Bhojpuri language

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Bhojpuri
भोजपुरी bhōjpurī
Bhojpuri word in devanagari script.jpg
The word "Bhojpuri" in Devanagari script
Pronunciation /boʊdʒˈpʊəri/[1]
Native to India and Nepal
Region Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, and Jharkhand in India and Madhesh in Nepal
Ethnicity Bhojpuri people
Native speakers
 40 million (2001 census)[2]
Census results conflate most speakers with Hindi.[3]
Devanagari (present), Kaithi (Historical)[4]
Official status
Official language in
    Nepal
 Fiji (as Fiji Hindi)
Language codes
ISO 639-2 bho
ISO 639-3 bho – inclusive code
Individual code:
hns – Caribbean Hindustani
Glottolog bhoj1246[5]
Linguasphere 59-AAF-sa
This article contains IPA phonetic symbols. Without proper rendering support, you may see question marks, boxes, or other symbols instead of Unicode characters.

Bhojpuri (Devanagari: भोजपुरी <phonos file="hi-Bhojpuri.ogg">listen</phonos>) is an Indo-Aryan language spoken in the Northern-Eastern part of India and Terai region of Nepal.[4] It is chiefly spoken in eastern Uttar Pradesh, western Bihar, and in extreme north-western part of Jharkhand in India.[6] Bhojpuri is one of the recognized national languages of Nepal and has official status in Fiji as Fiji Hindi. It is also a recognized language in Trinidad and Tobago, Guyana, Suriname, and Mauritius.[7][8]

Bhojpuri is also spoken in Pakistan, Jamaica, Belize, other parts of the Caribbean and South Africa.

The variant of Bhojpuri of the Indo-Surinamese is also referred to as Sarnami Hindustani, Sarnami Hindi or just Sarnami[9] and has experienced considerable Sranan Tongo Creole and Dutch lexical influence. More[which?] Indians in Suriname know Bhojpuri. In Mauritius a dialect of Bhojpuri remains in use, and it is locally called Bojpury. The day-to-day usage of the language in Mauritius is dropping and today, it is spoken by less than 5% of the population, according to latest census.[10]


Location

Bhojpuri speaking region is bounded by the Awadhi-speaking region to the west, Nepali speaking region to the north, Magahi- and Maithili-speaking regions to the east, and Magahi- and Bagheli-speaking regions to the south.[4]

 Nepali, Nepal Bhasa Nepali Nepali
Awadhi Maithili
  Bhojpuri  
Bagheli, Bundeli Magadhi, Bagheli Magadhi

Writing system

File:Kaithi2.png
Bhojpuri story written in Kaithi script, written by Babu Rama Smaran Lal in 1898

Bhojpuri was historically written in Kaithi scripts,[4] but since 1894, Devanagari has served as the primary script.

Kaithi script was used for administrative purposes in the Mughal era for writing Bhojpuri, Awadhi, Maithili, Urdu, Magahi and Hindi from at least the 16th century up to the first decade of the 20th century. Government gazetteers report that Kaithi was used in a few districts of Bihar through the 1960s. Bhojpuri residents of India, who signed up and moved as indentured labour in Africa and the Caribbean colonies of the British Empire in 19th century and early 20th century, used Kaithi as well as Devanagari scripts.[7]

By 1894, official texts in Bihar were written in Kaithi and Devanagari. At present almost all Bhojpuri texts are written in Devanagari even in the overseas islands where Bhojpuri is spoken. For example, in Mauritius, both Kaithi and Devanagari scripts have been in use since the arrival of Bhojpuri people from India. The Kathi script was considered informal in Mauritius, with the structure of Kaithi similar to Devanagari (spelled Devanagri in Mauritius). In modern Mauritius, Bhojpuri script is Devanagari.[11]

Phonology

Vowels

Bhojpuri vowels[12]
Front Central Back
Close i ɪ u
Close-mid e ə o
Open-mid ɔ
Open æ ɑ

Consonants

Bhojpuri consonants[12]
Bilabial Labiodental Dental Alveolar Retroflex Palatal Velar Glottal
Nasal m n ɳ ɲ ŋ
Stop voiceless p t̪ ʈ tʃ k
voiced b d̪ ɖ dʒ ɡ
aspirated pʰ t̪ʰ ʈʰ tʃʰ kʰ
breathy voiced bʱ d̪ʱ ɖʱ dʒʱ ɡʱ
Fricative s h
Rhotic plain ɾ ɽ
aspirated ɾʱ ɽʱ
Approximant ʋ l j


Sociolinguistics

Bhojpuri is, sociolinguistically, one of the seven Hindi languages (Haryanvi, Braj, Awadhi, Bhojpuri, Bundeli, Bagheli and Kannauji).[13] Of these seven, Bhojpuri has the most allophonic variations in vowels.[14]

