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Rājasthānī
राजस्थानी
રાજસ્થાની
Native to India
Region Rajasthan, Malwa ( MP)
Ethnicity Rajasthanis
Native speakers
16 million (2011 census) [1]
(additional speakers counted under Hindi)
Early forms
Dialects
Official status
Regulated by Rajasthani Bhasa, Sahitya and Sanskriti Akademi, Government of Rajasthan
Language codes
ISO 639-2 raj
ISO 639-3 raj
Glottolog raja1256
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Rajasthani (राजस्थानी, Rājasthānī) is an Indo-Aryan language native to Rajasthan and is spoken primarily by Rajasthani people in the state of Rajasthan and adjacent areas of Haryana, Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh in India. There are also speakers in the Pakistani provinces of Punjab and Sindh. Rajasthani is also spoken to a lesser extent in Nepal where it is spoken by 25,394 people according to the 2011 Census of Nepal. [3] It is an Western Indo Aryan language and as of 2011 census is spoken by about 4% of India's population including its varieties, all included under Hindi as dialects. [4]Rajasthani is a descendant of Shaurseni Prakrit and is closely related to Gujarati and Sindhi. Rajasthani is a literary language mostly based on Marwari veriety which is standardized and taught in Schools and Universities in Rajasthan as a language subject. Also it is a macro language with 7 individual languages according to Ethnolog. [5]: 441 

History

Rajasthani is an Indo-Aryan language with its roots in Vedic Sanskrit and Saurseni Prakrit. [6]

Initial period (700-1050 A.D.)

Rajasthani has a literary tradition going back approximately 1500 years. The Vasantgadh Inscription from modern day Sirohi that has been dated to the 7th century AD uses the term Rajasthaniaditya in reference to the official or maybe for a poet or a bhat who wrote in Rajasthani. [7] The ancient astronomer and mathematician Brahmagupta of Bhinmal composed the Brāhmasphuṭasiddhānta. In 779 AD, Udhyotan Suri wrote the Kuvalaya Mala partly in Prakrit and partly in Apabhraṃśa. [8] [9]Texts of this era display characteristic Gujarati features such as direct/oblique noun forms, post-positions, and auxiliary verbs. It had three genders as Gujarati does today. During the medieval period, the literary language split into Medieval Marwari and Gujarati.

1050 - 1450 A.D.

From 1100 AD to 1300 AD it existed as Gurjar Apabhraṃśa. By around 1300 AD a fairly standardised form of this language emerged. While generally known as Old Gujarati, some scholars prefer the name of Old Western Rajasthani, based on the argument that Gujarati and Rajasthani were not distinct at the time. Also factoring into this preference was the belief that modern Rajasthani sporadically expressed a neuter gender, based on the incorrect conclusion that the [ũ] that came to be pronounced in some areas for masculine [o] after a nasal consonant was analogous to Gujarati's neuter [ũ]. A formal grammar of the precursor to this language was written by Jain monk and eminent scholar Hemachandra Suri in the reign of Solanki king Jayasimha Siddharaja. Maharana Kumbha wrote Sangeet Raj, a book on musicology and a treatise on Jai Deva’s Geet Govinda.

  • Maru-Gurjar

From the Gurjara Apabhramsha influence popular in the western parts of the country, including the present-day Rajasthan and Gujarat states, the early Rajasthani language evolved and began to take on a definite linguistic pattern during the 11th century. Early Rajasthani and Gujarati were similar till about 1450 AD. After this the separation started. This common language has been given many names like Maru-Sorath, Old Western Rajasthani, Old Gujarati, Old Rajasthani and Maru-Gurjar. The last name i.e. Maru-Gurjar is more appropriate. Thus, the literature of the early period (1050-1450) is the common heritage of both the languages – Gujarati and Rajasthani.

Pre medieval period (1450 - 1650 A.D.)

From 1450 Rajasthani and Gujarati started distinguished and in coming centuries Rajasthani or Dingal or Marubhasha was developed. Kanhadade Prabandha was written during this period which is considered as first verified creation of Rajasthani by some scholars. From 15th century Rajasthani started developing as an independent language.

Post medieval period (1650-1850 A.D.) (Golden period)

Use of both Dingal and Pingal continued to the 19th century. Dingal was used for war songs composing and Pingal was used for devotional songs and love poems.

  • Maru Bhasa

Maru-Bhasa is also called Dingal. Till the end of the 19th century, both were considered the same. Dingal is considered synonymous with Maru-Bhasa, literary and otherwise, poetic speech and the voice of the people. However, the earliest mention of both Dingal and Pingal as linguistic units is found in 'Chhappay' of the saint poet Surjanadas Punia (1583–1691), composed around 1640 or earlier.

Present period (1850-present)

In the 19th century Rajasthani started standardized and various works on grammar and dictionaries were published. literature of this period was about freedom struggle and various socio-political issues of the time. [10]

After the independence Rajasthani language started declining due to Hindi being made official language of the state and not making Rajasthani any official language. Due to lack of Government recognition and in the meantime it's various varieties got dominated by Hindi as dialects of Hindi and Rajasthani is also considered as dialect of Hindi by many people.

