Indo-European language family

Geography glossary

Also called: Aryan family · Topic: Population of India: Distribution, Density, Growth and Composition · NCERT: Class 12, Ch 1 "Population: Distribution, Density, Growth and Composition"

Meaning

The Indo-European language family, also called the Aryan family, is the largest in India. About 73% of Indians speak one of its languages. Its branches are:

  • Indo-Aryan: spoken in J&K, Punjab, Himachal, Haryana, UP, Rajasthan, MP, Bihar, Odisha, West Bengal, Assam, Gujarat, Maharashtra and Goa;
  • Dardic: Kashmiri, in J&K;
  • Iranian: spoken outside India.

Example

Hindi, Bengali and Marathi, the three biggest mother tongues in Census 2011, are all Indo-Aryan. Kashmiri, spoken in the Kashmir valley, belongs to the Dardic branch.

Don't confuse with

  • Indo-Aryan: this is one branch of the family, not the whole family. It is still the largest single language group in India.

Related concepts

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