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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.
Meitei, also known as Manipuri, is a Tibeto-Burman language of northeast India. It is the official language and the lingua franca of Manipur and one of the official languages of Assam. It is one of the constitutionally scheduled official languages of the Indian Republic. Meitei is the most widely-spoken Tibeto-Burman language of India and third most widely spoken language of northeast India after Assamese and Bengali. There are 1.76 million Meitei native speakers in India according to the 2011 census. Most of these, or 1.52 million, are found in the state of Manipur, where they represent majority of its population. There are smaller communities in neighbouring Indian states, such as Assam (168,000), Tripura (24,000), Nagaland (9,500), and elsewhere in the country (37,500). The language is also spoken by smaller groups in neighbouring Myanmar and Bangladesh.
Northeast India, officially the North Eastern Region (NER), is the easternmost region of India representing both a geographic and political administrative division of the country. It comprises eight states—Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland and Tripura, and the "brother" state of Sikkim.
The Hmar language belongs to the Mizo language branch of the Sino-Tibetan family of languages. The speakers of this language use Mizo language as their second language (L2).
Ri Bhoi is an administrative district in the state of Meghalaya in India. The district headquarters are located at Nongpoh. The district occupies an area of 2378 km² and has a population of 258,840. As of 2011 it is the second least populous district of Meghalaya, after South Garo Hills.
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.
Mizo is a Tibeto-Burman language spoken mainly in the Indian state of Mizoram, where it is the official language and lingua franca. It is the mother tongue of the Mizo people and some members of the Mizo diaspora. Other than Mizoram, it is also spoken in Meghalaya, Manipur, Tripura, and Assam states of India, Sagaing Region and Chin State in Myanmar, and Chittagong Hill Tracts of Bangladesh. It is mainly based on the Lusei dialect but it has also derived many words from its surrounding Mizo clans.
Bodo–Kacharis is a name used by anthropologist and linguists to define a collection of ethnic groups living predominantly in the Northeast Indian states of Assam, Tripura, Meghalaya and West Bengal. These peoples are speakers of either Bodo–Garo languages or Assamese. Some Tibeto-Burman speakers who live closely in and around the Brahmaputra valley, such as the Mising people and Karbi people, are not considered Bodo–Kachari. Many of these peoples have formed early states in the late Medieval era of Indian history and came under varying degrees of Sanskritisation.
The Bishnupriyas, also known as the Bishnupriya Manipuris or Bishnupriya Meiteis, is an ethnic group found in the parts of Northeast Indian states of Assam, Tripura, Manipur and in northeastern Bangladesh. They speak the Bishnupriya Manipuri language, which is a creole of Bengali language and Meitei language, which retains its pre-Bengali features. The most distinctive feature of the language is it is replete with Tibeto-Burman elements. The culture of the Bishnupriya people is strongly influenced by that of the Meitei people.
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.
The national language and official language of Bangladesh is Bangla according to the third article of the Constitution of Bangladesh. Almost 99% of Bangladeshis speak Bengali as their first language. Bengali Language Implementation Act, 1987 made it mandatory to use Bengali in all government affairs except in the cases of foreign relations. According to a 2022 census, Bengali is predominantly spoken by 99% of the country's population and it also serves as the national language of the nation. The indigenous people of northern and southeastern Bangladesh speak a variety of native languages. According to the Ethnologue, there are 36 indigenous living languages, which include 17 Tibeto-Burman, 10 Indo-Aryan, 7 Austroasiatic and 2 Dravidian languages in Bangladesh. Bangladesh has 44 indigenous languages according to Professor Shameem Reza.
Thadou, Kuki, or Thado Chin is a Sino-Tibetan language of the Northern Kuki-Chin sub-branch. It is spoken by the Thadou people in Northeast India. The speakers of this language use Meitei language as their second language (L2) according to the Ethnologue.
The Aimol people are an ethnic group living mainly in Manipur and in parts of Mizoram, Tripura, Nagaland and Assam,Meghalaya in India. They speak Aimol language which is a Kuki-Chin language. They identify themselves as 'Aimol' an independent tribe with no affiliates. Aimols have continued to live in harmony with neighboring communities before the independence and to this day. Aimols are closely related to Kom, Koireng, Chiru, Chothe,khelma,Biete,Biate etc. They use Meitei language as their second language (L2) according to the Ethnologue.
The Kuki-Chin languages are a branch of the Sino-Tibetan language family spoken in northeastern India, western Myanmar and southeastern Bangladesh. Most notable Kuki-Chin-speaking ethnic groups are referred to collectively as the Zo people which includes: the Mizo of Mizoram, the Kuki of Manipur, Assam, Nagaland, Tripura and Bangladesh and the Chin of Chin State, Myanmar.
Paite is a Sino-Tibetan language spoken by the Paite people. There are different Paite dialects; some notable Paite dialects are Bukpi, Lousau, Valpau, Dapzal, Tuichiap, Sukte, Dim, Lamzang and Sihzang. The language exhibits mutual intelligibility with the other languages of the region including Thadou, Hmar, Vaiphei, Simte, Kom, Gangte and other languages. The name Paite could translate to 'the people who went', 'a group of people marching'. Paite refers to a group of people who enter today Manipur and Mizoram (India) crossing the run river during the pre colonial era, so the word Paite itself means "those who went out".... It is fairly necessary to note that there are amongst those group of people who do not leave today Burma and still settle there. They cannot be called Paite since they do not leave or set out, So to put an umbrella term on all the ethnic groups between two international countries the word "Zomi" is unifiedly used. They are a part of the Chin/Kuki/Mizo/Zomi (CHIKIMZO)
Gangte is a Sino-Tibetan language of Kuki-Chin linguistic sub branch of Northeastern India. Its speakers primarily live in Manipur and the adjacent areas of Meghalaya and Assam. The language appears to be homogeneous with no known dialectal variation and exhibits at least partial mutual intelligibility with the other Chin-Kuki-Mizo dialects of the area including Thadou, Hmar, Vaiphei, Simte, Kom and Paite languages. The speakers of this language use Meitei language as their second language (L2) according to the Ethnologue.
Kom is a language of the Kom tribe of India. Kohlreng is usually considered a dialect of Kom, but may be a distinct language. Speakers of Kom live in the hilly provinces of Myanmar and India.
Simte is a Kuki-Chin language of India. It is spoken primarily by the Simte in Northeastern India, who are concentrated in Manipur and adjacent areas of Mizoram and Assam. The dialect spoken in Manipur exhibits partial mutual intelligibility with the other Kuki-Chin dialects of the area including Thadou, Hmar, Vaiphei, Paite, Kom and Gangte. It is written in Latin script.
Ranglong is an ethnic people belonging to the Kuki people. The majority of the Ranglong people live in a small and densely-packed area in the northeastern part of India, mainly in the border areas of Tripura, Assam and Mizoram.
Aimol, also known as Aimual, is a Sino-Tibetan language spoken by the Aimol people of Manipur, India. It is considered endangered and has less than 9,000 speakers worldwide as per 2011 census. The speakers of this language use Meitei language as their second language (L2) according to the Ethnologue.
References
- ↑ Vaiphei at Ethnologue (25th ed., 2022)
- ↑ Singh, Chungkham Yashawanta (1995). "The linguistic situation in Manipur" (PDF). Linguistics of the Tibeto-Burman Area. 18 (1): 129–134. Retrieved 19 June 2014.