Geographical distribution

Rajasthani is chiefly spoken in the state of Rajasthan but is also spoken in Gujarat, Haryana and Punjab. Rajasthani is also spoken in the Bahawalpur and Multan sectors of the Pakistani provinces of Punjab and Tharparkar district of Sindh. It merges with Riasti and Saraiki in Bahawalpur and Multan areas, respectively. Many linguists (Shackle, 1976 and Gusain, 2000) agree that it shares many phonological (implosives), morphological (future tense marker and negation) and syntactic features with Riasti and Saraiki. A distribution of the geographical area can be found in ' Linguistic Survey of India' by George A. Grierson. [11]

Rajasthani language speakers in India.

Classification

The Rajasthani language belong to the Western Indo-Aryan language family. However, it controversially conflated with the Hindi languages of the Central-Zone in the Indian national census, among other places[ citation needed]. Rajasthani is closer to Western Indo-Aryan languages like Gujarati and Sindhi than Khadiboli Hindi. Like other regional languages of India, Rajasthani also has some unique characteristics of its own. Grierson has classified the dialects of Rajasthani language on pages 2-3 of Part 2 of the 9th book of Linguistic Survey of India as follows –

1. Western Rajasthani - It includes Marwari, Thali, Bikaneri, Bagri, Shekhawati, Mewari, Khairadi, Godwari and Devdawati.

2. North Eastern Rajasthani – Ahirwati and Mewati.

3. Dhundhaari - It is also called Central Eastern Rajasthani, which includes Tonravati, Jaipuri, Kathadi, Rajawati, Ajmeri, Kishangarhi, Shahpuri and Hadoti.

4. Malvi or South-Eastern-Rajasthani – It consists of Rangri, Umathwadi, Rajwadi, Ujjaini, Bhoyari/Pawari, Sondhwadi.

5. Southern Rajasthani – Nimari, Mewari.

Varieties and related languages

There several dialects or varieties or spoken forms of Rajasthani which are often considered as separate languages because of having high level of intelligibility among themselves. The main Rajasthani varieties are:

  • Standard Rajasthani: this forms something of a standardised version of Rajasthani in news, education and publications, the common lingua franca of Rajasthani people and is spoken by over 25 million people (2011) in different parts of Rajasthan. [12] It has to be taken into consideration, however, that some speakers of Standard Rajasthani are conflated with Hindi speakers in the census. [13] [14]
Geographical distribution of Rajasthani verities

Western Rajasthani group which includes- Marwari, Mewari, Wagdi and Bagri

Eastern Rajasthani group includes Dhundari, Jaipuri, Hadoti, Malvi and Nimadi [16]

Official status

George Abraham Grierson (1908) was the first scholar who gave the designation ‘Rajasthani’ to the language, which was earlier known through its various dialects.

India's National Academy of Literature, the Sahitya Akademi, [18] and University Grants Commission recognize Rajasthani as a distinct language, and it is taught as such in Bikaner's Maharaja Ganga Singh University, Jaipur's University of Rajasthan, Jodhpur's Jai Narain Vyas University, Kota's Vardhaman Mahaveer Open University and Udaipur's Mohanlal Sukhadia University. The state Board of Secondary Education included Rajasthani in its course of studies, and it has been an optional subject since 1973. National recognition has lagged, however. [19]

In 2003, the Rajasthan Legislative Assembly passed a unanimous resolution to insert recognition of Rajasthani into the Eighth Schedule of the Constitution of India. [20] In May 2015, a senior member of the pressure group Rajasthani Bhasha Manyata Samiti said at a New Delhi press conference: "Twelve years have passed, but there has absolutely been no forward movement." [21]

All 25 Members of Parliament elected from Rajasthan state, [21] as well as former Chief Minister, Vasundhara Raje Scindia, [22] have also voiced support for official recognition of the language. [23]

In 2019 Rajasthan Government included Rajasthani as a language subject in state's open school system. [24]

A committee was formed by the Government in March, 2023 to make Rajasthani an official language of the state after huge protests by the youths of Rajasthani Yuva Samiti [25] [26] [27]

Grammar

Rajasthani is a head-final, or left- branching language. Adjectives precede nouns, direct objects come before verbs, and there are postpositions. The word order of Rajasthani is SOV, and there are two genders and two numbers. [28] There are no definite or indefinite articles. A verb is expressed with its verbal root followed by suffixes marking aspect and agreement in what is called a main form, with a possible proceeding auxiliary form derived from to be, marking tense and mood, and also showing agreement. Causatives (up to double) and passives have a morphological basis. It shares a 50%-65% lexical similarity with Hindi (this is based on a Swadesh 210 word list comparison). It has many cognate words with Hindi. Notable phonetic correspondences include /s/ in Hindi with /h/ in Rajasthani. For example /sona/ 'gold' (Hindi) and /hono/ 'gold' (Marwari). /h/ sometimes elides. There are also a variety of vowel changes. Most of the pronouns and interrogatives are, however, distinct from those of Hindi. [29]

