Awadhi | |
---|---|
Avadhī | |
अवधी · 𑂃𑂫𑂡𑂲 | |
Pronunciation | [əʋ.d̪ʱi] |
Native to | India and Nepal |
Region | Awadh |
Ethnicity | Awadhis |
Native speakers | 4.35 million (2011) [1] [2] (additional speakers counted under Hindi) |
Early forms | |
Dialects |
|
| |
Official status | |
Official language in | Fiji (as Fiji Hindi) |
Language codes | |
ISO 639-2 | awa |
ISO 639-3 | awa |
Glottolog | awad1243 |
Linguasphere | 59-AAF-ra |
Awadhi, [a] also known as Audhi, [b] is an Indo-Aryan language spoken in the Awadh region of Uttar Pradesh in northern India and in Terai region of western Nepal. [4] [5] [6] The name Awadh is connected to Ayodhya, the ancient city, which is regarded as the homeland of the Hindu deity Rama, the earthly avatar of Vishnu. Awadhi is also widely spoken by the diaspora of Indians descended from those who left as indentured laborers during the colonial era. Along with Braj, it was used widely as a literary vehicle before gradually merging and contributing to the development of standardized Hindi in the 19th century. Though distinct from standard Hindi, it continues to be spoken today in its unique form in many districts of central Uttar Pradesh. [7]
It is regarded by the Indian government to be a dialect of Hindi, and the area where Awadhi is spoken to be a part of the Hindi-language area owing to their cultural proximity, meanwhile Standard Hindi also serves as the lingua franca [8] of the region. As a result, Hindi, rather than Awadhi, is used for school instruction as well as administrative and official purposes; and its literature falls within the scope of Hindi literature. [9] Some of the most culturally significant works in Indian literature like the Ramcharitmanas and Hanuman Chalisa have been written in Awadhi.
Alternative names of Awadhi include Baiswāri (after the subregion of Baiswara), [10] as well as the sometimes ambiguous Pūrbī, literally meaning "eastern", and Kōsalī (named after the ancient Kosala Kingdom). [5]
Awadhi is predominantly spoken in the Awadh region encompassing central Uttar Pradesh, along with the lower part of the Ganga-Yamuna doab. [5] [11] In the west, it is bounded by Western Hindi, specifically Kannauji and Bundeli, while in the east, Bhojpuri from the Bihari group of Eastern Indo-Aryan languages is spoken. [12] [13] In the north, it is bounded by the country of Nepal and in the south by Bagheli, which shares a great resemblance with Awadhi. [14]
The following districts of North and Central UP speak Awadhi-
In eastern parts of UP the Awadhi language changes its form to a special dialect called "Eastern Standard Awadhi." This region makes boundary with Bhojpuri speaking districts of Purvanchal. This part include districts of-
The Language Commission of Nepal has recommended Tharu and Awadhi as official language in Lumbini province. [4] [15] Awadhi is spoken in two provinces in Nepal:
A language influenced by Awadhi (as well as other languages) is also spoken as a lingua franca for Indians in Fiji and is referred to as Fijian Hindi. According to Ethnologue , it is a type of Awadhi influenced by Bhojpuri and is also classified as Eastern-Hindi. [16] Caribbean Hindustani spoken by Indians in Suriname, Trinidad and Tobago, and Guyana is based on Bhojpuri and partly on Awadhi. The Hindustani that is spoken in South Africa [17] and the Bhojpuri spoken in Mauritius [18] is also partly influenced by Awadhi.
Awadhi is an Indo-European language and belongs to the Indo-Aryan sub-group of the Indo-Iranian language family. Within the Indo-Aryan dialect continuum, it falls under the East-Central zone of languages and is often recognised as Eastern-Hindi. It is generally believed that an older form of Ardhamagadhi, which agreed partly with Sauraseni and partly with Magadhi Prakrit, could be the basis of Awadhi. [19]
The closest relative of Awadhi is the Bagheli language as genealogically both descend from the same 'Half-Magadhi'. Most early Indian linguists regarded Bagheli merely as 'the southern form of Awadhi', but recent studies accept Bagheli as a separate dialect at par with Awadhi and not merely a sub-dialect of it. [20]
In this period, Awadhi became the vehicle for epic poetry in northern India. [21] Its literature is mainly divided into: bhaktīkāvya (devotional poetry) and premākhyān (romantic tales).
