III. LANGUAGE VARIATION
A. Dialectal
About 500 million people speak Hindi, in India and abroad, and the total number of people who can understand the language may be 800 million. A 1997 survey found that 66% of all Indians can speak Hindi and 77% of the Indians regard Hindi as “one language across the nation”. More than 180 million people in India regard Hindi as their mother tongue. Another 300 million use it as second language.
1. Regional Variation
Khadiboli
Khadiboli (also Khadiboli or khari dialect) is a dialet of Hindi language, spoken in Western Uttar Pradesh. It is the variation of Hindi language that is used by the Indian state. The earliest examples of Khadiboli can be seen in some of Kabir and Amir Khusro’s lines. More developed forms of Khadiboli can be seen in some mediocre literature produced in early 18th century. Examples are Chand Chhand Varnan Ki Mahima by Gangabhatt, yogavashishtha by Ramprasad Niranjani, GoraBadal ki katha by Jatmal, Mandovar ka varnan by Anonymous, a translation of Ravishenacharya’s Jain Padmapuran by Daulatram (dated 1824). In 1857, East India Company established Fort William College at Calcutta. The College President John Gill Christ hired professors to write books in Hindi and Urdu. Some of these books were Premsagarby Lalloolal, Naasiketopaakhyan by Sadal Mishra, Sukhsagar by Sadasukhlal of Delhi and Rani Ketaki ki kahani by Munshi Inshallah Khan. The language of these books can be called Khadiboli.
Khadiboli was a rural language in its early days. But after 18th century, people started using it as the literary form of Hindi. Its vocabulary has a large amount of Persian and Arabic words, but it is heavily Sanskritized as well. In its original form, it is spoken in Rampur, Moradabad, Meerut, Bijnor, Mujjafarnagar, Saharanpur, Dehradun, Ambala, Patiala and Delhi. Almost all the significant modern Hindi literature has been produced in Khadiboli.
Braj
Braj, though never a clearly defined political region, is considered to be the land of Krishna and is derived from the Sanskrit word vraja. Thus, Brajbhasa is the language of Braj and it was the language of choice of the Bhakti movement, or the neo-Vaishnavite religions, the central deity of which was Krishna. Therefore, most of the literature in this language pertains to Krishna composed in medieval times.
Brajbhasa, or Brajavali was adapted to the Assamese language by Srimanta Sankardeva for his compositions in the 15th and 16th century in Assam.
Brajbhasha is a dialect of Hindi Language, spoken in Uttar Pradesh.
Brajbhasa is spoken in Mathura, Vrindavana, Agra, Aligarh, Bareli, Bulandhshahar and Dhaulpur. It has a very sweet tone. Much of the Hindi literature was developed in Braj in the medieval period. However, today Khari dialect has taken its place.
Bundeli
Bundeli is a dialect of Hindi spoken in the Bundelkhand region of Madhyapradesh and Jhansi in Uttarpradesh.
In medieval period, some literature was available in this language, but most of the speakers preferred Braj as the literary language.
Bagheli
Bagheli is a dialect of the Baghelkhand region of central India.
Chattisgarhi (Lahariya or Khalwahi)
Chattisgarhi is a language of India. It has approximately 11.5 million speakers, concentrated in the Indian state of Chattisgarh and in adjacent areas of Madhya Pradesh, Orissa and Bihar. Chattisgarhi is most closely related to Bagheli and Awadhi (Avadhi), and these languages are classified in the East Central Zone of the Indo-Aryan languages, the Indian branch of the Indo-European language family. Chattisgarhi, like Sanskrit and Hindi, is written using the Devanagari script. According to the Indian Government, Chattisgarhi an eastern dialect of Hindi, although it is widely considered by linguists to be distinct enough from Hindi to constitute a separate language. Chattisgarhi proper: Baighani, Bhulia, Binjhwari, Kalanga, Kavardi, Khairagarhi, Sadri Korwa and Surgujia.
Chattisgarhi cultural and political movements, with origins going back the 1920’s, affirmed Chattisgarhi cultural and linguistic identity and sought greater autonomy within India, which came about in 2000 when 16 districts of the state of Madhyapradesh became the new state of Chattisgarh.