Robert Trammell has published the phonology of Bhojpuri.[15][16]

Bhojpuri has six vowel phonemes,[16] and ten vocoids. The higher vowels are relatively tense, while lower vowels are relatively lax. The language has 31 consonant phonemes and 34 contoids (6 bilabial, 4 apico-dental, 5 apico-alveolar, 7 retroflex, 6 alveo-palatal, 5 dorso-velar and 1 glottal).[15]

According to Trammell, the syllable system is peak type: every syllable has the vowel phoneme as the highest point of sonority. Codas may consist of one, two or three consonants. Vowels occur as simple peaks or as peak nuclei in diphthongs. The intonation system involves four pitch levels and three terminal contours.[15][17]

Universal declaration of human rights in Bhojpuri

The United Nations has published the universal declaration of human rights in Bhojpuri and Sarnámi, one of 154 languages of the world.[18] Article 1 of the declaration in Bhojpuri, Hindi, Sarnámi and English respectively are:

अनुच्छेद १: सबहि लोकानि आजादे जन्मेला आउर ओखिनियो के बराबर सम्मान आओर अधिकार प्राप्त हवे। ओखिनियो के पास समझ-बूझ आउर अंत:करण के आवाज होखता आओर हुनको के दोसरा के साथ भाईचारे के बेवहार करे के होखला।[18]

अनुच्छेद १: सभी मनुष्यों को गौरव और अधिकारों के मामले में जन्मजात स्वतन्त्रता और समानता प्राप्त हैं। उन्हें बुद्धि और अन्तरात्मा की देन प्राप्त है और परस्पर उन्हें भाईचारे के भाव से बर्ताव करना चाहिये।[19]

Aadhiaai 1: Sab djanne aadjádi aur barabar paidaa bhailèn, iddjat aur hak mê. Ohi djanne ke lage sab ke samadj-boedj aur hierdaai hai aur doesare se sab soemmat sè, djaane-maane ke chaahin.[20]

Article 1: All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood.[21]

Name of Weekdays and Months

Weekdays

English Bhojpuri भोजपुरी Hindi Urdu
Sunday Eitwaar एतवार Raviwaar Itwar اتوار
Monday Somaar सोमार Somwaar Peer پیر
Tuesday Mangar मंगर Mangalwaar Mangal منگل
Wednesday Budh बुध Buddhwaar Budh بده
Thursday Bi'phey बियफे Guruwaar/Brihaspatiwar Jumerat جمعرات
Friday Sukkar सुक्कर Shukrawaar Juma جمعه
Saturday Sanichchar सनिच्चर Shaniwaar Sanichar سنیچر / Hafta ہفتہ

Months

No. हिंदी Hindi Bhojpuri भोजपुरी संस्कृत Sanskrit
1 चैत Chait Chait चइत चैत्र Chaitra
2 बैसाख Baisakh Baisakh बैसाख वैशाख Vaishakha
3 जेठ Jeth Jeth जेठ ज्येष्ठ Jyeshtha
4 अषाढ़ Asharh Asarh अषाढ़ आषाढ Asharha
5 सावन Sawan Sawan सावन श्रावण Shravana
6 भादो Bhado Bhado भादो भाद्रपद,भाद्र,प्रोष्ठपद Bhadrapada
7 आश्विन Ashwin Kuwar कुवार आश्विन Ashwina
8 कार्तिक Kartik Katik कातिक कार्तिक Kartika
9 अग्रहन Agrahan Agahan अगहन अग्रहायण,मार्गशीर्ष Agrahaayana
10 पौष Paus Poos पूस पौष Pausha
11 माघ Magh Magh माघ माघ Maagha
12 फाल्गुन Phalgun Phagun फागुन फाल्गुन Phalguna

Politeness

Bhojpuri syntax and vocabulary reflect a three-tier system of politeness. Any verb can be conjugated as per these tiers. For example, the verb "to come" in Bhojpuri is "aana" and the verb "to speak" is "bolna". The imperatives "come!" and "speak!" can thus be conjugated five ways, each marking subtle variation in politeness and propriety. These permutations exclude a host of auxiliary verbs and expressions which can be added to these verbs to add even greater degree of subtle variation. For extremely polite or formal situations, the pronoun is generally omitted.

Literary [teh] āō [teh] bōl
Casual and intimate [tum] āō [tum] bōl
Polite and intimate [tum] āv' [tum] bōl'
Formal yet intimate [rau'ā] āīñ [rau'ā] bōlīñ
Polite and formal [āpne] āīñ [āp] bōlīñ
Extremely formal āwal jā'e bōlal jā'e

Similarly, adjectives are marked for politeness and formality. For example, "your" has several forms with different tones of politeness: "tum" (casual and intimate), "tumar/tōhār" (polite and intimate), "t'hār" (formal yet intimate), "rā'ur" (polite and formal) and "āp ke" (extremely formal). Although there are many tiers of politeness, Bhojpuri speakers mainly use the form "tum" to address an individual who is younger and "ap" for individuals who are older than themselves or hold a higher position in workplace situations.

