Indians speak a vast number of languages, reflecting the country's immense linguistic diversity. India has no single national language, but the Constitution recognizes 22 official languages. The two primary language families are:
- Indo-Aryan languages , spoken by about 78% of Indians, mainly in northern and central India. The most spoken language in this group is Hindi, which is the official language of the Union government and spoken natively by over 40% of the population. Other major Indo-Aryan languages include Bengali, Marathi, Punjabi, Gujarati, and Urdu
- Dravidian languages , spoken by about 20% of Indians, mainly in southern India. Key Dravidian languages are Telugu, Tamil, Kannada, and Malayalam
English is also an official language used extensively in business, education, and government. It remains a second official language alongside Hindi at the national level
. In summary, while Hindi is the most widely spoken language and an official language of India, the country is home to hundreds of languages and dialects across multiple language families, with 22 recognized official languages and many more regional and tribal languages spoken throughout the country
