What are the languages spoken in Karnataka?

As the state's official language, Kannada is the most widely spoken language in Karnataka, where over 66.49% of the population speaks it. As one of India's ancient languages, Kannada contains many dialects that represent geographical differences within the state, such as Mysore-Kannada, Dharwad-Kannada, and Mangalore-Kannada.

Other significant languages spoken in Karnataka include:

• Urdu: Spoken by around 10.83% of the population, especially among Muslim groups, is one of the other important languages in Karnataka.
• Telugu: In places that border Andhra Pradesh, Telugu is spoken by around 5.84% of the population.
• Tamil: Approximately 3.45% of people speak Tamil, mostly in the districts of Bangalore and Kolar.
• Marathi: Marathi is spoken by about 3.29% of people, mostly in regions close to Maharashtra.
• Tulu: Mainly in coastal areas, spoken by about 2.61% of people.
• Konkani: Konkani is spoken by about 1.29% of the population.
• Malayalam: About 1.27% of people speak Malayalam, mostly in coastal Karnataka.

There are also several indigenous languages and dialects, as well as Lambadi, Hindi, and Kodava.

Given that a sizable portion of the population is bilingual or multilingual, Karnataka is renowned for its language variety and is among the most multilingual states in India.

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