Kurmali language

Not to be confused with the Kumhali language, a language of Kumal people (Nepal) and Karmali language, a dialect of Santali language.

Kurmali or Kudmali (ISO: Kuṛmāli) is an Indo-Aryan language classified as belonging to the Bihari group of languages spoken in eastern India.^[7][8][9] As a trade dialect, it is also known as Panchpargania (Bengali: পঞ্চপরগনিয়া), for the "five parganas" of the region it covers in Jharkhand. Kurmali language is spoken by around 550,000 people mainly in fringe regions of Jharkhand, Odisha and West Bengal, also a sizeable population speak Kurmali in Assam tea valleys.^[7] Kurmali is one of the demanded languages for enlisting in Eighth Schedule to the Constitution of India.^[10]

Kurmali
Panchpargania
কুড়মালি, কুর্মালী कुड़मालि, कुरमालि କୁଡ଼ମାଲି पंचपरगनिया, পঞ্চপরগনিয়া
' Kuṛmāli ' written in Chisoi script
Native to	India
Native speakers	555,695 (2011 census)[1][lower-alpha 1] 619,689 (2001 census)[5]
Language family	Indo-European Indo-Iranian Indo-Aryan Eastern Bihari Sadanic Kurmali
Writing system	Devanagari, Bengali, Odia, Chisoi[6]
Official status
Official language in	India Jharkhand (additional) West Bengal (additional)
Language codes
ISO 639-3	Either: kyw – Kudmali tdb – Panchpargania
Glottolog	kudm1238  Kudmali panc1246  Panchpargania
Distribution of Kurmali language in India

Geographical distribution

Kurmali language is mainly spoken in three eastern states of India, that is, in southeastern district Seraikela Kharswan, East Singhbhum, West Singhbhum, Bokaro and Ranchi districts of Jharkhand; in northern district Mayurbhanj, Balasore, Kendujhar, Jajpur and Sundargarh of Odisha; and in south western district Paschim Medinipur, Jhargram, Bankura, Purulia and northern districts Maldah, Uttar Dinajpur, Dakhin Dinajpur, Jalpaiguri of West Bengal. Apart from the core area of the language, the language is also spoken in Udalguri and a few speakers are also found in Cachar, Santipur, Nagaon of Assam; the eastern districts of Chandrapur and Gadchiroli in Maharashtra. Apart from this, a few speakers are also found in the states of Uttar Pradesh, Bihar^[1][11] and in neighbour country Bangladesh^[12][13] and Nepal.^[14][15][13]

Grierson's linguistic map of East Chota Nagpur, 1903

During the British Raj, the Kurmali language was known as Panchpargania (means "language of five regions") for present-day Bundu, Barenda, Sonahatu (split into Sonahatu and Rahe), Silli, Tamar blocks of Ranchi district of Jharkhand state as a trade language between four linguistic region. Now the Sonahatu and Rahe make the core region of Panchpargania.^[16][17]

Distribution of Kurmali language in the state of India^[11]

  Jharkhand (43.9%)

  West Bengal (39.3%)

  Odisha (16.2%)

  Other (0.6%)

As per the Census of 2011, there are 311,175 Kurmali Thar speakers in India (hailing mostly from West Bengal, Odisha, Assam and Maharashtra) and 244,914 Panch Pargania speakers (mostly from Jharkhand), making a total of 556,089 Kurmali speakers in India.^[1] They are grouped under the umbrella of "Hindi languages".^[2] Note that both, Kurmali Thar and Panch Pargania are dialects of the Kurmali language.^[2] In Nepal, there are 227 Kurmali speakers.^[14] However, it is claimed that the actual number of Kurmali speakers is far higher than the number cited in the census.^[16]

Language variation

For broader coverage of this topic, see Variety (linguistics).