  • Use of retroflex consonants

The phonetic characteristics of Vedic Sanskrit, surviving in Rajasthani language, is the series of "retroflex" or "cerebral" consonants, ṭ (ट), ṭh (ठ), ḍ (ड), ḍh (ढ), and ṇ (ण). These to the Indians and Rajasthani are quite different from the "dentals", t (त), th (थ), d (द), dh (ध), n (न) etc. though many Europeans find them hard to distinguish without practice as they are not common in European languages. The consonant ḷ(ळ) is frequently used in Rajasthani, which also occurs in vedic and some prakrits, is pronounced by placing the tongue on the top of the hard palate and flapping it forward. In common with most other Indo-Iranian languages, the basic sentence typology is subject–object–verb. On a lexical level, Rajasthani has perhaps a 50 to 65 percent overlap with Hindi, based on a comparison of a 210-word Swadesh list. Most pronouns and interrogative words differ from Hindi, but the language does have several regular correspondences with, and phonetic transformations from, Hindi. The /s/ in Hindi is often realized as /h/ in Rajasthani — for example, the word ‘gold’ is /sona/ (सोना) in Hindi and /hono/ (होनो) in the Marwari dialect of Rajasthani. Furthermore, there are a number of vowel substitutions, and the Hindi /l/ sound (ल) is often realized in Rajasthani as a retroflex lateral /ɭ/ (ळ).

Phonology

Rajasthani has 11 vowels and 38 consonants. The Rajasthani language Bagri has developed three lexical tones: low, mid and high. [30]

Vowels
Front Central Back
Close i u
ɪ ʊ
Mid e ə o
ɛ ɔ
Open ɑ
Consonants
Labial Dental/
Alveolar
Retroflex Post-alv./
Palatal
Velar Glottal
Nasal m n ɳ
Plosive p
b

t̪ʰ

d̪ʱ
ʈ
ʈʰ
ɖ
ɖʱ
k
ɡ
ɡʱ
Affricate
tʃʰ

dʒʱ
Fricative s ʃ ɦ
Tap or Flap ɾ ɽ
Approximant ʋ l ɭ j

Morphology

Rajasthani has two numbers and two genders with three cases. Postpositions are of two categories, inflexional and derivational. Derivational postpositions are mostly omitted in actual discourse. [31]

Syntax

  • Rajasthani belongs to the languages that mix three types of case marking systems: nominative – accusative: transitive (A) and intransitive (S) subjects have similar case marking, different from that of transitive object (O); absolutive-ergative (S and O have similar marking, different from A), tripartite (A, S and O have different case marking). There is a general tendency existing in the languages with split nominal systems: the split is usually conditioned by the referents of the core NPs, the probability of ergative marking increasing from left to right in the following nominal hierarchy: first person pronouns – second person pronouns – demonstratives and third person pronouns – proper nouns – common nouns (human – animate – inanimate). [32] Rajasthani split case marking system partially follows this hierarchy:first and second person pronouns have similar A and S marking, the other pronouns and singular nouns are showing attrition of A/S opposition.
  • Agreement: 1. Rajasthani combines accusative/tripartite marking in nominal system with consistently ergative verbal concord: the verb agrees with both marked and unmarked O in number and gender (but not in person — contrast Braj). Another peculiar feature of Rajasthani is the split in verbal concord when the participial component of a predicate agrees with O-NP while the auxiliary verb might agree with A-NP. 2. Stative participle from transitive verbs may agree with the Agent. 3. Honorific agreement of feminine noun implies masculine plural form both in its modifiers and in the verb.
  • In Hindi and Punjabi only a few combinations of transitive verbs with their direct objects may form past participles modifying the Agent: one can say in Hindi:‘Hindī sīkhā ādmī’ – ‘a man who has learned Hindi’ or ‘sāṛī bādhī aurāt’ – ‘a woman in sari’, but *‘kitāb paṛhā ādmī ‘a man who has read a book’ is impossible. Semantic features of verbs whose perfective participles may be used as modifiers are described in (Dashchenko 1987). Rajasthani seems to have less constrains on this usage, compare bad in Hindi but normal in Rajasthani.
  • Rajasthani has retained an important feature of ergative syntax lost by the other representatives of Modern Western New Indo-Aryan (NIA), namely, the free omission of Agent NP from the perfective transitive clause.
  • Rajasthani is the only Western NIA language where the reflexes of Old Indo-Aryan synthetic passive have penetrated into the perfective domain.
  • Rajasthani as well as the other NIA languages shows deviations from Baker’s 'mirror principle', that requires the strict pairing of morphological and syntactic operations (Baker 1988). The general rule is that the 'second causative' formation implies a mediator in the argument structure. However, some factors block addition of an extra agent into the causative construction.
  • In the typical Indo-Aryan relative-correlative construction the modifying clause is usually marked by a member of the "J" set of relative pronouns, adverbs and other words, while the correlative in the main clause is identical with the remote demonstrative (except in Sindhi and in Dakhini). Gujarati and Marathi frequently delete the preposed "J" element. In Rajasthani the relative pronoun or adverb may also be deleted from the subordinate clause but – as distinct from the neighbouring NIA – relative pronoun or adverb may be used instead of correlative.
  • Relative pronoun 'jakau' may be used not only in relative/correlative constructions, but also in complex sentences with "cause/effect" relations. [33]