Dialects

The known dialects, per world language classification system, are Bhojpuri Tharu, Domra, Madhesi, Musahari, Northern Standard Bhojpuri (Basti, Gorakhpuri, Sarawaria), Southern Standard Bhojpuri (Kharwari), and Western Standard Bhojpuri (Benarsi, Purbi).[4]

Bhojpuri has the following dialects, the first three being the major child dialects:[8]

  1. Southern Standard Bhojpuri
  2. Northern Standard Bhojpuri
  3. Western Standard Bhojpuri[22]
  4. Nagpuria Bhojpuri[23]

Southern Standard Bhojpuri is prevalent the areas of Shahabad (Buxar, Bhojpur, Rohtas and Kaimur districts) and Saran region (Saran, Siwan and Gopalganj districts) in Bihar, and eastern Azamgarh (Ballia and Mau district) and Varanasi regions (eastern part of Ghazipur district) in Uttar Pradesh. It is sometimes referred to as ‘Kharwari’. It can be further divided into 'Shahabadi', 'Chapariyah' and 'Pachhimahi'.[24]

Northern Bhojpuri is common in the areas of Gorakhpur (Deoria, Kushinagar, Gorakhpur and Maharajganj districts) and Basti regions (Basti, Sidhartha Nagar and Sant Kabir Nagar districts) in Uttar Pradesh, western Tirhut region (East and West Champaran districts) in Bihar and other districts in Nepal.[25] Local names include ‘Gorakhpuri’ for the language in Deoria and eastern Gorakhpur, and ‘Sarwariya’ in western Gorakhpur and Basti. The variety spoken cast of Gandak river between Gorakhpur and Champaran has a local name Pachhimahwa.[citation needed].

Western Bhojpuri is prevalent the areas of Varanasi (Varanasi, Chandauli, Jaunpur and Western part of Ghazipur districts), Azamgarh (Azamgarh district) and Mirzapur regions (Mirzapur, Sant Ravidas Nagar and Bhadohi districts) in Uttar Pradesh. ‘Banarasi’ is a local name for the Banaras Bhojpuri. Western Bhojpuri is also referred to as "Purbi" or "Benarsi".[26]

Nagpuria Bhojpuri (not to be confused with Nagpuri) is southern most dialect, found in Chhotanagpur region of Jharkhand, particularly parts of Palamau and of Ranchi. It has more Magahi influence.[23][25] It is sometimes referred to as 'Sadari'.[27]

Recognition

Bhojpuri has a population of more than 10 crore or 100 million native speakers in India alone. Thus Ravikant Dubey has petitioned that Bhojpuri be one of the official languages of India.[28] For cultural reasons, it is usually seen as a dialect of Hindi. Due to the persistent demand from Bhojpuri language activists to recognise it as an official language, P Chidambaram, Home Minister, Government of India announced to Lok Sabha speaker a few lines in Bhojpuri : "hum rauwa sabke bhavna samjhatani (I understand your feelings)", proposing to include Bhojpuri in 8th Schedule of the Constitution and accorded the official status.[29]

Bhojpuri literature

<templatestyles src="Module:Hatnote/styles.css"></templatestyles>

Main article: Bhojpuri literature

Lorikayan, or the story of Veer Lorik, is a famous Bhojpuri folklore of Eastern Uttar Pradesh.[30]Bhikhari Thakur's Bidesiya is another famous book.

A modest number of novels have been published in Bhojpuri since 1956.

Bhojpuri media

Many Bhojpuri magazines and papers are published in Bihar, Jharkhand and Uttar Pradesh. Parichhan is a contemporary important literary-cultural Maithili-Bhojpuri magazine, published by Maithili-Bhojpuri academy, Delhi government and edited by Parichay Das. Parichay Das is pathbreaker poet, Essayist, Critic, editor in Bhojpuri. He was Secretary, Hindi, Maithili-Bhojpuri Academy, Delhi Government. The Sunday Indian, Bhojpuri[31] is a regular national news magazine in Bhojpuri published by Planman Media, owned by Prof. Arindam Chaudhary and edited by Onkareshwar Pandey. Aakhar is a monthly online Bhojpuri literature magazine.[32] It is published by Sanjay Singh, Shashi Mishra, Navin Kumar and designed-edited by Ashwini Rudra. Other media in Bhojpuri include Lok Lucknow,[33] Mahuaa TV and Hamar TV as Bhojpuri language channels, and a weekly paper in Bhojpuri published from Birgunj, Parsa of Nepal whose publisher is Dipendra Prasad Kanu.

