, Meghalaya, Tripura, Chittagong Hill tracts, and NC Hills and Cachar districts of Assam...	50,000
Juang Juang language The Juang language is a language spoken primarily by the Juang people of eastern India.- Classification :The Juang language belongs to the Munda language family, the whole of which is classified as a branch of the greater Austro-Asiatic language family. Among the Munda languages, Juang is...	50,000
Desiya Oriya	50,000
Kinnauri Kinnauri language Kinnauri, also known as Kanauri, Kanor, Koonawur, or Kunawar is a Tibeto-Burman language spoken in the Kinnaur district of the Indian state of Himachal Pradesh.-Consonants:...	48,778
Moinba	46,000
Paite Chin	45,000
Tase Naga	45,000
Wancho Naga	45,000
Braj Bhasha	44,000
Buksa	43,000
Sangtam Naga	39,000
Lepcha Lepcha language Lepcha language, or Róng language , is a Himalayish language spoken by the Lepcha people in Sikkim and parts of West Bengal, Nepal and Bhutan.-Population:...	38,000
Kudmali	37,000
Yimchungru Naga	37,000
Gowli	35,000
Jennu Kurumba	35,000
Nocte Naga	35,000
Khirwar	34,251
Betta Kurumba	32,000
Chang Naga	31,000
Dangaura Tharu	31,000
Gadaba Gadaba language Gadaba language refers to a language of the Gadaba people. This may be,Gutob language , an Austro-Asiatic languageOllari language , a Dravidian language...	31,000 (Pottangi Ollar: 15,000; Bodo: 8,000; Mudhili: 8,000)
Zeme Naga	30,800
Naga Pidgin	30,000
Car Nicobarese	30,000
Kurichiya	29,375
Mzieme Naga	29,000
Chenchu Chenchu language Chenchu language is a Dravidian language which belongs to the Telugu branch of its South-Central family. This language is spoken mostly in Andhra Pradesh state in India. This language is spoken by about 28,754 persons of the Chenchu Aboriginal forests hunter-gatherer tribe. It is also called as...	28,754
Sikkimese Sikkimese language The Sikkimese language, also called Sikkimese Tibetan, Bhutia, Dranjongke , Dranjoke, Denjongka, Denzongpeke, and Denzongke, belongs to the Southern Tibetan language family. It is spoken by the Bhutia nationality in Sikkim...	28,600
Limbu Limbu language Limbu is a Tibeto-Burman language spoken in Nepal, Bhutan, Sikkim, Kashmir and Darjeeling district, West Bengal, India, by the Limbu community. Virtually all Limbus are bilingual in Nepali....	28,000
Majhwar Majhwar language Majhwar is an unclassified language—possibly a dialect of Asuri—spoken in parts of Nepal and Sikkim. Total population: 27,958....	27,958
Vaiphei	27,791
Ravula	27,413
Western Panjabi	27,386
Deori Deori language Deori is a Tibeto-Burman language spoken by the Deori people of Assam. It is one of the official languages of Arunachal Pradesh. Only one of the Deori tribes, the Dibongya, has retained the language, the others having shifted to Assamese, but among the Dibongya it is vigorous.The Deori and their...	26,900
Khoibu Naga	25,600
Falam Chin	25,367
Kanikkaran Kanikkaran language Kanikkaran is a language spoken by 19,000 people in southern India. They dwell in forests or near to forests in Thiruvananthapuram and Kollam in Kerala, and Tirunelveli in Tamil Nadu....	25,000
Khiamniungan Naga	25,000
Maram Naga	25,000
Tutsa Naga	25,000
Sirmauri	25,000
Arakanese	24,000
Chokri Naga	24,000
Sholaga	24,000
Thangal Naga	23,600
Kamar	23,456
Apatani Apatani language Apatani is a small Tibetan–Burman language of India. As most endangered oral languages, Apatani does not yet have a standardized orthography, and there is still some debate among the Apatanis on which script should be used to transcribe it....	23,000
Koch	23,000
Khezha Naga	23,000
Tiwa Tiwa (Lalung) Tiwa is a tribal group inhabiting the States of Assam and Meghalaya in Northeast India. They are recognized as a Scheduled tribe within the State of Assam...	23,000
Southern Rengma Naga	21,000
Shina Shina language Shina is a Dardic language spoken by a plurality of people in Gilgit-Baltistan of Pakistan and Dras in Ladakh of Indian-Administered Kashmir. The valleys in which it is spoken include Astore, Chilas, Dareil, Tangeer, Gilgit, Ghizer, and a few parts of Baltistan and Kohistan. It is also spoken in...	21,000
Gowlan	20,179
Kumarbhag Paharia	20,179
Savara Savara language The Savara language is a South-Central Dravidian language. It is known to be written using the Oriya and Telugu scripts, as well as its own writing system....	20,179
