Bhumij language

Bhumij
Bhumij
ভূমিজ, ଭୁମିଜ୍, भूमिज
	The word "Bhumij" in Ol Onal script
Native to	Jharkhand, Odisha, West Bengal, India
Ethnicity	Bhumij people
Native speakers	27,506 (2011 census)
Language family	Austroasiatic Munda North Munda Kherwarian Mundaric Bhumij; ; ; ; ;
Writing system	Ol Onal script Others: Devanagari script, Odia script, Bengali script
Official status
Official language in	India Jharkhand (additional);
Language codes
ISO 639-3	–
Linguist List	unr-bhu
Glottolog	bhum1234 Bhumij
ELP	Bhumij
	Distribution of Bhumij language in India
	Bhumij is classified as Vulnerable by the UNESCO Atlas of the World's Languages in Danger

Last updated June 14, 2024

Bhumij is an Austroasiatic language belonging to the Munda subfamily, related to Ho, Mundari, and Santali, primarily spoken by Bhumij peoples in the Indian states Jharkhand, Odisha and West Bengal.^[2]^[3] As per the 2011 census, only 27,506 people out of 911,349 Bhumij people spoke Bhumij as their mother tongue, as most Bhumijas have shifted to one of the regional dominant languages.^[4]^[5]^[6] Thus the language is considered an extremely endangered language.^[7]^[8]

History

Bhumij speakers have traditionally lived throughout the Kherwarian area in the modern states of Jharkhand, Orissa and West Bengal.^[9] While spoken by very few Bhumij people today, it was much more widespread historically. Those who lived east in Dhalbhum mostly shifted to the Bengali language and lost their local tongue, while those who lived around the Chota Nagpur Plateau held on to their language.^[10] However, the number of Bhumij speakers has significantly declined since the early 20th century. This decline attributed to the classification of Bhumij as a dialect of Mundari language and the language replacement within the Bhumj nation.

Historical speaker of Bhumij language
Year	Speaker	±%
1941	108,230	—
1951	101,938	−5.8%
1961	131,258	+28.8%
1971	51,651	−60.6%
1981	50,384	−2.5%
1991	45,302	−10.1%
2001	47,443	+4.7%
2011	27,506	−42.0%
Source: Census of India^[11]^[12]^[13]

Bhumij was mainly an oral language until the development of the Ol Onal script by the Ol Guru Mahendra Nath Sardar between 1981-1992.

According to Ethnologue Bhumij is dialect of Mundari language.^[14] Bhumij tribal people have protested for greater recognition and government funding for Bhumij-language education and public broadcasting resources.^[15]

Geographic distribution

Distribution of Bhumij language in the state of India^[16]

Jharkhand (41%)

West Bengal (25.5%)

Odisha (21.5%)

Bihar (3.5%)

Assam (3.5%)

Mizoram (2%)

Andaman and Nicobar islands (1.4%)

Tripura (1.1%)

Other (0.5%)

The highest concentrations of Bhumij language speakers are in East Singhbhum and Seraikela Kharsawan districts of Jharkhand, the Jangal mahals region of West Bengal (Jhargram, Bankura and Purulia districts) and Mayurbhanj district of Odisha.^[17]^[18]^[19]

Official status

In January 2019, Bhumij was accorded the status of second language in the state of Jharkhand.^[20]

States like Odisha, West Bengal and Bihar have a large number of Bhumij people, yet the Bhumij language has not been given the status of a state language in these states so far.^[21]

Writing system

Bhumij language has been written in Ol Onal script, invented between 1981 and 1992 by Mahendra Nath Sardar. The Bengali script, Odia script and Devanagari are also used to write the language.

Related Research Articles

The Munda languages are a group of closely related languages spoken by about nine million people in India, Bangladesh and Nepal. Historically, they have been called the Kolarian languages. They constitute a branch of the Austroasiatic language family, which means they are more distantly related to languages such as the Mon and Khmer languages, to Vietnamese, as well as to minority languages in Thailand and Laos and the minority Mangic languages of South China. Bhumij, Ho, Mundari, and Santali are notable Munda languages.

Santali, also known as Santal or Santhali, is the most widely-spoken language of the Munda subfamily of the Austroasiatic languages, related to Ho and Mundari, spoken mainly in the Indian states of Assam, Bihar, Jharkhand, Mizoram, Odisha, Tripura and West Bengal by Santals. It is a recognised regional language of India per the Eighth Schedule of the Indian Constitution. It is spoken by around 7.6 million people in India, Bangladesh, Bhutan and Nepal, making it the third most-spoken Austroasiatic language after Vietnamese and Khmer.

Mayurbhanj district is one of the 30 districts in the Odisha state of eastern India. It holds the distinction of being the largest district in Odisha by area. The district's headquarters is located in Baripada, with other major towns including Rairangpur, Karanjia, and Bahalda. As of 2011, Mayurbhanj ranks as the third-most populous district in Odisha, following Ganjam and Cuttack.

