South Asia

===Languages===
{{Main|Languages of South Asia}}

[[File:South Asian Language Families.png|thumb|right|Ethno-linguistic distribution map of South Asia]]<imagemap>
File:States of South Asia by language.png|thumb|400px|A clickable map of the main language spoken in each state/province of South Asia excluding Afghanistan and the Maldives. Indo-Aryan languages are in green, Iranic languages in dark green, Dravidian languages in purple, and Tibeto-Burman languages in red.

rect 195 200 245 285 [[w:Sindh]]
rect 190 280 300 355 [[w:Gujarat]]
rect 90 120 235 300 [[w:Balochistan, Pakistan]]
rect 235 120 335 190 [[w:Punjab]]
rect 230 50 290 180 [[w:Khyber Pakhtunkhwa]]
rect 255 230 530 330 [[w:Hindi belt]]
rect 325 120 395 275 [[w:Hindi belt]]
rect 290 50 410 170 [[w:Kashmir]]
rect 540 165 605 240 [[w:Bhutan]]
rect 410 160 535 250 [[w:Nepal]]
rect 530 250 600 345 [[w:Bengal]]
rect 535 155 700 330 [[w:Northeast India]]
rect 350 390 440 490 [[w:Telugu states]]
rect 280 350 400 415 [[w:Maharashtra]]
rect 440 330 550 400 [[w:Odisha]]
rect 290 430 350 540 [[w:Karnataka]]
rect 290 540 345 620 [[w:Kerala]]
rect 325 500 395 590 [[w:Tamil Nadu]]
rect 390 550 440 580 [[w:Sri Lankan Tamils]]
rect 390 580 460 720 [[w:Sinhalese people]]
</imagemap>There are numerous languages in South Asia. The spoken languages of the region are largely based on geography and shared across religious boundaries, but the written script is sharply divided by religious boundaries. In particular, Muslims of South Asia such as in Afghanistan and Pakistan use the Arabic alphabet and Persian [[Nastaʿlīq script|Nastaliq]]. Till 1952, Muslim-majority Bangladesh (then known as East Pakistan) also mandated only the Nastaliq script, but after that adopted regional scripts and particularly Bengali, after the [[Bengali language movement|Language Movement]] for the adoption of Bengali as the official language of the then East Pakistan. Non-Muslims of South Asia, and some Muslims in India, on the other hand, use scripts such as those derived from [[Brahmi script]] for Indo-European languages and non-Brahmi scripts for [[Dravidian languages]] and others.{{sfn|Bhatia|2008|pp=122–127}}{{sfn|Pandharipande|2008|pp=419–423}}

The [[Nagari script]] has been the ''[[primus inter pares]]'' of the traditional South Asian scripts.<ref name=george>{{cite book |first1=George |last1=Cardona |first2=Dhanesh |last2=Jain |date=2003 |title=The Indo-Aryan Languages |publisher=Routledge |pages=75–77 |isbn=978-0-415-77294-5}}</ref> The [[Devanagari]] script is used for over 120 South Asian languages,<ref name=devasilusa>
[http://scriptsource.org/cms/scripts/page.php?item_id=script_detail&key=Deva Devanagari (Nagari)] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170702003440/http://scriptsource.org/cms/scripts/page.php?item_id=script_detail&key=Deva |date=2 July 2017 }}, Script Features and Description, [[SIL International]] (2013), United States
</ref> including [[Hindi]],<ref>
[http://www.omniglot.com/writing/hindi.htm Hindi] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120528075558/http://www.omniglot.com/writing/hindi.htm |date=28 May 2012 }}, Omniglot Encyclopedia of Writing Systems and Languages
</ref> [[Marathi language|Marathi]], [[Nepali language|Nepali]], [[Pali]], [[Konkani language|Konkani]], [[Bodo language|Bodo]], [[Sindhi language|Sindhi]] and [[Maithili language|Maithili]] among other languages and dialects, making it one of the most used and [[List of writing systems by adoption|adopted writing systems]] in the world.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.omniglot.com/language/articles/devanagari.htm|title=Devanagari script|publisher=Omniglot|first=David|last=Templin|access-date=5 April 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150401062015/http://www.omniglot.com/language/articles/devanagari.htm|archive-date=1 April 2015|url-status=live}}</ref> The Devanagari script is also used for classical Sanskrit texts.<ref name=devasilusa/>