Matu Chin	20,000
Liangmai Naga	20,000
Sakechep	20,000
Seraiki	20,000
Sherpa Sherpa language Sherpa is a language spoken in parts of Nepal and Sikkim mainly by the Sherpa community. About 130,000 speakers live in Nepal , some 20,000 in India , and some 800 in Tibet ....	20,000
Toto Toto language Toto is a Tibeto-Burman language spoken on the border of India and Bhutan, by the tribal Toto people. The Himalayan Languages Project is working on the first grammatical sketch of Toto.-References:*...	20,000
Khowar Khowar language For the ethnic group, see under Chitrali people.Khowar , also known as Chitrali, is a Dardic language spoken by 400,000 people in Chitral in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, in the Ghizer district of Gilgit-Baltistan , and in parts of Upper Swat...	19,200
Biete	19,000
Hajong Hajong language Hajong is an Indo-Aryan language with Tibeto-Burman roots spoken by more than 175,000 ethnic Hajong in the states of Assam, Meghalaya, Arunachal Pradesh and West Bengal in India and the Mymensingh District in Bangladesh. It is written in the Assamese script, and it is being supplanted by the...	19,000
Reli	19,000
Manna-Dora	18,964
Hrangkhol	18,665
Bhunjia	18,601
Persian Persian language Persian is an Iranian language within the Indo-Iranian branch of the Indo-European languages. It is primarily spoken in Iran, Afghanistan, Tajikistan and countries which historically came under Persian influence...	18,000
Mukha-Dora	17,456
Maring Naga	17,361
Pangwali	17,000
Asuri Asuri language Asuri is a minor Munda language of India.Ethnologue states that Birjia is a dialect of Asuri, but also that there is a related language Birjia; it is not clear if these refer to the same thing....	16,596
Dhatki Dhatki language Dhatki, also known as Dhati or Thari, is one of the Rajasthani languages of the Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European language family. It is most closely related to Marwari.-Speakers:...	16,400
Malaryan	16,068
Malavedan	15,241
Gangte Gangte language Gangte is a Kukish language of India. There are a few speakers across the border in Burma....	15,100
Konda-Dora	15,000
Korra Koraga	15,000
Mudu Koraga	15,000
Nahali (Kalto) Kalto language Kalto or Nahali is an Indo-Aryan language of India. Kalto is the ethnonym; "Nahal" or "Nihal" is disparaging. The language is often confused with Nihali, an apparent language isolate spoken by neighboring people with a similar lifestyle....	15,000
Northern Pashto	15,000
Ullatan	14,846
Eastern Tamang Tamang language Tamang is a term used to collectively refer to a dialect cluster spoken in parts of Nepal and Sikkim. It comprises Eastern Tamang, Northwestern Tamang, Southwestern Tamang, Eastern Gorkha Tamang, and Western Tamang...	14,000
Anal Anal language Anal, also known as Namfau, is a Northern Kukish language, part of the Sino-Tibetan language family, spoken by a dwindling number of Anal people in India, Burma, and possibly Bangladesh. It had 14,000 speakers in India according to the 2001 census. UNESCO lists Anal as having 23,000 speakers in...	13,853
Northern Rengma Naga	13,000
Pochuri Naga	13,000
Western Muria	12,898
Muthuvan	12,219
Zangskari	12,006
Mirgan	12,000
War War language War , War-Jaintia or Amwi is an Austro-Asiatic language spoken by about 16,000 people in Bangladesh and 12,000 people in India....	12,000
Kaikadi Kaikadi language The Kaikadi language is a Dravidian language related to Tamil, spoken by about 23,000 people of the nomad Kaikadi tribe....	11,846
Idu-Mishmi	11,041
Pattani Pattani language Pattani, also known as Manchati, Manchad, Patni, Chamba, Chamba Lahuli, Lahuli, Swangla, Changsapa Boli is a Tibeto-Burman language spoken in the Indian state of Himachal Pradesh. The language is spoken in the Lahul Valley, Pattan, Chamba-Lahul, and lower Mayar valleys...	11,000
Changthang	10,089
Degaru	10,089
Eastern Muria	10,089
Far Western Muria	10,089
Andaman Creole Hindi	10,000
Palya Bareli	10,000
Birhor Birhor language The Birhor language is a Munda language spoken by the Birhor people in Orissa, West Bengal, and Maharashtra states in India....	10,000
Lamkang	10,000
Inpui Naga	10,000
Spiti Bhoti	10,000
Vaagri Booli	10,000