The speakers of Kurmali are spread over a vast region of East India, especially in fringe areas of West Bengal, Jharkhand and Odisha. These states are mostly dominated by Bengali, Nagpuri and Odia speakers. Local dialectal change and language shift can be noticed in these areas. The Kurmi of West Bengal identify themselves as speakers of Kurmali but due to age-long settlement in the Bengali region their language is shifting towards the Manbhumi dialect of Bengali, as similarly occurred in northern Odisha with Bengali and Odia admixture.^[2] In the 1903 Linguistic survey of India, the shift was explained this way:^[18]

There are ... emigrants from ... highlands into the Bengali-speaking area. These have retained their own language, though ... borrowing words and grammatical forms from those amongst whom they live. The result is a kind of mixed dialect essentially Bihārī in its nature, but with a curious Bengali colouring. [...] In each case this dialect is the language of a strange people in a strange land. ... In Manbhum this [Kuṛmalī] language is principally spoken by people of the Kuṛmī caste, who are numerous in the districts of Chota Nagpur, and in the Orissa Tributary state of Mayurbhanja. ... [They] do not all speak corrupted Bihārī. Many of them speak Bengali and Oriya. ... In the Orissa Tributary States, the Kuṛmī nearly all talk Bengali, although living in an Oriya speaking country.

— G. A. Grierson (1903). Linguistic survey of India, Vol. V, Part II, pp. 145–146

Similarly, in the 1911 census, according to the Linguistic Survey of India and Deputy Commissioner of Ranchi the Panchpargania was noted as:

[Panch Pargania] closely resembles the Kurmali Thar of Manbhum. The principal apparent difference is the result of the characters employed in writing. In Manbhum the character adopted is the Bengali, and the language looked at, so to speak, through Bengali spectacles. Hence words are spelled as a Bengali would spell them. In the five Parganas, on the other hand, the Kaithi alphabet is used, and the language is looked at through Hindi spectacles. ... Panch Pargania or Tamaria is really a composition of language formed of Bengali, Oriya and Bihari words and terminations.

— Census of India : 1911, Vol. V, Part I, p. 389

The Kurmali language was initially categorised under the Bengali language in the first two censuses of independent India (1951 and 1961), following colonial linguistic G.A. Grierson, who identified Kurmali as 'a form of western Bengali' [sic] in his publications from 1898 to 1927. Since the 1971 census, Kurmali has been classified under the Hindi language group.^{[19][20][21][22]}

The Kurmali language bears between 61 and 86 per cent lexical similarity with Panchpargania; 58–72 per cent with Khortha; 51–73 per cent with Nagpuri (Sadri); 46–53 per cent with Odia; 41–55 per cent with Bengali; and 44–58 per cent with Hindi.^[7] Hence the Panchpargania is usually considered a major variety of the Kurmali language, although sometimes it is classified as a distinct language. Similarly, due to the great influence of the Bengali language on Kurmali (as the speakers of this language are in the process of shifting to dominant or prestige languages of the region), many linguists label it as Jharkhandi Bangla and sometimes it is clustered as a Manbhumi dialect.^[23] Kurmali also closely resembles the Khortha language and has a good number of loanwords from the Munda language family, specifically from the Santali language, although not as much as Khortha language.^{[16]: 296, 297}

It is believed that the early form of the Kurmali language was spoken by Kudmi Mahato, a group that was one of the original homesteaders of Jharkhand (Manbhum region).^[19] As a language, Kurmali has its own traditional precedence, and has nothing to do with Magahi as a source.^[24] Although the language is now Indo-Aryan in nature, it has some distinctive features like lexical items, grammatical markers and categories that are neither available in Indo-Aryan nor Dravidian, nor even in Munda languages. Thus it is believed that the language was once a separate, unrelated language. However, because of its long settlement in the Aryan belt, the native speakers gradually abandoned the original structure and switched to an Aryan form of the language, while retaining the substrate of the old.^[16] The language currently falls in 6b (threatened) and 7 (Language shifting) level of the Expanded Graded Intergenerational Disruption Scale (EGIDS), which correspond to the UNESCO language endangerment category level "Vulnerable" and "Definitely Endangered".^[25][26] However, Ethnologue place Kurmali at 6a (vigorous) level and its variety Panchpargania (widely used in Jharkhand) at level 3 (trade) of EGIDS, both of which correspond to "Safe" status of UNESCO language endangerment category level.^[7][27]

