Awadhi language
Awadhi | |
---|---|
अवधी | |
Native to | India, Nepal, Fiji (as Fijian Hindustani)[1] |
Region | Awadh and Lower Doab regions in Uttar Pradesh and Nepal and adjacent areas of neighboring states |
Ethnicity | Awadhis |
Native speakers | 4 million in India[2] (2011 census)[1] 500,000 in Nepal (2011 census)[3] Census results conflate most Indian speakers with Hindi.[4] |
Dialects | |
Devanagari, Kaithi, Perso-Arabic | |
Official status | |
Official language in | ![]() ![]() |
Language codes | |
ISO 639-2 | awa |
ISO 639-3 | awa |
Glottolog | awad1243 |
Awadhi (Devanagari: अवधी) is a major dialect of Eastern Hindi branch of Indo-Aryan languages spoken in northern India. [5][6] It is primarily spoken in the Awadh (Avadh) region of present day Uttar Pradesh, India. [5] The name Awadh is connected to Ayodhya, the ancient town, which is regarded as the homeland of Śrī Rāma.
It was, along with Braj Bhasha, used widely as a literary vehicle before being ousted by Hindustani is the 19th century. [7]
The dialect is also referred as Pūrbī literally meaning eastern, as well as Baiswāri.[5][8]
Origin
In early Prakrit era, Awadhi speaking region was surrounded by Sauraseni spoken on its west and Magadhi on its east. This led to emergence of a Prakrit partly taking character of Sauraseni and partly that of Magadhi giving rise to Ardhamagadhi Prakrit or 'Half-Magadhi. Awadhi descends from the same Ardhamagadhi Prakrit.[9][10]
Literature
Quite a few important literary works were composed in the language[11][12], namely:
- Ramcharitmanas (popularly known as ‘Ramayana’) by Tulsidas (1575 A.D.)
- Hanuman Chalisa by Tulsidas.
- Indravati by Nur Muhammad (1757 A.D.)
Geographical Distribution
In India
Awadhi is predominantly spoken in the Awadh region encompassing central Uttar Pradesh along with lower portion of Ganga-Yamuna doab.[15][16] The districts include:
- Allahabad (including Kaushambi)
- Faizabad (in parts, including Ambedkar Nagar)
- West Jaunpur
- Kheri
- Sitapur
- Hardoi
- Lucknow
- Unnao
- Fatehpur
- North Mirzapur
- Rae-Bareli
- Barabanki
- Sultanpur
- Bahraich
- Shravasti
- Pratapgarh
In Nepal
It's spoken mainly in Province No. 5 where Awadhi is an official language alongside Nepali.
Outside South Asia
A form of Awadhi is also spoken as a lingua franca for Indians in Fiji. Fiji Hindi is an older Awadhi dialect that was influenced by other Indian dialects, but retains most grammatical features of Awadhi.[17] Another form of Awadhi, known as Caribbean Hindustani is spoken in countries like Guyana, Suriname, Trinidad and Tobago, and other countries in the Caribbean. It is a mix of Bhojpuri, Awadhi, and other Indian dialects.
