Jharkhand is home to a number of languages belonging to three major language families. Indo-Aryan languages include Angika, Bhojpuri, Khortha, Nagpuri, Sadri, Hindi, Urdu, Oriya and Bengali. Jharkhand is also home to the Munda languages, Kurmali, Korku, Santhali, Mundari, Bhumij, Kharia and Ho, and the Dravidian languages Korwa, Oraon(Kurukh) and Paharia (Malto). Santhali , Mundari , Kurukh, Khortha, Nagpuria, Sadri, Khariya, Panchparagnia, Ho, Malto, Karmali, Hindi, Urdu, Bangla etc are the most common languages. In whole of Santhal Parganas area Angika is the primary language for communication.
Santhali
Santali is a language in the Santali subfamily of Austro-Asiatic, related to Ho and Mundari. The literacy rate in Santali speaking regions is very low, just around 20-30%. It is basically spoken by the tribal people of India. The tribe that speaks this language is quite backward as far as the standard of living is concerned. Most of them work in the coal mines or the steel factories of Asansol and Jamshedpur. The tribe that speaks this language is known as Santhal. There is not a very regular distribution of people who speak the Santhali language. This language is actually a dialect of the Munda language.
Santhali script is called Ol Chiki. This script was invented by Pandit Raghunath Murmu in 1925. Raghunath Murmu is popularly known as Guru Gomke among the Santals, a title awarded to him by the Mayurbhanj Adibasi .”Darege Dhan”,”Sidhu-Kanhu”, “Bidu Chandan” and “Kherwal Bir” are among the most acclaimed of his works.
Ho
The Ho language is classified as a member of the Austro-Asiatic language family, The Ho language is mutually intelligible with Mundari. Presently, major chunks of the population reside in Jharkhand
The Hos have affinity with the Mundas, Santals, Kharia, Asuri and Birhori
The Ho language has been introduced through Devanagari script in Jharkhand, Oriya in Orissa and Bengali in West Bengal. In Jharkhand, Devanagari script is more realistic with certain modification. There are certain limitations in perceiving the exact pronunciation. However, Devanagari with minor modification can be used to record nearly exact pronunciation of a Ho word.
Shri Lako Bodra, a pioneer researcher amongst Ho linguists, established and regarded Barang Chiti as an ancient script of the Hos.
Many of the Ho words originated from nature itself. Nature gifted and influenced their language and the way of life. Their language developed in close association with nature and living together with birds and beasts.
The Ho is a sister tribe of the Munda tribal community. It is believed that Ho speakers were originally Mundas. In course of time, some fourteen to seventeen century A.D., they parted aside for unknown reason and migrated from Bandhgaon-Khunti region and settled down in Singhbhum.
Kharia
Kharia is one of the Austro-Asiatic languages chiefly spoken in Jharkhand, some parts of Orissa, Chattisgarh, West Bengal, Bihar, and Assam. The origin of Kharia language is based upon the nature. It is the combination of Root theory, imitative theory, interjectional theory and evolution theory which derives from the sound of nature, animals, birds clashing of trees and after all the outcome of human feelings. The social behavior was also injected practically at their expression. Gradually, the sounds develop as speech and other grammatical forms, which show their intimate union with the nature. For them, nature became the mother of Kharia language and literature.
Kharia language is generally written in Devnagari and Bengali script.
Kudukh (Oraon)
Kurukh belongs to the Northern Dravidian group of the Dravidian family of languages,and is closely related to Sauria Paharia and Kumarbhag Paharia, which are often together referred to as Malto.
Kurukh is written in the Devanagari script, a script used to write Sanskrit, Hindi, Marathi, Nepali and other Indo-Aryan languages.
Narayan Oraon, a medical doctor, has invented the Tolong Siki script for Kurukh language. Many books and magazine have been published in Tolong Siki script.
The language is marked as being in a “vulnerable” state in UNESCO’s list of endangered languages.
The Kurukh Literary Society of India have been instrumental to spread the Tolong Siki script for Kurukh literature.
Mundari (Munda)
Mundari (Mu??a) is a Munda language of the Austroasiatic language family spoken by the Munda people, and is closely related to Santali and Ho. Mundari is primarily spoken by Munda tribal people in east India, Bangladesh, and Nepal. “Mundari Bani”, a script to write Mundari Language was invented by Rohidas Singh Nag
In the beginning Roman Script was used to write Mundari language and literature because of the Christian Missionaries who had begun to write the Mundari language in Roman lipi, after independence Devnagari Script is used for writing Mundari language.
Khortha
Khortha (Khotta) is a dialect of Maithili spoken in the Indian state of Jharkhand , mainly in 13 districts of two divisions: North Chotanagpur and Santhal Pargana .
Nagpuri (Sadri)
Sadri language is considered as a branch of Prakrit Language. It is even regarded as a sister language of Bengali, Maithili and Oriya.
This Sadri language inhabits under Indo European Language family. This family also contain some groups under it which are as follows:-
Indo Aryan
Indo Iranian
Bihari
Eastern
Sadri
Culture
This Sadri language is rich in literature. Several magazines and books are published in Sadri language in number of regions of India. The most well known Gharaiya Guith which is a monthly magazine Johar Sahiya was published is recently printed in Ranchi city
This Sadri language includes some alternate names which are as follows: -Sadana, Sadani, Sadrik, Sadna, Siddri, Santri, Sradri, Sadan, Sadhari, Nagpuri, Nagpuria, Dikku kaji, Chota Nagpuri, Ganwari, Gawari, Jharkhandi and Gauuari.
The dialects of Sadri language includes the following dialects such as: –
Nurpur Sadri,
Borail Sadri,
Mokkan Tila Sadri and
Uchai Sadri.
This Dravidian language which is also a group of Indo Aryan language is written in Bengali script and Latin script.
Panchpargania(kurmali)
Kurmali , or Kudmali, is one of many dialect variants of Hindi which is spoken in Jharkhand, Kurmali is generally linked to the Kudumi Mahato (also known as Kurmi, Mahanta or Mohanta) community of Jharkhand
The Jharkhand intellectuals claim that Kurmali may be the nearest form of language used in Charyapada. As a trade dialect, it is known as Panchpargania , for the “five districts” of the region it covers.
This language has excellent heritage of folktales & folklores as well as many of remarkable play-writes, stories, poems & novels contributed by renowned Panchpargania writers
Panchpargania is written with Bengali script by some people particularly in the border areas of Jharkhand & West Bengal. Most of the people use Devnagari (Nagari) script; However, it being written in Kaithi is also known.
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