Bhojpuri language - Wikipedia

Bhojpuri language - Wikipedia
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Indo-Aryan language
Bhojpuri
भोजपुरी ·
𑂦𑂷𑂔𑂣𑂳𑂩𑂲
The word "Bhojpuri" in the
Devanagari
script
Native to
India
and
Nepal
Region
Bhojpur
Purvanchal
Ethnicity
Bhojpuriya
Native speakers
52.2 million, partial count (2011 census)
(additional speakers counted under Hindi)
Language family
Indo-European
Indo-Iranian
Indo-Aryan
Eastern
Bihari
Bhojpuri
Early forms
Magadhi Prakrit
Magadhan
Apabhraṃśa
Abahattha
Dialects
Northern Standard Bhojpuri
Western Standard Bhojpuri
Southern Standard Bhojpuri
Domra
Musahari
Mauritian Bhojpuri
South African Bhojpuri
(Naitali)
Nagpuri
Caribbean Hindustani
(incl.
Sarnami Hindustani
Writing system
Devanagari
Kaithi
(historical)
Official status
Official language in
Fiji
(as
Fiji Hindi
Recognised minority
language in
India
Jharkhand
Regulated by
India
Bihar
(Bhojpuri Academy)
Delhi
Maithili-Bhojpuri Academy, Delhi
Madhya Pradesh
(Bhojpuri Sahitya Academy)
Language codes
ISO 639-2
bho
ISO 639-3
bho
Glottolog
bhoj1244
Linguasphere
59-AAF-sa
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IPA
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This article contains
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A speaker of Bhojpuri
Bhojpuri
(IPA:
oʊ
dʒ
ʊər
Devanagari
भोजपुरी
Kaithi
𑂦𑂷𑂔𑂣𑂳𑂩𑂲
, (
IPA:
[bʰoːdʒpʊɾiː]
)) is an
Indo-Aryan language
native to the
Bhojpur
Purvanchal
region of
India
and the
Terai
region of
Nepal
It is chiefly spoken in eastern
Uttar Pradesh
, western
Bihar
, and northwestern
Jharkhand
in India, as well as western
Madhesh
and eastern
Lumbini
in Nepal. According to the 2011 Census of India, it is spoken by approximately 50.5 million people.
It is also a minority language in
Fiji
Mauritius
Suriname
and historically primarily in the
Natal
province of
South Africa
10
11
Fiji Hindi
, an official language of Fiji, is a dialect of Bhojpuri spoken by the
Indo-Fijians
Caribbean Hindustani
is spoken by the
Indo-Caribbean people
in
Guyana
Suriname
Jamaica
and
Trinidad and Tobago
12
In
Mauritius
, it is recognised by the government and taught in university as well.
13
Bhojpuri language is listed as potentially
vulnerable
in the
UNESCO
World Atlas of Languages.
14
Name
The oldest presence of the word "Bhojpuri" is found as
Bodjpooria
in 1789 in the translator's preface of a book titled
A Translation of the Sëir Mutaqherin
, which is a translation of a
Persian
book written in 1780 by
Ghulam Hussain Khan
15
The paragraph in which reads:
"Don't make so much noise" said of them in his Bhojpooria idiom, "we go to-day with the Frenghees, but we all are servant to
Chëyt Singh
, and may come back tomorrow with him and then question will not be about your roots, but about your wives and daughters."
— A Translation of the Sëir Mutaqherin, Translator's Preface
The word
Bhojpuri
is derived from
Bhojpur
. After the conquest of
Chero
and
Ujjainiya
Rajputs
in 12th century, who were the descendants of
Raja Bhoj
from
Ujjain
Malwa
Madhya Pradesh
captured Shahabad and named their capital Bhojpur (City of Raja Bhoj).
16
The seat of their government was Bhojpur village which was near
Dumraon
in
Buxar
. Two villages named Chhotka Bhojpur and Barka Bhojpur still exist in Buxar, where the ruins of their Navratna Fortress can still be seen. Slowly the word
Bhojpur
became the synonyms of the Shahabad or
Arrah
region (Today's
Bhojpur district
Buxar
Kaimur
and
Rohtas
17
and the adjective
Bhojpuri
or
Bhojpuriya
extended to mean the language or people of Bhojpur and even beyond it. Apart from
Bhojpuri
in the Eastern UP and Western Bihar, there were other names also for the language and people, at different places, the Bhojpuriya in Mughal armies were used to called
Buxariya.
18
In Bengal, they called
Paschhimas
(Westerners) and Bhojpuri people also called them
Deshwali
or
Khoṭṭa,
in upper provinces like
Oudh
they called
Purabiya.
Besides these,
Banarasi
Chhaprahiya
, and
Bangarahi
has also used for the language and People.
Rahul Sankrityayan
has suggested two names for it i.e.
Mallika
or
Malli
(due to ancient tribe of
Malla
) and
Kashiki
(due to ancient
Kashi
).
19
The
Girmityas
who were taken to British colonies called it simply
Hindustani
or
Hindi
and it became
Fiji Hindi
in
Fiji
and
Caribbean Hindustani
in the
Caribbean
region.
20
Similarly, in
South Africa
, while often locally referred to by speakers as 'Hindustani', the variety brought by indentured labourers who embarked at Calcutta was also known as '
Kalkatia
'.
10
History
Bhojpuri is a descendant of
Magadhi Prakrit
21
which started taking shape during the reign of the
Vardhana dynasty
Bāṇabhaṭṭa
, in his
Harshacharita
has mentioned two poets named
Isānchandra
and
Benibhārata
who used to write in local language instead of
Prakrit
and
Sanskrit
22
23
Initial period (700–1100 A.D.)
Some scholar enthusiasts like to trace the literary history of Bhojpuri from
Siddha Sahitya
, as early as the 8th century A.D.
24
25
page needed
But it's not widely accepted.
26
1100–1400 A.D.
Between the 11th and 14th centuries A.D., much Bhojpuri folklore such as
Lorikayan
Sorathi Birjabh
, Vijaymal, Gopichand, Raja Bharthariar came into existence.
27
Alongside these, the
Nath
Saint composed literature in Bhojpuri. In this period, the Bhojpuri language altered and its regional boundaries were established.
28
Period of saints (1400–1700 A.D.)