Hariyanavi (Bangaru or Jatu)
Hariyanavi or Jatu or Bangaru is a dialect of Hindi language, spoken in Haryana.
It is spoken by Jats in Haryana and Delhi. It can be considered as a variation of the early Khadiboli. It has somewhat harsh tone. The literature is almost nil, but there are a lot of folk songs available.
Some of the East-Central Zone languages, including and Dhanwar and Rajasthani languages, including Marwari, are also widely considered to be dialects of Hindi. There has been considerable controversy on the status of Punjabi and the Bihari languages, including Maithili, Bhojpuri and Magadhi.
Extras
Main dialects of Hindi: Western Hindi (Khadiboli, Baagru, Brajbhasa, Kannouji, bundeli) and Eastern Hindi (Avadhi, bagheli, Chattisgarhi).
Major Dialects of Hindi
a. Rajasthani
Indo-Iranian Language Family Bolis (Dialects of Boliyan of Rajasthani:) Mewati – Ahirvati, Jaypuri – Hadoti, Marvadi – Mevadi, Malavi, Bhili Indo-Aryan Language (Prachin Vedik) Pratichaya branch of the Old Aryan Language Shoraseni (Prakrat) Nagar Apabhramsa Rajasthani
b. Bihari
Indo-Iranian Language Family Indo-Aryan Language (Prachin Vedik) Prachya Bhasa Samuha Magadhi Prakrat Magadhi Apabhramsa Western Magadhi (Bihari) Methili Boli Magahi Boli Bhojpuri Boli
2. Social Variation
B. Diglossic
Diglossia means a form of bilingualism in which two languages or dialects are used habitually for different purposes or in different social situations.
C. Argot
Argot is a jargon of a particular profession or social group, especially underworld group, as of thieves. In other words, argot is primarily slang used by various groups, including but not limited to thieves and other criminals, to prevent outsiders from understanding their conversations.
Slang is a type of colloquial language, considered vulgar, playful and informal, produced by coming neologisms and used by particular groups of people. Slang is the non-standard use of words in a language of a particular social group, and sometimes the creation of new words of important of words from another language. Slang is a type of sociolect aimed at excluding certain people from the conversation. Slang initially functions as encryption, so that the non-initiate cannot understand the conversation. Slang functions as a way to recognize members of the same group and to differentiate that group from the society at large. Slang terms are often particular to a certain subculture, such as drug users, skateboarders and musicians. Slang generally implies playful, informal speech. Slang is distinguished from jargon, the technical vocabulary of a particular profession, as jargon is (in theory) not used to exclude non-group members from the conversation, but rather deals with technical peculiarities of a given field which require a specialized vocabulary.
D. Register/Stylistic/Code
Register can be defined as a variety of speech characteristic of a particular occupational or social group, e.g. the language of law or of peasantry. In other words, register is a variety of language defined with reference to the purposes for which it is used. Registers also vary according to the field of discourse, mode of discourse and style of discourse. There are also variations in registers. It is the differences in pronunciation, vocabulary and syntax as found due to differences in the field of discourse, the mode of discourse and the style of discourse in particular circumstances.
Standardization of Hindi
After independence of India, the Government of India worked on standardizing Hindi, and following changes took place.
- Standardization of Hindi grammar: In 1954, the Government of India set up a committee for preparing a grammar of Hindi. The committee’s report was later released as “A Basic Grammar of Modern Hindi” in 1958.
- Standardization of Hindi spelling
- Standardization of Devanagari script by Central Hindi Directorate, Ministry of education and Culture to bring about uniformity in writing and improve the shape of some of its characters.
- Scientific mode of scribing the Devanagari alphabet.
- Incorporation of diacritics in to express sounds from other languages.
Regional Variation:
Hindi includes a group of dialects spread over a geographical area of thousands of kilometre. The history of the interrelationships of these dialects goes back to the pre-vedic age. The Aryan language came to India, not as a homogenous form of speech, but as a group or groups of dialects spoken by the different groups. Grierson classified the Indo-Aryan languages in the following way:
(i) Outer languages – Lanhda (Western Punjabi) Sindhi, Marathi, Oriya, Bihari, Bangla, Assamese. (ii) Middle languages – Eastern Hindi (iii) Inner languages – Western Hindi, Gujarati, Bhili, Khandeshi, Rajasthani, Pahari group.