The most important work, probably in any modern Indo-Aryan language, came from the poet-saint Tulsidas in the form of Ramcharitmanas (1575 C.E.) or "The Lake of the Deeds of Rama", written in doha-chaupai metre. Its plot is mostly derivative, either from the original Rāmāyaṇa by Valmiki or from the Adhyātma Rāmāyaṇa , both of which are in Sanskrit. [22] Mahatma Gandhi had acclaimed the Ramcharitmanas as "the greatest book of all devotional literature" while western observers have christened it as "the Bible of Northern India". [23] It is sometimes synonymously referred as 'Tulsidas Ramayana' or simply 'the Ramayana'. [24]
Tulsidas's compositions Hanuman Chalisa , [25] [26] [27] Pārvatī Maṅgala and Jānakī Maṅgala are also written in Awadhi. [28]
अंडकोस प्रति प्रति निज रूपा। | In each universe I saw my own self, |
—Tulsidas, 7.81.3 chaupai, Ramcharitmanas | —Translation by R.C Prasad [29] |
सिंधु तीर एक भूधर सुंदर। | On the sea-shore there was a mountain lovely, |
—Tulsidas, 5.1.3 chaupai, Ramcharitmanas | —Translation [30] |
The first Hindi vernacular adaptation of the 'Dasam Skandha' of the Bhagavata Purana , the "Haricharit" by Lalachdas, who hailed from Hastigram (present-day Hathgaon near Rae Bareilly), was concluded in 1530 C.E. It circulated widely for a long time and scores of manuscript copies of the text have been found as far as eastern Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, Malwa and Gujarat, all written in the Kaithi script. [31]
Satyavatī (ca. 1501) of Ishvaradas (of Delhi) under the reign of Sikander Lodi and Avadhabilāsa (1700 C.E.) of Laladas were also written in Awadhi.
Awadhi appeared as a major component in the works of Bhakti saints like Kabir, who used a language often described as being a pancmel khicṛī or "a hotch-potch" of several vernaculars. [32] [33] The language of Kabir's major work Bijak is primarily Awadhi. [34] [35]
Awadhi also emerged as the favourite literary language of the Eastern Sufis from the last quarter of the 14th century onwards. It became the language of premākhyāns, romantic tales built on the pattern of Persian masnavi , steeped in Sufi mysticism but set in a purely Indian background, with a large number of motifs directly borrowed from Indian lore. The first of such premākhyān in the Awadhi language was Candāyan (1379 C.E.) of Maulana Da'ud. [36] The tradition was carried forward by Jayasi, whose masterpiece, the Padmāvat (1540 C.E.) was composed under the reign of the famous ruler Sher Shah Suri. The Padmavat travelled far and wide, from Arakan to the Deccan, and was eagerly copied and retold in Persian and other languages. [37]
Other prominent works of Jayasi—Kānhāvat, [38] Akhrāvaṭ [28] and Ākhrī Kalām [39] are also written in Awadhi.
I'll tell you about my great town, the ever-beautiful Jais.
In the satyayuga it was a holy place, then it was called the "Town of Gardens."
Then the treta went, and when the dvapara came, there was a great rishi called Bhunjaraja.
88,000 rishis lived here then, and dense ... and eighty-four ponds.
They baked bricks to make solid ghats, and dug eight-four wells.
Here and there they built handsome forts, at night they looked like stars in the sky.
They also put up several orchards with temples on top.Doha: They sat there doing tapas, all those human avataras.They crossed this world doing homa and japa day and night.