In this era, saints from different sects such as
Kabir
Dharni Das
Kina Ram
and
Dariya Saheb
used Bhojpuri as their language of discourse. In the same period Arabic and Persian words came into Bhojpuri. Folk songs are also said to have been composed in this era.
29
Early research period (1700–1900 A.D.)
A document of Horil Siha, the King of Bhojpur, dated 1728, script: Kaithi
Kaithi
𑂮𑂹𑂫𑂷𑂮𑂹𑂞𑂱 𑂮𑂹𑂩𑂱 𑂩𑂱𑂣𑂳𑂩𑂰𑂔 𑂠𑂶𑂞𑂹𑂨𑂢𑂰𑂩𑂰𑂉𑂢𑂵𑂞𑂹𑂨-𑂄𑂠𑂱 𑂥𑂱𑂥𑂱𑂡 𑂥𑂱𑂩𑂠𑂫𑂪𑂲 𑂥𑂱𑂩𑂰𑂔𑂧𑂰𑂢 𑂧𑂢𑂷𑂢𑂞 𑂮𑂹𑂩𑂲 𑂧𑂰𑂯𑂰𑂩𑂰𑂔𑂰𑂡𑂱𑂩𑂰𑂔 𑂩𑂰𑂔𑂰 𑂮𑂹𑂩𑂲-𑂔𑂱𑂫 𑂠𑂵𑂫 𑂠𑂵𑂫𑂰𑂢𑂰𑂧𑂹 𑂮𑂠𑂰 𑂮𑂧𑂩 𑂥𑂱𑂔𑂶𑂢𑂰𑃀 𑂄𑂏𑂵 𑂮𑂳𑂫𑂁𑂮 𑂣𑂰𑂁𑂚𑂵 𑂣𑂩𑂰-𑂄𑂏 𑂍𑂵 𑂇𑂣𑂩𑂷𑂯𑂱𑂞 𑂣𑂰𑂓𑂱𑂪 𑂩𑂰𑂔𑂢𑂹𑂯 𑂍𑂵 𑂇𑂣𑂩𑂷𑂯𑂱𑂞 𑂯𑂈𑂯𑂲 𑂮𑂵 𑂯𑂧𑂯𑂳 𑂄𑂣𑂢 𑂇𑂣𑂩𑂷𑂯𑂱𑂞 𑂍𑂆𑂪𑃀 𑂔𑂵 𑂍𑂵𑂇 𑂣𑂩𑂰-𑂃𑂏 𑂧𑂰𑂯 𑂄𑂫𑂵 𑂮𑂵 𑂮𑂳𑂫𑂁𑂮 𑂣𑂰𑂁𑂚𑂵 𑂍𑂵 𑂧𑂰𑂢𑂵, 𑂇𑂔𑂵𑂢 𑂢𑂰𑂫 𑃁𑃀 ११३६ 𑂮𑂰𑂪 𑂧𑂷𑂍𑂰𑂧 𑂠𑂰𑂫𑂰 𑂡𑂳𑂮 𑂮𑂧𑂞 १७८५ 𑂮𑂧𑂶 𑂢𑂰𑂧 𑂥𑂶𑂮𑂰𑂎 𑂮𑂳𑂠𑂱 𑂞𑂱𑂩𑂷𑂠𑂮𑂱 𑂩𑂷𑂔 𑂥𑂳𑂡𑃀 𑂣𑂹𑂩𑂏𑂢𑂵 𑂦𑂷𑂔𑂣𑂳𑂩 𑂏𑂷𑂞𑂩 𑂮𑂫𑂢𑂍 𑂧𑂳𑂪 𑂇𑂔𑂵𑂢 𑂔𑂰𑂞𑂱 𑂣𑂰𑂫𑂰𑂩
𑂮𑂳𑂫𑂁𑂮 𑂔𑂵 𑂣𑂰𑂓𑂱𑂪𑂰 𑂩𑂰𑂔𑂢𑂹𑂯 𑂍𑂵 𑂇𑂣𑂩𑂷𑂯𑂱𑂞 𑂯𑂈𑂯𑂲 𑂮𑂵 𑂯𑂧𑂯𑂳 𑂍𑂆𑂪 𑂃𑂣𑂢 𑂇𑂣𑂩𑂷𑂯𑂱𑂞
Devnagari
स्वोस्ति स्रि रिपुराज दैत्यनाराएनेत्य-आदि बिबिध बिरदवली बिराजमान मनोनत स्री माहाराजाधिराज राजा स्री-जिव देव देवानाम् सदा समर बिजैना। आगे सुवंस पांड़े परा-आग के उपरोहित पाछिल राजन्ह के उपरोहित हऊही से हमहु आपन उपरोहित कईल। जे केउ परा-अग माह आवे से सुवंस पांड़े के माने, उजेन नाव ॥। ११३६ साल मोकाम दावा धुस समत १७८५ समै नाम बैसाख सुदि तिरोदसि रोज बुध। प्रगने भोजपुर गोतर सवनक मुल उजेन जाति पावार
सुवंस जे पाछिला राजन्ह के उपरोहित हऊही से हमहु कईल अपन उपरोहित
English Translation
The statement is that: Suvansa pande of Prayag is the priest of the past Rājās, so I also made him my priest. Whosoever among the Ujjen (Rajputs) comes to Prayag should have regard for him. Year 1136 place Dawa (The old place of the Rajas of Bhojpur, now a village) samat 1785 (A.D. 1728) date 13th of the bright part of Baisakha, Wednesday Paragana Bhojpur, Gotra Sawanak, origin Ujen, caste Pawara.
Suvans, who is the priest of the past Rājās, him I also made my priest.
— Horil Siha (King of Bhojpur), Origin and Development of Bhojpuri, pp 218-219
In this period the British established themselves as the colonial power in India, and scholars from Britain conducted the first academic study of Bhojpuri. Bhojpuri folk literature was researched, and the Bhojpuri region was mapped for the first time. In this period Bhojpuri became an international language.
30
Between 1838 and 1917 labourers from the Bhojpuri region were taken to
British Colonies
like
Fiji
Mauritius
Guyana
Trinidad and Tobago
and
South Africa
, as well as the Dutch colony of
Suriname
as plantation workers. Linguistic analysis of the South African context indicates that while the majority of migrants arriving via
Calcutta
(1860-1911) originated from Bhojpuri-speaking areas of Bihar and eastern Uttar Pradesh, there was also a substantial presence of speakers from Awadhi-speaking regions. This resulted in a process of language coalescence and the formation of a distinct
koiné variety
of Bhojpuri in South Africa, influenced by contact between these related dialects.
