Gujarati is one the 22 languages officially recognized by the Government of India. An Indo-Aryan language, it is spoken in Gujarat, a prosperous and colorful state in western India.

It is the official language of the state of Gujarat.

The Gujarātī script was adapted from the Devanāgarī script to write the Gujarātī language. Until the 19th century it was used mainly for writing letters and keeping accounts, while the Devanāgarī script was used for literature and academic purposes. Little wonder then that the Gujarātī script is also known as the śarāphi (banker's), vāṇiāśāi (merchant's) or mahājani (trader's) script. Unlike some of the other Nagari scripts, Gujarati is written without the horizontal line on top of letters and words.

Gujarati has 36 consonants and 13 vowels. Two new vowels for æ and ɒ have been incorporated in modern Gujarati with the assimilation of certain English words. Of the 36 consonants, two are extinct, so in effect there are 34 consonants Unlike most modern languages, it has three genders.

It is widely spoken by over 46 million people in India, and by several more among the Indian Diaspora in North America, England, Africa and elsewhere. In Pakistan it is even recognized as a minority language.

Gujarat might originally have been the land of the Gujars, an agrarian community who settled in the region, sometime in the 5th century.

Today, Gujaratis are basically a business community. Gujaratis from coastal Saurashtra and Kutchh were some of the earliest seafarers who travelled abroad for trade and commerce over 200 years ago. Wherever they settled, they flourished, while they carried forward their language and cultural traditions in those faraway lands.

Gujarati is a language that is relatively easy to learn. The practical Gujarati mind is less rigid about rules of the language. Hence there is flexibility in grammar, spelling as well as assimilation of words from diverse languages. The vocabulary is relatively small and it delves into its parent language Sanskrit, to express complex thought and scientific concepts.

Economic stability and benevolent royal patronage are two basic factors which nurture fine arts and literature. And Gujarat was fortunate to enjoy both these since the early 12th century. Later the Moghul rule saw the Golden era of devotional poetry. Modern Gujarati literature took off in the 19th century with the likes of Dalpatram, Narmad, Kant, Kalapi, Meghani and Munshi to name but a few.