Indo-Aryan languages - History, List, Bibliography

The easternmost branch of the Indo-European languages, comprising some 500 languages spoken by 500 million people in N and C India. Its subgroupings are exemplified by Panjabi (or Punjabi, c.73 million) in the NW; Gujarati (c.43 million) and Marathi (c.65 million) in the W and SW; Hindi and Urdu (together, 240 million) in the mid-N; and Bengali and Assamese (together, c.93 million) in the E. (Figures are for first-language speakers.) The pairs Hindi/Urdu and Bengali/Assamese are mutually intelligible, and distinguished from each other only on socio-political grounds. Romani also belongs to this family.

Indo-Aryan
Geographic distribution:	South Asia
Genetic classification:	Indo-European  Indo-Iranian   Indo-Aryan
Subdivisions:	Northwest Indo-Aryan Midland Indo-Aryan / Hindustani West and Southwest Indo-Aryan East Indo-Aryan

The Indo-Aryan languages form a subgroup of the Indo-Iranian languages, which belongs to the Indo-European family of languages. Note that in opposition to the generic adjective Indian, Indic is the term used in the context of Indo-European linguistics, and is not strictly a geographical term, so that non-Indo-European languages spoken in India are not included in the term, while the Mitanni, on the other hand, probably were speakers of an Indic language without ever having settled on the Indian subcontinent.

History

The earliest attestations of the group are in Vedic Sanskrit, the language used in the ancient preserved texts of India, the foundational canon of Hinduism known as the Vedas. the fifth century BC, the Sanskrit language was codified and standardized by the grammarian Panini; However, although this preserved the integrity of written language for a long time, the spoken language continues to evolve, and by the sixth century, Sanskrit as a spoken language was rare, being by and large replaced by its descendants, the Prakrits. Under the flourishing Mughal empire, Persian became very influential as the language of prestige of the Islamic courts. This Indo-Aryan language is a combination of Persian and Arabic in its vocabulary with the grammar of the local dialects.

The two largest languages that formed from Apabhransa were Bengali and Hindi; Hindi) was replaced by 'Hindi' as the official language of India, and soon the Perso-Arabic words of Urdu began to be excised from the official Hindi corpus, in a bid to make the language more 'Indian'. A throwback to Hindi poets like Tulsidas resulted in what is known as a Sanskritization of the language.

List

Ancient languages Sanskrit, including Vedic Sanskrit Mitanni Prakrits, including Pali Central Zone languages or Madhya Prakrits

West Central zone:

Bhil languages Domari language Gujarati languages Gujarati language Saurashtra language Khandesi languages Dhanki language Khandesi language Panjabi languages Punjabi language (Eastern Panjabi) Today's Haryanvi language Rajasthani languages Goaria language Gujari language Loarki language Malvi language Mewari language Nimadi language Romani language Western Hindi languages Brij Bhasa Khadi Boli Bundeli language Hindi language Urdu language Kanauji language

East-Central Zone

Awadhi language Bagheli language Chhattisgarhi language Dhanwar language Fijian Hindustani language Magadhan languages (Eastern Zone languages) Bengali-Assamese languages Assamese (Ôxômiya) Bengali (Bangla) Bishnupriya Manipuri (Imar Thar) Chakma Chittagonian Hajong Halbi Kharia Thar Kayort Mal Paharia Mirgan Nahari Rajbangsi Sylheti (Silôţi) Tangchangya Bihari languages Angika Bhojpuri Caribbean Hindustani Kudmali Magahi Maithili Majhi Musasa Oraon Sadri Panchpargania Sadri Surajpuri Oriya languages Adivasi Oriya Bhatri Bhunjia Bodo Parja Kupia Oriya (Oŗia) Reli language (Reli) Unclassified Eastern Bote-Majhi Buksa Chitwania Tharu Degaru Deokhuri Tharu Kochila Tharu Mahotari Tharu Rana Tharu Pahari languages (Northern Zone languages) Central Pahari languages Kumauni language Eastern Pahari languages Nepali language Palpi language Garhwali languages Garhwali language Tehri language Western Pahari languages Bilaspuri language Pahari-Potwari language North-Western Zone languages Lahnda languages Jakati language Western Punjabi language Sindhi languages Sindhi language Dhatki language Siraiki language Marwari language Sinhalese-Maldivian languages Maldivian language Sinhalese language Veddah language Southern Zone languages Konkani language Marathi language Manadeshi

Bibliography

Madhav Deshpande (1979). The Indo-Aryans of ancient South Asia: Language, material culture and ethnicity. Tokyo: Research Institute for Languages and Cultures of Asia and Africa, Tokyo University of Foreign Studies. Tokyo: Institute for the Study of Languages and Foreign Cultures of Asia and Africa, Tokyo University of Foreign Studies.