10
Music genres based on
Bhojpuri folk music
such as
Chutney music
Baithak Gana
, Geet Gawanai and Lok Geet arose in those countries.
31
32
In the
Caribbean
, particularly
Trinidad
, the evolution from Bhojpuri folk traditions performed at weddings led to the development of
Chutney music
as a distinct genre, often incorporating English lyrics and Soca rhythms alongside Bhojpuri elements.
33
Statue named
Baba en Maai
commemorating the arrival of first Indian couple in
Suriname
34
British scholars like Buchanan,
Beames
and
George Abraham Grierson
studied the language in details. Beames published the grammar of Bhojpuri for the first time in 1868.
Grierson
compiled and published the folksongs of Bhojpuri in 1884. He published the folklore of Bhojpuri and also made the dictionaries in Bhojpuri. He also conducted the
Linguistic Survey of India
35
In his work, Grierson characterised Bhojpuri as "
a practical language of an energetic race
36
Present period (1900–present)
In the 19th century, notable works like
Devakshara Charita
Badmash Darpan
were published. In the 20th century,
Bhikhari Thakur
contributed significantly to
Bhojpuri literature
and theatre with his notable plays like
Bidesiya
Beti Bechwa
Gabarghichor
and novels like
Bindia
and
Phulsunghi
were published. In 1962, the first Bhojpuri film,
Ganga Maiyya Tohe Piyari Chadhaibo
was released and became the founding stone of the
Bhojpuri film industry
Bhojpuri is listed as a potentially vulnerable language in the UNESCO world atlas of languages due to the influence of Hindi.
14
Words like
Bujhã
are being replaced by Hindi words like
Samjhã
37
Geographic distribution
The Bhojpuri-speaking region covers the area of 73,000 square kilometres approximately in India and Nepal
38
and borders the
Awadhi
-speaking region to the west, the
Nepali
-speaking region to the north, the
Magahi
and
Bajjika
-speaking regions to the east and the
Chhattisgarhi
and
Bagheli
-speaking regions to the south.
In Nepal, Bhojpuri is a major language in south-western districts bordering Bihar and Uttar Pradesh.
39
There are a number of Bhojpuri-speaking Muslims that are part of the
Muhajir
community in
Pakistan
, as well as in
Bangladesh
, where they are referred to as
Stranded Pakistanis
due to them speaking Bhojpuri and
Urdu
as their native tongue and not Bengali as most Bangladeshis do. They migrated to Bangladesh there during the
Partition of India
when the area was part of
East Pakistan
, before gaining independence as Bangladesh.
Arrival of Bhojpuri speaking people in Trinidad and Tobago
Bhojpuri is spoken by descendants of
indentured labourers
brought in the 19th and early 20th centuries for work in plantations in British colonies. These Bhojpuri speakers live in
Mauritius
Fiji
South Africa
Trinidad and Tobago
Guyana
Suriname
Jamaica
, and other parts of the
Caribbean
10
39
40
In South Africa, speakers were historically concentrated in the Natal province. However, the language experienced significant decline throughout the 20th century, undergoing language shift towards English, with intergenerational transmission largely ceasing by the late 1900s. This South African variety also experienced language contact effects from
Zulu
, and
Fanagalo
10
In Mauritius, music is considered a primary vehicle for maintaining the language, with songs often reflecting adaptation to new environments and mixing Bhojpuri with
Mauritian Creole
. In
Trinidad and Tobago
, while
Caribbean Hindustani
remains, popular music forms like Chutney often feature significant English admixture, reflecting linguistic creolisation, as exemplified by artists like
Sundar Popo
33
Classification
Major
Indo-Aryan languages
of
South Asia
; Eastern Indo-Aryan languages in shades of yellow
Bhojpuri is an
Indo-European language
and belongs to the
Eastern Indo-Aryan group
of the
Indo-Aryan languages
. The Magahi and Maithili languages of
Eastern Indo-Aryan group
are closest living relatives of Bhojpuri.
Odia
Bengali
and
Assamese
are also closely related.
41
42
Bhojpuri along with Magahi and Maithili, are grouped together as the
Bihari languages
. Together with the other branches of Eastern Indo-Aryan, the Bihari languages are considered to be direct descendants of the
Magadhi Prakrit
Bhojpuri is classified as an Eastern Indo-Aryan Language because it has similar inflexion system to the other languages of the same family such as
Bengali
Maithili
and
Odia
. For example, the pronunciation of the vowel
is broad in Eastern Indo-Aryan languages, and sounds like
in Bengali, on moving westwards it becomes less broad but still can be differentiated from the sharp cut
in Middle Indo-Aryan.
clarification needed
In Bhojpuri, the clear cut
and the drawled
a,
which sounds like
aw
in the word
awl
clarification needed
are present and the contrast between the two gives a different tone to the language.
43
This drawled
is represented by
Avagraha
(ऽ), for instance, the word
dekh'la
, you see, is written as देेखऽलऽ.
44
Other property of Eastern Indo Aryan languages is that the adjectives does not change with the noun. For instance,
moṭā
is the feminine form of
moṭī
in Hindi. However, as with Bengali, in Bhojpuri, only
moṭ
is used. The past and future tense in Bhojpuri is formed in same way as other Eastern Indo-Aryan Languages, by adding a suffix stating from -l
and
-ba
respectively to the verb. Form example,
I shall See
, in Bengali is
dekh-bo
and in Bhojpuri is
dekh-ab
45
Some scholars has also divided the East Indo Aryan or
Magadhan
languages in to three sub-groups viz. Western, Central and Eastern. Bengali, Assamese, Odia belongs to Eastern Magadhan, Maithili and Magahi to Central and Bhojpuri to western.
46
47
48
49
Bhojpuri is classified as Western Magadhan because it has some properties which are peculiar to itself and are not present in other Magadhan Languages. Some striking differences are:
45
raürā
or
raüwā
as an honorfic pronoun for second person along with the
apne
form is used Bhojpuri.
apne
form is their in other Magadhan Languages but
raüwā
is totally absent.