Sir Grierson and other scholars had categorized Maithili, Magahi and Bhojpuri as a single language – Bihari and had kept them outside the pale of Hindi. But later, many scholars differed with this view and today, Hindi includes Western Hindi, Eastern Hindi, Bihari, Rajasthani and Pahari dialects. In the census reports, all these languages and dialects are included in the purview of Hindi. The main five groups of Hindi dialects are –
(1) Western Hindi – Khari boli, Braj, Bundeli, Hariyanvi, Kannauji, Nimari (2) Eastern Hindi – Awathi, Bagheli, Chattisgarhi (3) Rajasthani – Marwari, Jaipuri, Mewati, Malwi (4) Bihari – Magahi, Maithili, Bhojpuri (5) Pahari – Kumauni, Garhwali
Khariboli:
Khariboli is the official language of India accepted by the constitution. It is also called Hindustani, Nagar, Kauravi, Sarhindi and is spoken around Delhi, Agra, Meerut, Bulandshahar, Ghaziabad etc.
Braj:
Having a rich literary heritage, Braj is spoken in the districts of Agra, Mathura, Aligarh, Bulandshahar, Etah, Mainpuri, Badaun and Bareli in Uttar Pradesh, Bharatpur, Dhaulpur, Karauli, Jaipur in Rajasthan and Gwalior in Madhya Pradesh. The major subdialects of Braj are Katheria, Ganwari, Jodovari, Dangi, Dholpuri, Mathuri, Bhartpuri, Sikarvari.
Hariyanvi:
It is also called Bangru. It is spoken in the districts of Karnal, Rohtak, Panipat, Kurukshetra, Jund, Hissar. Hariyanvi is rich in folk literature. The subdialects of Hariyanvi are Jatu, Deswali, Mewati, Ahirwati etc.
Kannauji:
Kannauji is spoken in the districts of Kannauj, Farukkhabad, Hardoi, Shahjahanpur, Pilibhit, Itavah and western parts of Kanpur in Uttar Pradesh. Its subdialect is Tirhari.
Bundeli:
In Madhya Pradesh and Chattisgarh, Bundeli is spoken in Tikamgarh, Chatarpur, Panna, Hoshangabad, Datia, Gwalior, Sagar, Damoh, Narsingpur, Chindwara, Siwni, Bhopal, Balaghat, Durg. In Uttar Pradesh, it is spoken in Jhansi, Hamirpur, Jalaun, banda, Agra Itawah, Mainpuri. In Maharashtra, it is spoken in parts of Nagpur and Baghanta and Buldana. The dialects of Bundeli are Khatola, Lodhanti, Panwari, Banaphari, Kundari, Tirhari, bhadavari, Lodhi, Kumbhari.
Nimari: Nimari is spoken in the two districts of Khandva Nimar and Khargon Nimar in Madhya Pradesh.
Awadhi: Awadhi is the dialect of the culturally rich “Awadh” area of Uttar Pradesh. The districts covered by the Awadhi dialect are Lakhimpur Khimi, Gonda, Bahraich, Lucknow, Unnav, Basti, Raibareli, Sitapur, Hardoi, Faizabad, Suttanpur, Pratapgarh, Barabanki, Fatehpur, Allahabad, Mirzapur and Jaunpur. The major subdialects of Awadhi are Gahora, gangapari, Gondni, Jabalpuri, Marari, Marli, Mirzapuri, Ojhi, Powari, Tharu Awadhi.
Bagheli: The centre of the Bagheli dialect is Reeva District in Madhya Pradesh. Balaghat, Damoh, Jabalpur, Mandala are the other districts where it is spoken. Gondavi is a subdialect of Bagheli. The other subdialects are Kumbhari, Jurari etc.
Chattisgarhi: Chattisgarhi is spoken in Sarguja, Raigarh, Bilaspur, Raipur, Durg and Bastar of Chattisgarh. The subdialects of Chattisgarhi are Nagpuria, Sargujiya, Sadri Korwa, Baigānī, Binjhwari, Kalanga and Bhulia.
