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Languages of Uttar Pradesh

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.

Languages of Uttar Pradesh
OfficialHindi, Urdu
Regional

After the state's official language Hindi (and co-official Urdu which is mutually intelligible), the Bhojpuri language is the second most spoken language with 25.5 million speakers or 11% of the state's population.[1] Other languages spoken are Awadhi, Braj, Bundeli, Bagheli and Kannauji. However, the exact speaker numbers for the languages are not known because the more educated prefer to speak in Hindi (in formal situations) and so return this answer on the census, while many in rural areas and the urban poor, especially the illiterate, list their language as "Hindi" on the census as they regard that as the term for their language, though incorrect.

Inventories

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Language data of Uttar Pradesh from 2011 census.[2][3]

  Hindi (80.16%)
  Bhojpuri (10.93%)
  Urdu (5.42%)
  Awadhi (1.9%)
  Others (1.59%)

Linguists generally distinguish the terms "language" and "dialects" on the basis of 'mutual comprehension'. The Indian census uses two specific classifications in a distinctive way: (1) 'language' and (2) 'mother tongue'. The 'mother tongues' are grouped within each 'language'. Many 'mother tongues' so defined would be considered a language rather than a dialect by linguistic standards. This is specifically the case for many 'mother tongues' with tens of millions of speakers that are officially grouped under the 'language' Hindi.

Official languages

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The languages of state administration are Hindi,[4] established by the Uttar Pradesh Official Language Act, 1951, and Urdu, established by the Amendment to the same in 1989.

Other languages

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Bhojpuri

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Main article: Bhojpuri language

Bhojpuri is an Indo-Aryan language predominantly spoken in the Bhojpur-Purvanchal region located in the eastern part of Uttar Pradesh.[5] It is widely spoken in several districts of Uttar Pradesh, including Varanasi, Gorakhpur, Ballia, Deoria, Kushinagar, Sant Kabir Nagar, Maharajganj, Chandauli, Jaunpur, Sonbhadra, Bhadohi, Mirzapur, Mau,Ghazipur and Azamgarh.

Apart from eastern Uttar Pradesh, the Bhojpur region also encompasses , western Bihar, western Jharkhand, some parts of Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh, as well as the Terai region of Nepal.[1] In Nepal, Bhojpuri is the third most spoken language, primarily used in the central and eastern Terai regions. Globally, there are approximately 150 million Bhojpuri speakers.

Bhojpuri has several dialects: Southern Bhojpuri, Northern Bhojpuri, Western Bhojpuri, and Nagpuria.[6] The Bhojpuri variant of the Kaithi script is the indigenous script of the Bhojpuri language.[7] However, in modern times, Devanagari has become more commonly used for writing Bhojpuri.

There is a demand for the greater recognition of Bhojpuri language, its inclusion in the Eighth Schedule of the Indian Constitution, and its status as an official language in Uttar Pradesh.[8]

Writing systems

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See also: Kaithi, Devanagari, and Nastaliq

Devanagari is the main script used to write Uttar Pradesh languages, although Urdu is written in the Nastaliq style of the Perso-Arabic script. Kaithi was widely used historically.

The Nagari Pracharini Sabha was formed in 1893 to promote the usage of the Devanagari script.[9]

Footnotes and references

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  1. ^ Experts, Disha (1 July 2020). Amazing Uttar Pradesh - General Knowledge for UPPSC, UPSSSC & other Competitive Exams. Disha Publications. ISBN 978-93-90486-72-4.
  2. ^ "Statement 1: Abstract of speakers' strength of languages and mother tongues - 2011". www.censusindia.gov.in. Office of the Registrar General & Census Commissioner, India. Retrieved 7 July 2018.
  3. ^ "Kurux". Ethnologue. Retrieved 11 July 2018.
  4. ^ "Uttar Pradesh Legislature". Archived from the original on 19 June 2009. Retrieved 21 September 2009.
  5. ^ Thakur, Gopal. "A GRAMMAR OF BHOJPURI A Dissertation Submitted to the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences of Tribhuvan University in Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy in LINGUISTICS". Unpublished doctoral dissertation submitted in Tribhuvan University.
  6. ^ "The phonology of the Northern standard dialect of Bhojpuri | WorldCat.org". search.worldcat.org. Retrieved 20 November 2024.
  7. ^ Grierson, George Abraham (1881). A handbook to the Kayathi character. The Library of Congress. Calcutta, Thacker, Spink, and co.
  8. ^ "क्या हिंदी-संस्कृत की तरह भोजपुरी भी बनेगी आधिकारिक भाषा? रवि किशन का बिल कानून बना तो क्या होगा फायदा". आज तक (in Hindi). 29 July 2024. Retrieved 20 November 2024.
  9. ^ "Nagari Pracharini Sabha". Archived from the original on 10 April 2009. Retrieved 10 April 2009.

See

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