Verb substantive in other Magadhan language is of
-acch
for but Bhojpuri has
-baṭe
and
hawe
50
51
The simple present is made by Bhojpuri by adding a suffix starting from
-la
with the verb, but this is totally absent in the other languages of Magadhan group. Hence,
he sees
, is
dēkhe-lā
in Bhojpuri but in but
dekhait-chhi
in Maithili and
dekhechhi
in Bengali.
Dialects
Bhojpuri has several dialects: Southern Standard Bhojpuri, Northern Standard Bhojpuri, Western Standard Bhojpuri,
52
and Nagpuria Bhojpuri.
53
39
Southern Standard Bhojpuri is prevalent in the
Shahabad district
Buxar
Bhojpur
Rohtas
, and
Kaimur
districts) and the
Saran
region (
Saran
Siwan
and
Gopalganj
districts) in Bihar, the eastern
Azamgarh
Ballia
and eastern
Mau
districts) and
Varanasi
(eastern part of
Ghazipur
district) regions in Uttar Pradesh, and in the Palamu division (
Palamu
and
Garhwa
districts) in Jharkhand. The dialect is also known as
Kharwari
citation needed
Northern Bhojpuri is common in the western
Tirhut division
(east and west
Champaran
and in Muzaffarpur district) in Bihar, and
Gorakhpur division
Deoria
Kushinagar
Gorakhpur
, and
Maharajganj
districts) and
Basti division
Sidharthanagar
, and
Sant Kabir Nagar
districts) in Uttar Pradesh. It is also spoken in Nepal.
54
Western Bhojpuri is prevalent in the areas of
Varanasi
Varanasi
Chandauli
, eastern
Jaunpur
, and the western part of Ghazipur district),
Azamgarh
Azamgarh district
, western part of
Mau district
) and
Mirzapur
Chunar
of eastern
Mirzapur
and
Sonbhadra
districts) divisions in Uttar Pradesh.
55
Banarasi is a local name for Bhojpuri, named after
Banaras
citation needed
Nagpuria Bhojpuri
is the southernmost popular dialect, found in the
Chota Nagpur Plateau
of
Jharkhand
, particularly parts of
Palamu
South Chotanagpur
and
Kolhan
divisions. It is sometimes referred to as
Sadari
56
57
A more specific classification recognises the dialects of Bhojpuri as Bhojpuri Domra, Madhesi, Musahari, Northern Standard Bhojpuri (Basti, Gorakhpuri, Sarawaria), Southern Standard Bhojpuri (Kharwari), Western Standard Bhojpuri (Benarsi, Purbi) and Nagpuriya Bhojpuri.
Mauritian Bhojpuri
Bhojpuri is a major language spoken by Indo-Mauritians, as the majority of the nearly 450,000 indentured labourers who arrived in Mauritius between 1834 and the early 1900s were Bhojpuri speakers who did not return to India. The speech that evolved in
Mauritius
is not based on a single dialect, but is rather a blend of several varieties of Indian Bhojpuri.
58
Over time, Mauritian Bhojpuri has undergone grammatical simplification when compared to its Indian counterpart. The most notable change is in the system of personal pronouns and honorifics. The multiple levels of honorifics (e.g., formal
ap
, informal
tu
) found in Indian Bhojpuri have been reduced, with Mauritian Bhojpuri primarily using a single form,
tou
, for "you". Similarly, the second and third-person plural pronouns have been simplified.
58
In present Mauritius, the language exists in a complex relationship with
Mauritian Creole
and
Hindi
. There is a degree of mutual intelligibility with Hindi, partly due to the teaching of Hindi in schools and access to Hindi-language television. Mauritian Bhojpuri has also been influenced by Mauritian Creole, particularly in its sentence structure and through lexical borrowing, with younger and more urban speakers tending to use more Creole words. The influence is bidirectional; it has been documented that Mauritian Creole has borrowed more than 300 words from Indo-Aryan languages, the majority of which are likely from Bhojpuri.
58
Phonology
Vowels
59
60
Front
Central
Back
Close
Close-mid
Mid
Open-mid
Open
Consonants
59
Labial
Denti-
Alveolar
Retroflex
Alveolo
-)
palatal
Velar
Glottal
Nasal
Stop
Affricate
voiceless
t̪
tɕ
voiced
d̪
dʑ
aspirated
pʰ
t̪ʰ
ʈʰ
tɕʰ
kʰ
breathy voiced
bʱ
d̪ʱ
ɖʱ
dʑʱ
ɡʱ
Fricative
Rhotic
plain
breathy
ɾʱ
ɽʱ
Approximant
Among the seven languages which are
sociolinguistically
often counted as
Hindi dialects
(Haryanvi, Braj, Awadhi, Bhojpuri, Bundeli, Bagheli, and Kannauji),
61
Bhojpuri has the most
allophonic
variations in
vowels
62
Bhojpuri has 6 vowel
phonemes
21
and 10
vocoids
. The higher vowels are relatively tense, and the lower vowels are relatively lax. The language has 31
consonant
phonemes and 34
contoids
(6
bilabial
, 4 apico-dental, 5
apico-alveolar
, 7
retroflex
, 6
alveo-palatal
, 5
dorso-velar
, and 1
glottal
).
59
Linguist
Robert L. Trammell published the phonology of Northern Standard Bhojpuri in 1971.
59
21
According to him, the
syllable
system is peak type: every syllable has the vowel phoneme as the highest point of
sonority
Codas
may consist of one, two, or three consonants. Vowels occur as simple peaks or as peak nuclei in
diphthongs
. The
intonation
system involves 4 pitch levels and 3 terminal contours.
59
63
Word-stress in Bhojpuri is phonemic, meaning the placement of stress can change the meaning of a word. For example, the noun सौटा /ˈsota/ ('a short stick') is distinguished from the verb सोटा /soˈta/ ('to be slim') solely by the shift in stress. Additionally, it contains a series of devoicing aspirate
sonorants
(such as म्ह /mʱ/, न्ह /nʱ/) that function as independent phonemes, distinct from their unaspirated counterparts (like /m/ and /n/).
64
Grammar
Main article:
Bhojpuri grammar
Linguistically, Bhojpuri is an inflecting and almost entirely suffixing language. Nouns are inflected for case, number, and gender, while verbs are inflected for tense, aspect, mood, and person-number-gender agreement. A notable feature is its system of verbal honorifics, which marks politeness towards the subject directly in the verb form. Syntactically, Bhojpuri is a Subject-Object-Verb (SOV) language, though it allows for considerable free word-order.