Variety

See also: Manbhumi dialect

Three Kurmali language specimens recorded in 1903

The language is transferred orally from generation to generation and the Kurmali language remains unstandardised due to influence of other Indo Aryan languages. Thus its speakers use different varieties and accents. However, the language can be classified on the basis of the speakers' territorial region, viz., Singhbhum Kudmali, Dhalbhum Kudmali, Ranchi Kudmali (Panchpargania), Manbhum Kudmali, Mayurbhanj Kudmali are the major regional varieties.^[25] All those varieties bear between 58 and 89 per cent lexical similarity with each other.^[7]

Present regional varieties of language^[2][28]

English	Dhalbhum Kudmali (Jharkhand)	Manbhum Kudmali (West Bengal)	Mayurbhanj Kudmali (Odisha)
He likes it.	Oẽ iTa pOsOnd kOrOt.	Oẽ iTa pOsOnd kOrEi.	U iTa pOsOnd kare.
One person is sitting.	ek lOke bOise ahe.	ek lok gObchOlahe.	ek lok bOsinchhe.
Invite all of them.	Okhrak sObke neuta de deo.	Okhrake sobhekaike neuta dei deliOn.	arā sObuke neuta/ khabar diyan deo.
The tree comes out from the seed.	muji lẽ gach hek.	Bihin lẽ gach heuEik.	muji lẽ gach haye.
Cows are grazing in the field.	gOru gila bai dẽ cOrOhOt.	gOru gilin taiNdẽ cOrOhOt.	gOru gila bai dẽ cOrchhen.
You are not going to school.	tÕe iskulẽ ni jais.	tÕe iskulẽ nihi jais.	tuiñ iskulẽ na jais.
He did not do the work.	Õe kamTa ni kOrlak.	Õe kamTa nihi kOllak.	U kamTa nai kærla.
Go to my house.	mOr gharke ke ja.	Moi Ghar jaho.	hamar gharke ke ja.

Numbers

The basic Kurmali cardinal numbers are:

English	Kurmali (Old)	Kurmali (Current)
1	eRi	ek
2	dORi/duhuñ	dui
3	ghurOin	tin
4	chail/gONda	caer
5	cOmpa	pãc
6	jheig	chO
7	sutOil	sat
8	aaThoi	aTh
9	nomi	nO
10	baNri	dOs
20	khonRi/khonDi	kuRie
40	mOn	dui kuRie

Language use

The language Kurmali (Kudmali) is spoken by 555,465 people as a native language in India.^[1] The Kudmi (Kudmi Mahato), the native speakers of the language, are the main users.^{[lower-alpha 2]} As per The People of India (1992), the language is spoken by ten communities as a mother tongue, including two Scheduled Tribe and three Scheduled Caste communities.^{[29][lower-alpha 3]} Those ten communities include Bedia, Bagal, Dharua, Dom, Jolha, Kamar, Kumhar, Tanti, Nai, Ghasi, Karga, and Rautia.^[30][31][13] In addition, bilingual tribals like Bhumij, Ho, Kharia, Lohara (or Lohar), Mahli, Munda, Oraon, Santal, Savar and Bathudi communities speak the language as a second or subsequent language.^[32][2]

The language contributes to community identity in festivals like Bandna, Tusu, Karam and Jhumair, in which the songs are formatted in Kurmali. An example of this is the Jhumar song.

Education

There are some institutions, where the Kurmali language is a higher education core subject.

• Ranchi University, Ranchi^[13]
• Kolhan University, Chaibasa^[33]
• Binod Bihari Mahto Koylanchal University, Dhanbad
• Dr. Shyama Prasad Mukherjee University, Ranchi
• Sidho Kanho Birsha University, Purulia^[34]
• Jhargram University, Jhargram^[35]
• Vinoba Bhave University, Hazaribag^[13]
• Panch Pargana Kisan College Bundu, Jharkhand^[36]
• Acchruram Memorial College, Purulia^[37]
• Arsha College, Purulia^[38]
• Ramananda Centenary College, Purulia^[39]
• Chitta Mahato Memorial College, Purulia^[40]
• Bandwan Mahavidyalaya, Purulia^[41]
• Kotshila Mahavidyalaya, Purulia^[42]

