Languages of South Asia facts for kids
The languages of South Asia include a few major groups:
- Indo-Aryan languages, a branch of the Indo-European language family.
- Dravidian languages, in South India and Sri Lanka.
- Tibeto-Burman languages, a branch of the Sino-Tibetan language family, along the northern and eastern edges.
- Munda languages, a branch of the Austroasiatic language family, in small areas of India.
- Iranian languages, a branch of the Indo-European language family, in Pakistan and Afghanistan.
South Asia includes India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Bhutan, the Maldives, and sometimes Afghanistan.
Contents
Indo-Aryan languages
Most Indo-Aryan languages grew from Sanskrit, an ancient language.
| Language | Number of people who speak this language | Places where people speak this language |
|---|---|---|
| Hindi | 615,500,000 | North India (Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Delhi, Haryana, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand) |
| Bengali | 265,000,000 | Bangladesh, West Bengal, Tripura |
| Urdu | 170,200,000 | Pakistan, parts of India (Uttar Pradesh, Delhi, Kashmir, Madhya Pradesh) |
| Marathi | 95,300,000 | Maharashtra |
| Western Punjabi | 92,700,000 | Pakistani Punjab, Kashmir, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa |
| Gujarati | 60,600,000 | Gujarat |
| Bhojpuri | 52,400,000 | western Bihar, eastern Uttar Pradesh, Nepal |
| Odia | 38,000,000 | Odisha |
| Maithili | 34,000,000 | eastern Bihar, eastern Jharkhand, Nepal |
| Eastern Punjabi | 32,600,000 | Punjab, India |
| Sindhi | 24,600,000 | Sindh, northern Gujarat |
| Nepali | 24,500,000 | Nepal, Sikkim, Bhutan |
| Magahi | 20,700,000 | southern Bihar, eastern Jharkhand, northern West Bengal |
| Saraiki | 20,000,000 | southwest Pakistani Punjab |
| Sinhala | 17,300,000 | Sri Lanka |
| Chhatisgarhi | 16,300,000 | Chhattisgarh |
| Assamese | 15,300,000 | Assam |
| Chhitagonian | 13,000,000 | eastern Bangladesh |
| Deccan | 12,800,000 | northern Karnataka |
| Sadri | 12,100,000 | Jharkhand, eastern Chhattisgarh, northern Odisha, southern Bihar |
| Sylheti | 11,800,000 | eastern Bangladesh, southern Assam |
Dravidian languages
| Language | Number of people who speak this language | Places where people speak this language |
|---|---|---|
| Telugu | 93,000,000 | Andhra Pradesh, Telangana |
| Tamil | 81,000,000 | Tamil Nadu, Sri Lanka |
| Kannada | 56,400,000 | Karnataka |
| Malayalam | 37,800,000 | Kerala |
| Brahui | 3,300,000 | central Balochistan |
| Gondi | 3,000,000 | Madhya Pradesh, Odisha, Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra |
| Kurukh | 2,300,000 | Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Odisha, West Bengal, northern Bangladesh |
| Tulu | 1,900,000 | western Karnataka, northern Kerala |
| Beary | 1,700,000 | western Karnataka, northern Kerala |
Tibeto-Burman languages
| Language | Number of people who speak this language | Places where people speak this language |
|---|---|---|
| Dzongkha | Bhutan |
Munda languages
| Language | Number of people who speak this language | Places where people speak this language |
|---|---|---|
Iranian languages
Only some of the Iranian languages are from South Asia. Others are from West Asia or Central Asia. Because of this, some people say these languages are not South Asian. This table shows the total number of people who speak each language.
| Language | Number of people who speak this language | Places where people speak this language |
|---|---|---|
| Pashto | 40,000,000 | Afghanistan, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa |
| Dari Persian | 20,500,000 | Afghanistan |
| Balochi | 10,000,000 | Balochistan |
Images for kids
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Map of language families in South Asia.
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The names of each state in the script of the dominant language of that state of India, part of Pakistan and the whole of Bangladesh, Maldives , Bhutan, Nepal and Sri Lanka.
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