Unlike Hindi, it uses a nominative-accusative case system, does not have an oblique case.
According to
George Abraham Grierson
, the grammar of Bhojpuri is simpler than other languages of the same family.
45
Nouns in Bhojpuri have three forms: short, long and redundant. The adjectives of nouns do not change with genders. Plurals are made by adding either the suffix
-na
or
ni
with the nouns or adding the multitudes such as
sabh
(all) or
lōg
(people).
Examples:
45
Definition
Singular Form
Plural Form
House
ghar
gharan
Horse
ghoṛā
ghoṛan
Boy
laïkā
laïkan/laïka sabh
King
rājā
rājā lōg
Except few instances the
Verb forms
of Bhojpuri depend only on the subject and the object has no effect on it. Unlike other
Eastern Indo-Aryan languages
, Bhojpuri has a different verb form for the present tense, which corresponds to the Future forms of
Nepali
. It is formed by adding the suffix
-lā
to the present subjunctive. Therefore, for the verb
to see
the Bhojpuri verb is
dekhe
and the present form is
dhekhelā
, which is peculiar to itself and is not found in other languages of the same family like
Magahi
(dekhaït haï),
Maithili
(dekhaït achi) and
Bengali
(dekhechī). The Verbs forms of second person singular (dekh'be; you will see) is considered vulgar in Bhojpuri, plural form (
dekhab'
) is used in general. When it is desired to show respect the first person singular form (
dekhab
; I will see) is used instead of second person plural (
dekhab'
). To show plural number the suffix
-sa'
or
-ja
is also used with the 2nd and third person forms, thus
dekhe-la'-sa
is
they see
. The present perfect form is made by adding
ha'
to the past form. Thus,
ham dekh'li
(I saw) is the past from and its present perfect form is
ham dekh'li ha'
(I have seen). Past perfect in regular verbs are made by adding the suffix
-al
to the verb (dekh - dekhal), but in some cases it has irregular forms like
kar (kail)
mar
(mual)
etc.
45
Numerals of Bhojpuri
take the classifier
gō
and
ṭhō
, which emphasises the countability and totality both. To show inclusiveness and exclusiveness, Bhojpuri used the suffixes
-o
and
-e
as in
ham āmo khāïb
(I will eat mangoes too) verses
ham āme khāïb
(I will eat only mangoes). These suffixes can be added to any lexical category such as numerals, adjectives etc.
65
The auxiliaries in Bhojpuri are formed on five bases viz.
ha
ho
hokh
bāṭ
rah
. These also act as the
Copula
. The
bāṭ
form provides for the tenses and the
hokh
or
ho
form provides for the modes, where as
rah
is the past of other three.
38
Writing system
Bhojpuri story written in
Kaithi
script by Babu Rama Smaran Lal in 1898
Bhojpuri was historically written in
Kaithi
script,
but since 1894
Devanagari
has served as the primary script. Kaithi has variants as the locality changes, the three classified variants are Tirhuti, Magahi and Bhojpuri variants. The Bhojpuri variant is used for writing Bhojpuri.
45
Kaithi is now rarely used for Bhojpuri.
Kaithi script was used for administrative purposes in the
Mughal era
for writing Bhojpuri, Awadhi, Maithili, Magahi, and Hindustani from at least the 16th century up to the first decade of the 20th century. Government gazetteers
who?
report that Kaithi was used in a few districts of Bihar throughout the 1960s. Bhojpuri residents of India who moved to British colonies in Africa, the Indian Ocean, and the Caribbean in the 19th and early 20th centuries used both Kaithi and Devanagari scripts.
10
Signboard at Purbi Gumti Arrah with "Lock no. 11" written on the board in Bhojpuri using
Kaithi Script
(on the left side),
Persian script
(on the right side) and
Roman script
(above).
By 1894 both Kaithi and Devanagari became common scripts to write official texts in Bihar. At present almost all Bhojpuri texts are written in Devanagari, even in islands outside of India where Bhojpuri is spoken. In Mauritius, Kaithi script was historically considered informal, and Devanagari was sometimes spelled as
Devanagri
. In modern Mauritius, the major script is Devanagari.
66
Politeness
This article or section
appears to contradict itself
on the number of levels of politeness
Please see the
talk page
for more information.
July 2022
Bhojpuri syntax and vocabulary reflects a three-tier system of politeness. Any verb can be
conjugated
through these tiers. The verb
to come
in Bhojpuri is
aail
and the verb
to speak
is
bolal
. The
imperatives
come!
and
speak!
can be conjugated in five ways, each marking subtle variation in politeness and propriety. These permutations exclude a host of
auxiliary verbs
and expressions, which can be added to verbs to add another degree of subtle variation. For extremely polite or formal situations, the pronoun is generally omitted.
Literary
[teh] āō
[teh] bōl
Casual and intimate
[tu] āō
[tu] bōl
Polite and intimate
[tu] āv'
[tu] bōl'
Formal yet intimate
[rau'ā] āīñ
[rau'ā] bōlīñ
Polite and formal
[āpne] āīñ
[āpne] bōlīñ
Extremely formal
āwal jā'e
bōlal jā'e
Similarly, adjectives are marked for politeness and formality. The adjective
your
has several forms with different tones of politeness:
tum
(casual and intimate), "tōhār" (polite and intimate), "t'hār" (formal yet intimate),
rā'ur
(polite and formal) and
āpke
(extremely formal). Although there are many tiers of politeness, Bhojpuri speakers mainly use the form
tu
to address a younger individual and
raua
for an individual who is older, or holds a higher position in workplace situations.
Status
Greater official recognition of Bhojpuri, such as by inclusion in the
Eighth Schedule to the Constitution of India
, has been demanded.
by whom?
67
In 2018, Bhojpuri was given second-language status in Jharkhand state of India.
68
Bhojpuri is taught in matriculation and at the higher secondary level in the
Bihar School Education Board
and the
Board of High School and Intermediate Education Uttar Pradesh
citation needed
It is also taught in various universities in India, such as
Veer Kunwar Singh University
69
Banaras Hindu University
70
Nalanda Open University
71
and
Dr. Shakuntala Misra National Rehabilitation University
72
In the digital and technology spheres, Bhojpuri was long considered a "low-resource language" due to a scarcity of standardised digital data and advanced computational tools. Early academic efforts, such as doctoral research at
Jawaharlal Nehru University
in 2018, focused on creating the first large-scale digital corpora (text collections) and experimental machine translation systems to begin addressing this gap.
