Kumaoni language explained

Kumaoni
Nativename:कुमाऊँनी
Pronunciation:pronounced as /kfy/
Region:Kumaon (India)
Doti[1] [2] (Nepal)
States:India
Ethnicity:Kumaoni
Speakers:2.2 million
Date:2011 census
Familycolor:Indo-European
Fam2:Indo-Iranian
Fam3:Indo-Aryan
Fam4:Northern
Fam5:Central Pahari
Script:Devanagari
Iso3:kfy
Glotto:kuma1273
Glottorefname:Kumaoni
Notice:Indic
Image1:Kumaoni language.svg
Imagecaption1:The word "Kumaoni" written in Devanagari script
Map2:Kumaoni Language Speakers in India (2011 Census).png
Mapcaption2:Kumaoni language speakers in India (2011 census)

Kumaoni (कुमाऊँनी,pronounced as /kfy/) is an Indo-Aryan language spoken by over two million people of the Kumaon region of the state of Uttarakhand in northern India and parts of Doti region in Western Nepal.[3] As per 1961 survey there were 1,030,254 Kumaoni speakers in India.[4] The number of speakers increased to 2.2 million in 2011.

Kumaoni is not endangered but UNESCO's Atlas of the World's Languages in Danger designates it as a language in the unsafe category, meaning it requires consistent conservation efforts.[5]

Script

Kumaoni is written using the Devanagari script.[6]

Geographic distribution and dialects

There are several dialects spoken in the Kumaon region. There is not single accepted method of dividing up the dialects of Kumaoni. Broadly speaking, Kali (or Central) Kumaoni is spoken in Almora and northern Nainital. North-eastern Kumaoni is spoken in Pithoragarh. South-eastern Kumaoni is spoken in South-eastern Nainital. Western Kumaoni is spoken west of Almora and Nainital.

More specifically:[7]

Some Kumaoni speakers are also reportedly found in Western Nepal.[2]

History

Various Kumaoni text have been found from the Katyuri and Chand era on temple stones and as copper plate inscriptions.[8] [9] Kumaoni was also the official language of the Kumaon Kingdom.

Phonology

Consonants

LabialDental/
Alveolar
RetroflexPost-alv./
Palatal
VelarGlottal
Nasalpronounced as /link/pronounced as /link/pronounced as /link/pronounced as /link/
pronounced as /link/pronounced as /link/
Stop/
Affricate
pronounced as /link/pronounced as /link/pronounced as /link/pronounced as /link/pronounced as /link/
pronounced as /link/pronounced as /link/pronounced as /link/pronounced as /link/pronounced as /link/
pronounced as /link/pronounced as /link/pronounced as /link/pronounced as /link/pronounced as /link/
pronounced as /link/pronounced as /link/pronounced as /link/pronounced as /link/pronounced as /link/
Fricativepronounced as /link/pronounced as /link/pronounced as /link/
Rhoticpronounced as /link/pronounced as /link/
pronounced as /link/
Lateralpronounced as /link/pronounced as /link/
pronounced as /link/
Approximantpronounced as /link/pronounced as /link/

Vowels

FrontCentralBack
Highpronounced as /link/pronounced as /link/
pronounced as /link/pronounced as /link/
Midpronounced as /link/pronounced as /link/pronounced as /link/
pronounced as /link/pronounced as /link/
Low(pronounced as /link/)pronounced as /link/ pronounced as /link/

