Linguistic Classification 3-2



Linguistic Elements In India. 


The high degree of ethnic diversity of India is further diversified in the forms of speech of our people. A linguistic group is an entity of social significance and it acts an an integrating factor among speakers of the same language. In the beginning languages and dialects developed in the different regions of the country under conditions of more or less isolation. 

The distribution on pattern of major language groups served as one of the major bases for the formation of states, giving a new political meaning to the geographical patterns f linguistic distribution. 

Taking the 2001 census into consideration : 





Linguistic Classification In India. 

4 language families : 

  1. Austric Family (Nishad) 1.16%
  2. Dravidian Family (Dravida) 23%
  3. Sing-Tibetan Family (Kirat) 0.62%
  4. Indo-European Family (Aryan) 74%

Austric Languages : They belong to the Austro-Asiatic sub family of languages. It is further divided into two main branches : 


Sino-Tibetan Languages : The speakers of this family fall into three branches : 

   

        Each of these groups have several speeches. Naga displays the highest with Manipuri having the largest number of speakers. Other important speeches falling into this group include Garo, Tripuri, Mizo (Lushai) and Mikir.    


Dravidian Languages : Following Krishnamurthi's classification, the family can be divided into following groups : 

Although they are spreading to other parts of the world (especially Telugu), Dravidian languages have no relationship outside the Indian subcontinent unlike the other three language families.
The major language groups like Tamil, Telugu, Kannada and Malayalam account for 96% of the total population of the Dravidian speakers. 


Aryan Languages : Can be generally divided into two main branches : 






Cultural significance of Dravidian languages??? - Outline the distribution of Dravidian languages in India and describe their cultural significance. 15. 
Geographical Distribution
Linguistic Regions