Fewer than 10,000 speakers

Zome
Zome language
Zou is a language originating in Burma. It is spoken by the Zou people in Burma and India, as well as by the Zomi people in Zogam....

: 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
Nagarchal language
Nagarchal is a Dravidian language in India. According to the 1971 census, there were 7091 speakers of the language, but they have shifted to Hindi and Gondi. The Nagarchal speakers live in the Balaghat, Chhindwara, Mandla and Seoni districts of Madhya Pradesh, the Durg District of Chhattisgarh, the...

: 7,090
Chiru: 7,000
Miju-Mishmi: 6,500
Kinnauri, Harijan: 6,331
Sanskrit: 6,106
Turi
Turi language
Turi is an endangered Munda language of India that is closely related to Santali. It is spoken by only half a percent of ethnic Turi, the rest having shifted to Sadri in Jharkhand, Mundari in West Bengal, and Oriya in Orissa....

: 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
Kom language
The Kom language, Itaŋikom, is the language spoken by the Kom people of Cameroon. Schultz 1997a and Schutz 1997b contain a comprehensive description of the language's grammar.Kom is a tonal language with three tones.-References:*...

: 5,000
Phake: 5,000
Katkari: 4,951
Maldivian: 4,500
Chin, Bawm: 4,439
Manda: 4,036
Gahri
Gahri language
Gahri, also known as Ghara, Lahuli of Bunan, Boonan, Punan, Poonan, Erankad, Keylong Boli or Bunan is a Tibeto-Burman language spoken in the Indian state of Himachal Pradesh...

: 4,000
Hruso
Hruso language
Hruso, also Aka or Angka, is a small Tibeto-Burman language of India. Levai has traditionally been considered a dialect, but may be a separate language....

: 4,000
Kupia: 4,000
Sajalong: 4,000
Naga, Moyon: 3,700
Naga, Chothe: 3,600
Thulung
Thulung language
Thulung is a Kiranti language spoken in parts of Nepal and Sikkim. It is also known as Thulunge Rai, Thulu Luwa, Thululoa, Thulung La, Tholong Lo, Thulung Jemu, Toaku Lwa. Total population: 33,313.-External links:...

: 3,313
Naga, Monsang: 3,200
Malapandaram: 3,147
Sherdukpen: 3,100
Gata': 3,055
Brokskat: 3,000
Dzongkha
Dzongkha language
Dzongkha , occasionally Ngalopkha, is the national language of Bhutan. The word "dzongkha" means the language spoken in the dzong, – dzong being the fortress-like monasteries established throughout Bhutan by Shabdrung Ngawang Namgyal in the 17th century."Bhutani" is not another name for...

: 3,000
Koireng: 3,000
Kurmukar: 3,000
Naga, Puimei: 3,000
Singpho: 3,000
Zyphe
Zyphe language
Zyphe is a Tibeto-Burman language originating in Burma and also spoken in India. It is spoken by 17,000 Burmese and 3,000 Indians....

: 3,000
Rawat
Rawat language
Rawat , or "Janggali" , is a possibly Tibeto-Burman language of Nepal, with maybe a thousand speakers in India. The name Rawat is cognate with Raute....

: 2,926
Byangsi
Byangsi language
Byangsi was a West Himalayish language of India and Nepal....

: 2,829
Teressa
Teressa language
Teressa, or Taih-Long, is one of the Nicobarese languages spoken on the Nicobar Islands. Bompoka dialect is distinct....

: 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
Chaura language
Chaura, or Tutet, is one of the Nicobarese languages spoken on the Nicobar Islands.It had approximately 2,000 speakers in the year 2000....

: 2,018
Kota
Kota language
Kota is a language of the Dravidian language family, spoken by 1,400 native speakers and 2,000 total speakers in the Nilgiri hills of Tamil Nadu state, India.-Phonology:...

: 2,000
Nihali
Nihali language
Nihali, also known as Nahali or erroneously as Kalto, is a language isolate spoken in west-central India by around 2,000 people out of an ethnic population of 5,000...