Grammar

Being part of the Indo-Aryan dialect continuum Kumauni shares its grammar with other Indo-Aryan languages like Dotyali, Nepali, Hindi, Rajasthani, Kashmiri and Gujarati.It shares much of its grammar with the other language of the Central Pahari group like Garhwali. The peculiarities of grammar in Kumaoni and other Central Pahari languages exist due to the influence of the now extinct language of the Khasas, the first inhabitants of the region. In Kumauni the verb substantive is formed from the root ach, as in both Rajasthani and Kashmiri. In Rajasthani its present tense, being derived from the Sanskrit present rcchami, I go, does not change for gender. But in Pahari and Kashmiri it must be derived from the rare Sanskrit particle *rcchitas, gone, for in these languages it is a participial tense and does change according to the gender of the subject. Thus, in the singular we have: - Here we have a relic of the old Khasa language, which, as has been said, seems to have been related to Kashmiri. Other relics of Khasa, again agreeing with north-western India, are the tendency to shorten long vowels, the practice of epenthesis, or the modification of a vowel by the one which follows in the next syllable, and the frequent occurrence of disaspiration. Thus, Khas siknu, Kumauni sikhno, but Hindi sikhna, to learn; Kumauni yeso, plural yasa, of this kind.

Language Comparison
 Khas-kura (Nepali)KumauniKashmiri
to beMascFemMascFemMascFem
1SGchhuchhuchikchuchusches
2SGchhaschheschaichichukhchekh
3SGchhachhechchichuhcheh

Verb conjugation

Conjugation of the verb Lekh (लेख) to write, in all three tenses in Kumaoni.

Future tense

Example short phrases

Words/phrases Transliteration Meaning
जै देव Jai Dev Hello Formal.
पैलाग Pailaag Hi/Hello (lit. touch your feet as a sign of respect used by younger members to greet older members)
कस हेरे छे? Kas hare chhe? How are you? Informal
कस हेरो छा? Kas haro cha How are you? Formal
भल हेरो Bhal heroI am fine
काँ जाण छा? kaa jaan chha? Where are you going
होए Hoye. Yes.
ना Nā. No.
कतु? Katu? How much?/How many?
काँ? Kajāh? Where?
कसिक? Kasik? How?
कैक? Kaik? Whose?
को? Ko? Who?
किलै Kila? Why?
के? Ke? What?
के हेगो? Ke hego. What happened?
तुमऱ नौ के छ? Tumar nau ke che? What is your name?
बेरे घर (ध्याव) ऐै जया Baere ghyav ajayaa Come home early
आपूं कां बटे आछा?Aapoun kan bate aachcha? From where do you come?
को जाल बजार? Ko jal Baazar Who will go to market?
ओ बबो O baboOh my god!

Official status

There have been demands to include Kumaoni along with Garhwali in the 8th schedule of the Constitution of India so that it could be made one of the Scheduled Language of India.In 2010, a private member's bill was introduced for discussion in the Lok Sabha whose aim was to include Garhwali and Kumaoni in the Eighth Schedule of the Constitution.[13] [14]

However In a step to promote and protect indigenous languages in December 2019 Government of the state introduced Official Kumaoni Books for Classes 1-5 students of kumaon division Schools.[15]

Kumaoni literature

Kumaoni language has had many noteworthy writers, prominent among them are

Media and art

Films

Theatre

Kumaoni theatre which developed through its 'Ramleela' plays,[21] later evolved into a modern theatre form with the efforts of theatre stalwarts like Mohan Upreti, Naima Khan Upreti and Dinesh Pandey, and groups like 'Parvatiya Kala Kendra' (started by Mohan Upreti) and 'Parvatiya Lok Kala Manch'. "Ankhar" of Lucknow did a very good work in the field of kumaoni theater. Ankhar played a number of kumauni plays like "mee yo gayun, mee yo satkyun" writer Nand Kumar Upreti, "Punturi" by Charu Chandra Pandey, "Motor Road" by Govind Ballabh Pant, "Labh Ribhadi" writer Nand Kumar Upreti, "Kagare Aag" and "Tumhare Liye" by Himanshu Joshi, Kumauni translation Naveeen Joshi and कुमाउनी नाटक-जैल थै, वील पै.[22]

Folk music

Folk song genres include ceremonial mandals, martial and melancholy,, and .

Musical instruments used in Kumaon music include the,,,,,,,, and. Tabla and harmonium are also used, but to a lesser extent.

Some prominent singers are:

In the early 1990s songs on the turning life style mainly on the one who are heading towards town being made in which, etc. criticize the changing attitude in kumaoni society, the songs of mohan manral straight away criticize of the changing mindset of metropolitan kumaoni society running away from their roots.