Vocabulary

Categorisation and sources

These are the three general categories of words in modern Indo-Aryan: tadbhav, tatsam, and loanwords. [34]

Tadbhav

tadbhava, "of the nature of that". Rajasthani is a modern Indo-Aryan language descended from Sanskrit (old Indo-Aryan), and this category pertains exactly to that: words of Sanskritic origin that have demonstratively undergone change over the ages, ending up characteristic of modern Indo-Aryan languages specifically as well as in general. Thus the "that" in "of the nature of that" refers to Sanskrit. They tend to be non-technical, everyday, crucial words; part of the spoken vernacular. Below is a table of a few Rajasthani tadbhav words and their Old Indo-Aryan sources:

Old Indo-Aryan Rajasthani Ref
I ahám [35]
falls, slips khasati khisaknũ to move [36]
causes to move arpáyati ārpanũ to give [37]
attains to, obtains prāpnoti pāvnũ [38]
tiger vyāghrá vāgh [39]
equal, alike, level samá shamũ right, sound [40]
all sárva sau/sāb [41]

Tatsam

tatsama, "same as that". While Sanskrit eventually stopped being spoken vernacularly, in that it changed into Middle Indo-Aryan, it was nonetheless standardised and retained as a literary and liturgical language for long after. This category consists of these borrowed words of (more or less) pure Sanskrit character. They serve to enrich Gujarati and modern Indo-Aryan in its formal, technical, and religious vocabulary. They are recognisable by their Sanskrit inflections and markings; they are thus often treated as a separate grammatical category unto themselves.

Tatsam English Rajasthani
lekhak writer lakākh
vijetā winner vijetā
vikǎsit developed vikǎsāt
jāgǎraṇ awakening jāgān

Many old tatsam words have changed their meanings or have had their meanings adopted for modern times. prasāraṇ means "spreading", but now it is used for "broadcasting". In addition to this are neologisms, often being calques. An example is telephone, which is Greek for "far talk", translated as durbhāṣ. Most people, though, just use phon and thus neo-Sanskrit has varying degrees of acceptance.

So, while having unique tadbhav sets, modern IA languages have a common, higher tatsam pool. Also, tatsams and their derived tadbhavs can also co-exist in a language; sometimes of no consequence and at other times with differences in meaning:

Tatsam Tadbhav
karma Work— Dharmic religious concept of works or deeds whose divine consequences are experienced in this life or the next. kām work [without any religious connotations].
kṣetra Field—Abstract sense, such as a field of knowledge or activity; khāngī kṣetra → private sector. Physical sense, but of higher or special importance; raṇǎkṣetra → battlefield. khetar field [in agricultural sense].

What remains are words of foreign origin (videśī), as well as words of local origin that cannot be pegged as belonging to any of the three prior categories (deśaj). The former consists mainly of Persian, Arabic, and English, with trace elements of Portuguese and Turkish. While the phenomenon of English loanwords is relatively new, Perso-Arabic has a longer history behind it. Both English and Perso-Arabic influences are quite nationwide phenomena, in a way paralleling tatsam as a common vocabulary set or bank. What's more is how, beyond a transposition into general Indo-Aryan, the Perso-Arabic set has also been assimilated in a manner characteristic and relevant to the specific Indo-Aryan language it is being used in, bringing to mind tadbhav.

Perso-Arabic

India was ruled for many centuries by Persian-speaking Muslims, amongst the most notable being the Delhi Sultanate, and the Mughal dynasty. As a consequence Indian languages were changed greatly, with the large scale entry of Persian and its many Arabic loans into the Gujarati lexicon. One fundamental adoption was Persian's conjunction "that", ke. Also, while tatsam or Sanskrit is etymologically continuous to Gujarati, it is essentially of a differing grammar (or language), and that in comparison while Perso-Arabic is etymologically foreign, it has been in certain instances and to varying degrees grammatically indigenised. Owing to centuries of situation and the end of Persian education and power, (1) Perso-Arabic loans are quite unlikely to be thought of or known as loans, and (2) more importantly, these loans have often been Rajasthani-ized. dāvo – claim, fāydo – benefit, natījo – result, and hamlo – attack, all carry Gujarati's masculine gender marker, o. khānũ – compartment, has the neuter ũ. Aside from easy slotting with the auxiliary karnũ, a few words have made a complete transition of verbification: kabūlnũ – to admit (fault), kharīdnũ – to buy, kharǎcnũ – to spend (money), gujarnũ – to pass. The last three are definite part and parcel.