A major milestone in the language's digital presence occurred in May 2022, when
Google Translate
officially added Bhojpuri to its platform. This significantly improved the language's accessibility and utility for millions of speakers globally. Despite this progress, challenges remain in developing more advanced NLP applications due to wide dialectal variations and the lack of a single, universally adopted standard for writing the language.
73
Sociolinguistic Context
Bilingualism and Code-Switching
Due to the prevalence of
Hindi
as the formal language of education and media, a majority of Bhojpuri speakers are
bilingual
. This has led to frequent code-switching and the emergence of a mixed language variety sometimes referred to as Bhojpuri-Hindi. For many speakers, Bhojpuri remains the dominant language of the home and informal settings, used for understanding, expression, and inner thought. Hindi, however, is often preferred in formal situations or urban environments, sometimes as a means of showing social status. This dynamic is a central aspect of the language's current context, with some scholars questioning whether it will lead to a new mixed language or the gradual decline of Bhojpuri in certain domains.
74
Linguistic Tensions
The close interaction between Bhojpuri and Hindi has sometimes led to linguistic tension and activism. A notable example occurred in the Bhojpuri-speaking areas of
Patna
in the 1960s with the
"ne-hatao aandolan" (remove 'ne' movement)
. This movement was a direct reaction against the Hindi grammatical particle
ne
(a marker for the agent in certain past-tense constructions), which is absent in Bhojpuri. Bhojpuri speakers found this particle "unnecessary and revolted against its use," organising demonstrations with banners and loudspeakers demanding its removal from Hindi. While the movement was viewed as humorous by some outsiders, it represented a serious assertion of Bhojpuri linguistic identity.
74
Grammatical and Lexical Transfers
The influence of Bhojpuri is evident in the Hindi spoken by bilinguals, who often transfer grammatical features and vocabulary from their native tongue. Some common transfers are:
Use of the definite noun suffix
-wa
: For example, using
laikwa
(the boy) in Hindi instead of the standard Hindi
laṛka
Substitution of adverbs and interrogatives
: Using Bhojpuri words like
lage
(near) in place of the Hindi
pa:s
Lexical transfer
: Introducing Bhojpuri words into Hindi, which can sometimes lead to a narrowing of the Hindi word's meaning. For example, using the Bhojpuri word for a mature jack-fruit,
kaTahar
, may lead to the Hindi word being used in a more specific sense.
Literature
Main article:
Bhojpuri literature
Cover page of
Badmash Darpan
by
Teg Ali Teg
Lorikayan
, the story of
Veer Lorik
contains Bhojpuri folklore from Eastern Uttar Pradesh.
75
Bhikhari Thakur
's
Bidesiya
is a play, written as a book.
Phool Daliya
is a well-known book by
Prasiddha Narayan Singh
. It comprises poems of
veer ras
(A style of writing) on the theme of
azaadi
Freedom
) about his experiences in the
Quit India movement
and India's struggle with poverty after the country gained independence.
Although Bhojpuri is not one of the established literary languages of India, it has a strong tradition of oral literature.
76
This "persistent orality" continues in the diaspora, where the language often thrives more through performance, particularly song and music (like folk songs and Chutney), than through formal print literature, adapting across multiple media platforms like radio, recordings, and digital formats.
33
The oral traditions of Bhojpuri have been a topic of academic research. In the 20th century, scholars documented and analysed the region's folklore.
W.G. Archer
published collections of folk songs, as did Durga Shankar Prasad Singh, whose work was primarily sourced from women in the
Shahabad district
. Other researchers like Satya Vrata Sinha focused on the academic classification of folktales. Thematic analysis was also conducted; for instance, V.S. Gautam wrote about the role of folk songs such as
Bidesiya
in the development of national consciousness during the colonial period.
36
Media
The first journal to be published in Bhojpuri was Bagsar Samāchar which was published in 1915, but was closed in 1918.
77
The first Bhojpuri weekly was published on 15 August 1947. Bhojpuri journalism rose massively in the 1960s and 1970s. Prominent publications from this era include Anjor, published by the
Bhojpuri Parivar
organisation in Patna, and journals from
Bhojpuri Mandal
(Motihari) and
Bhojpuri Samaj
(Arrah). Another important folkloric journal was Purvaiya from Varanasi..
78
Many Bhojpuri magazines and papers are published in Bihar, Jharkhand, and Uttar Pradesh. Several Bhojpuri newspapers are available locally in
northern India
Parichhan
is a contemporary literary-cultural Maithili-Bhojpuri magazine, published by a Maithili-Bhojpuri academy and the government of
Delhi
, and edited by
Parichay Das
The Sunday Indian, Bhojpuri
79
is a regular national news magazine in Bhojpuri.
Aakhar
is a monthly online Bhojpuri literature magazine.
80
Other media in Bhojpuri include
Lok Lucknow
81
and the channels
Mahuaa TV
and
Hamar TV
Bhojpuri Wikipedia
was launched in 2003.
82
On 22 May 2022,
Google Translate
added Bhojpuri as one of their languages.
73
Vocabulary
Bhojpuri vocabularies have similarity with other Indo Aryan languages and also have loanwords from Persian. Tiwari has classified the words of Bhojpuri in to 6 parts:
83
Words of
Sanskrit
origin
Words with untraceable origin
Words borrowed from other Indo-Aryan Languages
Sanskrit words either in original or modified form
Words of non-Aryan Indian origin
Foreign origin (Arabic, British etc.)
Words of Persian origin are roughly classified under the following head:
84
Words pertaining to kingly states: amīr, kābū, hajūr
Words relating to Revenue, Administration and Law: darogā, hak, huliyā
Words relating to Islam: Allāh, tobā, mahjid
Words of intellectual culture, music, education: ilīm, ijjat, munsi
Words of material culture: kāgaj, kismis, sāl
Since Bengal has been one of the greatest centre for Bhojpuri-speaking people, Bhojpuri has taken a number of words from
Bengali
. It is also probable that words of European origin came to Bhojpuri through Bengali.
85
The specific vocabulary of South African Bhojpuri also reflects contact with other languages prevalent in the region, notably incorporating loanwords from Zulu and the pidgin Fanagalo, alongside English.