The Awadhi romance Mirigāvatī (ca.1503) or "The Magic Doe", was written by Shaikh 'Qutban' Suhravardi, who was an expert and storyteller attached to the court-in-exile of Sultan Hussain Shah Sharqi of Jaunpur. [41] [42] Another romance named Madhumālatī or "Night Flowering Jasmine" by poet Sayyid Manjhan Rajgiri was written in 1545 C.E. [43]
Amir Khusrau (d. 1379 C.E) is also said to have written some compositions in Awadhi. [44]
The most significant contributions to the Awadhi literature in the modern period have come from writers like Ramai Kaka (1915–1982 C.E.), Balbhadra Prasad Dikshit better known as ‘Padhees’(1898–1943 C.E.) and Vanshidhar Shukla (1904–1980 C.E.).
‘Krishnayan’ (1942 C.E.) is a major Awadhi epic-poem that Dwarka Prasad Mishra wrote in imprisonment during the Freedom Movement of India. In 2022 Dr. Vidya Vindu Singh has been awarded Padma Shri for her contribution in Awadhi literature.
Awadhi possesses both voiced and voiceless vowels. The voiced vowels are: /ə/, /ʌ/, /aː/, /ɪ/, /iː/, /ʊ/, /uː/, /e/, /eː/, /o/, /oː/. [45] The voiceless vowels, also described as "whispered vowels" are: /i̥/, /ʊ̥/, /e̥/. [46]
Front | Near-front | Central | Near-back | Back | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Close | iː i̥ | uː | |||
Near-close | ɪ | ʊ ʊ̥ | |||
Close-mid | e eː e̥ | o oː | |||
Mid | ə | ||||
Open-mid | ʌ | ||||
Near-open | |||||
Open | aː |
Combination | Example | Meaning | |
---|---|---|---|
IPA | Transliteration | ||
/ɪaː/ | /d͡ʒɪaː/ | jiā | "elder sister" |
/ɪeː/ | /d͡ʒɪeː/ | jiē | "became alive" |
/ʌiː/ | /nʌiː/ | naī | "new" |
/ʌɪ/ | /bʰʌɪ/ | bhai | "became" |
/ʌeː/ | /gʌeː/ | gaē | "(they) went" |
/ʌʊ/ | /t̪ʌʊ/ | tau | "then" |
/ʌuː/ | /gʌuː/ | gaū | "cow" |
/ʊʌ/ | /kʊ̃ʌn/ | kũan | "wells (obl.)" |
/ʊiː/ | /d̪ʊiː/ | duī | "two" |
/ʊaː/ | /bʊaː/ | buā | "father's sister" |
/uːiː/ | /ruːiː/ | rūī | "cotton" |
/aːoː/ | /aːoː/ | āō | "come" |
/aːeː/ | /kʰaːeː/ | khāē | "eaten" |
/aːiː/ | /aːiː/ | āī | "came" |
/aːuː/ | /naːuː/ | nāū | "barber" |
/eːiː/ | /d̪eːiː/ | dēī | "will give" |
/eːʊ/ | /d̪eːʊ/ | dēu | "give" |
/oːɪ/ | /hoːɪ/ | hōi | "may be" |
/oʊ/ | /hoʊ/ | hōu | "be" |
Combination | Example | Meaning | |
---|---|---|---|
IPA | Transliteration | ||
/ɪeʊ/ | /pɪeʊ/ | pieu | "(you) drank" |
/ʊɪaː/ | /gʰʊ̃ɪaː/ | ghũiā | "the root of Arum" |
/aːeʊ/ | /kʰaːeʊ/ | khāeu | "(you) ate" |
/ʌɪaː/ | /bʰʌɪaː/ | bhaiā | "brother" |
Bilabial | Dental/ Alveolar | Retroflex | Palatal | Velar | Glottal | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Nasal | unaspirated | m | n | ( ɳ ) | ( ɲ ) | ( ŋ ) | ||
aspirated | mʱ | nʱ | ||||||
Plosive/ Affricate | voiceless | unaspirated | p | t | ʈ | tʃ | k | |
aspirated | pʰ | tʰ | ʈʰ | tʃʰ | kʰ | |||
voiced | unaspirated | b | d | ɖ | dʒ | ɡ | ||
aspirated | bʱ | dʱ | ɖʱ | dʒʱ | ɡʱ | |||
Fricative | voiceless | s | h | |||||