Rajasthani: Rajasthani includes several dialects like Marwari, Jaipuri, Mewati and Malwi.
Marwari: Marwari is spoken in Marwar, Eastern Sindh, Mewar, Jaisalmer, Bikaner, North western Jaipur. The subdialects of Marwari are Dhun̙dhārī, Gor̙āwātī, Mewar̙ī, God̙wārī, Sirohī, Deorāwātī, Thali, Bikaneri, Shekhawati and Bagri.
Jaipuri: Jaipuri is the dialect of Jaipur, Kishangarh, Indore, Alwar, Ajmer and North-Eastern parts of Merwar. The subdialects of Jaipuri are Kāt̘hairā, Chaurāsī, Nāgarchāl, Torāwāt̘ī, Kis̙hangarhi, Ajmerī, Hār̙ait̘ī.
Mewātī: Mewātī is spoken in Alwar, bharatpur, Gurgaon, Ahirwātī, Rāt̘hī Neherā and Kat̘herī are subdialects of Mewātī.
Mālwī: Mālwī is spoken in the Mālwā region of Madhya Pradesh. Its subdialect is Sondwārī.
Bihārī: Bihārī includes Bhojpuri, Magahī and Maithili.
Magahī: Magahī is the dialect of Gayā, Patnā, Manger and Hazarībāgh districts as well as of some settled communities of South Bihar people in the west of Maldah District of West Bengal. The standard Magahī is spoken in Gaya, Patna, Palamau, South-west Mungher, Hazaribagh, Manbhum and Singhbhum. The other subdialects of Magahī are Kurmali, Sadrī Kol, Kur̙umālī and Khon̙t̘āī.
Maithili: Maithili is spoken in the areas north of the Ganges and in the districts of Munger, Bhagalpur, Darbhanga, Santhal parganas and Purnia. The subdialects of Maithili are Tirhutiyā, Gāowārī, Chikkā-Chikī boli and Jalāhā bolī.
Bhojpurī: It is spoken from the east of the towns of Mirzapur, Jaunpur, Varanasi, Gazipur, Balia and Faizabad in Uttar Pradesh to Bhojpur, Ara, Buxar and other districts of Western Bihar. The standard Bhojpuri is spoken in the Sahabad district. The other subdialects are Gorakhpuri, Sarwaria, Pūrbī, Thārū, Nagpuriā, Kāshikā etc.
Pahārī: This includes Central and Western Pahārī.
Western Pahārī: This includes the dialects spoken in the hills of Shimla, Kulu, Mandi and Chamba. The subdialects are Jaunsarī, Sirmaurī, Baghāt̘ī, Kiūnt̘halī, Kulūī, Man̙d̙eālī, Gaddī/Bharmaurī, Churāhī, Bhadrawāhī, Sadochī, Sirājī etc.
Central Pahari: This includes Garhwālī and Kumāonī dialects.
Garhwālī: Garhwālī is spoken in Tehrī, Uttarkāshī and Chamolī districts of Uttarākhand. The subdialects of Garhwalī are Rāt̘hī or Rāthwālī, Lohbyā, Badhānī, Dasaulyā, Mānjh-Kumaiyān, Nagpuriya, Salānī, Tehrī or Gangāpāriyā. The standard Garhwālī is called Srinagariyā.
Kumāonī: Kumāonī is the dialect of Pithoragarh, Nainital and Almora districts. The subdialects of Kumāonī are Khasparjiyā, Phaldākot̘iyā, Pachhāīn, Bhābarī, Kumaiyān, Chaugarkhiyā, Gangolā, Dān̙puriyā, Soriyālī, Askot̘ī, Sīrālī and Johāri.
Hindi Diaspora:
Besides India, Hindi is spoken and understood in parts of Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal, Bhutan and Alganistan. Migrant Indians have taken Hindi to the USA, Canada, Germany, England, South Africa and the Gulf countries Hindi has been taken to countries like Fizi, Mauritious, Surinam, Trinidad, by migrant labourers chiefly from Eastern Uttar Pradesh and Western Bihar. A pidginised form of Hindi, mixed with Kaibiti, the language of Fizi is spoken in Fizi and is known as Fizibat/Fizi Hindi. The Hindi spoken in South Africa by people of Indian origin is called Naitali. Hindi is also taught in several universities abroad.
