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Rajasthani (राजस्थानी)
is the widely spoken language in Rajasthan and the total number of speakers are 36 million as per Census of India,
2001 in Rajasthan. It is spoken by around 80 million persons in Rajasthan
and other states of India and in some adjacent areas of Pakistan. The Rajasthani language is a part of the Central Indo-Aryan
family, although some classify it as a Western Indo-Aryan language. The script of the Rajasthani language is Hindi and the four most important dialects are
Marwari: The ancient name of Marwari is Maru. Nearly thirteen million speakers in western Rajasthan comprising
Churu, Bikaner, Nagaur, Ajmer, Jodhpur, Pali, Jalore, Jaisalmer, Barmer districts of
Rajasthan and also in eastern parts of upper Sindh province of Pakistan.
Marwari Literature includes the specialty of Sanskrit, Prakrit , Apbransh.
Bagri: Nearly five million speakers in Hanumangarh and Sriganganagar districts of
Rajasthan, Sirsa and Hissar districts of Haryana, Firozepur and Muktsar districts of Punjab of India and Bahawalpur and Bahawalnagar areas of Punjab of Pakistan.
Shekhawati: Nearly three million speakers in Churu, Jhunjhunu and Sikar districts of
Rajasthan.
Dhundhari: Dhundhari is spoken in Jaipur , Dausa , Tonk ,
Ajmer, Karauli and Sawai Madhopur by nearly nine million person. It was first surveyed upon by G. Macliester who published specimens of fifteen varieties of Dhundhari spoken in the territory of the former state of Jaipur in 1898
Harauti: The sublanguage of Dhundhari called Hadoati is spoken in Kota , Bundi, Baran and
Jhalawar . It is equally influenced by Gujrati and Marwari and about four million speakers of this dilect.
Mewari: about five million speakers in Rajsamand, Bhilwara, Udaipur, and Chittorgarh districts of Rajasthan state of India.
Malvi: Malvi is widely spoken in Malva region . Apart from Malva it is spoken
in some parts of Mewar and MadhyaPradesh . It includes the specialities of
Marwari and Malvi is very soothing and soft language . One special form of Malvi called Rangari is very famous in Rajputs of Malva.
Mewati: Mewati is widely spoken in North-West part of Alwar-Bharatpur and
Gurgaon . It is highly influenced by Brig Language.
Vagari: It is widely spoken in southern part of Mewar. It is highly influenced by Gujarati .
Features of Rajasthani
Rajasthani was known previously through its
various dialects but George Abraham Grierson (1908) was the first scholar who gave the designation ‘Rajasthani’ to the language.
Rajasthani is written in the Devanagari script, an abugida which is written from left
to right. Besides, Muriya script was also in use for business purposes only.
Rajasthani has 10 vowels and 31 consonants. Three lexical tones: Low, Mid, High
(Gusain 2000). Three implosives (b, d, g). Abundance of Front Open Vowel (e.g.,
jaavE, KhaavE..).
Status of Rajasthani
Sahitya Akademi, National Academy of Letters and University Grants Commission recognize it as a distinct
language. It is also taught as such in the Universities of Jodhpur and
Udaipur. The Board of Secondary Education, Rajasthan included Rajasthani in the course of
studies and it has been an optional subject since 1973.
Since 1947, several movements have been going on in Rajasthan for its recognition, but it is still
considered a ‘dialect’ of Hindi. Recently, the Rajasthan Government has
recognized it as a state language, but still, there is a long way for Rajasthani language to go.
Prominent Linguists and their work for Rajasthani are :
1892 : George Macalister: Dhundhari and Shekhawati
1890-1920 : Ram Karan Asopa: Rajasthani and Marwari
1914-1916 : L. P. Tessitori: Rajasthani and Marwari
1920 : George Abraham Grierson : Almost all the dialects of Rajasthani
1948-1949 : Suniti Kumar Chatterjee: Rajasthani
1950-1970 : Sita Ram Lalas: Rajasthani language
1960 : Narottam Das Swami: Rajasthani and Marwari
1964 : K. C. Agrawal: Shekhawati
1970 : John D. Smith: Rajasthani
1970 : J. C. Sharma: Gade lohar, Wagri or Bhili, Gojri
1971-1989 : Kali Charan Bahl: Rajasthani
1976 : Christopher Shackle: Bagri and Saraiki
1983 : David Magier: Marwari
1986 : Peter E. Hook: Rajasthani and Marwari
1990 : Lakhan Gusain: all the dialects of Rajasthani
1990 : Liudmila Khokhlova: Rajasthani and Marwari, 1990-present
1993 : Anvita Abbi: Bagri
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