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Modern Standard Hindi, commonly referred to as Hindi, is an Indo-Aryan language spoken chiefly in North India, and serves as the lingua franca of the Hindi Belt region encompassing parts of northern, central, eastern, and western India. Hindi has been described as a standardised and Sanskritised register of the Hindustani language, which itself is based primarily on the Khariboli dialect of Delhi and neighbouring areas of North India. Hindi, written in the Devanagari script, is one of the two official languages of the Government of India, along with English. It is an official language in nine states and three union territories and an additional official language in three other states. Hindi is also one of the 22 scheduled languages of the Republic of India.
Languages spoken in the Republic of India belong to several language families, the major ones being the Indo-Aryan languages spoken by 78.05% of Indians and the Dravidian languages spoken by 19.64% of Indians; both families together are sometimes known as Indic languages. Languages spoken by the remaining 2.31% of the population belong to the Austroasiatic, Sino–Tibetan, Tai–Kadai, and a few other minor language families and isolates. According to the People's Linguistic Survey of India, India has the second highest number of languages (780), after Papua New Guinea (840). Ethnologue lists a lower number of 456.
Bihari languages is 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.
Marwari is an Indo Aryan language of Rajasthani languages group spoken in the Indian state of Rajasthan. It is also found in the neighbouring states of Gujarat and Haryana, some adjacent areas in Eastern parts of Pakistan, and some migrant communities in Nepal. With some 7.8 million or so speakers, it is the largest language in the Rajasthani languages group. Most speakers live in Rajasthan and a few in Nepal. There are two dozen varieties of Marwari.
The Gondi (Gōṇḍī) or Gond people, who refer to themselves as "Koitur", are an ethnolinguistic group in India. Their native language, Gondi, belongs to the Dravidian family. They are spread over the states of Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Chhattisgarh, Uttar Pradesh, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, and Odisha. They are listed as a Scheduled Tribe for the purpose of India's system of reservation.
Mahakoshal or Mahakaushal is a region of central India. Mahakoshal lies in the upper or eastern reaches of the Narmada River valley in the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh. Jabalpur is the largest city in the region. Nimar region lies to the west, in the lower reaches of the Narmada valley.
Madiya or Maria is a Dravidian language spoken in India. It may be regarded as a dialect of Gondi, but is suspected to be mutually unintelligible with most other Gondi varieties.
Khandwa district, formerly known as the East Nimar district, is a district of the Madhya Pradesh state in central India. The city of Khandwa is the administrative headquarters of the district. Other notable towns in the district include Mundi, Harsud, Pandhana and Omkareshwar.
Gondi (Gōṇḍī), natively known as Koitur, is a South-Central Dravidian language, spoken by about three million Gondi people, chiefly in the Indian states of Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Chhattisgarh, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and by small minorities in neighbouring states. Although it is the language of the Gond people, it is highly endangered, with only one fifth of Gonds speaking the language. Gondi has a rich folk literature, examples of which are wedding songs and narrations. Gondi people are ethnically related to the Telugus.
Kui (କୁଇ)(also Kandh, Khondi, Khond, Khondo, Kanda, Kodu, Kodulu, Kuinga, Kuy) is a South-Central Dravidian language spoken by the Kandhas, eastern Indian state of Odisha. It is mostly spoken in Odisha, and written in the Odia script. With 941,988 registered native speakers, it figures at rank 29 in the 1991 Indian census. The Kui language was also referred to as the Kuinga language during the historical period. It is closely related to the Gondi and Kuvi languages.
Koya is a South-Central Dravidian language of the Gondi–Kui group spoken in central and southern India. It is the native language of the Koya people. It is sometimes described as a dialect of Gondi, but it is mutually unintelligible with Gondi dialects.
Sambalpuri is an Indo-Aryan language variety spoken in western Odisha, India. It is alternatively known as Western Odia, and as Kosali, a recently popularised but controversial term, which draws on an association with the historical region of Dakshina Kosala, whose territories also included the present-day Sambalpur region.
Tula is one of the Savanna languages of Gombe State, northeastern Nigeria.
Hruso, also known as Aka (Angka), is a language of Arunachal Pradesh India. Long assumed to be a Sino-Tibetan language, it may actually be a language isolate. It is spoken by 3,000 people in 21 villages in Thrizino Circle, West Kameng District. The Hruso people inhabit areas of South East Kameng and are concentrated in the Bichom River Valley, and speak English, Hindi, and Miji in addition to Hruso.
Mono is a moribund Mbum language spoken by older adults in northern Cameroon.
Lere is an extinct Kainji dialect cluster of Nigeria. The ethnic population was cited as 16,000 in 2000, of whom only a few speak the language. A wordlist from the Takaya dialect can be found under External links.
Ziriya (Jiriya) and Sheni (Shaini) constitute a Kainji language of Nigeria. They are geographically but perhaps not linguistically distinct.
Pangwali is a Western Pahari language of Himachal Pradesh, India. It is spoken in the Pangi Tehsil of Chamba district, and is threatened to go extinct. Pangwali is natively written in the Takri script, but Devanagari is used as well. It is very similar to the Padderi language of Padder, J&K.
References
- ↑ Nagarchal at Ethnologue (25th ed., 2022)
- ↑ Nagarchal at Ethnologue (22nd ed., 2019)