In the “Cambridge Encyclopaedia of languages”, Hindi has been placed in the third position according to the population and in the fourth positioning the mother tongue speaking group.
d) Generation: i) Older generation ii) Younger generation At the level of lexical choice, age variable as a linguistic factor has some effect. For instance, the older generation resorted to
Internal code – mixing (from various dialects of Hindi, e.g. Braj, Awadhi, Bhojpuri etc.) 1) hamāre lige panvā (pān)le ānā. 2) rotiyā (rotī) jal gayī. The younger generation prefers external code mixing/ code switching. 1) Meri sister-in-law aaj subah ki flight se āyī. 2) Aunty, mein kis time āūn But any significant variation among the generations cannot be noticed.
Social variation – b) sex
Work on women’s language over the last few decades has shown that women’s language is closer to the standard prestige variant than the men’s language, the reason being women’s linguistic insecurity due to their subordinate position in society. Usually men’s speech is the norm and women’s speech is judged against this. This is true of Hindi also. Usually, women’s speech is marked by an expression that is more polite.
main khāna khākar bāhar jāūngā (men’s speech) dekhen, shāyad mujhe bāhar jānā hoga (women’s speech) Some slang expressions used almost exclusively by women are – muhjhaunsā (burnt – faced) muhjhaunsī (burnt – faced) muhjalī (ill – lucked) muhjalā (ill – lucked) kulbornī (one who brings shame upon the family)
(c) Education:
The society is stratified on the basis of various factors including education. The educational background of a person causes an important linguistic variable. The diglossic situation in Hindi is evident when these social factors are taken into consideration. The sanskritized ‘High Hindi’ that became the vehicle of official discourse after independence created a distination between ordinary conversation and official communiation. The educated sections of society had access to the standard language used on formal occasions. This language became the symbol of power and upward mobility. The educated speakers have no regional traits in their language while speaking the language in a formal situation. Speech can thus indicate the educational background of a person. Because of these factors, a speaker many be more familiar in terms of language to people from the same social group in different areas than to speakers from a different social and educational background in the same geographical area.
Social Variation – a) Caste
1) Sub-Caste Variation
There are differences in language of various castes and sub-caste groups. These constitute the non-regional differences in a language and are referred to as social dialects or sociolects. Caste is a social factor that has a role in distinguishing between a standard and a non-standard-dialect. Accent and dialect many act as indicators of one’s caste group. The members of the caste group at the top of the social ladder, i.e., Brahmins typically speak the standard variety. It has been surmised that members of this caste group has access to better organized speech. E.G. Maithilī is spoken in its purest form by the Brahmins of the north of Darbhanga and Bhagalpur districts and Western Purnia.
Some of the castes and Sub-castes are trade and industry specific and the registers used by them are also specific to their profession, e.g., Agarwal, Baranwal, Bhatiya, Khattri, Oswal, Dhunia, Julaha, Kahar, Lohar, Nai, Mochi, Pasi, Sonar, Teli, Thathera, Halwai, Kalwar, Khatik, tamboli, Nanbai, Bhisti etc.
In 1958, Gumperz had described how linguistic variation is related to social variation in the village of Khalapur, eighty miles north of Delhi. The social structure of the village was marked by Caste-group membership, e.g. the speech of the Bhangis did not have the phonological contrast that the speech of the other castes have. The attempt of some castes to emulate the other castes resulted in hypercorrection. Gumperz’s study shows a direct relationship between linguistic variation and caste-group membership. However, the modern Indian society is far more complex and complicated. Establishing the relationship of caste and linguistic variation has also become more complex.
(ii) Sub-tribe Variation:
The Linguistic connotation of the term ‘tribal’ in tribal languages takes into account linguistic contacts, contacts, convergences and bilingualism. Tribal bilingualism is a part of the process of tribal assimilation into the mainstream, e.g., tribal belts of the central areas of the country are interspersed with non-tribal areas. The tribal languages in this area serve primarily as a vehicle of tribal identity. This area is marked by linguistic contacts and convergences. As a consequence, there is a tendency of shifting from tribal languages to the non-tribal dialects (chiefly dialects of Hindi) in these states, i.e., Madhya Pradesh, Chattisgarh, Rajasthan etc.
