Languages of Tripura , a state in the Northeast India, include Bengali and Kokborok as official languages, and many other minority languages. [1] [2] [3] [4] As in the rest of India, English is used for official purpose. [1] Bengali is the most spoken language, due to the predominance of Bengali people in the state. Kokborok is spoken by the Tripuri people.
In the state of Tripura, most of the languages of India are used. Major languages in terms of the number of speakers per 2011 census of India are as follows: [5]
Language [5] [8] | Number | Percentage |
---|---|---|
Bengali | 2,330,452 | 63.48 |
Tripuri | 950,875 | 25.90 |
Chakma | 84,269 | 2.29 |
Hindi | 77,701 | 2.11 |
Mogh (Marma) | 35,722 | 0.97 |
Meitei (Manipuri) | 23,779 | 0.64 |
Others | 168,234 | 4.61% |
Total | 3,671,032 | 100.00 |
A report in Times of India said that the state is home to three dozen languages including some that are nearly extinct, including Saimar which was spoken by only 4 people in 2012. [9]
Languages spoken in the Republic of India belong to several language families, the major ones being the Indo-Aryan languages spoken by 78.05% of Indians and the Dravidian languages spoken by 19.64% of Indians; both families together are sometimes known as Indic languages. Languages spoken by the remaining 2.31% of the population belong to the Austroasiatic, Sino–Tibetan, Tai–Kadai, and a few other minor language families and isolates. According to the People's Linguistic Survey of India, India has the second highest number of languages (780), after Papua New Guinea (840). Ethnologue lists a lower number of 456.
Tripura is a state in northeastern India. The third-smallest state in the country, it covers 10,491 km2 (4,051 sq mi); and the seventh-least populous state with a population of 3.67 million. It is bordered by Assam and Mizoram to the east and by Bangladesh to the north, south and west. Tripura is divided into 8 districts and 23 sub-divisions, where Agartala is the capital and the largest city in the state. Tripura has 19 different tribal communities with a majority Bengali population. Bengali, English and Kokborok are the state's official languages.
As of 2024, 22 languages have been classified as recognised languages under the Eighth Schedule to the Constitution of India. There is no designated national language of India.
Agartala is the capital and the largest city of the Indian state of Tripura, situated on the banks of Haora/Saidra River, about 2 kilometres (1.2 mi) east of the border with Bangladesh and about 2,499 km (1,552 mi) from the national capital, New Delhi. According to 2022 AMC data, Agartala is the second most populous city after Guwahati in Northeast India. It is India's third international internet gateway and being developed under the Smart Cities Mission.
Kokborok (or Tripuri) is a Tibeto-Burman language of the Indian state of Tripura and neighbouring areas of Bangladesh. Its name comes from kok meaning "verbal" or "language" and borok meaning "people" or "human", It is one of the ancient languages of Northeast India.
The Hindi Belt, also known as the Hindi Heartland or the Hindi speaking states, is a linguistic region encompassing parts of northern, central, eastern, and western India where various Northern, Central, Eastern and Western Indo-Aryan languages are spoken, which in a broader sense is termed as Hindi languages, with Standard Hindi serving as the lingua franca of the region.
West Tripura is an administrative district in the state of Tripura in India. The district headquarters are located at Agartala. As of 2012 it is the most populous district of Tripura.
The Bhil languages are a group of Indo-Aryan languages spoken by around 10.4 million Bhils in western and central India as of 2011. They constitute the primary languages of the southern Aravalli Range in Rajasthan and the western Satpura Range in Madhya Pradesh, northwestern Maharashtra, and southern Gujarat. According to the 52nd report of the commissioner for linguistic minorities in India, Ministry of Minority Affairs, Bhili is the most commonly spoken language of the district of Dadra and Nagar Haveli constituting 40.42% of its total population. Bhili speakers are also significant in the states of Gujarat (4.75%), Madhya Pradesh (4.93%) and Rajasthan (4.60%).
Bishnupriya Manipuri, also known as Bishnupriya Meitei or simply as Bishnupriya, is an Indo-Aryan lect belonging to the Bengali–Assamese linguistic sub-branch. It is a creole of Bengali language and Meitei language and it still retains its pre-Bengali features. It is spoken in parts of the Indian states of Assam, Tripura and Manipur as well as in the Sylhet Division of Bangladesh. It uses the Bengali-Assamese script as its writing system. Bishnupriya Manipuri, being a member of the Eastern Indo-Aryan languages, was evolved from Magadhi Prakrit. So, its origin is associated with Magadha realm. The Government of Tripura categorised Bishnnupriya Manipuri under the "Tribal Language Cell" of the State Council of Educational Research and Training. Its speakers are also given the "Other Backward Classes" status by the Assam Government and notably, there is no legal status of the Bishnupriyas in Manipur. In the 2020s, the Bishnupriya speaking people started demanding that the Assam Government should give them the status of "indigenous people" of Assam and treat the same like other indigenous communities of the state.
The administrative divisions of India are subnational administrative units of India; they are composed of a nested hierarchy of administrative divisions.
The Tripuri are a Tibeto-Burman-speaking ethnic group of Bangladesh and Northeast Indian state of Tripura. They are the descendants of the inhabitants of the Twipra/Tripura Kingdom in North-East India and Bangladesh. The Tripuri people through the Manikya dynasty ruled the Kingdom of Tripura for over 600 years starting from 1400 A.D. until the kingdom joined the Indian Union on 15 October 1949. The Tipra Dynasty was established in 590 AD.
Chakma is an Indo-Aryan language spoken by the Chakma and Daingnet people. The language has common features with other languages in the region like the Chittagonian, Tanchangya, Arakanese and others. It has 483,299 speakers in Bangladesh primarily the Chittagong Hill Tracts, and another 230,000 in India, including 97,000 in Mizoram, Tripura and Arunachal Pradesh. It is written using the Chakma script, but literacy in this script is low.
This is a list of States and Union Territories of India by Bengali speakers at the time of the 2011 Census.
Sipahijala District is a district of Tripura, India. This district was created in January 2012 when four new districts were established in Tripura, taking the number of districts in the state from four to eight. Part of the district was formed from the former district of West Tripura. The principal towns in the district are Bishalgarh, Bishramganj, Melaghar and Sonamura.
The Eighth Schedule to the Constitution of India lists the languages officially recognized by the Government of India. As of 2024, 22 languages have been classified under the schedule.
The following table contains the Indian states and union territories along with the most spoken scheduled languages used in the region. These are based on the 2011 census of India figures except Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, whose statistics are based on the 2001 census of the then unified Andhra Pradesh.
The Meitei language, also known as the Manipuri language, is one of the seven officially declared minority languages besides Bishnupriya Manipuri, Chakma, Halam, Kuki-Mizo, Mog and Garo, recognised by the Government of Tripura. Its promotion and development are done by the Directorate of Kokborok & Other Minority Languages, established in August 2012.
The Meitei people, also called Manipuri people, is one of the minority ethnic groups in Tripura. Meiteis call the land of Tripura as "Takhel" or "Takhen" in their language. In September 2020 their population was estimated 23,779.
Meitei language, the sole official language and the lingua franca of Manipur, one of the scheduled languages of India, one of the recognised educational and literary languages of Assam and Tripura states, has its speakers spread across entire India.