| Western Pahari | |
|---|---|
| Geographic distribution |  India |
| Linguistic classification | Indo-European
|
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-2 / 5 | him |
| Glottolog | hima1250 |
The Western Pahari languages are a range of languages and dialects of Northern Indo-Aryan languages spoken in the western parts of the Himalayan range, primarily in the Indian state of Himachal Pradesh. They are also spoken in Jammu and Jaunsar-Bawar regions of India.
The following table lists the languages classified as belonging to Western Pahari, with the provisional grouping used in Glottolog 4.1: [1]
| Group | Language(s) |
|---|---|
| Jaunsari | Jaunsari |
| Nuclear Himachali | Hinduri, Kinnauri, Kullu, Mahasuvi, Pahari |
| Mandeali | Mandeali |
| Kangric-Chamealic-Bhattiyali |
|
Some Western Pahari languages, like Sarazi, are also spoken further north in Jammu and Kashmir, specifically in the districts of Ramban and Doda.
These languages form a dialect chain, and neighboring varieties may be mutually intelligible. Some Western Pahari languages have occasionally been regarded as dialects of either Dogri, Hindustani, or Punjabi.[ citation needed ]
Notably, some Western Pahari languages, such as Dogri and Kangri, are tonal like their close relative Punjabi, but unlike most other Indic languages. Dogri has been an official language in India since 2003.
Claus Peter Zoller suggests that the Bangani language is closely related to, or belongs to, the Western Pahari languages.
According to the United Nations Education, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO), all of Western Pahari languages, except for Dogri, are under either definitely endangered or critically endangered category. [2] None of these languages, except for Dogri, have any official status.
The demand for the inclusion of 'Pahari (Himachali)' under the Eight Schedule of the Constitution, which is supposed to represent multiple Pahari languages of Himachal Pradesh, had been made in the year 2010 by the state's Vidhan Sabha. There has been no positive progress on this matter since then even when small organisations are striving to save the language. Due to political interest, the language is currently recorded as a dialect of Hindi, even when having a poor mutual intelligibility with it and having a higher mutual intelligibility with other recognised languages like Dogri. [3]
In October 2021 a PIL was also filed in the Himachal Pradesh High Court which re-ignited the quest for recognizing Pahari (Himachali) or Western Pahari dialect chain spoken in Himachal as one of official languages of Himachal Pradesh.The petitioners through the PIL also requested the court to direct the State government to promote Pahari (Himachali) and other local languages as the medium of instruction in primary and middle-level schools as per the National Education Policy, 2020. As well as also prayed that the court direct the state government to include Pahari (Himachali) language as a separate category for the 2021 census of India and simultaneously undertake an awareness campaign to create awareness amongst the masses, especially the youth of the State who speak Pahari (Himachali), to get it marked as their mother tongue in the upcoming Census. A bench of Chief Justice Mohammad Rafiq and Justice Sabina while disposing off the PIL stated,“The direction as has been prayed for, cannot be issued to the State Government until and unless it is established on record that the Pahari (Himachali) language has its own script and that a common Pahari dialect is spoken throughout the State of Himachal Pradesh. We, however, set the petitioner at liberty to approach the Department of Language Art & Culture to the Government of Himachal Pradesh with his demand for undertaking research to promote a common Pahari (Himachali) nuclear language structure and nuclear Tankri script. If the petitioner approaches the respondents-State through its Additional Chief Secretary (Language Art & Culture) to the Government of Himachal Pradesh) for the prayer made in the Civil Writ Public Interest Litigation, it would be for the said authority to consider the same in accordance with the law.” Additionally, the petition had emphasised that Sanskrit, which is the second official language of the state, had only 936 speakers according to the 2011 census and Pahari (Himachali) dialect chain which is spoken by more than 40 lakh people was being neglected and has not been made an official language even after having so many speakers. [4] [5]
The Northern Indo-Aryan languages, also known as Pahāṛi 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.
Dogri is an Indo-Aryan language of the Western Pahari group, primarily spoken in the Jammu region of Jammu and Kashmir, India, with smaller groups of speakers in the adjoining regions of western Himachal Pradesh, northern Punjab, and north-eastern Pakistani Punjab. It is the ethnic language of the Dogras, and was spoken in the historical region of Duggar. It is currently spoken in the districts of Kathua, Jammu, Samba, Udhampur, Reasi and other adjoining districts of Jammu Province Unusually for an Indo-European language, Dogri is tonal, a trait it shares with other Western Pahari languages and Punjabi. It has several varieties, all with greater than 80% lexical similarity.