Notes

1. The census results conflate as the language has no standardised form, so the different dialects are grouped with the regional dominant languages.^[2] Additionally, many Kudmi people of Odisha were wrongly recorded as Kudubi/Kudumbi, a Konkani language variety in the census due to the phonetic similarity of the names. Apart from this, Kurmali language is returned as mother tongue mainly by the Kudmi people. Many other communities who use Kurmali language as their mother tongue, tend to return their own community name as their response to the language question, instead of responding Kurmali. Similarly, while many Kudmi people identify themselves as Kurmali speakers due to community identity, linguistically, they have shifted to the Bengali language.^[3][4]
2. "Kurmali is a corrupt form of Magahi, which, as the name implies, is the tongue of the aboriginal Kurmis of Chota Nagpur (not the Bihari cultivating caste of the same name). It was returned as the language of 211,411 persons in Manbhum, where the Kurmis number 291,729. It is not confined to them, however, but is spoken by many other castes. This patois is also known as Khotta or Khotta Bengali, and is written in the Bengali character. Locally it is regarded as a corrupt form of Bengali. It is reported that even in Ranchi, though Bihari words are used, the terminations are often Bengali. In Mayurbhanj it is usually called Kurmi Bengali or Kurumali Bengali, as well as simply Kurmi. With regard to its character, the late Maharaja of Mayurbhanj wrote as follows :— The mother-tongue of the Kurmis of Mayurbhanj is Bengali, with the peculiar intonation belonging to them. These Kurmis have, as a rule, come from Midnapore and settled permanently in Mayurbhanj. Their dialect shows traces of Hindi and Oriya as well but it can not be called either." Quoted^[3]
3. A community speaking Kudmali language as mother tongue in one administrative-linguistic zone may not necessarily speak that same language as mother tongue in another administrative-linguistic zone.

References

1. "Statement 1: Abstract of speakers' strength of languages and mother tongues – 2011" (PDF). www.censusindia.gov.in. Office of the Registrar General & Census Commissioner, India. Archived from the original (PDF) on 19 April 2022. Retrieved 7 July 2018.
2. Ghosh 2020, pp. 439–501
3. O'Malley, L.S.S. (1913). Census of India, 1911 (PDF). Bengal, Bihar and Orissa and Sikkim, Vol. V. Part-I (report). Bengal Secretariat Book Depot. pp. 388–389.
4. Laeequddin, Muhammad (1937). Census of Mayurbhanj State 1931 (PDF). Vol. I. Calcutta: Caledonin Printing Company. p. 241. JSTOR saoa.crl.25352830. OCLC 496724918. The situation, however, is not the same with regard to the Kurmis. They had their own language, Kurmali, which they have abandoned in large numbers in favour of the peculiar form of Bengali spoken by them, which they brought with them into the State in the course of their migration through Manbhum and Midnapore.
5. "Abstract of speakers' strength of languages and mother tongues: 2001". censusindia.gov.in. Archived from the original on 15 April 2022. Retrieved 20 March 2022.
6. "Proposal to Encode Chisoi in the Universal Character Set" (PDF). unicode.org. Retrieved 21 February 2022.
7. "Kudmali". Ethnologue. Retrieved 18 May 2019.
8. Alam, Qaiser Zoha (1996). Language and Literature: Divers Indian Experiences. Atlantic Publishers & Dist. ISBN 978-81-7156-586-3.
9. Fayez, S. M., & Rajiv Ranjan Mahto. (2021). A Sociolinguistic Study of Kudmali in Jharkhand. Aligarh Journal of Linguistics, 11(ISSN: 2249-1511), 117–132.
10. "Constitutional provisions relating to Eighth Schedule" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 5 March 2016. Retrieved 4 October 2016.
11. "C-16 POPULATION BY MOTHER TONGUE". censusindia.gov.in. Archived from the original on 4 June 2022. Retrieved 4 June 2022.
12. প্রতিনিধি (27 August 2022). "মাহাতোদের মাতৃভাষা ও সংস্কৃতিচর্চায় কুড়মালি পাঠশালার উদ্বোধন". Prothomalo (in Bengali). Retrieved 1 September 2022.
13. Keduar, N. C. (2016). कुड़माली भाषा शिक्षण एवं साहित्य (in Hindi) (2nd ed.). Ranchi: Shivangan Publication. p. 4. ISBN 9788193221587.