Below is a table displaying a number of these loans. Currently some of the etymologies are being referenced to an Urdu dictionary so that Gujarati's singular masculine o corresponds to Urdu ā, neuter ũ groups into ā as Urdu has no neuter gender, and Urdu's Persian z is not upheld in Rajasthani and corresponds to j or jh. In contrast to modern Persian, the pronunciation of these loans into Rajasthani and other Indo-Aryan languages, as well as that of Indian-recited Persian, seems to be in line with Persian spoken in Afghanistan and Central Asia, perhaps 500 years ago. [42]

Nouns Adjectives
m n f
fāydo gain, advantage, benefit A [43] khānũ compartment P [44] kharīdī purchase(s), shopping P [45] tājũ fresh P [46]
humlo attack A [47] makān house, building A [48] śardī common cold P [49] judũ different, separate P [50]
dāvo claim A [51] nasīb luck A [52] bāju side P [53] najīk near P [54]
natījo result A [55] śaher city P [56] cījh thing P [57] kharāb bad A [58]
gusso anger P [59] medān plain P [60] jindgī life P [61] lāl red P [62]

Lastly, Persian, being part of the Indo-Iranian language family as Sanskrit and Rajasthani are, met up in some instances with its cognates: [63]

Persian Indo-Aryan English
marăd martya man, mortal
stān sthān place, land
ī īya (adjectival suffix)
band bandh closed, fastened

Zoroastrian Persian refugees known as Parsis also speak an accordingly Persianized form of Gujarati. [64]

English

With the end of Perso-Arabic inflow, English became the current foreign source of new vocabulary. English had and continues to have a considerable influence over Indian languages. Loanwords include new innovations and concepts, first introduced directly through British colonial rule, and then streaming in on the basis of continued Anglophone dominance in the Republic of India. Besides the category of new ideas is the category of English words that already have Rajasthani counterparts which end up replaced or existed alongside with. The major driving force behind this latter category has to be the continuing role of English in modern India as a language of education, prestige, and mobility. In this way, Indian speech can be sprinkled with English words and expressions, even switches to whole sentences. [65] See Hinglish, Code-switching.

In matters of sound, English alveolar consonants map as retroflexes rather than dentals. Two new characters were created in Rajasthani to represent English /æ/'s and /ɔ/'s. Levels of Rajasthani-ization in sound vary. Some words do not go far beyond this basic transpositional rule, and sound much like their English source, while others differ in ways, one of those ways being the carrying of dentals. See Indian English.

As English loanwords are a relatively new phenomenon, they adhere to English grammar, as tatsam words adhere to Sanskrit. That is not to say that the most basic changes have been underway: many English words are pluralised with Rajasthani o over English "s". Also, with Rajasthani having three genders, genderless English words must take one. Though often inexplicable, gender assignment may follow the same basis as it is expressed in Gujarati: vowel type, and the nature of word meaning.

Loanword English source
bâṅk bank
phon phone
ṭebal table
bas bus
rabbar rubber
dôkṭar doctor
rasīd receipt
helo
halo
hālo
hello
hôspiṭal
aspitāl
ispitāl
hospital
sṭeśan
ṭeśan
railway station
sāykal bicycle
rum room
āis krīm ice cream
esī air conditioning
aṅkal1 uncle
āṇṭī1 aunt
pākīṭ wallet
kavar envelope
noṭ banknote
skūl school
ṭyuśan tuition
miniṭ minute
ṭikiṭ
ṭikaṭ
ticket
sleṭ slate
hoṭal hotel
pārṭī political party
ṭren train
kalekṭar district collector
reḍīyo radio
  • 1 These English forms are often used (prominently by NRIs) for those family friends and elders that are not actually uncles and aunts but are of the age.

Portuguese

The smaller foothold the Portuguese had in wider India had linguistic effects. Rajasthani took up a number of words, while elsewhere the influence was great enough to the extent that creole languages came to be (see Portuguese India, Portuguese-based creole languages in India and Sri Lanka). Comparatively, the impact of Portuguese has been greater on coastal languages [66] and their loans tend to be closer to the Portuguese originals. [67] The source dialect of these loans imparts an earlier pronunciation of ch as an affricate instead of the current standard of [ʃ]. [42]

Rajasthani Meaning Portuguese
istrī iron(ing) estirar1
mistrī2 carpenter mestre3
sābu soap sabão
chābī key chave
tambāku tobacco tabaco
gobī cabbage couve
kāju cashew cajú
pāũ bread pão
baṭāko potato batata
anānas pineapple ananás
pādrī father (in Catholicism) padre
aṅgrej(ī) English (not specifically the language) inglês
nātāl Christmas natal
1 "To stretch (out)".
2 Common occupational surname.
3 "Master".

