India has a vast variety of cultures with each state having its own variant and sometimes a mix of cultures within a state. The same goes for its languages with the northern part of the country dominated by the Indo-Aryan languages, the southern peninsula dominated by the Dravidian languages and the NorthEast of India indulging in the Sino-Tibetan languages. Of course, there are also the Austro-Asiatic, Austronesian, Greater Andamanese, Tibeto-Burman and Tai-Kadai groups of languages.
The Indo-Aryan group of languages are spoken by a majority of the country's population. This is in itself a sub-branch of the Indo-Iranian branch which comes from the larger Indo-European language family. The Indo-Aryan group is further sub-divided into Dardic, Northern zone, Northwestern zone, Western zone, Central zone, Eastern Zone, Southern zone and finally a few languages related to each other but unclassified in the Indo-Aryan family. Languages falling under this would include, but not limited to, Kashmiri, Garhwali, Kumaoni, Nepali, Dogri, Kullu, Punjabi, Puadhi, Sindhi, Rajasthani, Marwari, Malvi, Gujarati, Bhil, Khandheshi, Domari, Romani, Parya, Hindustani (or Hindi-Urdu), Haryanvi, Bundeli, Kannauji, Awadhi, Bagheli, Chhattisgarhi, Bhojpuri, Magahi, Maithili, Angika, Khortha, Nagpuri, Kurmali, Tharu, Odia, Bengali, Marathi and Konkani. Languages unclassified within the Indo-Aryan family are Chinali, Lahul Lohar, Kanjaari, Od, Vaagri Booli, Andh and Kumhali.
The Dravidian family of languages in the southern states would largely comprise of Malayalam in Kerala, Tamil in Tamil Nadu, Kannada in Karnataka while Andhra Pradesh and Telangana have Telugu. Also, there are some scheduled tribes who speak Kurukh in Central India and Gondi in Eastern India, both of which are related to the Dravidian language family. There, of course, are a significant number of dialects in each region.
Sino-Tibetan family includes the Tani, Siangic, Kho-Bwa, Hruso, Miju and Digaro groups of languages spoken in Arunachal Pradesh. Ao, Angami Pochuri, Tangkhulic, Zeme and Kukichin groups of languages are also spoken in other states of NorthEast India. Meithei (the main language of Manipur) and Karbi are predominantly spoken in the region.
Austro-Asiatic languages are further sub-divided into the Mon-Khmer branch and Munda branch. Munda languages are scattered mostly in the central and eastern parts of Indian. Some of the Munda languages are Santhali, Mundari, Ho, etc and, sadly, most of these languages are on the verge of extinction because of the dominant languages like Hindi, Odia and Bengali. With regards to the Mon-Khmer languages, there are only two of them in India namely Khasi which is spoken mostly in Meghalaya and parts of Assam, and Nicobarese which is spoken in the Nicobar Islands.
The Great Andamanese are a near-extinct group of languages spoken by the Great Andamanese peoples of the Andaman Islands. With most of the tribes becoming extinct and the surviving tribes intermingling with marriage and due to resettlement, they now converse in what may now be considered a new language (a kind of mixed language) of the Great Andamanese language. It is referred to as the Present Great Andamanese by some scholars or simply called as 'Jero' or 'Great Andamanese'.
Tai-Kadai is a diverse family of languages some of which are present in areas of NorthEast India and are considered endangered as the number of speakers keeps dwindling. The languages are Khamyang, Phake, Turung, Aiton, Nora-an extinct language, and nearly extinct language TaiAhom.
Austronesian languages are spoken by people from Maritime Southeast Asia, Melanesia, Micronesia, Polynesia and Madagascar but do share similarity in some words with Sanskrit.
The Indo-Aryan group of languages are spoken by a majority of the country's population. This is in itself a sub-branch of the Indo-Iranian branch which comes from the larger Indo-European language family. The Indo-Aryan group is further sub-divided into Dardic, Northern zone, Northwestern zone, Western zone, Central zone, Eastern Zone, Southern zone and finally a few languages related to each other but unclassified in the Indo-Aryan family. Languages falling under this would include, but not limited to, Kashmiri, Garhwali, Kumaoni, Nepali, Dogri, Kullu, Punjabi, Puadhi, Sindhi, Rajasthani, Marwari, Malvi, Gujarati, Bhil, Khandheshi, Domari, Romani, Parya, Hindustani (or Hindi-Urdu), Haryanvi, Bundeli, Kannauji, Awadhi, Bagheli, Chhattisgarhi, Bhojpuri, Magahi, Maithili, Angika, Khortha, Nagpuri, Kurmali, Tharu, Odia, Bengali, Marathi and Konkani. Languages unclassified within the Indo-Aryan family are Chinali, Lahul Lohar, Kanjaari, Od, Vaagri Booli, Andh and Kumhali.
The Dravidian family of languages in the southern states would largely comprise of Malayalam in Kerala, Tamil in Tamil Nadu, Kannada in Karnataka while Andhra Pradesh and Telangana have Telugu. Also, there are some scheduled tribes who speak Kurukh in Central India and Gondi in Eastern India, both of which are related to the Dravidian language family. There, of course, are a significant number of dialects in each region.
Sino-Tibetan family includes the Tani, Siangic, Kho-Bwa, Hruso, Miju and Digaro groups of languages spoken in Arunachal Pradesh. Ao, Angami Pochuri, Tangkhulic, Zeme and Kukichin groups of languages are also spoken in other states of NorthEast India. Meithei (the main language of Manipur) and Karbi are predominantly spoken in the region.
Austro-Asiatic languages are further sub-divided into the Mon-Khmer branch and Munda branch. Munda languages are scattered mostly in the central and eastern parts of Indian. Some of the Munda languages are Santhali, Mundari, Ho, etc and, sadly, most of these languages are on the verge of extinction because of the dominant languages like Hindi, Odia and Bengali. With regards to the Mon-Khmer languages, there are only two of them in India namely Khasi which is spoken mostly in Meghalaya and parts of Assam, and Nicobarese which is spoken in the Nicobar Islands.
The Great Andamanese are a near-extinct group of languages spoken by the Great Andamanese peoples of the Andaman Islands. With most of the tribes becoming extinct and the surviving tribes intermingling with marriage and due to resettlement, they now converse in what may now be considered a new language (a kind of mixed language) of the Great Andamanese language. It is referred to as the Present Great Andamanese by some scholars or simply called as 'Jero' or 'Great Andamanese'.
Tai-Kadai is a diverse family of languages some of which are present in areas of NorthEast India and are considered endangered as the number of speakers keeps dwindling. The languages are Khamyang, Phake, Turung, Aiton, Nora-an extinct language, and nearly extinct language TaiAhom.
Austronesian languages are spoken by people from Maritime Southeast Asia, Melanesia, Micronesia, Polynesia and Madagascar but do share similarity in some words with Sanskrit.
