Amidst Tamil remaining a strong marker of regional identity, the linguistic profile of Tamil Nadu reveals a vibrant variety of languages, including Telugu, Kannada, Urdu, Malayalam, and English, reflecting the State’s rich linguistic diversity. This was vividly captured in the Language Atlas of Tamil Nadu 2011, brought out by the Office of the Registrar General and Census Commissioner, Ministry of Home Affairs, last year.
According to the Language Atlas, the State had a total population of 7,21,47,030 that spread across an area of 1,30,060 square kilometres in 32 districts (based on Census 2011). Of this, 7,20,98,315 people (99.93%) reported speaking one of the 22 languages listed in the Eighth Schedule of the Constitution of India, while only 48,715 people (0.07%) spoke other languages. A total of 96 languages were identified within the administrative boundaries of Tamil Nadu during the 2011 Census.
In the Language Atlas, the term ‘speakers’ referred only to individuals who reported a particular language as their mother tongue during the Census enumeration. This count excluded those who may have spoken the language but did not declare it as their mother tongue in the Census.
Among the scheduled languages in Tamil Nadu, Tamil had a total of 6,37,53,997 speakers. This included 6,37,43,847 people who reported Tamil as their mother tongue in the Census schedules, along with 10,150 individuals whose mother tongues were classified under the Tamil language group.
This was followed by Telugu with 42,34,302 speakers, Kannada with 12,86,175, Urdu with 12,64,537, Malayalam with 7,26,096, Hindi with 3,93,380, Gujarati with 2,75,023 and Marathi with 85,454 speakers. Among the non-scheduled languages, English had the highest number of speakers at 24,495, followed by Tulu with 2,636, Bhili/Bhilodi with 1,405, Arabic/Arbi with 1,119 and Kurukh/Oraon with 817.
District-wise distribution of languages
Tamil
Being the official language, Tamil was the most widely spoken language in the State. Tamil Nadu had a total of 6,37,53,997 speakers, making up 88.37% of the State’s population. The Tamil-speaking population was concentrated in Chennai (5.71%), Kancheepuram (5.65%), and Villupuram (5.24%), Vellore (4.96%), Tiruvallur (4.88%), Salem (4.83%), Tirunelveli (4.76%), Madurai (4.41%), and Tiruchirappalli (4.09%).
Telugu
Telugu was the second most spoken language in Tamil Nadu, with 42,34,302 speakers, comprising 5.87% of the total population. The Telugu-speaking population was concentrated in Coimbatore (13.32%), Chennai (10.21%), Tiruvallur (9.80%), Krishnagiri (9.57%), and Vellore (7.53%). Some of the other district that also had significant shares of Telugu speakers were Tiruppur (6.47%), Erode (5.49%), Salem (5.00%), Kancheepuram (4.77%), Virudhunagar (4.07%), and Theni (3.75%).
Kannada
Kannada speakers in the State numbered 12,86,175, accounting for 1.78% of the population. Their presence was most prominent in Coimbatore (18.73%), Krishnagiri (18.57%), The Nilgiris (13.98%), Erode (9.75%), Theni (7.62%), Salem (6.73%), and Tiruppur (4.41%).
Malayalam
Malayalam was spoken by 7,26,096 people, representing 1.01%of Tamil Nadu’s population. The Malayalam-speaking community was primarily concentrated in Coimbatore (23.34%), The Nilgiris (18.16%), Kanniyakumari (14.75%), and Chennai (14.46%), Tiruvallur (8.28%) and Kancheepuram (5.99%).
Urdu
Urdu were 12,64,537 in numbers, making up 1.75% of the population. Vellore district had the highest concentration, accounting for 30.21% of the State’s Urdu-speaking population. It was followed by Chennai (15.70%), Krishnagiri (8.73%), Villupuram (5.34%), Tiruvannamalai (5.19%), Kancheepuram (4.91%), and Tiruvallur (4.83%).
Hindi
Hindi was spoken by 3,93,380 people, forming 0.55% of the State’s population. The largest share resided in Chennai (40.54%), followed by Tiruvallur (10.80%), Kancheepuram (10.06%), Coimbatore (7.13%), and Vellore (4.42%).
Gujarati
Gujarati speakers numbered 2,75,023, comprising 0.38% of the total population. Madurai had the largest share at 35.67%, followed by Chennai (11.63%), Thanjavur (9.35%), Salem (7.81%), and Ramanathapuram (7.51%), Dindigul (5.89%), Kancheepuram (3.71%), and Coimbatore (2.92%)
Marathi
Marathi was spoken by 85,454 persons, making up 0.12% of Tamil Nadu’s population. The community was primarily concentrated in Chennai (20.94%), Vellore (13.51%), Krishnagiri (10.44%), Kancheepuram (9.68%), Tiruvallur (7.90%), Coimbatore (6.31%), and Thanjavur (4.30%).
English
English was spoken by 24,495 individuals, accounting for 0.03% of the total population. The majority of English speakers were concentrated in Chennai, which accounted for 41.98% of the State’s total English-speaking population. Other notable districts included Tiruvallur (11.57%), Kancheepuram (10.96%), Coimbatore (7.56%), Tiruchirappalli (5.72%), and The Nilgiris (3.27%).
Tulu
Tulu speakers in Tamil Nadu numbered 2,636. Their presence was primarily concentrated in Chennai, which accounted for 39.87% of the total Tulu-speaking population in the State, followed by Coimbatore (11.99%) and Kancheepuram (10.74%). Smaller shares were found in Tiruvallur (8.84%), The Nilgiris (7.17%), and Krishnagiri (4.93%).
Bilingualism and Trilingualism
Tamil Nadu remained predominantly a monolingual State in terms of linguistic ability. According to the 2011 Census, 5,17,30,760 people (71.70%) spoke only one language. The number of bilingual speakers, excluding those who were trilingual, was 1,79,69,107 (24.90%), while 24,47,163 individuals (3.39%) reported speaking three languages.
The Language Atlas also recorded the number of individuals who reported that they could speak various languages, irrespective of whether it was their mother tongue or not. In Tamil Nadu, a total of 6,94,04,292 people reported that they could speak Tamil (96.20%), followed by 1,33,37,789 people who reported that they could speak English (18.49%). A total of 58,04,634 individuals said they could speak Telugu (8.05%), 18,70,602 Kannada (2.59%), 15,24,049 Hindi (2.11%), and 10,08,468 reported that they could speak Malayalam (1.40%).
