Duolingo, the world’s most popular language-learning app, conducted research in India in association with YouGov, an international data and analytics group, in an attempt to find out the mother tongue capabilities of Indians.
With great pride in local heritage and traditions, it is customary for most Indian families to speak in multiple languages – with a major focus on their mother tongues. Even those families that migrate to metro cities in search of better opportunities retain and pass on a working knowledge of their parent language. This was evident from the survey, where 82% of respondents said they were very fluent in speaking their mother tongue, while 75% said they could fluently read and write as well, the report said.
When asked if they were willing to invest time in learning more of their mother tongue, 51% of respondents replied in the affirmative. 29% said that they were already fluent; while a mere 20% showcased no interest in investing more time learning their mother tongue.
Commenting on this growing affinity towards native languages, Country Marketing Manager, Duolingo India, Karandeep Singh Kapany said,
“Community plays an integral role in Indian societies, making language a bridge that allows seamless sharing of ideas, emotions, and values, even beyond immediate families. It is encouraging to see Indians willing to invest time and energy in delving deeper and mastering their mother tongue, which enables them to stay connected to their roots and communicate more meaningfully in regional dialects.”
The survey was conducted with 1,013 Indian respondents across 10 key Indian cities including Mumbai, Delhi, Bangalore, Chennai, Kolkata, Hyderabad, Jaipur, Pune, Ahmedabad, and Lucknow. The gender split was 50:50 and the age groups considered in the research were between 18 to 50 years.
Duolingo is the most popular language-learning platform and the most downloaded education app worldwide. The app makes learning new languages fun with bite-sized lessons that feel like playing a game. The company’s mission is to develop the best education in the world and make it universally available. Duolingo offers over 100 total courses across 40 distinct languages, from Spanish, French, German, and Japanese, to Klingon.
