Eternal India Encyclopedia

EXPRESSIONS OF INDIA

Eternal India encyclopedia

INSET B : EXCLUSIONS

A large number of the sacred books of Buddhism were written in Pali, notably the Therevada Buddhist canons. Pali was used throughout the countries of South East Asia. It became the sacred language of the Buddhists of South India and Ceylon (Sri Lanka), which accepted Therevada Buddhism. RAJASTHANI : Predominant in Rajasthan (Jaipur, Eastern Sikar, Northern Tonk, Western Sanai Madhopur, Kota, north Jhalanar, eastern Bundi districts) and also noticeable in Madhya Pradesh (Morena and Shivpuri districts). GUJURI : Spoken language of Gujur tribes located in Kashmir, Rajasthan (Chitorgarh and Jhalanar districts) Madhya Pradesh (Rajgrah, Shajapur, Mandsaur, Ratlam, Ujjain, Sehore, Hoshan- gabad, Betul, Nimar). BHILI : Bhili, an Indo-Aryan language, is related to Gujarati. Bhili is found primarily in the mountainous regions of Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra and Rajasthan, forming a linguis- tic connection between these contiguous states. GONDI : An unwritten language of the Dravidian family, Gondi dialects are concentrated in the Bastar District of eastern Madhya Pradesh, the Balaghat district, also in Madhya Pradesh, and in the districts of Bhandara and Chanda in Maharashtra. Gondi is also found in Adilabad, a region of northern Andhra Pradesh, and in Orissa, Bihar and Uttar Pradesh. An Eastern Gondi dialect, Koi, is spoken in Orissa. KURUKH/ORAON : The Dravidian language of Kurukh or Oraon is found primarily in the northwestern districts of Chota Nagpur plateau in Bihar: Ranchi, Hazaribagh, Palamau, Purulia, Singbhum, Santal Parganas, Gaya and Shahabad. In Orissa, Kurukh is found in the districts of Sambalpur, Sundargarh, Dhenkanal and Balasore. Darjeeling and Jalpaiguri contain the Kurukh speakers of West Bengal. The name Oraon is derived from "Orayo", which means "farm worker". DOGRI : Spoken by 1 million people, global rank is 56th. Dogri is an Indo-Aryan language spoken by Dogras in the regions stretching between three states: Jammu and Kashmir, Punjab and Haryana. Principally, Dogri is spoken in the Kathua, Jammu and Udamhpur regions of Jammu; the Marmat region of Doda and the regions of Sundarbani to Sialsui in the Rajauri district. The word "Dogri" is derived from "duraga", meaning difficult and hard terrain. It uses Devanagari script, and dates back to the 12th century. Dogri inscriptions on copper plates and stone confirm that it was employed as an official language until the reign of Maharaja Pratap Singh who ascended the throne in 1885 A.D. and died in 1925 A.D. Although Dogri is generally included in dialects of Punjab, there is some dispute by certain linguists that it is actually closer to the Western Pahari dialects. Dogri script known as Dogra or Dogre Akhars actually had its origin from Sharda and Kutil Lipi prevalent in Kashmir and Punjab. Domination of Urdu in official circles served as a deterrent for Dogri. Prominent compositions include Guttlun (poem) by Dinu Bhai, Jagn Duggar by Bhagwat Prasad.

ENGLISH : Came to India with the British in the 17th century. English is the official language of the Union Government along with Hindi used for inter-state correspondence by the Centre. Although it is a link language, its usage is still relatively limited to the educated classes. It is estimated that 1 to 2 per cent of the population know English. Recognised as a literary language by the Saahitya Akademi (National Academy of Letters). Nearly 50 per cent of the books published in India are in English and the field of Indian writers in English is swiftly expanding. HINDUSTANI : Indo-Iranian branch of Indo-Aryan language family. Developed out of the Hindi dialect of Doab, the region around the Ganga, and areas around Agra, Delhi and Meerut. A pot-pourri of various versions of Hindi and strong Persian influ- ences, Hindustani was spread throughout India by the Mughals and merchants and was commonly spoken in modem India before partition. The name " Hindustani " was coined by John Borthwick Gilchrist (1759-1841), an Englishman, who was the first presi- dent of Fort William College in Calcutta. PRAKRIT : Derived from Sanskrit Prakrit, means natural. These were ancient dialects of Sanskrit and were much simpler than Sanskrit, the polished language of literature and the educated. The dialects were used by inferior characters in the Sanskrit dramas. These dialects bear the same relation to Sanskrit that the Romance languages of Europe - French, Spanish, Italian etc - bear to Latin. Ashoka's inscriptions were in Prakrit implying royal patron- age originated from Aadibhasha or Aadi Prakrit. By the time of the Buddha (566-486 B.C.) the masses were speaking in Prakrit. There were local variations. The Prakrit spoken in the western part of modern Uttar Pradesh was called Shauraseni and the eastern variety was called Magadhi after the region in which it was spoken, Magadh or South Bihar. Mahar- asthri, spoken in the North-Western Deccan, became the language of epic poems and lyrics. The Buddha spoke in Magadhi as he wanted to reach a wider audience. Magadhi was the official language of the court in the Mauryan period and the edicts of Ashoka were written in it. A later Magadhi hybrid, Arda-Magadhi ("Half Magadhi") became the sacred language of the Jains. Apabhramsha ("falling down"), a corrupt form of Prakrit dialects, originated in the north-west, and came down to central and western India when people migrated to these parts. It was used by Jain writers in Gujarat and Rajasthan for their poetic compositions. In Bengal a similar corrupt Prakrit was used by Buddhist poets and became the mother of modern Bengali. Other spoken dialects of Prakrit include Avanti, Avadhi and Paisachi. PALI : Pali is an elevated form of Magadhi,that is, it is a literary Prakrit. It avoided dialect forms, and its vocabulary was enriched through expressions borrowed from other Indian languages. The grammarian Katyayana (4th or 5th century, B.C.) formulated Pali grammar rules in his work, Katyayanaprakana.

* For more information on Bhili, Gondi, Kurukh and Dogri, refer => RANKING, E 17