A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | CH | I | J | K | L | M | N | O | P | Q | R | S | T | U | V | W | X | Y | Z | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9
| Kumaoni | |
|---|---|
| कुमाऊँनी | |
| Pronunciation | [kuːmɑːʊni] |
| Native to | India |
| Region | Kumaon (India) Doti[1][2] (Nepal) |
| Ethnicity | Kumaoni |
Native speakers | 2.2 million (2011 census)[3] |
| Devanagari | |
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-3 | kfy |
| Glottolog | kuma1273 |
.png) Kumaoni language speakers in India (2011 census) | |
Kumaoni (कुमाऊँनी, pronounced [kuːmɑːʊni]) is an Indo-Aryan language spoken by over two million people of the Kumaon region of the state of Uttarakhand in northern India and parts of Doti region in Western Nepal.[4] As per 1961 survey there were 1,030,254 Kumaoni speakers in India.[5] The number of speakers increased to 2.2 million in 2011.
Kumaoni is not endangered but UNESCO's Atlas of the World's Languages in Danger designates it as a language in the unsafe category, meaning it requires consistent conservation efforts.[6]
Script
Kumaoni is written using the Devanagari script.[7]
Geographic distribution and dialects
There are several dialects spoken in the Kumaon region. There is not single accepted method of dividing up the dialects of Kumaoni. Broadly speaking, Kali (or Central) Kumaoni is spoken in Almora and northern Nainital. North-eastern Kumaoni is spoken in Pithoragarh. South-eastern Kumaoni is spoken in South-eastern Nainital. Western Kumaoni is spoken west of Almora and Nainital.
More specifically:[8]
- Johari of the Malla and Talla Johar (Milam, Munsiyari)
- Askoti of Askot
- Bhabhri of Haldwani and Ramnagar[8]
- Danpuriya of Danpur (Bageshwar, Kapkot)
- Gangoli of Ganai-Gangoli (Kanda, Berinag, Gangolihat)
- Khasparjiya of Almora
- Kumaiyya of Champawat
- Pachhai of Pali-Pachhhau (Ranikhet, Dwarahat)
- Phaldakotiya of Phaldkot
- Rhau-Chaubyansi, (Nainital)
- Sirali of Sirakot (Didihat)
- Soriyali of Sor Valley (Pithoragarh)
Some Kumaoni speakers are also reportedly found in Western Nepal.[2]
History
Various Kumaoni text have been found from the Katyuri and Chand era on temple stones and as copper plate inscriptions.[9][10] Kumaoni was also the official language of the Kumaon Kingdom.[citation needed]
Phonology
Consonants
| Labial | Dental/ Alveolar |
Retroflex | Post-alv./ Palatal |
Velar | Glottal | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nasal | voiced | m | n | ɳ | ŋ | ||
| breathy | mʱ | nʱ | |||||
| Stop/ Affricate |
voiceless | p | t | ʈ | tʃ | k | |
| aspirated | pʰ | tʰ | ʈʰ | tʃʰ | kʰ | ||
| voiced | b | d | ɖ | dʒ | ɡ | ||
| breathy | bʱ | dʱ | ɖʱ | dʒʱ | ɡʱ | ||
| Fricative | s | ʃ | h | ||||
| Rhotic | voiced | r | ɽ | ||||
| breathy | ɽʱ | ||||||
| Lateral | voiced | l | ɭ | ||||
| breathy | lʱ | ||||||
| Approximant | w | j | |||||
- /ʃ/ can also be heard as in free variation, depending on the dialect.[11]
Vowels
| Front | Central | Back | |
|---|---|---|---|
| High | iː | uː | |
| ɪ | ʊ | ||
| Mid | eː | ə | oː |
| ɛ | ɔ | ||
| Low | (æ) | ɑ ɑː | |
- /ɛ/ can be heard as in free variation.[12]
- /ɑ/ can be heard as either back or central in free variation.
- /ɔ/ can be heard as in free variation.[13]
Grammar
Being part of the Indo-Aryan dialect continuum Kumauni shares its grammar with other Indo-Aryan languages like Dotyali, Nepali, Hindi, Rajasthani, Kashmiri and Gujarati. It shares much of its grammar with the other language of the Central Pahari group like Garhwali. The peculiarities of grammar in Kumaoni and other Central Pahari languages exist due to the influence of the now extinct language of the Khasas, the first inhabitants of the region. In Kumauni the verb substantive is formed from the root ach, as in both Rajasthani and Kashmiri. In Rajasthani its present tense, being derived from the Sanskrit present rcchami, I go, does not change for gender. But in Pahari and Kashmiri it must be derived from the rare Sanskrit particle *rcchitas, gone, for in these languages it is a participial tense and does change according to the gender of the subject. Thus, in the singular we have: - Here we have a relic of the old Khasa language, which, as has been said, seems to have been related to Kashmiri. Other relics of Khasa, again agreeing with north-western India, are the tendency to shorten long vowels, the practice of epenthesis, or the modification of a vowel by the one which follows in the next syllable, and the frequent occurrence of disaspiration. Thus, Khas siknu, Kumauni sikhno, but Hindi sikhna, to learn; Kumauni yeso, plural yasa, of this kind.
| Khas-kura (Nepali) | Kumauni | Kashmiri | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| to be | Masc | Fem | Masc | Fem | Masc | Fem |
| 1SG | chhu | chhu | chik | chu | chus | ches |
| 2SG | chhas | chhes | chai | chi | chukh | chekh |
| 3SG | chha | chhe | ch | chi | chuh | cheh |
Verb conjugation
Conjugation of the verb Lekh (लेख) to write, in all three tenses in Kumaoni.
Present tense
| Singular | Plural |
|---|---|
मैं main लेखनू lekhnu I write |
हम hum लेखनु lekhnu we write |
तू tu लेख lekh छे chhe you write |
तुम tum लेख lekh छो chho you write |
उ U लिखनो likhno he writes |
ऊँ un लेखन lekhan छन chhan they write |
Past tense
| Singular | Plural |
|---|---|
मेल maile लिखौ lekho I wrote |
हमुल humul लेखौ lekho we wrote |
त्वील tveel लिखौ lekho you wrote |
तुमुल tumule लेखौ lekho you wrote |
वील veel लिखौ lekho he wrote |
उनुले unule लेखौ lekho they wrote |
Future tense
| Singular | Plural |
|---|---|
मैं main लिखूंलो lekhulo I will write |
हम hum लेखुंला lekhula we will write |
तू tum लेखले lekhle you will write |
तुम tum लेखला lekhla you will write |
उ u लेखल lekhal he will write |
ऊँ un लेखल lekhal they will write |
Example short phrases
| Words/phrases | Transliteration | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| जै देव | Jai Dev | Hello Formal. |
| पैलाग | Pailaag | Hi/Hello (lit. touch your feet as a sign of respect used by younger members to greet older members) |
| कस हेरे छे? | Kas hare chhe? | How are you? Informal |
| कस हेरो छा? | Kas haro cha | How are you? Formal |
| भल हेरो | Bhal hero | I am fine |
| काँ जाण छा? | kaa jaan chha? | Where are you going |
| होए | Hoye. | Yes. |
| ना | Nā. | No. |
| कतु? | Katu? | How much?/How many? |
| काँ? | Kajāh? | Where? |
| कसिक? | Kasik? | How? |
| कैक? | Kaik? | Whose? |
| को? | Ko? | Who? |
| किलै | Kila? | Why? |
| के? | Ke? | What? |
| के हेगो? | Ke hego. | What happened? |