voiced | ɦ | |||||||
Liquid | rhotic | unaspirated | r | ɽ | ||||
aspirated | rʱ | ɽʱ | ||||||
lateral | unaspirated | l | ||||||
aspirated | lʱ | |||||||
Approximant | ʋ | j |
Awadhi has many features that separate it from the neighbouring Western Hindi and Bihari vernaculars. In Awadhi, nouns are generally both short and long, whereas Western Hindi has generally short while Bihari generally employs longer and long forms. The gender is rigorously maintained in Western Hindi, Awadhi is a little loose yet largely preserved, while Bihari is highly attenuated. Regarding postpositions, Awadhi is distinguished from Western Hindi by the absence of agentive postposition in the former, agreeing with Bihari dialects. The accusative-dative postposition in Awadhi is /kaː/ or /kə/ while Western Hindi has /koː/ or /kɔː/ and Bihari has /keː/. The locative postposition in both Bihari and Western Hindi is /mẽː/ while Awadhi has /maː/. The pronouns in Awadhi have /toːɾ-/, /moːɾ-/ as personal genitives while /teːɾ-/, /meːɾ-/ are used in Western Hindi. The oblique of /ɦəmaːɾ/ is /ɦəmɾeː/ in Awadhi while it is /ɦəmaːɾeː/ in Western Hindi and /ɦəmrən'kæ/ in Bihari. [7]
Another defining characteristic of Awadhi is the affix /-ɪs/ as in /dɪɦɪs/, /maːɾɪs/ etc. The neighbouring Bhojpuri has the distinctive (i) /laː/ enclitic in present tense (ii) /-l/ in past tense (iii) dative postposition /-laː/ which separates it from the Awadhi language. [19]
Singular 'I/me/my' | Plural 'we/us/our' | |||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Dir. | Ag. | Obl. | Dat. | Gen. | Dir. | Ag. | Obl. | Dat. | Gen. | |
Modern Standard Hindi | mãĩ मैं | mãĩ'nē मैंने | mujh मुझ | mujhē मुझे | mērā*मेरा | ham हम | ham'nē हमने | ham हम | hamē̃ हमें | hamārā*हमारा |
Awadhi | mai (mãy) मै | – | ma(h)i महि | – | mōr * मोर | ham हम | – | ham हम | hamai हमै | hamār * हमार |
(Substitute or other forms in Awadhi) | - | – | mō मो | mai'kā मइका, mō'kā मोका | – | – | – | – | ham'kā हमका | – |
Singular | Plural | |||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Dir. | Ag. | Obl. | Dat. | Gen. | Hon. | Dir. | Ag. | Obl. | Dat. | Gen. | Hon. | |
Modern Standard Hindi | tū | tū'nē | tujh | tujhē | tērā * | – | tum | tum'nē | tum | tumhē̃ | tumhārā* | āp– |
Awadhi | tū, tui (toi), taĩ (tãy) | – | tu(h)i | – | tōr * | āpu̥ | tum | – | tum | tumai, tohaĩ (tohãy) | tumār * /tohār * | āp– |
(Substitute or other forms in Awadhi) | – | – | tō | tui'kā, tō'kā (tõh'kā) | – | – | – | – | tum'kā | - | - |
Following are the morphological processes of stem formation in the Awadhi language:
Affixation
An affix is used to alter the meaning or form of a word. It can be either a prefix or a suffix.
Compounding
Two or more stems are combined to form one stem.
Reduplication
This process involves the repetition of certain forms. It may be complete, partial, or interrupted.