Ho is a Munda language of the Austroasiatic language family spoken primarily in India by about 2.2 million people per the 2001 census. It is spoken by the Ho, Munda, Kolha and Kol tribal communities of Odisha, Jharkhand, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, West Bengal, Assam and is written with the Warang Citi script. Devanagari, Latin script, Odia script and Telugu script are sometimes used, although native speakers are said to prefer a Ho script. The latter script was invented by Ott Guru Kol Lako Bodra.

West Singhbhum or Pashchimi Singhbhum is one of the 24 districts of Jharkhand state, India. It came into existence on 16 January 1990, when the old Singhbhum district was bifurcated. Chaibasa is the district headquarters.

Seraikela Kharsawan district is one of the twenty-four districts of Jharkhand state in eastern India. Seraikela town is the district headquarters of Saraikela Kharsawan district. The district is well known for Seraikela Chhau, one of the three distinctive styles of the chhau dance. This district was carved out from West Singhbhum district in 2001. The district was formed from the princely states of Seraikela and Kharaswan, after the independence of India.

The Munda people are an Austroasiatic-speaking ethnic group of the Indian subcontinent. They speak Mundari as their native language, which belongs to the Munda subgroup of Austroasiatic languages. The Munda are found mainly concentrated in the south and East Chhotanagpur Plateau region of Jharkhand, Odisha and West Bengal. The Munda also reside in adjacent areas of Madhya Pradesh as well as in portions of Bangladesh, Nepal, and the state of Tripura. They are one of India's largest scheduled tribes. Munda people in Tripura are also known as Mura.

The Kharia are an Austroasiatic tribal ethnic group from east-central India. They originally speak the Kharia language, which belong to Austroasiatic languages. They are sub-divided into three groups known as the Hill Kharia, Delki Kharia and the Dudh Kharia. Amongst them, the Dudh Kharia is the most educated community.

Kurukh, also Kurux, Oraon or Uranw, is a North Dravidian language spoken by the Kurukh (Oraon) and Kisan people of East India. It is spoken by about two million people in the Indian states of Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, Odisha, West Bengal, Assam, Bihar and Tripura, as well as by 65,000 in northern Bangladesh, 28,600 of a dialect called Uranw in Nepal and about 5,000 in Bhutan. The most closely related language to Kurukh is Malto; together with Brahui, all three languages form the North Dravidian branch of the Dravidian language family. It is marked as being in a "vulnerable" state in UNESCO's list of endangered languages. The Kisan dialect has 206,100 speakers as of 2011.

The Kharia language is a Munda language of the Austroasiatic language family, that is primarily spoken by the Kharia people of eastern India.

The Juang language is a Munda language of the Austroasiatic language family spoken primarily by the Juang people of Odisha state, eastern India.

The Ho people are an Austroasiatic Munda ethnic group of India. They are mostly concentrated in the Kolhan region of Jharkhand and northern Odisha where they constitute around 10.7% and 7.3% of the total Scheduled Tribe population respectively, as of 2011. With a population of approximately 700,000 in the state in 2001, the Ho are the fourth most numerous Scheduled tribe in Jharkhand after the Santals, Kurukhs, and Mundas. Ho also inhabit adjacent areas in the neighbouring states of Odisha, West Bengal and Bihar bringing the total to 806,921 as of 2001. They also live in Bangladesh and Nepal.

Mundari (Munɖari) is a Munda language of the Austroasiatic language family spoken by the Munda tribes in eastern Indian states of Jharkhand, Odisha and West Bengal and northern Rangpur Division of Bangladesh. It is closely related to Santali. Mundari Bani, a script specifically to write Mundari, was invented by Rohidas Singh Nag. It has also been written in the Devanagari, Odia, Bengali, and Latin writing systems.

Birhor are a tribal/Adivasi forest people, traditionally nomadic, living primarily in the Indian state of Jharkhand. They speak the Birhor language, which belongs to the Munda group of languages of the Austroasiatic language family.

Bhumij is a Munda ethnic group of India. They primarily live in the Indian states of West Bengal, Odisha, Assam and Jharkhand, mostly in the old Singhbhum district. Also in states like Bihar and Assam. There is also a sizeable population found in Bangladesh. Bhumijas speak the Bhumij language, an Austroasiatic language, and use Ol Onal script for writing.

Kurmali or Kudmali is an Indo-Aryan language classified as belonging to the Bihari group of languages spoken in eastern India. As a trade dialect, it is also known as Panchpargania, for the "five parganas" of the region it covers in Jharkhand. Kurmali language is spoken by around 550,000 people mainly in fringe regions of Jharkhand, Odisha and West Bengal, also a sizeable population speak Kurmali in Assam tea valleys. Kurmali is one of the demanded languages for enlisting in Eighth Schedule to the Constitution of India.