The largest spoken language in this region is [[Hindustani language]], followed by Bengali, Telugu, Tamil, Marathi, Gujarati, Kannada, and Punjabi.{{sfn|Bhatia|2008|pp=122–127}}{{sfn|Pandharipande|2008|pp=419–423}} In the modern era, new syncretic languages developed in the region such as [[Urdu]] that are used by the Muslim community of [[northern South Asia]] (particularly Pakistan and northern states of India).<ref>
Shamsur Rahman Faruqi (2008), [http://www.columbia.edu/itc/mealac/pritchett/00fwp/srf/srf_symcretism_2008.pdf Urdu Literary Culture: The Syncretic Tradition] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121026133552/http://www.columbia.edu/itc/mealac/pritchett/00fwp/srf/srf_symcretism_2008.pdf |date=26 October 2012 }}, Shibli Academy, Azamgarh
</ref> The Punjabi language spans three religions: Islam, Hinduism, and Sikhism. The spoken language is similar, but it is written in three scripts. The [[Sikhs|Sikh]] use [[Gurmukhi alphabet]], [[Muslim Punjabi]]s in [[Pakistan]] use the Nastaliq script, while [[Hindu Punjabi]]s in India use the Gurmukhi or [[Nāgarī script]]. The Gurmukhi and Nagari scripts are distinct but close in their structure, but the Persian Nastaliq script is very different.<ref name="Bright1996p395">{{cite book|first1=Peter T.|last1=Daniels|first2=William|last2=Bright|title=The World's Writing Systems |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ospMAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA395 |year=1996|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=978-0-19-507993-7|page=395}}</ref>

[[Sino-Tibetan]] languages are spoken across northern belts of the region in the [[Himalayas|Himalayan]] areas, often using the [[Tibetan script]].<ref name="BRILL">{{cite book |last1=Zielser |first1=B |last2=Turin |first2=M |title=Himalayan Languages and Linguistics: Studies in Phonology, Semantics, Morphology and Syntax |date=21 April 2011 |publisher=BRILL |isbn=978-90-04-19448-9 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=5MoDCJP3VPUC |access-date=19 February 2023}}</ref> These languages are predominantly spoken in Bhutan and Nepal as well as parts of Burma and northern India in the state of [[Sikkim]] and the [[Ladakh]] region.<ref name="Walter de Gruyter">{{cite book |last1=Saxena |first1=A |title=Himalayan Languages: Past and Present |date=2004 |publisher=Walter de Gruyter |isbn=978-3-11-017841-8 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=gdqy7PKHUXQC |access-date=12 January 2022}}</ref> The national language of Bhutan is [[Dzongkha]], while [[Lepcha language|Lepcha]], [[Limbu language|Limbu]], [[Gurung]], [[Magar language|Magar]], [[Rai languages|Rai]], [[Newar language|Newari]], [[Tamang language|Tamang]], [[Tshangla]], [[Thakali language|Thakali]] and [[Sikkimese language|Sikkimese]] are also spoken in Bhutan, Nepal and Sikkim, and [[Ladakhi language|Ladakhi]] is spoken in Ladakh.<ref name="Walter de Gruyter"/> Both [[Buddhism]] and [[Bon]] are often predominant in areas where these languages are present.<ref name="Walter de Gruyter"/><ref name="BRILL"/> Some areas in [[Gilgit-Baltistan]] also speak [[Balti language]], however speakers write with the [[Urdu alphabet|Urdu script]].<ref name="BRILL"/> The Tibetan script fell out of use in Pakistani [[Baltistan]] hundreds of years ago upon the region's adoption of [[Islam]]<ref name="BRILL"/>

English, with British spelling, is commonly used in urban areas and is a major economic [[lingua franca]] of South Asia.{{sfn|Bhatia|Baumgardner|2008|pp=391–394}}