In these states, there is high incidence of bilingualism among tribal language speakers. A chief characteristic of tribal bilingualism is its instability, due to the exposure to other communities and the resulting process of acculturation. As a consequence, decreasing number of tribals are returning the tribal language as their mother tongue. Thus the phenomenon of language shift is visible in this area. According to the 1981 census, only 37% of all tribals speak a tribal mother tongue. Some of the tribal communities in these states who are bilingual and speak a dialect of Hindi are Baiga (Madhya Pradesh), Bharia (Madhya Pradesh), Bathudi (Bihar), Bhoksa (Uttar Pradesh), Binjhwar (Maharashtra), Dhanka (Rajasthan), Dhanwar (Madhya Pradesh) Gond Khatola, Gond (Madhya Pradesh) Kamar (Chattisgarh), Kawar (Chattisgarh), Kol (Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh), Korwa (Chattisgarh) Majhwar (Chattisgarh), Mawasi (Madhya Pradesh), Panika (Madhya Pradesh) Sahariya (Madhya Pradesh), Saur (Madhya Pradesh) Lamani Banjari (Rajasthan) Khotta, Sadan, Gawari Panchparganis (Bihar).
Hindi, the language of everyday life that has evolved in North India is a heteroglot, hybrid language that has assimilated the resources of its many dialects. The chasm between this Hindi/Hindustani and Urdu goes back to the early nineteenth century when the idea of two languages was created by colonial intervention, one divested of Persian – Arabic repertoire and the other full of it. Later language and script came to be seen as markers of religions identity. Thus a vernacular with two variations, drawing sustenance from two resources came into being, inspired by communal politics.
After independence, the question of a common language of communication and official discourse was debated by the constituent assembly and the language sub committee of the constituent assembly recommended that Hindi be the first official language of the union. But the ideologues of Hindi tried to substitute the people’s vernacular ‘Hindustani’ with a “Rashtrabhasha Hindi” that was characterized by a Sanskrit laden style. This Sanskritised High Hindi became the vehicle of official discourse and written literature but is not used by any section of community for ordinary conversation. Official Hindi created a distinction between high and popular discourse by becoming the symbol of power and upward mobility.
The people’s vernacular is characterized by its borrowings from multilingual sources, flexibility and vast geographical area. The various dialects in this Vernacular are interrelated in a complex way and are overlapping. The verbal repertoire of Hindi includes the various dialects of Hindi (i.e., Awadhi, Braj, Bundeli, Bagheli, Chattisgarhi, Rajasthani, Kannauji, etc.) as well as the two superimposed styles. These dialects and registers are interrelated in such a complex way that code-switching takes place spontaneously. At different social levels, the complex relations between these styles and dialects are manifested in different ways. In formal situations and due to social pressures, there is code-switching between the Vernacular Hindustani and the Sanskritised Hindi. At a different level, internal code-switching between Hindustani and the various dialects take place due to social pressures. To understand this complex diglossic situation present in Hindi, it is important to understand the relationships between the verbal repertoire, code matrix and code-switching in Hindi in various contexts and situations.
In several ways, the written variety is relatively free from the diglossic situation, although the Sanskritised form of Hindi is the vehicle of official communication and teaching in the Hindi speaking states. After Khariboli took over as the medium of literary writing around the middle of the nineteenth century, it has been the vehicle of writing of prose and poetry.