    

    Generally unreliable
14. POPULATION MONOGRAPH OF NEPAL (PDF). Vol. II (First ed.). Kathmandu, Nepal: Central Bureau of Statistics, Govt. of Nepal. 2014. p. 60, 166. ISBN 9789937289726. (Social Demography); census 2011. Archived (PDF) from the original on 18 April 2013.
15. "National Population and Housing Census 2011 (National Report)" (PDF). cbs.gov.np. Kathmandu, Nepal: Government of Nepal National Planning Commission Secretariat. November 2012. p. 166. Archived from the original (PDF) on 18 April 2013. Retrieved 31 August 2022.
16. Paudyal, Netra P.; Peterson, John (1 September 2020). "How one language became four: the impact of different contact-scenarios between "Sadani" and the tribal languages of Jharkhand". Journal of South Asian Languages and Linguistics. 7 (2): 347. doi:10.1515/jsall-2021-2028. ISSN 2196-078X. S2CID 233732014.
17. Dutta & Pattanaik 2021
18. Grierson 1903, p. 145.
19. Bhattacharya, Snigdhendu (9 May 2022). "How Grouping of Languages Inflated Number of Hindi Speakers". Outlook. Retrieved 16 May 2022.
20. Prasad & Shastri 1958, Ch. 1, p. 1.
21. India (Republic) Superintendent of Census Operations, Bihar (1956). Language Handbook. Manager of Publications, civil lines. The wide differences between the results of the villagewise sorting and earlier 1951 figures is thus clearly not due to the use of National Registers on the present occasion. This difference arises mainly from the fact that a large number of returns under Kurmali and Khotta, the two most important Bihari (Hindi) dialects in Manbhum Sadar, were wrongly sorted as Bengali in the earlier operation.
22. Committee, Great Britain India Office Franchise (1932). East India (Constitutional Reforms).: Indian Franchise Committee, 1932 ... Report ... [and Memoranda Submitted by the Local Governments and the Provincial Franchise Committees and Selections from Memoranda Submitted by Individuals and Oral Evidence. H.M. Stationery Office. p. 207. The "Kurmali" dialect which is spoken by the Kurmis of the Manbhum district was always regarded authoritatively as a dialect of Bengali until 1911. But in the Census Reports for 1911 and 1921, it come to be recorded as a dialect of Hindi, although "Kurmali" is known in the country to be really Bengali and not Hindi. In the Census Report of 1901 it was classified as Bengali. The 1911 Census Report, after noting that the Kurmali-speakers were being classed as Hindi-speakers, ... In 1921, while classifying Kurmali and Khotta Bangla as dialect of Hindi, the Census authorities recognized the difficulties of such a classification.
23. Sengupta, Nirmal, ed. (1982). Fourth World Dynamics, Jharkhand. Authors Guild Publications. p. 143. Alt URL
24. Basu, Sajal (1994). Jharkhand Movement: Ethnicity and Culture of Silence. Indian Institute of Advanced Study. ISBN 978-81-85952-15-4.
25. "Kudmali and its Impending Challenges" (PDF). soas.ac.uk. SOAS University of London. Archived (PDF) from the original on 29 June 2022. Retrieved 1 July 2022.
26. "Kudmali in India". UNESCO WAL. Archived from the original on 22 June 2023. Retrieved 22 June 2023.
27. "Language of the day: Panchpargania". Ethnologue. 9 October 2021. Archived from the original on 14 October 2021. Retrieved 20 July 2022.
28. Krishan, Shree (1990). Linguistic Traits Across Language Boundaries: A Report of All India Linguistic Traits Survey. Anthropological Survey of India.
29. Singh, K. S. (1992). People of India. Anthropological Survey of India. p. 220. ISBN 978-81-85579-09-2.
30. Saha, Atanu (28 July 2018). "Census and the Aspects of Growth and Development of Bangla vs. Bangla-Hindi Bilingualism-With Special Focus on West Bengal". Language in India. 11 (3).
31. "OLAC resources in and about the Kudmali language". www.language-archives.org. Archived from the original on 24 October 2021. Retrieved 24 October 2021.
32. Minz, Diwakar; Hansda, Delo Mai (2010). Encyclopaedia of Scheduled Tribes in Jharkhand. Gyan Publishing House. ISBN 978-81-7835-121-6.
33. "PG TRL, KURMALI, SEM-II, CC-2, कुड़माली डमकच गीत - Kolhan University". www.kolhanuniversity.ac.in. Retrieved 18 April 2022.
34. "আনন্দবাজার পত্রিকা - পুরুলিয়া". archives.anandabazar.com. Retrieved 10 October 2022.
35. amaderbharat.com (5 September 2022). "ঝাড়গ্রামের সাধু রামচাঁদ মুর্মু বিশ্ববিদ্যালয়ের নতুন ভবনের উদঘাটন করলেন মুখ্যমন্ত্রী". AmaderBharat.com. Retrieved 10 October 2022.
36. "Panch Pargana Kisan College Bundu Ranchi Jharkhand India". www.ppkcollegebundu.in. Retrieved 25 December 2023.
37. "Home|AMCOLLEGE". www.amcollege.ac.in. Retrieved 25 December 2023.
38. "Department : Arsha College". arshacollege.org. Retrieved 25 December 2023.
39. ":: Departments : Ramananda Centenary College ::". www.ramanandacentenarycollege.in. Retrieved 25 December 2023.
40. "Chitta Mahato Memorial CollegeHome". chittamahatomemorialcollege.ac.in. Retrieved 25 December 2023.
41. "Welcome To The Official Website of Bandwan College". www.bandwanmahavidyalaya.com. Retrieved 25 December 2023.
42. "Kotshila Mahavidyalaya : Home". kotshilamahavidyalaya.ac.in. Retrieved 25 December 2023.