Loans into English

Bungalow

1676, from Gujarati bangalo, from Hindi bangla "low, thatched house," lit. "Bengalese," used elliptically for "house in the Bengal style." [68]

Coolie

1598, "name given by Europeans to hired laborers in India and China," from Hindi quli "hired servant," probably from koli, name of an aboriginal tribe or caste in Gujarat. [69]

Tank

c.1616, "pool or lake for irrigation or drinking water," a word originally brought by the Portuguese from India, ult. from Gujarati tankh "cistern, underground reservoir for water," Marathi tanken, or tanka "reservoir of water, tank." Perhaps from Skt. tadaga-m "pond, lake pool," and reinforced in later sense of "large artificial container for liquid" (1690) by Port. tanque "reservoir," from estancar "hold back a current of water," from V.L. *stanticare (see stanch). But others say the Port. word is the source of the Indian ones. [70]

Writing system

Script of Rajasthani accessed from Mewar State Records
Bahi Patta written by Maharana Pratap in Old Mewari

In India, Rajasthani is written in the Devanagari script, an abugida which is written from left to right. Earlier, the Mahajani script, or Modiya, was used to write Rajasthani. The script is also called as Maru Gurjari in a few records. In Pakistan, where Rajasthani is considered a minor language, [71] a variant of the Sindhi script is used to write Rajasthani dialects. [72] [73]

Rajasthani in Devanagari and Perso-Arabic script
Devanagari Perso-Arabic Latin IPA
a ə
ā ɑ
ـِ i ɪ
ﺍیِ ī i
ـُ u ʊ
ﺍۇ ū u
अे اے e e
ﺍو o o
अं ã ə̃
आं ā̃ ɑ̃
इं ĩ ɪ̃
ईं ī̃ ĩ
उं ũ ʊ̃
ऊं ū̃ ũ
एं
ओं õ õ
ک k k
کھ kh
گ g g
گھ gh
چ c t͡ʃ
چھ ch t͡ʃʰ
ج j d͡ʒ
جھ jh d͡ʒʰ
ٹ ʈ
ٹه ṭh ʈʰ
ڈ ɖ
ڈه ḍh ɖʰ
ڏ
ॾ़ ڏه d̤h ᶑʰ
ݨ ɳ
ण़ ݨه ṇh ɳʰ
ت t
تھ th t̪ʰ
د d
ده dh d̪ʰ
ن n n
نھ nh
پ p p
پھ ph
ب b b
بھ bh
ॿ ٻ ɓ
ॿ़ ٻه b̤h ɓʰ
م m m
म़ مھ mh
ےٜٜ y j
ر r ɾ
ड़ رؕ ɽ
ढ़ رؕه r̤h ɽʰ
ज़ ز z z
ॼ़ زه zh
ل l l
ल़ لھ lh
ݪ ɭ
v
ɕ
ʂ
s
स़
ɦ
श्र
क्ष

The letter 'ळ'(ɭ) is specially used in Rajasthani script. 'ल'(l) and 'ळ'(ɭ) have different sounds. The use of both has different meanings, like कालौ (black color) and काळौ (insane).

In Rajasthani language, there are sounds of palatal 'श'(sh) and nasal 'ष'(sh), but in Rajasthani script only dental 'स'(s) is used for them. Similarly, in Rajasthani script, there is no independent sign for 'ज्ञ'(gya), instead 'ग्य'(Gya) is written in its place. In Rajasthani script, there is no sound of the conjuncts, for example, instead of the conjunct letter 'क्ष'(ksh), 'च'(Ch), 'क'(ka) or 'ख'(kha) is written, like लखण (Lakhan) of लक्षमण (Lakshan), लिछमण (Lichhman) of लक्ष्‍मण (Lakshman) and राकस (Rakas) of राक्षस (Rakshas). In Rajasthani script, there is no separate symbol for the sound of 'ऋ'(Ri), instead 'रि'(Ri) is written instead of it, like रितु (Ritu) (season) instead of ऋतु (Ritu). In Rajasthani, there is no use of ligatures and ref. The whole of ref 'र्' (r) becomes 'र' (ra), for example, instead of 'धर्म' (dharm), 'धरम'(dharam), instead of 'वक्त'(vakt) (time) , 'वगत'(vagat) or 'वखत'(vakhat) are written. Single quotation mark (') is also used to denote continuation sound like देख'र(dekha'r) हरे'क (hare'k)(every) etc. अे (e) and अै (ai) are written instead of ए(e) and ऐ (ai) like 'अेक'(ek)(one) in place of 'एक'(ek).

Writing styles

Old literary Rajasthani had two types of writing styles

Dingal

A literary style of writing prose and poetry in Maru-Bhasa language. It is presented same in written and spoken form. Kushallabh’s ‘Pingali Shiromani’, Giridhar Charan’s ‘Sagat Singh Raso’ dedicated to Maharana Pratap’s younger brother Shakti Singh has been written in Dingal language. It was also used in composition of Suryamal Misharan and Baankidas. [74] Dingal is literary genre of Charans and is written as couplets, songs and poems.

