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Language




The Indian capital, Delhi, carries a mixture of lifestyles and cultures which connects the entire India together. It is a complex matrix of various people, varying mindsets and several ways of expressions. There is no specific regional language for Delhi. Similar to its culture, the language also got adapted from various parts of India and mixed perfectly with its lavish culture.  As the city is surrounded by Uttar Pradesh and Haryana and also nearby located Rajasthan and Punjab, the influence of these regions can easily be traced out from the dialects of Delhi citizens.

Hindi is the local language of Delhi, which also carries the credit of being national language of Union government.

For official occasions, English is widely employed compared to Hindi. Almost all residents of Delhi can speak Hindi language with a touch of Punjabi and Bihari accents.

Majority of educated citizens speak English fluently whereas taxi drivers and shopkeepers possess functional knowledge of English. Urdu and Punjabi are also included as official languages, but are less widely used. The Hindi used by Delhi citizens is somewhat personalized, same as that of the Hindi spoken by Western UP people and carries less Sanskrit accent that the Hindi used by people of Madhya Pradesh. Signage is generally in two languages i.e. English and Hindi but few of the road signs (specifically Central Delhi and South Delhi) are carved in English, Hindi, Urdu and Punjabi.

Delhi language or Zaban-e-Dilli came across several modifications through centuries. Right from Hindawi to Urdu to Rekhta, people in Delhi deploy various languages starting from ancient period to earlier days of British rule. After British’s invasion, Delhi got its influence of English. Presently, the modern Delhi makes use of Punjabi, Urdu, English and Hindi as their chief mode of communication. English and Hindi are widely used among them. After independence, Urdu language has been limited only to Muslim population. But significant survival and continuous inflow of Punjabi people in Delhi (because of close proximity of Punjab state to Delhi) has kept alive the Punjabi language. Majority of population in Delhi use Hindi as their language. There is no wonder, that this language became the national official language in India.

Main Languages Spoken in Delhi

The official speaking language of Delhi is Hindi as most of the population use Hindi for their communication. But the language is divided into various significant dialects which are quite familiar among Delhi citizens.

Urdu language in Delhi is quite common and also carries a rich culture to its own. Presently, this language is widely used in the region of Old Delhi or Purani Delhi where major population of Muslims lives.

Another widely used language in Delhi is Punjabi. Only Punjabis and Sikhs use Punjabi language in Delhi.

English is a language which is familiar to all Delhi citizens. It is the major mode of communication for people specifically youngsters. There will be hardly any issues for any people to travel in this city as all the local residents right from shopkeepers, travel guides, passers-by to taxi drivers can communicate in English. But a basic knowledge of Hindi is quite essential if anyone wishes to travel the rural parts of Delhi.

Few other languages are also used in Delhi including Sindhi, Marathi, Nepali, Gujarati, Oriya, Tamil, Konkani, Malayalam and many more.

Deterioration of Local Language

It is important to mention the fact that these days only small population in Delhi speaks in pure English or Hindi. Majority of population got involved in a crazy fusion of language which is referred to be Hinglish(fusion of English and Hindi) or else Punglish (fusion of English and Punjabi). This linguistic disorder is not only concentrated in Delhi, but also wide spread all over India.

Delhi is analogous to small India, where citizens from various parts of the country throng in search of career, education or livelihood. The migration of these populations had their influence on the Delhi language. Apart from this, regional languages have also gained their importance in the cosmopolitan atmosphere of Delhi. Cable TV operators provide several regional channels to satisfy the sentiments of regional Delhi citizens.

The painful truth is that the polite expression of Zaban-e-Dilli, for which Delhi is very famous for, has degraded to blunt expressions over many years where the frequent usage of non-sense expletives are quite common.The commonly employed Delhi language reflects the degrading society and becomes filthier day-by-day.

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