3rd & 4th most useful language in India

Z.J.J   Fri Jul 31, 2009 6:57 am GMT
Besides English and Hindi (Urdu), which languages are the third & fourth most important (useful) in India? Thanks!
blanc   Fri Jul 31, 2009 8:44 am GMT
3rd: Bengali

4th: don't know
guest   Sun Aug 09, 2009 2:17 am GMT
3rd: Bengali, because it is the second most spoken native language in India, and also has an enormous number of speakers in neighbouring Bangladesh

4th: Tamil, because it is spoken by a large number of people who are unlikely to speak either Hindi or English, and it is a politically and culturally important language for southern India and parts of Sri Lanka, as well as a large diaspora around the world


Marathi and Telugu both have more native speakers than Tamil - but many Marathis speak either Hindi or English, or both, and you just don't hear as much about Telugu as Tamil, it seems to carry less weight.
SJF   Tue Aug 11, 2009 1:52 am GMT
Panjabi. In Old Delhi, you can see it everywhere.