Popular culture
In 2001 Bollywood movie Lagaan, a neutralised form of Awadhi language was used to make it understandable to the masses.[18][19] The 2009 Bollywood movie Dev.D featured an Awadhi song 'Paayaliya' composed by Amit Trivedi.[20] In the television series Yudh, Amitabh Bachchan spoke parts of his dialogue in Awadhi which received critical acclaim from Hindustan times.[21]
Sample Phrases
Here are some sample phrases:
Awadhi | English Translation | Modern Standard Hindi |
---|---|---|
IPA: ɦʊãː koː or kəʊn ɾəɦəĩ
Devanagari: हुआँ को/कउन रहैं? |
Who were there? | वहाँ कौन थे? |
IPA: ɪʊ lʌɾɪkaː d̪eːkʰʌiː sʊnʌiː mə ʈʰiːk hʌiː
Devanagari: इउ लरिका देखई सुनई म ठीक है। |
This boy is fine in seeing and hearing. | यह लड़का देखने सुनने में ठीक है। |
IPA: soː haːɾ hʌm eːk ɔːrət̪ kə d̪eː d̪iːnɦ
Devanagari: सो हार, हम एक औरत का दे दीन्ह। |
That necklace, I gave away to a woman. | वह हार, मैंने एक औरत को दिया। |
IPA: eːku̥ jʌnaː aːwaː hʌɪ
Devanagari: एकउ जना आवा है। |
One person has arrived. | एक व्यक्ति आ गया है। |
IPA: d͡ʒoː d͡ʒʌɪɦʌĩ soː maːrʊ̥ kʰʌɪɦʌĩ
Devanagri: जो जइहैं सो मारउ खइहैं। |
Those who will go will be beaten. | जो जाएंगे उन्हें पीटा जाएगा। |
IPA: kʌɦɪn laːoː t̪ʰoːɽaː kʰaːɪ leːiː t̪ʰoːɽaː jʌhu kɘ d̪ʌɪ d̪eːiː
Devangari: कहिन, लाओ थोड़ा खाई लेई, थोड़ा यहु का दै देई। |
(She) said, let (me) eat a little and give a little to this one too. | (उसने) कहा, चल (मुझे) थोड़ा खाने दे और इसे भी थोड़ा-सा दे। |
IPA: cɪɾʌɪjʌn pʌɾ chʌrːaː nə cʌlaːoː
Devanagari: चिरइयन पर छर्रा न चलाओ। |
Do not fire shot at the birds. | पक्षियों पर छर्रा ना चला। |
See also
- Awadh
- Languages of India
- Languages with official status in India
- List of Indian languages by total speakers
- Fijian Hindustani
- Caribbean Hindustani
References
- ^ a b Awadhi at Ethnologue (16th ed., 2009)
- ^ "Statement 1: Abstract of speakers' strength of languages and mother tongues - 2011". www.censusindia.gov.in. Office of the Registrar General & Census Commissioner, India. Retrieved 7 July 2018.
- ^ http://unstats.un.org/unsd/demographic/sources/census/wphc/Nepal/Nepal-Census-2011-Vol1.pdf
- ^ "Census of India: Abstract of speakers' strength of languages and mother tongues –2001". Censusindia.gov.in. Retrieved 2 March 2015.
- ^ a b c Evolution of Awadhi (a Branch of Hindi). p. 1.
- ^ Linguistic Survery Of India Specimens Of The Eastern Hindi Language Vol.6. p. 1.
- ^ Evolution Of Awadhi. p. 11.
- ^ Linguistic Survery Of India Specimens Of The Eastern Hindi Language Vol.6. p. 10.
- ^ Linguistic Survery Of India Specimens Of The Eastern Hindi Language Vol.6. p. 2.
- ^ Patterns of Regional Geography: Indian perspective. p. 127.
- ^ Saxena, Baburam. Evolution of Awadhi (a Branch of Hindi). pp. 11–12.
- ^ Grierson. Indo-Aryan Family. Mediate Group. Specimens of the Eastern Hindī Language. pp. 12–13.
- ^ "Historical dictionary of Medieval India".
{{cite web}}
: Cite has empty unknown parameter:|dead-url=
(help) - ^ "Columbia University".
{{cite web}}
: Cite has empty unknown parameter:|dead-url=
(help) - ^ Evolution of Awadhi (a Branch of Hindi). pp. 1–2.
- ^ Linguistic Survey Of India Vol. 6. p. 10.
- ^ "Fiji Hindi". Ethnologue. Retrieved 26 November 2017.
- ^ "rediff.com, Movies: Exclusive!!! Aamir Khan on the sets of Lagaan". www.rediff.com. Retrieved 16 September 2018.
- ^ "'Lagaan: Just perfect' - Times of India". The Times of India. Retrieved 16 September 2018.
- ^ "Making music, from Aamir to Dev D". www.rediff.com. Retrieved 5 September 2018.
- ^ "Yudh review: Amitabh Bachchan's show limps back to sluggish pace - Hindustan Times". 2 August 2014. Retrieved 16 September 2018.
External links
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/99/Wiktionary-logo-en-v2.svg/40px-Wiktionary-logo-en-v2.svg.png)