The language, Oriya or Odiya (as pronounced in Orissa) is spoken by 87% of the population of Orissa. There are also significant Oriya-speaking populations in other linguistic regions, such as the Midnapur District of West Bengal and the Saraikela Kharsawan District of Jharkhand. Due to the increasing migration of labour, the West Indian state of Gujarat also has a significant Oriya speaking population.

Oriya is a rich and powerful language and like other Indian languages have the advantage of being a lingua phonic, where the alphabets are phonetically used to form words. Oriya language consists of syllabic alphabets in which all consonants have an inherent vowel. Diacritics, which can appear above, below, before or after the consonant they belong to, are used to change the inherent vowel. When they appear the beginning of a syllable, vowels are written as independent letters. When certain consonants occur together, special conjunct symbols are used which combine the essential parts of each letter. Direction of writing is left to right in horizontal line.

Oriya is an Eastern Indo-Aryan language belonging to the Indo-Aryan language family. However, during the 17th and 18th centuries it followed a new line of approach. The Oriya script, descending from Brahmi script, has been given the round or Dravidian finish, probably during the reign of the Ganga kings. The shape was admirably adapted to writing on processed palm leaves with an iron stylus.

The history of Oriya language is divided into Old Oriya (10th century-1300), Early Middle Oriya (1300-1500), Middle Oriya (1500-1700), Late Middle Oriya (1700-1850) and Modern Oriya (1850 till present day.

20th century Oriya literature mirrors devotional, peaceful and artistic image of the Oriya people who have offered and gifted much to the Indian civilization in the field of art and literature.