Bibliography

• Grierson, G.A. (1903). "Eastern Magahī". Part II. Specimens of Bihari and Oriya languages. Linguistic survey of India. Vol. V: Indo-Aryan family, Eastern group. Calcutta: Government Printer, India. pp. 145–157. Alt URL
• Prasad, Bishwa Nath; Shastri, Sudhakar Jha (1958). Linguistic survey of the Sadar subdivision of Manbhum and Dhalbhum (Singhbhum). Patna. OCLC 186714577.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
• Ghosh, Tapati (2020). "Kurmali Thar". Linguistic Survey of India – Bihar (PDF). Language division, Office of the Registrar General, India. p. 439–501.
• Dutta, S.P.; Pattanaik, Ranjita (2021). "Panch Pargania". Linguistic Survey of India – Jharkhand (PDF). Language division, Office of the Registrar General, India. p. 566–644.

Further reading

• SINGH, GYANESHWAR (25 November 2020). Historical Perspective of Kurmali Language. Blue Rose Publishers. Archived from the original on 18 April 2023. Retrieved 17 November 2021.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)^{[self-published source?]}
• Majumder, Arup (5 June 2018). "Kurmali Kinship Terms and Its Morphology: An Anthropo-linguistic Study". Jadavpur Journal of Languages and Linguistics. 2 (1): 38–48.
• Dash, Biswanandan (5 August 2014). Kurmali noun morphology. An inflectional study on gender and number. ISBN 978-3-656-71900-7.
• Saha, Atanu, ed. (2021). Dictionary of the Kurmali Language: Bangla-Kurmali-English-HIndi. Jadavpur University Press. ISBN 978-93-83660-54-4. OCLC 1300421436.
• Mahato, Kshudiram (1983). Kurmāli śabdakosha. Purulia: Purulia Pustak Mandir. OCLC 23147093.