Turi is an endangered Munda language of India that is closely related to Mundari. It is spoken by only half a percent of ethnic Turi, the rest having shifted to Sadri in Jharkhand, Mundari in West Bengal, and Odia in Odisha. The Turi are classified as a Scheduled Caste in Jharkhand.

Koda, also known as Kora, Kaora, Korali, Korati, Kore, Mudi, or Mudikora, is an endangered Munda language of India and Bangladesh spoken by the Kora. The Kora mainly live in West Bengal, in the districts of Paschim Medinipur and Bankura, with a few in neighbouring Odisha and Jharkhand. In 2005, there were 1,300 speakers in the Rajshahi Division of Bangladesh, though many said that Bengali was their best language. Koda is closely related to the Kol language.

Bagal is a cattle herding caste of East India. Bagal people are living in the state of West Bengal, Jharkhand and Odisha. They use Kudmali/ Manbhumi dialect of Bengali as mother tongue and use Bengali, Hindi and Odia language to communicate with the society.

The Ol Onal is an alphabetic writing system for the Bhumij language. Ol Onal script was created between 1981 and 1992 by Ol Guru Mahendra Nath Sardar. Ol Onal script is used to write the Bhumij language in some parts of West Bengal, Jharkhand, Orissa, and Assam.

References

↑ Moseley, Christopher; Nicolas, Alexander, eds. (2010). Atlas of the World's Languages in Danger (PDF) (3rd ed.). Paris: UNESCO. pp. 46–47. ISBN 978-92-3-104096-2. Archived from the original on 23 July 2022.
↑ Parkin, Robert; Parkin, Visiting Lecturer Research Associate Robert (1991). A Guide to Austroasiatic Speakers and Their Languages. University of Hawaii Press. ISBN 978-0-8248-1377-2.
↑ Anderson, Gregory D. S. (8 April 2015). The Munda Languages. Routledge. ISBN 978-1-317-82886-0.
↑ "A-11 Individual Scheduled Tribe Primary Census Abstract Data and its Appendix". censusindia.gov.in. Office of the Registrar General & Census Commissioner, India. Retrieved 18 November 2017.
↑ "Statement 1: Abstract of speakers' strength of languages and mother tongues – 2011" (PDF). www.censusindia.gov.in. Office of the Registrar General & Census Commissioner, India. Archived from the original (PDF) on 19 April 2022. Retrieved 7 July 2018.
↑ Linguistic Survey of India. Office of the superintendent of government printing, India. 1906.
↑ "Did you know Bhumij is at risk?". Endangered Languages. Retrieved 22 September 2022.
↑ Abbi, Anvita (1997). Languages of Tribal and Indigenous Peoples of India: The Ethnic Space. Motilal Banarsidass Publishers. ISBN 978-81-208-1374-8.
↑ "Bhumij | Living Tongues Institute for Endangered Languages". livingtongues.org. Retrieved 18 April 2022.
↑ Ishtiaq, M. (1999). Language Shifts Among the Scheduled Tribes in India: A Geographical Study. Motilal Banarsidass Publ. ISBN 978-81-208-1617-6.
↑ Anderson, Gregory D. S. (2008). The Munda Languages. Routledge. pp. 196–197. doi:10.4324/9781315822433. ISBN 9780415741835.
↑ "Statement 8 : Growth of Non-Scheduled Languages - 1971, 1981, 1991, 2001 and 2011" (PDF). censusindia.gov.in. Archived from the original (PDF) on 14 June 2021.
↑ "Abstract of speakers' strength of languages and mother tongues –2001". censusindia.gov.in. Archived from the original on 15 April 2022. Retrieved 20 March 2022.
↑ "Mundari | Ethnologue Free". Ethnologue (Free All). Retrieved 20 January 2024.
↑ Pradhan, Hemanta (16 March 2016). "Tribals demand official status for Bhumij language". The Times of India. Retrieved 14 April 2022.
↑ "C-16: Population by mother tongue, India - 2011". Office of the Registrar General & Census Commissioner, India.
↑ "Bhumij language and alphabet". Omniglot. Retrieved 18 April 2022.
↑ Das, Tarakchandra (1931). The Bhumijas of Seraikella. University of Calcutta.
↑ People of India: The scheduled tribes. Anthropological Survey of India. 1994. ISBN 978-81-85579-09-2.
↑ "Jharkhand notifies Bhumij as second state language". The Avenue Mail. 5 January 2019. Retrieved 17 April 2022.
↑ Pradhan, Hemanta (16 March 2016). "Tribals demand official status for Bhumij language". The Times of India. Retrieved 5 May 2022.

Sources

Suresh, J. (2002). "Bhumij". Linguistic Survey of India – Orissa (PDF). Language division, Office of the Registrar General, India. p. 250-270.

Bhumij language

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