INDIAN TRIBAL CULTURE - Language

INDIAN TRIBAL CULTURE - Languages
The vast diversity of India is marked by the various languages and dialects prevalent in the country. Apart from the regional languages spoken in different parts, there are a number of languages that are unique to the tribes of India.
Some of the leading tribal language-speaking groups comprise: Garo tribes, Chakma tribes, Naga tribes, Gond tribes, Mizo tribes, Munda tribes, Santhali tribes, Khasia tribes, Oraon tribes, the tribe of Manipur and many more. The tribal languages spoken by the tribes are broadly classified into four categories which are: Indo-Aryan, Dravidian, Tibeto-Burman, and Austro-Asiatic.



INDO ARYAN:  
The Indo Aryan family comprises of three main languages and these are Bhilli, Khandeshi and Halabi. These tribal languages are prominently spoken in the states of Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Maharashtra.

The Bhilli category consists of 36 dialects that are being spoken by the people which include, Boari, Bhilali, Barel, Chodhri, Dhodia, Garasi, Kokna or Kokni, Gamti, Pardhi, Mawchi, Wagdi and more.

The Khandeshi group of languages are spoken by an average of 1.2 million people across the region. Ahirani is the major language of this group along with other region based sub dialects such as Chandwadi, Nandubari, Jamnerior Tawadi, Taptangi, Dongarangi, etc.
The Halabi language is spoken by over 5 lakh people in the states of Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh.
 These Indo Aryan languages are spoken by about 26 % of the total population of the country.

AUSTRO ASIATIC:
The Austro-Asiatic languages, formerly known as Mon Khmer, seem to be the earliest family of languages and are generally known because of Munda speech. Under the Austric group are included the Santali, Mundari, Ho, Kharia, Bhumij, Korku, Savara, Gadaba, Khasi and Nicobarese languages.

DRAVIDIAN:
The Dravidian family comprises of about 147 languages. The most important among them are Kolami, Kui, Konda, Koya, Gondi, Parji, Oraon or Kurukh and many more. Kadar, Kanikkaran, Koraga and Kota are popular Dravidian languages that are mainly spoken by some tribes in the districts of Kerala and Tamil Nadu and also in some parts of Andhra Pradesh.

Kaikadi is another major Dravidian language that is spoken by the Kaikadi tribes across Karnataka and Maharashtra. Kamar and Khirwar are languages common to the tribal communities of Madhya Pradesh.
All these Dravidian tribal languages are confined to parts of Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Maharashtra and Orissa.

TIBETO BURMAN:
The Tibeto Burman family comprises of the tribal languages, Murmi, Magari, Lepcha, Bodo, Abor, Miri, Dafla, Mikir, Naga, Lushai, etc spoken across the regions of Assam, Manipur, Mizoram, Tripura, Arunachal Pradesh, Meghalaya and Nagaland. The Tibeto Burman tribal language family has been divided into three separate branches and these are Tibeto Himalayan, Assam Burmese and North Assam. Many of the languages belonging to the Tibeto Burman tribal language family have been influenced by the Indo Aryan languages. These languages are spoken by huge tribal population of the country extending from Ladakh to north eastern region of the country.
These are the various tribal languages of India, along with many other unrecognized languages that are less prevalent across the country. Tribal communities with their distinct culture, language and traditions form an important aspect of our country and so, express the need to be recognised and respected.





BY: Faaiqa Aisha
1st BSc Psychology


Comments

  1. imaginatively creativeFebruary 11, 2019 at 4:39 AM

    Hamsika
    Omg! I never had any idea of all these above mentioned languages . I got to know more about Tribal culture .

    ReplyDelete
  2. imaginatively creativeFebruary 11, 2019 at 7:24 PM

    The blog kept me engaged till the end. Infact, i have never heard about all these languages.It was very informative.
    G.Abirami

    ReplyDelete
  3. BlogFebruary 11, 2019 at 8:01 PM

    I came to know about the languages of different Tribes and and it is unique. This blog givesit in a fantastic way.
    Varshaa.R

    ReplyDelete
  4. imaginatively creativeFebruary 12, 2019 at 6:07 AM

    A blog which indeed kept me glued to it entirely as i got to know much about the languages spoken.- Archita. T. Menon

    ReplyDelete
  5. imaginatively creativeFebruary 12, 2019 at 6:20 AM

    The different families of languages used by the tribal communities of India is unbelievably surprising.
    Faadila Aisha

    ReplyDelete

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