Khandeshi language

"Ahirani" redirects here. For the village, see Ahirani, Pindra.
Not to be confused with Ahiri language (disambiguation).
Khandeshi
Ahirani, Khandeshi
खान्देशी, अहिराणी
Native toMaharashtra, India
RegionKhandesh
Native speakers
1.86 million (2011 census)[1]
Devanagari[3]
Language codes
ISO 639-3Either:
khn – Khandeshi
ahr – Ahirani (duplicate code)
Glottologkhan1272
Distribution of Khandeshi speakers (2011)

Khandeshi is an Indo-Aryan language spoken in the Khandesh region of north-west Maharashtra and also in Gujarat.[4] It consists of Khandeshi proper, and the Dangri and Ahirani dialects.[5] Kunbi and Rangari also are dialects. Ahirani dialect of this language is mostly spoken. Devanagari script is used to write Khandeshi language.[6] The words "Ahirani" and "Khandeshi" are sometimes used interchangeably: Ahirani as the caste-based name (after Ahirs), and Khandesh as the region-based name. The Census of 1911 , 1921 and 1931 counted the Ahirani speaking people as Gujaratis[7] but in latter decades they've been recognized as a different language.

Phonology

Consonants

Labial Alveolar Retroflex Palatal Velar Glottal
Nasal voiced m n (ɳ) ŋ
breathy mʱ
Stop/
Affricate 		voiceless p t ʈ tʃ k
aspirated pʰ tʰ ʈʰ kʰ
voiced b d ɖ dʒ g
breathy bʱ dʱ ɖʱ dʒʱ gʱ
Fricative s ʃ ɦ
Approximant voiced ʋ l j
breathy ʋʱ
Rhotic voiced r
breathy rʱ
  • /n/ is heard as a retroflex [ɳ] when before retroflex stops.

Vowels

Front Central Back
High i u
Mid e o
Low-mid ɐ
Low a

All vowels can be short or long.[8]

References

  1. ^ "Statement 1: Abstract of speakers' strength of languages and mother tongues - 2011". www.censusindia.gov.in. Office of the Registrar General & Census Commissioner, India. Retrieved 2018-07-07.
  2. ^ Ernst Kausen, 2006. Die Klassifikation der indogermanischen Sprachen (Microsoft Word, 133 KB)
  3. ^ "Khandeshi alphabet, pronunciation and language". omniglot.com. Retrieved 2023-06-20.
  4. ^ "Khandeshi alphabet, pronunciation and language". omniglot.com. Retrieved 2023-06-20.
  5. ^ Robert Vane Russell (1916). pt. II. Descriptive articles on the principal castes and tribes of the Central Provinces. Macmillan and Company, limited. pp. 19–.
  6. ^ "Khandeshi alphabet, pronunciation and language". omniglot.com. Retrieved 2023-06-20.
  7. ^ P. 12535 Parliamentary Debates, House of the People: Official Report By Indian Parliament, Lok Sabha
  8. ^ Chitnis, Vijaya Shridhar (1964). The Khandeshi dialect (as spoken by farmers in the village of Mohadi in the Dhulia Taluka). Poona: Deccan College.
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