| Awadhi | |
|---|---|
| ? , ? | |
| 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 |  Fiji (as Fiji Hindi) Nepal |
| Language codes | |
awa | |
awa | |
| Glottolog | awad1243[5] |
Awadhi (Devanagari, Kaithi )is a major dialect of the Eastern Hindi branch of Indo-Aryan languages spoken in northern India. [6][7] It is primarily spoken in the Awadh region of present day Uttar Pradesh, India. [6]The name Awadh () is connected to Ayodhya, the ancient town, which is regarded as the homeland of ?r? R?ma.
It was, along with Braj Bhasha, used widely as a literary vehicle before being ousted by Hindustani is the 19th century. [8]
The dialect is also referred as P?rb? literally meaning eastern, as well as Baisw?ri.[6][9]
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.[10][11]
Literature
Quite a few important literary works were composed in the language[12][13], 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.[16][17] The districts include:
- Allahabad (including Kaushambi)
- Basti
- Faizabad (in parts, including Ambedkar Nagar)
- West Jaunpur
- Kheri
- Sitapur
- Hardoi
- Lucknow
- Unnao
- Fatehpur
- 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.[18] 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.[19][20] The 2009 Bollywood movie Dev.D featured an Awadhi song 'Paayaliya' composed by Amit Trivedi.[21] In the television series Yudh, Amitabh Bachchan spoke parts of his dialogue in Awadhi which received critical acclaim from Hindustan times.[22]
Sample Phrases
Here are some sample phrases:
| Awadhi | English Translation | Modern Standard Hindi |
|---|---|---|
| IPA?ã: ko: or kn
Devanagari: ? / |
Who were there? | ? |
| IPA? lka: d?e:ki: s?n?i: m? i:k h?i:
Devanagari: ? ? ? |
This boy is fine in seeing and hearing. | |
| IPA: so: ha:? h?m e:k ?:r?t? k? d?e: d?i:n? | That necklace, I gave away to a woman. | , |
| IPA: e:ku? j?na: a:wa: h | One person has arrived. | ? ? |
| IPA: do: d? so: ma:r k
Devanagri? ? |
Those who will go will be beaten. | ? |
| IPA: kn la:o: to:?a: k?a:? le:i: to:?a: j?hu k? d d?e:i:
Devangari: ?, , ? |
(She) said, let (me) eat a little and give a little to this one too. | (?) , (?) ? - |
| IPA: c?j?n p ch?r:a: n? c?la:o:
Devanagari: ? |
Do not fire shot at the birds. | ? |
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 .
- ^ 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 .
- ^ Hammarström, Harald; Forkel, Robert; Haspelmath, Martin, eds. (2017). "Awadhi". Glottolog 3.0. Jena, Germany: Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History.
- ^ 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 Hind? Language. pp. 12-13.
- ^ "Historical dictionary of Medieval India".
- ^ "Columbia University".
- ^ Evolution of Awadhi (a Branch of Hindi). pp. 1-2.
- ^ Linguistic Survey Of India Vol. 6. p. 10.
- ^ "Fiji Hindi". Ethnologue. Retrieved 2017.
- ^ "rediff.com, Movies: Exclusive!!! Aamir Khan on the sets of Lagaan". www.rediff.com. Retrieved .
- ^ "'Lagaan: Just perfect' - Times of India". The Times of India. Retrieved .
- ^ "Making music, from Aamir to Dev D". www.rediff.com. Retrieved .
- ^ "Yudh review: Amitabh Bachchan's show limps back to sluggish pace - Hindustan Times". 2014-08-02. Retrieved .
External links
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