Languages in Delhi

New Delhi Sign Board Showing Three Main Languages of Delhi: Hindi, English and Urdu

Delhi does not have a regional language. Similar to its culture, the linguistic profile of Delhi is a conglomeration of several languages. According to 2001 survey, more than 80 percent of Delhiites speak Hindi, followed by Punjabi (7.1%), Urdu (6.3%), and Bengali (1.5%).

Hindi and English are the official language of Delhi, where as Punjabi, Urdu, and Maithili have been given the status of additional official language of Delhi.

According to the Directorate of Education, GNCTD the following languages are taught in schools in Delhi under the three-language formula are

First Language:    Hindi/Urdu/English
Second Language:    English
Third language:    Urdu/Punjabi/Bengali/Sindhi/Tamil/Telugu/Malayalam/Kannada/Gujarati/Marathi/Arabic/Persian/Sanskrit

Also, Delhi has a huge number of French, German, Italian, Spanish, and Portuguese speakers. There are more than one lakh French learners enrolled in various schools, colleges and institutions, followed by German, Italian, and other languages.