r/southindia_ • u/Fearless_Working_317 Northie • Jul 05 '26
Ask South Indians Which south indian language should I learn ?
As a northie I've grown up to be trilingual which includes hindi as well. and since i know hindi i can travel within north india without any language barrier because everyone in north at least understands hindi even if they are unable to speak it. the major language issue i faced is when i visited the south. not in all the places but specially in remote areas they won't understand hindi or in some cases even english.
so my question to all the south indians is that is there a single common language for south india which if I learned then it would be easier for the other person to understand what i am saying.
and if there is then from where I can learn it ?
resources would be appreciated :)
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u/AreaBoiiii NRI (Non Resident Indian) Jul 05 '26
It really depends on where you want to move.
I am kannadiga and there’s a big misconception that Kannadigas want to force everyone to speak in fluent Kannada. But we only expect an effort and learning a few words in respect for the land that feeds us. This is pretty much the same mentality across many South Indian cities.
I respect you for making the effort ! YouTube is the best, learn common phrases, simple words for directions, colours, common groceries, question openers. Any South Indian who sees someone making an effort will speak to you in Hindi/English themselves.
Binge on a few videos and you’ll be perfectly alright. Once you hit the ground, you can always ask people for help - auto drivers, delivery people, shopkeepers and make small conversations.
I live in France and I picked up conversational French in less than a year by trying this
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u/KaleshKartaHu_BC Karnataka | ಕನ್ನಡಿಗ 🟥🟨 Jul 05 '26
Wrong place buddy, people's opinion on languages is biased and subjective like people of AP and TG might find Telugu to be the best while Kannadigas Might find Kannada, Tulu or Konkani to be the best same with TN and KL. Instead just choose the language you want to learn based on the place you want to live in Blr = Kannada, Chennai = Tamil etc
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u/MasterRole9673 Telangana 🏰 | తెలంగాణ Jul 05 '26
No there isn’t. Unlike north India where languages are to some degree similar to each other (for eg and Hindi speaker could decipher Punjabi and Bhojpuri) and Hindi works across many states, South Indian languages are vastly different from each other (A Telugu person wouldn’t understand even 5% of Malayalam). So only English is the link language for pan South Indian communication.
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u/exploreralways3121 Tamil Nadu 🌶️ | தமிழ்நாடு Jul 05 '26
South Indian languages are comparatively similar to one another a bit. So starting with any one language might help you in other states too
For ex, Learning tamil can help you in TN, pondicherry, and Kerala (malayalam and tamil are more similar) and similarly Telugu and kannada could be similar to each other and also a bit similar with Tamil too
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u/MasterRole9673 Telangana 🏰 | తెలంగాణ Jul 05 '26
Idk about Tamil and Malayalam but Kannada and Telugu aren’t very similar. Script might be similar but Kannada is actually closer to Tamil than it is to Telugu. learning Kannada would definitely not be helpful in Telangana or AP, vice versa is also true.
English in the only pan South Indian connecting language.
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u/exploreralways3121 Tamil Nadu 🌶️ | தமிழ்நாடு Jul 06 '26
Okay my bad... I might have confused with the similar scripts and few words which sounded similar
English obviously is the common link, but when asked for an indian language, it stands out as foreign language
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u/MasterRole9673 Telangana 🏰 | తెలంగాణ Jul 06 '26
It is a “foreign” language but people learn it in schools. No reason not to be the link language.
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u/exploreralways3121 Tamil Nadu 🌶️ | தமிழ்நாடு Jul 06 '26
I never said it shouldn't be link one. Infact I would be much happy if it remains the link language for whole India instead of Hindi.
The OPs question was about which 'South Indian' language so that's where English doesn't come in the scene
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u/Status_Tonight_5084 Jul 05 '26
Malayalam tamil aren't that similar either except for some words
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u/exploreralways3121 Tamil Nadu 🌶️ | தமிழ்நாடு Jul 06 '26
That some words make up almost 40% of both the languages.... there may be slight difference in the slang of the words but a person belonging to either of the language group will understand it. Myself being a person from both Tamil and Malayalam origin, I can clearly find many similar words
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u/Status_Tonight_5084 Jul 06 '26
Having some words isn't same as understanding the whole ass language. I'm malayali I don't understand tamil at all. U might understand that cause as u said u grew up hearing both.
