Languages of Odisha

[vijayjohn]

The sole official language of Odisha is the Eastern Indo-Aryan language Odia. However, many other languages are also spoken in Odisha. Most of them appear not to be Indo-Aryan at all but rather Dravidian and Munda languages. Most of the Indo-Aryan language varieties that are spoken in Odisha seem to be closely related to Odia in some way and are probably almost all considered varieties of Odia.

Chhattisgarhi is spoken in a very small area near the border with Chhattisgarh, and supposedly, Lambadi/Banjara, a Rajasthani language that is widely spoken near this part of India, is also spoken in some parts of Odisha. The other Indo-Aryan language varieties spoken in Odisha AFAICT are the Halbic language Bhunjia, a variety that sounds like a mix of Odia and Telugu called Kupia, a variety called Sambalpuri whose speakers claim it to be a separate language, and the other related language varieties Reli, Bhatri, Desia, Adivasi Odia, and Bodo Parja a.k.a. Jharia.

The Dravidian languages of Odisha include the Koya language closely related to Kuvi and Kui and perhaps less closely related to the Gondi languages, also spoken in Chhattisgarh, Andhra Pradesh, and Telangana. They also include most of the Kui and Central Dravidian languages except Naiki as well as Kurukh. Apparently, almost all the Munda languages are spoken in Odisha except Korku, Korwa, Koraku, and Kol.