Eastern Indo-Aryan languages

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
Eastern Indo-Aryan
Magadhan
Geographic
distribution
Eastern India, Bangladesh, southern Nepal
Linguistic classificationIndo-European
Early forms
Subdivisions
Glottologindo1323  (Indo-Aryan Eastern zone)
biha1245  (Bihari)
Major Indo-Aryan languages of South Asia; Eastern Indo-Aryan languages in shades of yellow

The Eastern Indo-Aryan languages, also known as Māgadhan languages, are spoken throughout the eastern region of the subcontinent (East India, Bangladesh, Assam), which includes Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Jharkhand, Bengal region, Tripura, Assam, and Odisha; alongside other regions surrounding the northeastern Himalayan corridor. Bengali is official language of Bangladesh and the state of West Bengal, Tripura and the Barak valley of Assam while Assamese and Odia are the official languages of Assam and Odisha, respectively. The Eastern Indo-Aryan languages descend from Abahattha, which descends from Magadhan Apabhraṃśa[1] and ultimately from Magadhi Prakrit.[2][3][1]

Classification

The exact scope of the Eastern branch of the Indo-Aryan languages is controversial. All scholars agree about a kernel that includes the Odia cluster and the Bengali–Assamese languages, while many also include the Bihari languages. The widest scope was proposed by Suniti Kumar Chatterji who included the Eastern Hindi varieties, but this has not been widely accepted.[4]

When the Bihari languages are included, the Eastern Indo-Aryan languages fall into four language groups in two broader categories:[citation needed]

Western Magadhan

Eastern Magadhan

Features

Grammatical features of the Eastern Indo-Aryan languages:[5]

Case Bengali Assamese Odia Rajbangshi Surjapuri Maithili Bhojpuri Tharu Sylheti
Instrumental -t̪e, -ke d̪ie -e, -er-e, di, -e-di -e, -re, -d̪ei -d̪i -e,e˜, sə˜, d̪ea le, leka -re, di
Dative -ke, -[e]re -k, -ɒk -ku -k, -ɔk -k, -ɔk -ke˜ -ke -hənə -gu, -gur
Ablative -t̪ʰeke -pɒra -u, -ru, -ʈʰaru, -ʈʰiru -hat̪ɛ, t̪ʰaki -sɛ -sə˜, -k -karəne se -lagi, -tône
Genitive -r, -er -r, -ɒr -rɔ -r, -ɛr -r, -ɛr -ker (-k) -kæ -ək -r, -ôr
Locative -e, -t̪e -t, -ɒt -re -t̪, -ɔt̪ -t̪, -ɔt̪ e, me, -hi, -tə -mə -t, -ô

References

  1. ^ a b Ray, Tapas S. (2007). "Chapter Eleven: "Oriya". In Jain, Danesh; Cardona, George. The Indo-Aryan Languages. Routledge. p. 445. ISBN 978-1-135-79711-9.
  2. ^ Cardona, George; Jain, Dhanesh, eds. (2003), "The historical context and development of Indo-Aryan", The Indo-Aryan Languages, Routledge language family series, London: Routledge, pp. 46–66, ISBN 0-7007-1130-9
  3. ^ South Asian folklore: an encyclopedia : Afghanistan, Bangladesh, India, By Peter J. Claus, Sarah Diamond, Margaret Ann Mills, Routledge, 2003, p. 203
  4. ^ Masica, Colin (1991). The Indo-Aryan Languages. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. pp. 446–462.
  5. ^ (Toulmin 2006:148)

External links