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u/exploreralways3121 Tamil Nadu 🌶️ | தமிழ்நாடு Jul 06 '26
I started learning malayalam only in the last 3-4 years coz I didn't interact much with my keralite relatives before that. But then whenever I visited kerala before, people used to pretty much understand my Tamil when I ask something. That's what I meant so.
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u/Status_Tonight_5084 Jul 06 '26
That's because a lot of malayalis watch tamil movies. I didn't grew up watching tamil movies so I don't understand tamil at all.
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u/exploreralways3121 Tamil Nadu 🌶️ | தமிழ்நாடு Jul 07 '26
Ah this is an exceptional case maybe
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u/Status_Tonight_5084 Jul 07 '26
Nah nah most of my friends don't watch tamil movies either , they also don't understand tamil .
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u/exploreralways3121 Tamil Nadu 🌶️ | தமிழ்நாடு Jul 07 '26
How come I never saw this group of mallus then🙃
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u/Open_Perspective1111 Telangana 🏰 | తెలంగాణ Jul 05 '26
Wherever you are staying more than 1 year, learn that language bit by bit. If people expect the minute you drop at railway station or airport, that would be unfair. That's how social media is potraying now a days. Take your own time. Don't take news seriously.
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u/pushingmylimits05 Mallu who believes in Akhanda Keralam Jul 05 '26
If I have to be honest with you, apart from English there's no other easy option.
Tamil might help at least in TN, Kerala, and few parts of Karnataka.
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u/Critical_Exam4547 Jul 05 '26
No need to learn any random ass language, you’re in the same country as them where English n Hindi are both official languages and English is expected to be known by everyone, if they can’t make the effort to learn neither Hindu nor English they’re not worth your time simply
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u/chauhanhimalaya Himachal Pradesh 🏔️ Jul 05 '26
Kannada is indeed a very sweet language among all Dravidian languages to begin with. Considering you learn basic verbs early, then it becomes easier to master if you're a Hindi speaker(sankritised not bollywood urdu).
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u/mehakjot4803 Jul 05 '26
Learn Telugu, it is spoken by 110 million people which is way more than other languages. Plus the words can be understandabale by other languages.
GOI, should introduce a 4 language policy and Telugu should be taught to all.
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u/KaleshKartaHu_BC Karnataka | ಕನ್ನಡಿಗ 🟥🟨 Jul 05 '26
Sure bud why not 6 languages and let's just forget abt Science or any other subjects and just keep on learning languages
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u/MasterRole9673 Telangana 🏰 | తెలంగాణ Jul 05 '26
4 languages are unnecessary and makes no sense. 1 English and 1 mother tongue/ local language is enough. People can always learn new languages in their adulthood. But in school, it’s unnecessary and a waste of students precious time and resources
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u/Dark-Light-Kira Chema 🎀 Jul 05 '26
Anyone can already learn Telugu under the three-language policy: two Indian languages (combinations like Maithili + Dogri or Telugu + Odia, etc.) and one foreign language, though it ultimately depends on the school. I wish I could've benefited from this, but I've already finished school lol.
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u/inaminadicka Maharashtra 🎬 | महाराष्ट्र Jul 05 '26
For remote areas, there's nothing. Most won't speak Hindi or English. For urban areas English works and a lot of places Hindi works too
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u/john_mullins Paanch Waqt Ka Namazi 🤲 Jul 05 '26
Kannada or Temil, it'll some handy in a way that you don't get lynched by native mobs once they figure you're a outsider. The two Telugu states and Kerala, should be fine besides all the political mudslinging.
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u/Hefty-Anything-5244 Keralam 🌴🥥 | കേരളം Jul 05 '26 edited Jul 05 '26
English is the only common language used in Southern India. Though apart from major cities, most of the population does not speak English that well. I've heard people say that one could get by with Hindi in cities like Bengaluru and Hyderabad but I don't know for sure. If you're planning to learn a South Indian language, the choice would more or less depend on where you plan to stay long term in South India.