10
Weekdays
Bhojpuri (Latin script)
भोजपुरी (देवनागरी लिखाई)
Sunday
Eitwaar
एतवार
Monday
Somaar
सोमार
Tuesday
Mangar
मंगर
Wednesday
Budhh
बुध
Thursday
Biphey
बियफे
Friday
Shuk
शुक
Saturday
Sanichar
सनिचर
Common phrases
Bhojpuri
Hello
Raam
राम
Raam
राम
Parnaam
परनाम
Raam Raam / Parnaam
राम राम / परनाम
Welcome/Please come in
Aain
आईं
na
ना
Aain na
आईं ना
How are you?
Ka
का
haal
हाल
ba?
बा?
Kaisan
कइसन
hava?
हवऽ?
Ka haal ba? / Kaisan hava?
का हाल बा? / कइसन हवऽ?
I'm good. And you? / We're good. And you
Hum
हम
theek
ठीक
baani.
बानी।
Aur
अउर
rauwa?
रउवा?
Humni
हमनी
theek
ठीक
hañi.
हईं।
Aur
अउर
aap?
आप?
Hum theek baani. Aur rauwa? / Humni theek hañi. Aur aap?
हम ठीक बानी। अउर रउवा? / हमनी ठीक हईं। अउर आप?
What is your name?
Tohaar
तोहार
naav
नाँव
ka
का
ha?
ह?
Raur
राउर
naav
नाँव
ka
का
ha?
ह?
Tohaar naav ka ha? / Raur naav ka ha?
तोहार नाँव का ह? / राउर नाँव का ह?
My name is ...
Hamar
हमार
naav
नाँव
...
...
ha
Hamar naav ... ha
हमार नाँव ... ह
What's up?
Kaa
का
howat
होवत
aa?
आ?
Kaa howat aa?
का होवत आ?
I love you
Hum
हम
tohse
तोहसे
pyaar
प्यार
kareni
करेनी
Hum
हम
tohra
तोहरा
se
से
pyaar
प्यार
kareni
करेनी
Hum tohse pyaar kareni / Hum tohra se pyaar kareni
हम तोहसे प्यार करेनी / हम तोहरा से प्यार करेनी
Number
Bhojpuri
1= one
१=
ek
= एक
2= two
२=
du
= दु
3= three
३=
teen
=तीन
4= four
४=
char
= चार
5= five
५=
pan
= पान
6= six
६=
chhav
= छव
7= seven
७=
sat
= सात
8= eight
८=
aath
= आठ
9= nine
९=
nav
= नव
10= ten
१०=
das
= दस
100= one hundred
१००=
ek say
= एक सव
500= five hundred
५००=
pan say
= पान सव
1000= one thousand
१०००=
ek hajar
= एक हजार
Words of English origin
atharāiṭīs (𑂃𑂟𑂩𑂰𑂅𑂗𑂲𑂮/अथराइटीस): From
Arthritis
86
afkaran (𑂃𑂤𑂺𑂍𑂩𑂢/अफ़करन): Used in
South African Bhojpuri,
Borrowed from English phrase "Half a Crown".
86
askūṭara (𑂃𑂮𑂹𑂍𑂴𑂗𑂩/अस्कूटर): From
Scooter
87
asaṭāṭ (𑂃𑂮𑂗𑂰𑂗/असटाट): From English verb
Start
sṭāṭ
is
used in South Aftican Bhojpuri. It was borrowed in sense of starting a
Motor vehicle
or any other mechanical device.
87
aspatāla (𑂃𑂮𑂹𑂣𑂞𑂰𑂪/अस्पताल): From
Hospital
87
injin (𑂅𑂢𑂹𑂔𑂱𑂢/इन्जिन): From
Engine
87
eroplena (𑂉𑂩𑂷𑂣𑂪𑂵𑂢/एरोपलेन): From
Aeroplane
87
kār (𑂍𑂰𑂩/कार): From English
Car
khār
is used in South African Bhojpuri.
ṭībī (𑂗𑂲𑂥𑂲/टीबी): From T.B., the short form of
Tuberculosis
87
ṭeksī (𑂗𑂵𑂍𑂹𑂮𑂲/टेक्सी): From
Taxi
87
ṭesan (𑂗𑂵𑂮𑂢/टेसन): from English
Station
87
ḍākṭar (𑂙𑂰𑂍𑂹𑂗𑂩/डाक्टर): From
Doctor
. In South African Bhojpuri
ḍokṭar
or
ḍokṭe
is used.
87
nars (𑂢𑂩𑂹𑂮/नर्स): From
Nurse
nes
or
staf-nes
(Staff Nurse) in South African Bhojpuri.
87
peṭarol (𑂣𑂵𑂗𑂩𑂷𑂪/पेटरोल): From
Petrol
87
palaga (𑂣𑂪𑂏/पलग): From
Plug
87
baeṭrī (𑂥𑂉𑂗𑂹𑂩𑂲/बएट्री): From
Battery
87
ba's (𑂥𑂮/बस): From
Bus
baz
in South African Bhojpuri.
87
bhaena (𑂦𑂉𑂢/भएन): From
Van
ven
is used in South African Bhojpuri.
87
moṭar (𑂧𑂷𑂗𑂩/मोटर): From English word
Motor
, also used for
Motor vehicle
87
rēl (𑂩𑂵𑂪/रेल): from English
rail
, meaning
Train
87
rēl-gār̤ī (𑂩𑂵𑂪𑂏𑂰𑂚𑂲/रेलगाड़ी): gār̤ī is a Bhojpuri word meaning
Vehicle
laurī (𑂪𑂸𑂩𑂲/लौरी): From English word
Lorry
Lori
is used in South African Bhojpuri.
87
sāikīl (𑂮𑂰𑂅𑂍𑂲𑂪/साइकील): From
bicycle
87
sīka (𑂮𑂲𑂍/सीक): From
sick
. Used in South African Bhojpuri, with the verbal form
sīkā gael
(has become sick).
87
sūgar (𑂮𑂴𑂏𑂩/सूगर): From
sugar
, meaning
Diabetes
87
hāṭ (𑂯𑂰𑂗/हाट): From
Heart
, it used for any heart related disease.
