The total number of languages and dialects in India is disputed. Some sources claim there are 780 languages spoken in the country. Other sources suggest there are over 19,500 languages or dialects spoken as mother tongues. The 2011 census of India reported 270 identifiable mother tongues with 10,000 or more speakers each. The Ethnologue reports that India has 448 living languages. This number represents the languages that are currently in use and have active speakers in the country. The Ethnologue further classifies these 424 living languages into subcategories: Institutional (45 languages), Stable (248 languages) and Endangered (131 languages). The Ethnologue’s figure of 424 living languages is widely accepted and frequently cited in linguistic discussions about India’s language diversity.
UNESCO has declared 197 languages in India as endangered, categorized as follows: (i) 81 vulnerable languages, (ii) 63 definitely endangered languages, (iii) 6 severely endangered languages, and (iv) 42 critically endangered languages. Some examples of endangered languages include Manipuri, Bodo, Ladakhi, Ahom, Andro, Rangkas, Sengmai, and Tolcha.
Over the last 60 years, approximately 250 languages have become extinct. Some of the extinct languages include Ahom, Andro, Rangkas, Sengmai and Tolcha.
There are twenty-two languages mentioned in the Eighth Schedule of the Constitution as ‘National’ languages of India without legal standing. Hindi in the Devanagari script is the official language of the Union of India, while each state and union territory has adopted its own regional language as the official language. English is the second official language of the country, besides being the administrative, legislative, and judicial language. English is also the official language of the states of Nagaland and Meghalaya.
Ancient Indian Languages:
Prakrit and Pali are languages belonging to the Middle Indo-Aryan period (600 BCE to 1000 CE). Prakrit denotes vernacular languages popular in India from the 3rd to the 7th century BCE. It appears in inscriptions dating back to the 4th century BCE and continues until the Gupta age. The earliest grammatical works in Prakrit include Vararuci’s ‘Prakita-prakasa‘ (5 CE) and Hemachandra’s Prakrit grammar (12 CE). The Prakrit dialects include ‘Maharastri‘, ‘Sauraseni‘, ‘Magadhi‘ and ‘Paisaci‘. Over time, the Prakrits evolved into ‘Apabhramsa‘ dialects, widely used in folk and mainstream literature. Prakrit flourished under the Satavahana rulers, with Hala, the 17th Satavahana ruler, authoring a Prakrit work called ‘Saptasati‘.
Pali and Ardha-Magadhi are also Prakrits used in early Buddhist and Jain literature. The origin of Pali is a subject of ongoing scholarly debate. While some traditions consider Pali as ‘Magadhi Prakrit‘, recent studies indicate that Pali and Magadhi have different basic characteristics. Some scholars suggest a closer resemblance to the ‘Paisaci Prakrit‘ used in the Vindhya region. Regardless of its exact origins, Pali has a rich literary tradition. Some well-known early works in Pali include the ‘Tripitakas‘ (the Buddhist canon), ‘Petakopadesa‘, ‘Visuddhimagga‘ (a comprehensive manual of Theravada Buddhism), and ‘Milindapanha’ (a dialogue between King Menander and the Buddhist sage Nagasena).