Bhojpuri outside India

South Asia

In Bangladesh, there are also Bhojpuri-speaking Muslims. However, their total number is estimated to be smaller than the number of Bhojpuri speakers in Mauritius, African, Caribbean, and South American nations.

Bhojpuri is a major language spoken in Nepal with official status.[8]

Outside South Asia

Bhojpuri is also spoken by people who were brought as indentured labourers in the 19th century and early 20th century, for work in sugarcane plantations during British colonial era, to Mauritius, Guyana, Suriname, Fiji, the Caribbean, Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica, and South Africa.[7][8][34]

See also

References

  1. ↑ Bhojpuri entry, Oxford Dictionaries, Oxford University Press
  2. ↑ Bhojpuri at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015)
    Caribbean Hindustani at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015)
  3. ↑ Language Demographics Census,[dubious – discuss] Government of India (2001)
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 Bhojpuri Ethnologue World Languages (2009)
  5. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  6. ↑ Ethnologue's detailed language map of western Madhesh; see the disjunct enclaves of language #9 in SE.
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 Rajend Mesthrie, Language in indenture: a sociolinguistic history of Bhojpuri-Hindi in South Africa, Routledge, 1992, ISBN 978-0415064040, pages 30-32
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 8.3 Bhojpuri Language Materials Project, University of California, Los Angeles, United States
  9. ↑ Hindustani, Caribbean Ethnologue (2013)
  10. ↑ William J. Frawley, International Encyclopedia of Linguistics, Volume 1, ISBN 0-19-513977-1, Oxford University Press, Bhojpuri, page 481
  11. ↑ Sarita Boodho, Bhojpuri traditions in Mauritius, Mauritius Bhojpuri Institute, 1999, ISBN 978-9990390216, pages 47-48 and 85-92
  12. ↑ 12.0 12.1 Trammell, R. L. (1971). The Phonology of the Northern Standard Dialect of Bhojpuri. Anthropological Linguistics, Vol. 13, No. 4, pp. 126–141
  13. ↑ Diwakar Mishra and Kalika Bali, A COMPARATIVE PHONOLOGICAL STUDY OF THE DIALECTS OF HINDI Archived 1 February 2014 at the Wayback Machine, ICPhS XVII, Hong Kong, 17–21 August 2011, pp 1390
  14. ↑ Diwakar Mishra and Kalika Bali, A COMPARATIVE PHONOLOGICAL STUDY OF THE DIALECTS OF HINDI Archived 1 February 2014 at the Wayback Machine, ICPhS XVII, Hong Kong, 17–21 August 2011, pp 1390-1393
  15. ↑ 15.0 15.1 15.2 Robert L. Trammell, The Phonology of the Northern Standard Dialect of Bhojpuri, Anthropological Linguistics, Vol. 13, No. 4 (Apr. 1971), pp. 126-141
  16. ↑ 16.0 16.1 Verma, Manindra K. (2003), Bhojpuri, In Cardona et al. (Editors), The Indo-Aryan Languages, 515-537. London: Routledge
  17. ↑ Shukla, Shaligram (1981), Bhojpuri Grammar, Washington, D. C., Georgetown University Press
  18. ↑ 18.0 18.1 Universal Declaration of Human Rights Bhojpuri language (United Nations)
  19. ↑ Universal Declaration of Human Rights Hindi language (United Nations)
  20. ↑ UDHR Sárnami - http://www.ohchr.org/EN/UDHR/Documents/UDHR_Translations/hns.pdf
  21. ↑ Universal Declaration of Human Rights English language (United Nations)
  22. ↑ Parable of the prodigal son in Benares Bhojpuri, A Recording in May 1920 by Rajaji Gupta, Linguistic Survey of India, Digital South Asia Library, University of Chicago, USA
  23. ↑ 23.0 23.1 Parable of the prodigal son in Nagpuria Bhojpuri, A Recording in 1920 by Shiva Sahay Lal, Linguistic Survey of India, Digital South Asia Library, University of Chicago, USA
  24. ↑ Map of Southern Standard Bhojpuri Digital Library of Language Relationships (2012)
  25. ↑ 25.0 25.1 Shaligram Shukla (1981), Bhojpuri Grammar, Georgetown University School of Language, ISBN 978-0878401895
  26. ↑ Western Standard Bhojpuri Digital Library of Language Relationships (2012)
  27. ↑ Monika Horstmann (1969), Sadari, Indologia Berolinensis, Otto Harrassowitz - Wiesbaden, Germany, pp 176-180
  28. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  29. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  30. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  31. ↑ Bhojpuri - The Sunday Indian Newspaper
  32. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  33. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  34. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.

External links

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