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Many different languages are spoken in India. There are about 15 officially
recognised languages and many hundreds of other languages and dialects.
Hindi is the official language and is spoken by half the population.
As a result of its historical connection with Britain, English is still
the linking language and is used in government offices, many areas of
commerce and in many schools. English is often spoken between better-educated
Indians and wherever you travel in India, you will find someone who
speaks it.
The village of K.V.Kuppam
has grown up along the road, and is larger than its neighbours. It has
the secondary schools for the surrounding villages, and the market (called
in Tamil a ‘Sanday’ but held on a Monday).
The population of the K.V.Kuppam administrative block is approximately
120,000 and the population of the village is over 5000 and still growing.
They normally speak Tamil which is one of the oldest languages in the
world.
In K.V.Kuppam the children are taught English as their second language,
and if they travel elsewhere in India they may only be able to communicate
using English. As many have only a very rudimentary knowledge of English
this is a great disadvantage to them. Because K.V.Kuppam is close to
the border with the state of Andra Pradesh which is Telegu speaking,
many people also speak Telegu.
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