Pingal

It was used for writing poem only by Bhats and Ravs. It is an amalgamation of Brij Bhasha and Rajasthani languages. [75]

Literature

Prominent linguists

Linguists and their work and year: [Note: Works concerned only with linguistics, not with literature]

Sample text

The following is a sample text in High Hindi, of Article 1 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (by the United Nations):

Rajasthani in Devanagari Script
अनुच्छेद १(एक):सगळा मिनख आजाद अर मरयादा अर अधिकारां मायं बरोबरी ले'र जलम लेवै। वै तरक अर बिवेक सु भरां होवै अर वानै भाईचारे री भावना सु एक बिजा सारुं काम करणौ चाहिजै।
Hindi in Devanagari Script
अनुच्छेद १(एक): सभी मनुष्य जन्म से स्वतन्त्र तथा मर्यादा और अधिकारों में समान होते हैं। वे तर्क और विवेक से सम्पन्न हैं तथा उन्हें भ्रातृत्व की भावना से परस्पर के प्रति कार्य करना चाहिए।
Transliteration ( ISO)
anuccheda 1(eka):sagalā minakha jinama su sutaṁtara ara marayāda ara adhikārāṁ māyaṁ barobara hove। be tarka ara biveka su sampanna hai ara uṇone bhāyapana rī bhāvanā su eka bijā sāruṁ kāma karaṇo cāhijai
Gloss (word-to-word)
Article 1 (one) All humans birth from independent and dignity and rights in equal are. They logic and conscience from endowed are and they fraternity in the spirit of each other towards work should.
Translation (grammatical)
Article 1 All humans are born independent and equal in dignity and rights. They are endowed with logic and conscience and they should work towards each other in the spirit of fraternity.

Media

First news paper published in Rajasthani was Rajputana Gazette published from Ajmer in 1885. First film made in Rajasthani was Nazrana in 1942. Stage app is first OTT plateform in Rajasthani and Haryanvi and Gangaur TV is the first TV chennal in Rajasthani. [76] [77] All India Radio air and publish news in Rajasthani language [78]

Language movement

A movement is ongoing in Rajasthan since independence of India to include Rajasthani language in the 8th schedule of the Indian constitution and making it the official language of the state of Rajasthan. In recent years the movement is getting rooted among the youths.