The 1961 film Gunga Jumna features Awadhi being spoken by the characters in a neutralised form. Gabbar Singh's speech in the 1975 film Sholay was a mix of Khariboli and Awadhi, inspired by Dilip Kumar's dacoit character Gunga from Gunga Jumna. [50] In the 2001 film Lagaan , a neutralized form of Awadhi language was used to make it understandable to audiences. [51] [52] The 2009 film Dev.D features an Awadhi song, "Paayaliya", composed by Amit Trivedi. [53] In the television series Yudh , Amitabh Bachchan spoke parts of his dialogue in Awadhi, which received critical acclaim from the Hindustan Times . [54] Awadhi is also spoken by the residents of Ayodhya and other minor characters in Ramanand Sagar's 1987 television series Ramayan . The lyrics of the song "Rang Barse Bhige Chunar Wali", from the movie Silsila starring Amitabh Bachchan and Rekha, are in Awadhi dialect.
The Awadhi folk song "Mere Angne Mein Tumhara Kya Kaam Hai" has become popular in Bollywood with a neutralized version of it being in the 1981 film Laawaris starring Amitabh Bachchan, as well as being in the 1970 film Bombay Talkie and the 1975 film Maze Le Lo, it was also released as a single by Neha Kakkar in 2020. [55] Another Awadhi folk song that became popular through Bollywood was "Holi Khele Raghuveera", which was neutralized and sung by Amitabh Bachchan and put into the 2003 film Baghban starring Amitabh Bachchan and Hema Malini.
The genres of folklore sung in Awadh include Sohar, Sariya, Byaah, Suhag, Gaari, Nakta, Banraa (Banna-Banni), Alha, Sawan, Jhula, Hori, Barahmasa, and Kajri. [56]
The Awadhi language comes with its dialectal variations. For instance, in western regions, the auxiliary /hʌiː/ is used, while in central and eastern parts /ʌhʌiː/ is used.
The following examples were taken from Baburam Saxena's Evolution of Awadhi, and alternative versions are also provided to show dialectal variations.
English | Awadhi (IPA) | Awadhi (Devanagari) |
---|---|---|
Who were there? | ɦʊãːkoːorkəʊnɾəɦəĩ | हुआँ को (कउन) रहें? |
alt.ɦʊãːkeːorkəʊnɾəɦəin | alt. हुआँ के/कउन रहेन? | |
This boy is fine in seeing and hearing. | ɪʊlʌɾɪkaːd̪eːkʰʌiːsʊnʌiːməʈʰiːkhʌiː | इउ लरिका देखई सुनई म ठीक है। |
alt.ɪlʌɾɪkaːd̪eːkʰʌiːsʊnʌiːməʈʰiːkʌhʌiː | alt. इ लरिका देखई सुनई म ठीक अहै। | |
(She) said, let (me) eat a little and give a little to this one too. | kʌɦɪnlaːoːt̪ʰoːɽaːkʰaːɪleːiːt̪ʰoːɽaːjʌhukɘd̪ʌɪd̪eːiː | कहिन, लाओ थोड़ा खाई लेई, थोड़ा यहु का दै देई। |
alt.kʌɦɪnlyaːvːt̪ʰoːɽaːkʰaːɪleːiːraːçikeːjʌnhukɘd̪ʌɪd̪eːiː | alt. कहिन, ल्याव थोड़ा खाई लेई, रचि के एन्हुं के दै देई। | |
Those who go will be beaten. | d͡ʒoːd͡ʒʌɪɦʌĩsoːmaːrʊ̥kʰʌɪɦʌĩ | जो जइहैं सो मारउ खइहैं। |
alt. d͡ʒèːd͡ʒʌɪɦʌĩsoːmaːrkʰʌɪɦʌĩ | alt.जे जइहैं सो मार खइहैं। | |
Do not shoot at the birds. | cɪɾʌɪjʌnpʌɾchʌrːaːnəcʌlaːoː | चिरइयन पर छर्रा न चलाओ। |
alt. cɪɾʌɪjʌnpeːchʌrːaːjincʌlaːwː | alt. चिरइयन पे छर्रा जिन चलाव। |
Then there are the Ahirs whose performances of the Krishna story fascinated Malik Muhammad Jayasi, as he tells us in his Kanhavat of 1540;...
awadhi.