Argot – Slang:
Slang forms are informal and generally deviate from the standard language. The standard language does not express certain realities explicitly which is effectively expressed by slang forms. Various forms of slang are used by definable social groups such as women, adolescents, rural people, working class etc. in Hindi. However, it is used in all sectors of society in varying degrees. In this way slang forms a kind of sociolect. One of the forms of slang is antilanguage, a secret language understood by the members of a particular group. Slang can also be used for purely humourous effect. Some instances of slang words in Hindi are –
harāmi (bastard) sālā (wife’s brother) sarur (wife’s father) sasurī (wife’s mother) sālī (wife’s sister) Some of the slang forms used almost exclusively by women are – muhjalī (burnt – faced) karamjalī (ill – lucked) muhjhaunsī (burnt – faced) muhjaunsā (burnt – faced)
Slang may involve creation of new linguistic forms. Ogilvy & Mother ltd. has come out with a slang dictionary in which the maximum slang – words are in Hindi. The recent media revolution, the market – driven society and the resulting surge in Hindi has triggered a version of Hindi that is abundant in slang and derisively called Hinglish. Some of the slang expressions in circulation are –
vāt lagā diyā (put into trouble) māmū banā diyā (fooled) mast (cool) bambū lag gaya (something went terribly wrong) chātū (boring person) chamiyā (smart girl) Jinchat (flashy) Lāl pari (country liquor) Meetha (gay) Tashnī (style) Rāvan (college principal) Khallās (do away with) masti (freaking out) andherī rāt (a dart complexioned person)
Technical code:
In India, a corpus of terminology in various disciplines has evolved over the centuries. Later when the modern Indian Languages (including Hindi) evolved from Sanskrit, there was a pan-India terminology running across the multiplicity of languages. However, in the nineteenth and twentieth century, far-reaching changes took place in the world of science, technology, polity, education etc. In the wake of these changes, a need arose for making an effort to evolve a scientific and technical terminology in Indian languages. In 1950, the government of India set up a Board of scientific terminology. In 1961, this Board was transformed into a commission for scientific and technical terminology. The functions assigned to the commission included the evolution of scientific and technical terminology in Hindi and other languages. According to the guidelines of the commission, international terms were to be retained as such, e.g., telephone, Braille, royalty, permit, etc. Conceptual terms were to be translated. In the selection of equivalent forms in Hindi, precision and simplicity of meaning was to be kept in mind. Maximum possible identity in all Indian languages was to be achieved.
Buying and Selling situation:
Some of the terms pertaining to business/commerce/buying and selling situation, commonly used in Hindi are: Kraya – Vikraya/Kharīd – pharokhta (buying and selling) mahangāī/ māl tangī (price-rise/seller’s market) māl bahutāyat/mandī (consumer’s market) māng (demand) māng pūrti (supply) vitaran (distribution) vitarak (distributor) vitaran kendra (supply dipo/store) rasad (supply) vyāpār (business) thok vyāpārī (wholesaler) khudrā vyāparī (retailer) vinimay vyāpār (barter trade) āyāt-niryāt (import-export) kharīdār bikwal/krelā- vikreta saudā (buyer-seller) saudebāzī/tolmol/ bhāvtāv (bargaining) bayānā (advance) dalāl/dallā/bichauliyā (broker/agent) thekā (contract) dalālī (commission) ād̙hat (storage) māl mangānā (to place order) pherīwālā (hawker) pansārī/parchūniā (grocer) Many English words, e.g., Salesman, Salesgirl, Showroom, Departmental store, General store etc. are also commonly used.
D. Register/Stylistic/Code:
Because of the concerted effort to evolve scientific and technical terminology in Hindi, basic pan-Indian terminology pertaining to various disciplines was evolved.