Kangri is an Indo-Aryan language, spoken in northern India, predominantly in the Kangra, Una and Hamirpur of Himachal Pradesh as well as in some parts of Mandi and Chamba districts of Himachal Pradesh and Gurdaspur, Rupnagar and Hoshiarpur districts of Punjab. Kangri language is also spoken in Duggar i.e. Jammu region and in a few villages of Pakistan by the people belonging to the families migrated from Kangra Valley. It is associated with the people of the Kangra Valley. The total number of speakers has been estimated at 2.3 million as of 2024.
The Tākri script is an abugida writing system of the Brahmic family of scripts. It is derived from the Sharada script formerly employed for Kashmiri. It is the sister script of Laṇḍā scripts. It has another variant Dogra Takri employed in Jammu region. There are numerous varieties present throughout Himachal Pradesh. Until the late 1940s, the adapted version of the script was the official script for writing Dogri in the princely state of Jammu and Kashmir. Throughout the history, different kingdoms of what now forms Himachal Pradesh used their own variety to maintain their records. The Takri script used in Sirmour in Himachal Pradesh and in the adjacent region of Jaunsar-Bawar in Uttarakhand has some distinction.
Mandeali is a Western Pahari language, spoken in northern India, predominantly in the Mandi district of Himachal Pradesh by the people of the Mandi Valley and particularly in the major city of Mandi. Other spellings for the name are Mandiyali and Mandiali. UNESCO reports it is one of the highly endangered languages of India. Speakers of the dialect have decreased by 21% from 1961 to 2001.
Pahari, or Pahadi is an ambiguous term that has been used for a variety of languages, dialects and language groups, most of which are found in the lower Himalayas.
The Punjabi dialects and languages or Greater Punjabi are a series of dialects and languages spoken around the Punjab region of Pakistan and India with varying degrees of official recognition. They have sometimes been referred to as the Greater Punjabi macrolanguage. Punjabi may also be considered as a pluricentric language with more than one standard variety.
Mahasu Pahari is a Western Pahari is a dialect of Himachali language spoken in Himachal Pradesh. It is also known as Mahasui or Mahasuvi. The speaking population is about 1,000,000 (2001). It is more commonly spoken in the Himachal Pradesh, Shimla (Simla) and Solan districts. It is to be known that Shimla and Solan were parts of the old Mahasu district. Himachal Pradesh State on 1 September 1972 reorganised the districts dissolving Mahasu district. The Solan district was carved out of Solan and Arki tehsils of the then Mahasu district and tehsils of Kandaghat and Nalagarh of the then Shimla District of Punjab.
Sirmauri is a Western Pahari language spoken in the Sirmaur district in the northern Indian state of Himachal Pradesh. Its two main varieties are Dharthi and Giripari.
Hinduri is a Himachali language of northern India. It was classified as a dialect under the Kiunthali Group
Pahari Kinnauri, or Kinnauri Pahari, also known as Oras Boli, is a dialect of Himachali language of northern India. It is spoken by different tribal groups in Kinnaur District, Himachal Pradesh; the language used to be commonly known as 'Kinnauri Tribal language', but this is now considered a derogatory term. It is not clear how distinct it is from other varieties of Himachali.
Bilaspuri, or Kahluri (Takri:𑚊𑚩𑚥𑚱𑚤𑚯) is a dialect of Himachali language spoken in northern India, predominantly in the Bilaspur district of Himachal Pradesh. It is associated with the people of the former princely state of Bilaspur in the Hills State.
Kishtwari or Kashtwari is a Northern Indo-Aryan language closely related to the Kashmiri language, with strong influences from neighbouring Western Pahari varieties. It is spoken by the Kishtwari people, a group of Pahari Hindus native to the Kishtwar district of Jammu division in Jammu and Kashmir, India.
Chambeali is an Indo-Aryan languages, spoken in the Chamba district of Himachal Pradesh.
Pangwali is an Indo-Aryan languages. 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.
Churahi is a Western Pahari language of Himachal Pradesh, India. It is spoken in the Chaurah and Saluni tehsils of Chamba district, and is considered endangered.
Gaddi is an Indo-Aryan language of India. It is spoken by the Gaddi people primarily residing in the Bharmour region of Chamba district and the upper reaches of Kangra district in Himachal Pradesh. It is also spoken in neighbouring parts of Jammu, with Gaddi villages found in Udhampur, Kathua and Doda districts.
Pahari culture refers to the cultural practices, traditions, arts, languages, lifestyles, and social behavior of the people living in the hilly regions of northern India, Pakistan, and Nepal. The term "pahari" or "pahadi" originates from the Hindi word "pahad", denotes "mountain" or "hill", and collectively describes the inhabitants of mountainous areas, including parts of Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, and northern Pakistan, as well as the Himalayan foothills in Nepal.
