Languages of Odisha

Languages of Odisha

Odia is the official language of Odisha. It is spoken by 81.8 percent of Odisha population. It is one of the classical languages of India, and other than Odisha, spoken majorly in West Bengal, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, and Andhra Pradesh.

Other minority languages are Hindi, Telugu, Kui, Bengali, and Ho.

The languages of Odisha can be divided into three major groups according to their language families. These language family groups are (1) Indo-Aryan, (2) Austro-Asiatic, and (3) Dravidian.

(1) Indo-Aryan Languages of Odisha
1. Odia
2. Sambalpuri
3. Desia
4. Halbi
5. Lamani
6. Relli
7. Bhatri
8. Laria (A dialect of Chattisgarhi)

(2) Austro-Asiatic Languages of Odisha
1. Bhumij
2. Bondo
3. Didei
4. Gadaba
5. Ho
6. Juang
7. Kharia
8. Mundari
9. Parengi
10. Santali
11. Savara

(3) Dravidian Languages of Odisha
1. Khond
2. Kisan
3. Koya
4. Kui
5. Kuvi
6. Ollari Gadaba
7. Pengo

Major Dialects of Odia
1. Midnapuri Odia
2. Singhbhumi Odia
3. Kataki Odia
4. Baleswari Odia
5. Puri Odia
6. Ganjami Odia
7. Phulbani

Minor or Tribal dialects of Odia
1. Sundargadi Odia
2. Kalahnadia Odia
3. Kurmi
4. Sounti
5. Bhatudi
6. Kondhan
7. Aghria
8. Bhulia
9. Sadri
10. Matia
11. Kupia

The above list does not include scheduled languages like Hindi, Tamil, Urdu, and Telugu.

Reference
http://www.censusindia.gov.in/2011-documents/lsi/ling_Orissa.html