Language and dialects of Rajasthan
Introduction:
Rajasthan is majorly a Hindi-speaking destnation with various dialects. However, the main language of Rajasthan is Rajasthani which consists of five principal dialects like Marwari, Dhundhari, Mewari, Mewati and Hadauti. It is derived from Apabhramsa, with all its linguistic and orthographical peculiarities.
Rajasthani as a language of literature suffered a great set back during the British period.
Today hundreds of poets and writers are writing in Rajasthani. Folk literature in Rajasthani is varied and rich and consists of songs, tales, sayings, riddles and folk-plays popularly known as khyals.
Marwari - The Main Language
Rajasthani is divided into four big groups, the biggest being that of Marwari. Standard Marwari is spoken mainly in and around Jodhpur district and has some influence on the dialects in Barmer, Jalore, Pali and part of Nagaur district.
The dialect is also spoken in mixed form in the east in Ajmer, Udaipur, Bhilwara and Chittorgarh district; in the south in Sirohi district and the Palanpur district of Gujarat; in the west in Jaisalmer district and in the north in Bikaner, Churu, Sikar and Jhunjhunu districts.
It is also spoken with some Punjabi influence in Ganganagar district in the north-west.
In the south-east in Mewar (Udaipur, Bhilwara and Chittorgarh districts) and its neighbourhood, there is the well-known eastern form of Marwari known as Mewari.
In the southern part of Pali and Jalore districts, the whole of Sirohi district and the northern part of Palanpur, there is a southern sub-dialect.
The dialect spoken in the western parts of Barmer, Jaisalmer, Thar and Parkar areas of Sind is called Thali in the north and Dhatak in the west. Northern forms of Marwari cover Bikaner, Churu, Ganganagar, Sikar and Jhunjhunu districts.
Mewari: Regional Dialect
Mewari is actually the eastern form of Marwari used frequently to the southeast of the former princely state of Mewar, which comprised of Udaipur, Bhilwara and Chittorgarh districts, and its neighborhood. The dialect used in the western parts of Barmer, Jaisalmer, Thar and Parkar areas of the former Sind is called Thali in the north and Dhatak in the west. In Bikaner it is called Bikaneri while in the northeastern part of Churu, it is known as Bagri.
Other Dialects:
Jaipurior Dhundhari, earns a second place in terms of use and covers the districts of Jaipur, Tonk, Kota, Bundi, parts of Kishangarh, Ajmer and Jhalawar. Mewati is a dialect of Jaipuri to the northeast, which assumes the form of Braja Bhasha in Bharatpur. Mewati is actually the language of the former Mewat, the abode of the Meos. Dang is a further sub-dialect of Braja Bhasa in Sawai Madhopur and Karauli and that of Bundeli and Malvi in Jhalawar and the southern parts of Kota. Kishangarhi is spoken in Kishangarh and Ajmeri in Ajmer. The dialect spoken in Bundi and Kota is Harauti, which is also spoken in Jhalwar and Tonk districts.
Malvi of the former Malwa covers parts of the Jhalawar and Kota districts. The Bundeli of Narsinghpur and central Hoshangabad, the Marathi of Berar and the Nemadi dialect of Rajasthani is spoken in north Nimach and Bhansawar. The Bhils communicate in Bhili, which is similar to Dungarpur's and Banswara's Bagria form of Rajasthani with the exception of slight variation in the pronunciation. However, the language structure for both of them is the same.