The Indo-Aryan languages, also known as the Indic languages, are a branch of the Indo-Iranian languages in the Indo-European language family. As of the early 21st century, they have more than 800 million speakers, primarily concentrated east of the Indus river in Bangladesh, North India, Eastern Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Maldives and Nepal. Moreover, apart from the Indian subcontinent, large immigrant and expatriate Indo-Aryan–speaking communities live in Northwestern Europe, Western Asia, North America, the Caribbean, Southeast Africa, Polynesia and Australia, along with several million speakers of Romani languages primarily concentrated in Southeastern Europe. There are over 200 known Indo-Aryan languages.
Bihari languages are a group of the Indo-Aryan languages. The Bihari languages are mainly spoken in the Indian states of Bihar, Jharkhand, Uttar Pradesh, and West Bengal, and also in Nepal. The most widely spoken languages of the Bihari group are Bhojpuri, Magahi and Maithili.
Bhojpuri is an Indo-Aryan language native to the Bhojpur-Purvanchal region of India and the Terai region of Nepal and it is chiefly spoken in eastern Uttar Pradesh, western Bihar, and northwestern Jharkhand in India, as well as western Madhesh, eastern Lumbini, southeastern Gandaki, and southwestern Bagmati in Nepal. Bhojpuri is also widely spoken by the diaspora of Indians descended from those who left as indentured laborers during the colonial era. It is an eastern Indo Aryan language and as of 2000 it is spoken by about 5% of India's population. Bhojpuri is a descendant of Magadhi Prakrit and is related to Maithili, Magahi, Bangla, Odia, Assamese, and other eastern Indo-Aryan languages.
Bundeli or Bundelkhandi is an Indo-Aryan language spoken in the Bundelkhand region of central India. It belongs to the Central Indo-Aryan languages and is part of the Western Hindi subgroup.
Bagheli or Baghelkhandi is a Central Indo-Aryan language spoken in the Baghelkhand region of central India.
Magahi, also known as Magadhi, is a Indo-Aryan language spoken in Bihar, Jharkhand and West Bengal states of eastern India, and in the Terai of Nepal. Magadhi Prakrit was the ancestor of Magahi, from which the latter's name derives.
The Northern Indo-Aryan languages, also known as Pahāḍi languages, are a proposed group of Indo-Aryan languages spoken in the lower ranges of the Himalayas, from Nepal in the east, through the Indian states of Jammu and Kashmir, Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh and Punjab was coined by G. A. Grierson.
The Hindi Belt, also known as the Hindi Heartland or the Hindi speaking states, is a linguistic region encompassing parts of northern, central, eastern, and western India where various Northern, Central, Eastern and Western Indo-Aryan languages are spoken, which in a broader sense is termed as Hindi languages, with Standard Hindi serving as the lingua franca of the region.
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Caribbean Hindustani is an Indo-Aryan language spoken by Indo-Caribbean people and the Indo-Caribbean diaspora. It is a koiné language mainly based on the Bhojpuri and Awadhi dialects. These Hindustani dialects were the most spoken dialects by the Indians who came as immigrants to the Caribbean from Colonial India as indentured laborers. It is closely related to Fiji Hindi and the Bhojpuri-Hindustani spoken in Mauritius and South Africa.
Fiji Hindi is an Indo-Aryan language spoken by Indo-Fijians. It is an Eastern Hindi and Bihari language, considered to be a koiné language based on Awadhi that has also been subject to considerable influence by Bhojpuri, other Eastern Hindi and Bihari dialects, and Standard Hindi-Urdu. It has also borrowed some vocabulary from English, Fijian, Telugu, Tamil, Bengali, Punjabi, Gujarati, and Malayalam. Many words unique to Fiji Hindi have been created to cater for the new environment that Indo-Fijians now live in. First-generation Indians in Fiji, who used the language as a lingua franca in Fiji, referred to it as Fiji Baat, "Fiji talk". It is closely related to Caribbean Hindustani and the Bhojpuri-Hindustani spoken in Mauritius and South Africa. It is largely mutually intelligible with the languages of Awadhi and Bhojpuri, as well as with the Bihari languages of Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Jharkhand, Madhesh, Koshi, Bagmati, Gandaki and Lumbini, and the dialects of Eastern Hindi of Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Lumbini, but differs in phonetics and vocabulary with Modern Standard Hindi and Urdu.
