Hindi languages
Encyclopedia
The Hindi languages, also known as Madhya and the Central Zone of the Indo-Aryan languages
, is a subset of the varieties of Hindi spoken across northern India that descend from the Madhya prakrits, and includes the official languages of India and Pakistan, Hindi and Urdu
. The coherence of this group depends on the classification being used; here we will consider only Eastern and Western Hindi.
and Eastern Hindi. This analysis excludes varieties sometimes claimed for Hindi, such as Bihari
, Rajasthani
, and Pahari
. Thus Hindi proper includes
Indo-Aryan languages
The Indo-Aryan languages constitutes a branch of the Indo-Iranian languages, itself a branch of the Indo-European language family...
, is a subset of the varieties of Hindi spoken across northern India that descend from the Madhya prakrits, and includes the official languages of India and Pakistan, Hindi and Urdu
Urdu
Urdu is a register of the Hindustani language that is identified with Muslims in South Asia. It belongs to the Indo-European family. Urdu is the national language and lingua franca of Pakistan. It is also widely spoken in some regions of India, where it is one of the 22 scheduled languages and an...
. The coherence of this group depends on the classification being used; here we will consider only Eastern and Western Hindi.
Languages
If there can be considered a consensus within the dialectology of Hindi proper, it is that it can be split into two sets of dialects: WesternWestern Hindi
Western Hindi is a group of Hindi dialects that evolved out of the Apabhramsa form of Shaurseni prakrit. According to G. A. Grierson it comprises such varieties as Haryanvi or Bangaru , Brajbhakha , Bundeli Western Hindi is a group of Hindi dialects that evolved out of the Apabhramsa form of...
and Eastern Hindi. This analysis excludes varieties sometimes claimed for Hindi, such as Bihari
Bihari languages
Bihari is a name given to the western group of Eastern Indic languages, spoken in Bihar and neighboring states in India. Angika, Bajjika, Bhojpuri, Magahi, and Maithili are spoken in Nepal as well. The Angika, Bajjika, Bhojpuri, Magahi and Maithili speaking population form more than 21% of Nepalese...
, Rajasthani
Rajasthani language
Rajasthani Rajasthani Rajasthani (Devanagari: , Perso-Arabic: is a language of the Indo-Aryan languages family. It is spoken by 50 million people in Rajasthan and other states of India and in some areas of Pakistan. The number of speakers may be up to 80 million worldwide...
, and Pahari
Pahari languages
The Pahari languages are a geographic group of Indic languages spoken in the lower ranges of the Himalayas, from Nepal in the east to the Indian states of Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh and Jammu and Kashmir in the west.-Classification:The Pahari languages fall into three groups:*Eastern, consisting...
. Thus Hindi proper includes
- Western HindiWestern HindiWestern Hindi is a group of Hindi dialects that evolved out of the Apabhramsa form of Shaurseni prakrit. According to G. A. Grierson it comprises such varieties as Haryanvi or Bangaru , Brajbhakha , Bundeli Western Hindi is a group of Hindi dialects that evolved out of the Apabhramsa form of...
(of which SauraseniSauraseniA Dramatic Prakrit, Shauraseni was the chief language used in drama in northern medieval India. Most of the material in this language originates from the 3rd to 10th centuries AD, though it was probably a spoken colloquial around the 5th century BC...
is the immediate precursor):- Braj, spoken in western Uttar PradeshUttar PradeshUttar Pradesh abbreviation U.P. , is a state located in the northern part of India. With a population of over 200 million people, it is India's most populous state, as well as the world's most populous sub-national entity...
and adjacent districts of RajasthanRajasthanRājasthān the land of Rajasthanis, , is the largest state of the Republic of India by area. It is located in the northwest of India. It encompasses most of the area of the large, inhospitable Great Indian Desert , which has an edge paralleling the Sutlej-Indus river valley along its border with...
and Hariyana. - Haryanvi or Bangaru, spoken in the states of HaryanaHaryanaHaryana is a state in India. Historically, it has been a part of the Kuru region in North India. The name Haryana is found mentioned in the 12th century AD by the apabhramsha writer Vibudh Shridhar . It is bordered by Punjab and Himachal Pradesh to the north, and by Rajasthan to the west and south...
and DelhiDelhiDelhi , officially National Capital Territory of Delhi , is the largest metropolis by area and the second-largest by population in India, next to Mumbai. It is the eighth largest metropolis in the world by population with 16,753,265 inhabitants in the Territory at the 2011 Census...
. - BundeliBundeliBundeli is a Western Hindi language spoken in the Bundelkhand region of Madhya Pradesh and in southern parts of Uttar Pradesh...
or Bundelkhandi, spoken in west-central Madhya PradeshMadhya PradeshMadhya Pradesh , often called the Heart of India, is a state in central India. Its capital is Bhopal and Indore is the largest city....
. - KannaujiKannaujiKannauji language is an Indo-Aryan language spoken in parts of the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh...
, spoken in west-central Uttar PradeshUttar PradeshUttar Pradesh abbreviation U.P. , is a state located in the northern part of India. With a population of over 200 million people, it is India's most populous state, as well as the world's most populous sub-national entity...