87
Example text
The following is Article 1 of the
Universal Declaration of Human Rights
in four languages:
Bhojpuri (kaithi) –
𑂃𑂢𑂳𑂒𑂹𑂓𑂵𑂠 १: 𑂮𑂥𑂯𑂱 𑂪𑂷𑂍𑂰𑂢𑂱 𑂄𑂔𑂰𑂠𑂵 𑂔𑂢𑂹𑂧𑂵𑂪𑂰 𑂄𑂇𑂩 𑂋𑂎𑂱𑂢𑂱𑂨𑂷 𑂍𑂵 𑂥𑂩𑂰𑂥𑂩 𑂮𑂧𑂹𑂧𑂰𑂢 𑂄𑂋𑂩 𑂃𑂡𑂱𑂍𑂰𑂩 𑂣𑂹𑂩𑂰𑂣𑂹𑂞 𑂯𑂫𑂵 𑃀 𑂋𑂎𑂱𑂢𑂱𑂨𑂷 𑂍𑂵 𑂣𑂰𑂮 𑂮𑂧𑂕-𑂥𑂴𑂕 𑂄𑂇𑂩 𑂃𑂢𑂹𑂞:𑂍𑂩𑂝 𑂍𑂵 𑂄𑂫𑂰𑂔 𑂯𑂷𑂎𑂞𑂰 𑂄𑂋𑂩 𑂯𑂳𑂢𑂍𑂷 𑂍𑂵 𑂠𑂷𑂮𑂩𑂰 𑂍𑂵 𑂮𑂰𑂟 𑂦𑂰𑂆𑂒𑂰𑂩𑂵 𑂍𑂵 𑂥𑂵𑂫𑂯𑂰𑂩 𑂍𑂩𑂵 𑂍𑂵 𑂯𑂷𑂎𑂪𑂰 𑃁
Bhojpuri (Devanagari) – अनुच्छेद १: सबहिं लोकनि स्वतंत्रे जन्मेलन अउर ओखिनियहूं के समान सम्मान अउरी अधिकार प्राप्त हवे। ओखिनियो के पास समझ-बूझ अ अंत:करण के स्वर होखता आओर हुनके हुं के दोसरा के साथ भ्रातृत्त्व के बेवहार करय के चाही।
88
Sarnámi Hindustani
(a dialect of Caribbean Hindustani) –
Aadhiaai 1: Sab djanne aadjádi aur barabar paidaa bhailèn, iddjat aur hak mê. Ohi djanne ke lage sab ke samadj-boedj aur hierdaai hai aur doesare se sab soemmat sè, djaane-maane ke chaahin
89
See also
India portal
Language portal
Culture of Bhojpuri Region
Bhojpuri cinema
Footnotes
References
"Census of India 2011"
(PDF)
Office of the Registrar General & Census Commissioner, India
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Archived
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Oozeerally, Shameem (March 2013).
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Rambilass, B.
"NAITALI - SOUTH AFRICAN BHOJPURI"
(PDF)
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Archived
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World Languages (2009)
circular reference
Ojha, Atul Kr (6 May 2019),
English-Bhojpuri SMT System: Insights from the Karaka Model
arXiv
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Rajend Mesthrie,
Language in indenture: a sociolinguistic history of Bhojpuri-Hindi in South Africa
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ISBN
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Some scholar enthusiasts like to trace the literary history of Bhojpuri from Siddha Sahitya itself, as early as 8th century A.D. (Upadhyay 1972:39). The so-called Bhojpuri forms that they may find that early may be nothing more than common developments shared by the whole northern complex of language-dialects stretching from the Midlands to the East.
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Other proposed methods to represent the drawled "a" sound are, देख'ल', देखःलः and देखअलअ.
citation needed
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S2CID
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2012
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2020
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Bibliography
Rajathi, J; Perumalsamy, P (2021). "
Bhojpuri" in Linguistic Survey of India Bihar Volume
, New Delhi: Office of the Registrar General. pp. 293–407.
Pandey, Rasbihari (1986).
Bhōpurī Bhāshā kā itihāsa
(in Hindi) (1st ed.).
Arrah
: Lok Sahitya Sangam.
Tiwari, Uday Narayan (1960).
The Origin And Development Of Bhojpuri
. The Asiatic Society.
Further reading
Shukla, Shaligram (1981).
Bhojpuri Grammar
Georgetown University Press
ISBN
9780878401895
Lohar, Gopal Thakur (4 June 2006).
A Sociolinguistic Survey of the Bhojpuri Language in Nepal
(Masters). Kirtipur, Kathmandu, Nepal: Central Department of Linguistics,
Tribhuvan University
Ghosh, Aditi (2012). "Bhojpuri as a non-dominant variety of Hindi". In: Muhr,. Rudolf et al (eds.).
Non-Dominant Varieties of Pluricentric Languages. Getting the Picture. In Memory of Michael Clyne, hrsg. v. Rudolf Muhr
(Österreichisches Deutsch - Sprache der Gegenwart 14). Frankfurt am Main, Berlin, Bern, Bruxelles: Peter Lang, 2012. pp. 435–452.
Lohar, Gopal Thakur (2020).
A Grammar of Bhojpuri
(PhD). Kathmandu, Nepal: Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences,
Tribhuvan University
On Diasporic Bhojpuri
Gambhir, Surendra K. (1983). "Diglossia in Dying Languages: A Case Study of Guyanese Bhojpuri and Standard Hindi".
Anthropological Linguistics
25
(1):
28–
38.
JSTOR
30027654
Mesthrie, Rajend (1993). "Koineization in the Bhojpuri–Hindi diaspora ― with special reference to South Africa".
International Journal of the Sociology of Language
(99):
25–
44.
doi
10.1515/ijsl.1993.99.25
Mesthrie, Rajend (2020) [1991].
Language in Indenture: A Sociolinguistic History of Bhojpuri-Hindi in South Africa
. Routledge.
Jayaram, N. (2000). "The Dynamics of Language in Indian Diaspora: The Case of Bhojpuri/Hindi in Trinidad".
Sociological Bulletin
49
(1):
41–
62.
doi
10.1177/0038022920000103
JSTOR
23619888
External links
Bhojpuri edition
of
Wikipedia
, the free encyclopedia
The Universal Declaration of Human Rights in Bhojpuri
, United Nations Information Centre, India (1998)
Archived open-access recordings of Bhojpuri
from
Kaipuleohone
English-Bhojpuri Machine Translation System
Bhojpuri
Linguistic Survey of India
Bhojpuri Language Resource
collection of Bhojpuri language documentation in the Computational Resource for South Asian Languages (CoRSAL) archive
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