The Western Hindi languages, also known as Midland languages, are a branch of the Indo-Aryan language family spoken chiefly in Haryana, western Uttar Pradesh and Bundelkhand region of Madhya Pradesh, in Northwest and Central India. The Western Hindi languages evolved from Sauraseni Prakrit. The most-spoken language in the Western Hindi language family is Standard Hindi, one of the official languages of the Government of India and one of the 22 Scheduled Languages of India.
Uttar Pradesh is a multilingual state with 3 predominant languages and 26 other languages spoken in the state. The languages of Uttar Pradesh primarily belong to two zones in the Indo-Aryan languages, Central and East.
The Awadhi people or Awadhis are an Indo-Aryan ethno-linguistic group who speak the Awadhi language and reside in the Awadh region of Uttar Pradesh. Many Awadhis also migrated to Madhya Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Odisha in India and some adjoining regions of the Terai in Nepal, and in addition 3 per cent of Nepalis are Awadhi speakers. Awadhi people can be found throughout the world, most notably in Fiji, Guyana, Mauritius, South Africa, Suriname, and Trinidad and Tobago. Historically, Indo-Aryans dominated the North Indian Gangetic Planes; thus, the Awadhi language continuously evolved over the centuries in the Awadh region of Uttar Pradesh.
The Central Indo-Aryan languages or Hindi languages are a group of Indo-Aryan languages spoken across Northern and Central India. These language varieties form the central part of the Indo-Aryan language family, itself a part of the Indo-European language family. They historically form a dialect continuum that descends from the Middle Prakrits. Located in the Hindi Belt, the Central Zone includes the Dehlavi (Delhi) dialect of the Hindustani language, the lingua franca of Northern India that is the basis of the Modern Standard Hindi and Modern Standard Urdu literary standards. In regards to the Indo-Aryan language family, the coherence of this language group depends on the classification being used; here only Eastern and Western Hindi languages will be considered.
Most of the languages of Bihar, the third most populous state of India, belong to the Bihari subgroup of the Indo-Aryan family. Chief among them are Bhojpuri, spoken in the west of the state, Maithili in the north, Magahi in center around capital Patna and in the south of the state. Maithili has official recognition under the Eighth Schedule to the Constitution of India. The official language of Bihar is Modern Standard Hindi, with Standard Urdu serving as a second official language in 15 districts.
The Eastern Hindi languages, are a branch of the Indo-Aryan language family spoken chiefly in Awadh region of Uttar Pradesh, Baghelkhand region of Madhya Pradesh, and Chhattisgarh, in Northern and Central India. Eastern Hindi languages evolved from Ardhamagadhi Prakrit.
The Bhojpuri people, also known as Bhojpuriya-sawb are an Indo-Aryan ethnic group from the Indian subcontinent who speak the Bhojpuri-language and inhabit the Bhojpur-Purvanchal region. This area is now divided between the western part of the Indian state of Bihar, the eastern part of the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh, western Jharkhand, along with some neighbouring districts in the Madhya Pradesh and Madhesh and Lumbini of Nepal. A significant diaspora population of Bhojpuris can be found in Trinidad and Tobago, Guyana, Jamaica, Suriname, other parts of the Caribbean, Fiji, South Africa, Mauritius, United States, Canada, Netherlands, United Kingdom, Australia, and New Zealand.
Powari is an Indo-Aryan language spoken primarily in Madhya Pradesh and Eastern Maharashtra.
Ardhamagadhi Prakrit was a Middle Indo-Aryan language and a Dramatic Prakrit thought to have been spoken in modern-day Bihar and Uttar Pradesh and used in some early Buddhist and Jain dramas. It was likely a Central Indo-Aryan language, related to Pali and the later Shauraseni Prakrit. The Eastern Hindi languages evolved from Ardhamagadhi Prakrit.