See also

References

  1. ^ Rājasthānī at Ethnologue (26th ed., 2023) Closed access icon
  2. ^ Ernst Kausen, 2006. Die Klassifikation der indogermanischen Sprachen ( Microsoft Word, 133 KB)
  3. ^ Central Bureau of Statistics (2014). Population monograph of Nepal (PDF) (Report). Vol. II. Government of Nepal.
  4. ^ Merrill, Christi A. (2009). Riddles of Belonging India in Translation and Other Tales of Possession. Fordham University Press. p. 45. ISBN  9780823229550.
  5. ^ Masica, Colin (1991), The Indo-Aryan Languages, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, ISBN  978-0-521-29944-2.
  6. ^ Dutta, Amaresh (1988). Encyclopaedia of Indian Literature. Sahitya Akademi. pp. 1709, 1770, 1806. ISBN  9788126011940, 8126011947. {{ cite book}}: Check |isbn= value: invalid character ( help)
  7. ^ Bhandarkar, Devadatta Ramakrishna (1908). "Vasantgadh Inscription of Varmalata: (Vikrama) Samvat 682".
  8. ^ Ajay Mitra Shastri; R. K. Sharma; Devendra Handa (2005). Revealing India's past: recent trends in art and archaeology. Aryan Books International. p. 227. ISBN  8173052875. It is an established fact that during 10th–11th century...Interestingly the language was known as the Gujjar Bhakha..
  9. ^ Paniker, Ayyappa (1997). Medieval Indian Literature: Surveys and selections. Sahitya Akademi. pp. 453, 454, 461, 462, 467.
  10. ^ Luhar, Sahdev (2023). Folklore Studies in India: Critical Regional Responses (2023 ed.). NS Patel Arts College. pp. 272, 276, 277. ISBN  9788195500840.
  11. ^ Grierson 1908.
  12. ^ a b c d e f g 2011 Census data censusindia.gov.in[ dead link]
  13. ^ "Ethnologue.com: Ethnologue report for Rajasthani". Retrieved 9 July 2023.
  14. ^ Subject Cataloging Division, Library of Congress (1974). Library of Congress Subject Headings Volume 5 (2013 ed.). University of Minnesota: Library of Congress. p. 41.
  15. ^ "Pakistan & Afghanistan - Carte linguistique / Linguistic map".
  16. ^ Gold, Ann Grodzins. A Carnival of Parting: The Tales of King Bharthari and King Gopi Chand as Sung and Told by Madhu Natisar Nath of Ghatiyali, Rajasthan. Berkeley: University of California Press, c1992 1992. http://ark.cdlib.org/ark:/13030/ft3g500573/
  17. ^ "pg no 293,296".
  18. ^ "..:: Welcome to Sahitya Akademi - About us ::." sahitya-akademi.gov.in. Retrieved 14 September 2019.
  19. ^ "awards & fellowships-Akademi Awards". 28 August 2009. Archived from the original on 28 August 2009. Retrieved 13 January 2024.
  20. ^ R. S. Gupta, Anvita Abbi, Kailash S. Aggarwal (1995). Language and the State Perspectives on the Eighth Schedule (1995 ed.). University of Michigan: Creative Books. pp. 92, 93, 94. ISBN  9788186318201.{{ cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list ( link)
  21. ^ a b Press Trust of India, " Sit-in for constitutional recognition of Rajasthani planned", 4 May 2015, The Economic Times. Accessed 22 April 2016.
  22. ^ Press Trust of India, " Vasundhara Raje flags off ‘Rajasthani language rath yatra’", 26 July 2015, The Economic Times. Accessed 22 April 2016
  23. ^ "Vasundhara Raje flags off 'Rajasthani language rath yatra'". The Economic Times. Retrieved 23 January 2022.
  24. ^ "Rajasthani language introduced in state's open school system". India Today. Retrieved 15 January 2024.
  25. ^ Bureau, The Hindu (18 March 2023). "Exercise begins for declaring Rajasthani second official language". The Hindu. ISSN  0971-751X. Retrieved 13 January 2024.
  26. ^ Bureau, The Hindu (11 January 2023). "Demand gains momentum for making Rajasthani official language". The Hindu. ISSN  0971-751X. Retrieved 15 January 2024.
  27. ^ "Panel to see if Rajasthani can be 2nd official language of Rajasthan". The Times of India. 17 March 2023. ISSN  0971-8257. Retrieved 15 January 2024.
  28. ^ "Facts about Gujarat".
  29. ^ Smith, John D (29 January 1992). "EPIC RAJASTHANI". Indo-Iranian Journal. 35 (2/3): 251–269. doi: 10.1163/000000092790083642. JSTOR  24659527 – via JOSTOR.
  30. ^ Gusain 2000b
  31. ^ Gusain 2003
  32. ^ Dixon 1994.
  33. ^ "?" (PDF). Retrieved 9 July 2023.
  34. ^ Snell, R. (2000) Teach Yourself Beginner's Hindi Script. Hodder & Stoughton. pp. 83–86.
  35. ^ Turner (1966), p. 44. Entry 992..
  36. ^ Turner (1966), p. 203. Entry 3856..
  37. ^ Turner (1966), p. 30. Entry 684..
  38. ^ Turner (1966), p. 502. Entry 8947..
  39. ^ Turner (1966), p. 706. Entry 12193..
  40. ^ Turner (1966), p. 762. Entry 13173..
  41. ^ Turner (1966), p. 766. Entry 13276..
  42. ^ a b Masica (1991), p. 75.
  43. ^ Platts (1884), p.  776.
  44. ^ Platts (1884), p.  486.
  45. ^ Platts (1884), p.  489.
  46. ^ Platts (1884), p.  305.
  47. ^ Tisdall (1892), p. 168.
  48. ^ Platts (1884), p.  1057.
  49. ^ Platts (1884), p.  653.
  50. ^ Tisdall (1892), p. 170.
  51. ^ Platts (1884), p.  519.
  52. ^ Platts (1884), p.  1142.
  53. ^ Tisdall (1892), p. 160.
  54. ^ Tisdall (1892), p. 177.
  55. ^ Platts (1884), p.  1123.
  56. ^ Tisdall (1892), p. 184.
  57. ^ Platts (1884), p.  471.
  58. ^ Tisdall (1892), p. 172.
  59. ^ Platts (1884), p.  771.
  60. ^ Tisdall (1892), p. 175.
  61. ^ Tisdall (1892), p. 169.
  62. ^ Platts (1884), p.  947.
  63. ^ Masica (1991), p. 71.
  64. ^ Tisdall (1892), p. 15.
  65. ^ Masica (1991), pp. 49–50.
  66. ^ Masica (1991), p. 49.
  67. ^ Masica (1991), p. 73.
  68. ^ Bungalow. Online Etymology Dictionary.
  69. ^ Coolie. Online Etymology Dictionary.
  70. ^ Tank. Online Etymology Dictionary.
  71. ^ "Language policy, multilingualism and language vitality in Pakistan" (PDF). Quaid-i-Azam University. Retrieved 9 August 2009.
  72. ^ "Goaria". Ethnologue. Retrieved 9 August 2009.
  73. ^ "Dhatki". Ethnologue. Retrieved 9 August 2009.
  74. ^ Ayyappappanikkar (1997). Medieval Indian Literature: Surveys and selections. Sahitya Akademi. p. 453. ISBN  978-81-260-0365-5.
  75. ^ Mukherjee, Sujit (1998). A Dictionary of Indian Literature: Beginnings-1850. Orient Blackswan. p. 289. ISBN  978-81-250-1453-9.
  76. ^ "Rajasthani GEC channel 'Gangaur Television' makes its debut - Exchange4media". Indian Advertising Media & Marketing News – exchange4media. Retrieved 14 January 2024.
  77. ^ Jha, Lata (27 November 2023). "Neeraj Chopra invests in regional OTT app Stage". mint. Retrieved 14 January 2024.
  78. ^ "AIR News Rajasthani".

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Further reading

External links