Bhojpuri language
Bhojpuri (IPA: /ˌboʊdʒˈpʊəri/;, Devanagari: , Kaithi: ⓘ𑂦𑂷𑂔𑂣𑂳𑂩𑂲) is an Indo-Aryan language native to the Bhojpur-Purvanchal region of India and the Terai region of Nepal. It is chiefly spoken in eastern Uttar Pradesh, western Bihar and northwestern Jharkhand. It is an eastern Indo Aryan language and as of 2000 is spoken by about 5% of India's population. Bhojpuri is a descendant of Magadhi Prakrit and is closely related to Maithili, Magahi, Bangla, Odia, Assamese, etc. languages.
Bhojpuri | |
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भोजपुरी ·𑂦𑂷𑂔𑂣𑂳𑂩𑂲 | |
The word "Bhojpuri" in the Devanagari script | |
Native to | India and Nepal |
Region | Bhojpur-Purvanchal-Madhesh |
Ethnicity | Bhojpuriya |
Native speakers | 51 million, partial count (2011 census) (additional speakers counted under Hindi) |
Early forms | Magadhi Prakrit
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Dialects |
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Official status | |
Official language in | Fiji (as Fiji Hindi) |
Recognised minority language in | |
Regulated by |
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Language codes | |
ISO 639-2 | bho |
ISO 639-3 | bho |
Glottolog | bhoj1244 |
Linguasphere | 59-AAF-sa |
Bhojpuri-speaking regions of India | |
It is also a minority language in Fiji, Guyana, Mauritius, South Africa, Suriname and Trinidad and Tobago. Fiji Hindi, an official language of Fiji, is a variant of Awadhi and Bhojpuri spoken by the Indo-Fijians. Caribbean Hindustani, another variant of Bhojpuri is spoken by the Indo-Caribbean people. It has experienced lexical influence from Caribbean English in Trinidad and Tobago and in Guyana. In Suriname, languages that have lexically influenced it include Sranan Tongo Creole, Surinamese Dutch and English. Other dialects are spoken in Mauritius and South Africa, where its use is declining.