Languages in Chennai

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The Local Lingo

Chennaiites are passionate about their native language of Tamil, and if you arrive in the city from up North, you’ll be amazed at how sparingly Hindi, which is spoken liberally all over North India, is used in Chennai.  At the outset, it may seem like the locals have a slight distaste for other Indian languages.  But on closer glance, it becomes obvious that what looks to others like a sign of a hyper insulated society is merely an attempt by the people to keep their proud Dravidian legacy (native Tamilians are descended from the Dravidian civilization while those in North India are of Aryan lineage) separate and distinct from what they consider to be the inferior North Indian Aryan culture.  In fact, Chennai has always vociferously opposed the establishment of Hindi as the country’s national language.  The Tamil language itself is an ancient one (one of the oldest in the world as a matter of fact) and has given rise to many literary masterpieces over the centuries.  The version spoken in Chennai, however, has a liberal smattering of English, Hindi, and Telugu phrases; unavoidable consequences of living in a global society.  Other prominent South Indian languages like Telugu and Malayalam are also spoken here, and the presence of large Punjabi, Bihari, and Bengali segments in Chennai city means that the native languages of these states can also be heard fairly frequently.   

English

Chennai has some of the best and most renowned schools in the state, most of which use English instruction.  Besides, the city is an important regional economic hub and the preferred language of business is English which means you shouldn’t encounter many problems communicating in Chennai.  Like with every other Indian city, keep in mind that English here is spoken with a local accent and not all words sound like they’re part of the Queen’s language.

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