In many northeastern and eastern States, at least three languages are spoken by a significant proportion of the tribal population, while in the rest of India the effective number of languages (ENL) is fewer. Effectiveness depends on how widely a language is spoken in a State.
State-wise split
As many as nine languages have a significant number of speakers among the tribal people in Manipur, while in Uttar Pradesh only one language is widely spoken, according to Census 2011 data which was released recently . The maps below show the effective number of languages in various States across the country (left) and the district-level breakdown (right).
Variations at the district level
There is high variation in the effective number of languages spoken across districts in most States. For instance, there are effectively five languages spoken in Sundargarh, Odisha, while only one is effectively spoken in most other districts of the State.
Languages galore in the Northeast
The table lists the States where five or more languages have a significant number of speakers among their tribal populations.
To know how the effective number of languages is calculated using the Laakso and Taagepera method, click here .