: 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
Mru language
The Mru language is a part of Tibeto-Burman languages and one of the recognized languages of Bangladesh.It is spoken by a community of Mros inhabiting the Chittagong Hill Tracts of Bangladesh and also in Burma with a population of 21,963 in Bangladesh according to the 1991 census. The Mros are the...

: 1,231
Kinnauri, Chitkuli: 1,060
Bugun: 1,046
Rangkas: 1,014
Lohar, Gade: 1,009
Phudagi: 1,009
Lhomi: 1,000
Lisu
Lisu language
Lisu is a tonal Tibeto-Burman language spoken in Yunnan , northern Burma , and Thailand and a small part of India. It is the language of the Lisu minority. Lisu has many dialects that originate from the country in which they live. Hua Lisu, Pai Lisu, and Lu Shi Lisu dialects are spoken in China...

: 1,000
Yakha
Yakha language
Yakkha is a language spoken in parts of Nepal, Darjeeling district and Sikkim. The Yakkha-speaking villages are located to the East of the Arun river, in the southern part of the Sankhuwasabha district and in the northern part of the Dhankuta district of Nepal. About 14,000 people still speak the...

: 1,000
Naga, Tarao: 870
Bateri: 800
Parenga: 767
Korlai Creole Portuguese: 750
Lohar, Lahul: 750
Tukpa: 723
Indo-Portuguese
Indo-Portuguese
The expression Indo-Portuguese Creoles may mean any of the creole languages spoken in India or Sri Lanka which had a substantial Portuguese influence in grammar or lexicon, such as* Sri Lanka Indo-Portuguese language* Diu Indo-Portuguese language...

: 700
Toda
Toda language
Toda is a Dravidian language well known for its many fricatives and trills. It is spoken by the Toda people, a population of about one thousand who live in the Nilgiri Hills of southern India.-Vowels:...

: 600
Sunam
Sunam language
The Sunam dialect of Kinnauri, sometimes considered a separate language, and also known as Sungam, Sungnam, Thebor, Thebör Skadd, Thebarshad, Central Kinnauri, or Sangnaur, is spoken in the Kinnaur district of the Indian state of Himachal Pradesh...

: 558
Naga, Purum: 503
Chinali: 500
Varhadi-Nagpuri: 463
Dhimal: 450
Allar
Allar language
-References:*...

: 350
Ralte
Ralte language
Ralte is a Kukish language of Burma. Though an equivalent number of ethnic Ralte people live in India, fewer than a thousand speak the language....

: 303
Jad: 300
Jarawa: 300
Koda
Koda language
Koda is an endangered Munda language of India and Bangladesh. There were 1,300 speakers in Bangladesh in 2005, but many said that Bengali was their best language. There were only 300 speakers in India in 1991, out of a census population of 28,200....

: 300
Zakhring
Zakhring language
Zahkring is a small Tibeto-Burman language of India....

: 300
Majhi
Majhi language
Majhi is a language spoken in parts of Nepal and Sikkim. Total population: 22,087.-External links:*...

: 246
Aranadan
Aranadan language
Aranadan is a Dravidian language spoken by approximately 200 people, predominately in the Malappuram District of Kerala state, India. It is similar to Malayalam and Tamil, and also contains elements of the Kannada language. It is also known as Aranatan and Eranadans....

: 236
Pankhu: 234
Shom Peng: 223
Vishavan: 150
Hinduri: 138
Nahari
Nahari language
Nahari is an Indo-Aryan language spoken in the states of Chhattisgarh and Orissa in India. It was reported in 1994 that all speakers of Nahari were actually native speakers of Nimadi....

: 108
Sentinel: 101
Mugom
Mugom language
Mugom is a Bodish language spoken by over 6,000 people in Nepal and about 500 in India.It is spoken primarily in the Karneli Zone, in the Muga district and in the Jumla district in Nepal. Some speakers of this language have migrated to Katmandu. It is divided into two dialects, Karani and Mugali,...

: 100
Önge
Önge language
The Onge or Öñge language is a language spoken by the Onge people in Little Andaman Island. It is one of two known Ongan languages.Önge used to be spoken throughout Little Andaman as well as in smaller islands to the north - and possibly in the southern tip of South Andaman island...

: 96
Gurung, Western: 82
Godwari: 61
Khamyang: 50
Great Andamanese
Andamanese languages
The Andamanese languages form a proposed language family spoken by the Andamanese peoples, a group of Negritos who live in the Andaman Islands, a union territory of India. Its validity is disputed...

: 24

External links

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