. - Kauravi or Vernacular Hindustani, spoken to the north and northeast of Delhi.
- Khari boli, the standard dialect, generally identified with the grammatical core of Kauravi (vernacular HindustaniHindustani languageHindi-Urdu is an Indo-Aryan language and the lingua franca of North India and Pakistan. It is also known as Hindustani , and historically, as Hindavi or Rekhta...
), but displaying features of other dialects and adjacent languages, as well as non-Indo-Aryan languages such as PersianPersian languagePersian is an Iranian language within the Indo-Iranian branch of the Indo-European languages. It is primarily spoken in Iran, Afghanistan, Tajikistan and countries which historically came under Persian influence...
. It forms the basis of the Hindustani (Hindi-Urdu) languageHindustani languageHindi-Urdu is an Indo-Aryan language and the lingua franca of North India and Pakistan. It is also known as Hindustani , and historically, as Hindavi or Rekhta...
, with its standard registerRegister (linguistics)In linguistics, a register is a variety of a language used for a particular purpose or in a particular social setting. For example, when speaking in a formal setting an English speaker may be more likely to adhere more closely to prescribed grammar, pronounce words ending in -ing with a velar nasal...
s of Modern Standard Hindi and UrduUrduUrdu is a register of the Hindustani language that is identified with Muslims in South Asia. It belongs to the Indo-European family. Urdu is the national language and lingua franca of Pakistan. It is also widely spoken in some regions of India, where it is one of the 22 scheduled languages and an...
.
- Braj, spoken in western Uttar Pradesh
- Eastern Hindi (of which Ardhamagadhi is the immediate precursor)
- Awadhi, spoken in north and north-central Uttar Pradesh and in Fiji.
- BagheliBagheliBagheli is a language of the Baghelkhand region of central India. It is often considered to be a dialect of Hindi language, and is classified such by the Indian Census Report ....
, spoken in north-central Madhya Pradesh and central Uttar Pradesh. - Chattisgarhi, spoken in southeast Madhya Pradesh and northern and central Chattisgarh.
Use in culturally non-Hindi regions in the subcontinent
- UrduUrduUrdu is a register of the Hindustani language that is identified with Muslims in South Asia. It belongs to the Indo-European family. Urdu is the national language and lingua franca of Pakistan. It is also widely spoken in some regions of India, where it is one of the 22 scheduled languages and an...
is the official language of PakistanPakistanPakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...
. Although only the native language of 7% of the population, it is nearly universal as a second language. - Bambaiya HindiBambaiya HindiMumbai Hindi or simply Mumbaiyya is a Hindi pidgin spoken in and around the city of Mumbai, India. It incorporates words and pronunciations from Hindi, Urdu, Gujarati, Marathi, Konkani and English...
, the dialect of the city of Bombay (Mumbai); it is based on HindustaniHindustani languageHindi-Urdu is an Indo-Aryan language and the lingua franca of North India and Pakistan. It is also known as Hindustani , and historically, as Hindavi or Rekhta...
but heavily influenced by MarathiMarathi languageMarathi is an Indo-Aryan language spoken by the Marathi people of western and central India. It is the official language of the state of Maharashtra. There are over 68 million fluent speakers worldwide. Marathi has the fourth largest number of native speakers in India and is the fifteenth most...
and GujaratiGujarati languageGujarati is an Indo-Aryan language, and part of the greater Indo-European language family. It is derived from a language called Old Gujarati which is the ancestor language of the modern Gujarati and Rajasthani languages...
. Technically it is a pidginPidginA pidgin , or pidgin language, is a simplified language that develops as a means of communication between two or more groups that do not have a language in common. It is most commonly employed in situations such as trade, or where both groups speak languages different from the language of the...
, i.e., neither is it a mother language of any people nor is it used in formal settings by the educated and upper social strata. However, it is often used in the movies of Hindi cinema (BollywoodBollywoodBollywood is the informal term popularly used for the Hindi-language film industry based in Mumbai , Maharashtra, India. The term is often incorrectly used to refer to the whole of Indian cinema; it is only a part of the total Indian film industry, which includes other production centers producing...
) because Mumbai is the base of the Bollywood film industry. - Dakhni, a dialect of Urdu spoken in Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh.
- Kalkatiya Hindi, a Khariboli-based pidginPidginA pidgin , or pidgin language, is a simplified language that develops as a means of communication between two or more groups that do not have a language in common. It is most commonly employed in situations such as trade, or where both groups speak languages different from the language of the...
spoken in the city of Calcutta (KolkataKolkataKolkata , formerly known as Calcutta, is the capital of the Indian state of West Bengal. Located on the east bank of the Hooghly River, it was the commercial capital of East India...
), ShillongShillong-Connectivity:Although well connected by road, Shillong has no rail connection and a proper air connection. Umroi Airport exists but has only limited flights.-Roadways:Shillong is well connected by roads with all major north eastern states...
, etc., heavily influenced by Bhojpuri and Bengali.