Radio

See also

Further reading

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: History of Nepal . 2008-01-31 . T.R.Vaidya Publications . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20050209191916/http://www.indus-intl.com/bookdetails.cfm?bookid=IN-02404 . 2005-02-09.
  2. Eichentopf . Stephanie R. . 2014 . A Sociolinguistic Study of Dotyali . Tribhuvan University and SIL International . 14.
  3. Web site: History of Nepal. 2008-01-31. T.R.Vaidya Publications. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20050209191916/http://www.indus-intl.com/bookdetails.cfm?bookid=IN-02404. 2005-02-09.
  4. Web site: indianmothertongues1961.
  5. Web site: UNESCO Interactive Atlas of the World's Languages in Danger . . 3 September 2010.
  6. Book: Grierson, George Abraham . George Abraham Grierson. Linguistic Survey Of India, Volume 9.4 . 190.
  7. Web site: 2012-03-05. Uttaranchal Dialects and Languages - Uttarakhand Worldwide - Kumaoni and Garhwali - Kumaon and Garhwal Dialects -. 2021-02-08. https://web.archive.org/web/20120305211927/http://www.uttaranchal.org.uk/dialects.php. 5 March 2012.
  8. Book: Śarmā, Devīdatta. Linguistic History of Uttarākhaṇḍa. 1983. Vishveshvaranand Vedic Research Institute. en.
  9. Book: Miśra, Nityānanda. Source Materials of Kumauni History. 1994. Shree Almora Book Depot. 978-81-85865-24-9. en.
  10. Book: Sinha, Sweta . Segmental Sounds of Kumauni and Garhwali: An Analytical Comparison . Raghavan . Radhika Gopalakrishnan.
  11. Book: Sharma, D. D. . A Linguistic Geography of Kumaun Himalayas (A Descriptive Areal Distribution of Kumauni Language) . Mittal Publications . 1989.
  12. Book: Śarmā, D. D. . The formation of Kumauni language / Pt. I, Phonology and morphophonemics . New Delhi : Bahri . 1985.
  13. Web site: Members want inclusion of Kumaoni, Garhwali in 8th schedule. https://web.archive.org/web/20120327075717/http://news.in.msn.com/national/article.aspx?cp-documentid=5410372. dead. 2012-03-27. 2012-03-27. 2020-01-11.
  14. Web site: Postcards demand official language status for Kumaoni, Garhwali . 22 February 2016. Shivani. Saxena . The Times of India. en. 2020-02-12.
  15. Web site: CM releases Kumaoni books for school students . The Times of India. en. 2020-01-11.
  16. http://www.readers-cafe.net/shabdkosh/cinema.php Kumaoni Cinema
  17. Web site: First Kumaoni Film Of Uttarakhand . https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211213/eNuOZlbJvwg . 2021-12-13 . live. Youtube . 16 April 2021.
  18. http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/45913051.cms The Times of India
  19. http://nandadevi.prayaga.org/?page_id=52 Film set in 1994 Uttarakhand Movement
  20. http://www.uttarakhandandbeyond.com/index.php/Video/kumaoni-film-Madhuli.html Maduhli
  21. http://www.iloveindia.com/indian-traditions/theatre.html Indian Traditions
  22. Web site: कुमाउनी नाटक (जैल थै, वील पै) . 2015-10-07. https://web.archive.org/web/20151007071047/https://navinjoshi1.files.wordpress.com/2014/07/jail-thai-weel-pai.pdf. dead. 2015-10-07. 2020-07-29.
  23. Web site: Teri launches Kumaon Vani community radio service . One India . 3 September 2010.
  24. Web site: First e Radio of Uttarakhand . Dr. Shailesh Upreti . 23 February 2011 . official . bedupako . 28 June 2008 . 1 May 2011 . https://web.archive.org/web/20110501132011/http://bedupako.com/eradio.php . dead .