Judiciary: Some of the Hindi terms in the field of Judiciary are: nyāyapālikā (judiciary) nyāyālaya (court) nyāya-vyavastha (judicial system) āparādhik-nyāyālaya (criminal court) senā-nyāyālaya (court marshal) uccha nyāyālaya (high court) ucchatam nyāyālaya (supreme court) nyāyādhīsha (judge) nyāyamūrti (justice) mukhya nyāyamūrti (chief justice)
Medical: Some of the terms that are used in the field of medicine are following: āyurvigyān (medical science) sankrāmak rog (infections disease) mahāmārī (epidemic) sankraman (infection) rog nidān (medical check-up) jwar-māpī (thermometer) prākritic chikitsā (naturopathy) chikitsakīya visheshagya (medical expert) āpāt chikitsā (emergency) tatkāl chikitsā (first-aid) strīrog chikitsā (gyneacology) shishu chikitsā (paedeatrics) shalya chikitsā (surgery) asthi chikitsā (orthopaedics) chikitsālaya (hospital) aushadhālaya (dispensary) chikitsak (doctor) vakīl (lawyer) mahādhivaktā (advocate general) notari public mukadma (court-case) abhiyukta (accused) mahābhiyoga (Impeachment) ārop-patra (charge-sheet) prativād (defence) apīl (appeal) yāchika (petition) saman (summon) jirah (cross examination) sākshya (witness) naiyāyik niptārā (disposal) khariji (dismissal) bhāratīya vidhi (Indian law) danda samhitā (Penal code) vidhi visheshagya (law expert)
Educational: In the field of education, the terminology commonly used is – Jikshānta – samāroha (convocation) shikshā-vibhāga (education department) chātrāvās (hostel) shikshan (teaching) prashikshan (training) prashikshu (apprenticeship) shaikshanik (pertaining to education) prashikshit (trained) adhyetā (student) pāthyakrama (course) pāthyapustak (text-book) pāthyavishaya (subject) shikshakīya pravacan (lecture) adhyayan-satra (term) parīkshā (examination) maukhik parīkshā (oral examination) prashnapatra (question-paper) parīkshak (examiner) parīkshārthī (candidate) nirīkshak (invigilator) purnānk (full marks) parīkshā - phal (result) uttīrna (pass) shikshā upādhi (degree) snātak upādhi (Bachelor’s degree) nishn̙āt (Masters) pramānpatra (Certificate) kulpati (Chancellor of a University) upa-kulpati (Vice-chancellor) pradhan-adhyāpak (Principal) sahpāthī (Class-fellow) karmachārī (employee) kānūn aur vyavasthā (law and order) kārmic vibhāg (personnel section) kāryabhār grahan̙ (assumption of charge) kārya samiti (working committee) kāryālaya (office) kendra (centre) gopanīya (confidential) ghoshan̙ā patra (manifesto) tadartha (ad hoc) tarakkī/podonnati (promotion) tabādalā (transfer) nāgarik adhikār (civil rights) nāmankan (nomination) niyamāvali (manual) niyukti (appointment) nilambit (suspended)
Administrative: Some of the terms in the field of administration are – prashāsakīya vibhāg (administrative department) kārarvāyī (action) antarim ādesh (interim order) antardeshīya (inland) akhil bhāratīya seva (All India Service) agrim (advance) atirikta prabhār (additional charge) adhikārī (bureaucrat/officer) adhikaārī tantra (bureaucracy) adhiniyam (act) adhīnastha (subordinate) adhisūchanā (notification) adhyaksha (President) anudān (grant) anubandha (agreement) rājpatra (gazettee) asthāyī niyukti (temporary appointment) ādhikārik patrāchār (official correspondence) varishthatā kram (order of seniority) ām chunāv (general election) āyog (commission) ārakshan (reservation)
Religious: Some of the terms used in the field of religion are – dharmagrantha (religious scripture) dharma-parivartan (religious conversion) dharma-prachār (propagation of religion) dharma-upadeshak (religious preacher) dharma-pravartak (prophet) purohit-karma/yajmānī (priest) upāsana sthal (place of worship) vedī (atter) upavās (fasting) bhakti (devotion) āstik (theist) nāstik (atheist) adhyātmik (spiritual) Literary: In the field of literature, some commonly used terms are – sahitya (literature) vyākaran (grammar) vyangakār (satirist) gadyakār (prose-writer) nibandhakār (essayist) kathākār (fiction-writer) upanyāskār (novelist) jīvanī lekhak (biogra) kavi (poet) gītkār (lyricist) nātakkār (playwright) rāshtra kavi (poet laurate) sāhityik kriti (literary work) lok kathā (folk tale) sansmaran (memoir) ātmakathā (autobiography) chandabaddha kāvya (verse) chandramukta padya (free verse) gīt (lyric) chanda (meter) kāvyashastra (poetics)
Scientific: Some technical terms used in the field of science and technology are – vigyān (science) anusandhān (research) āvishkār (invention) prayogshālā (laboratory) prayog (test) pramānu (atom) rasāyana (chemical) amla (acid) rasāyanashāstra (chemistry) kshār (alchali) khanij (mineral) ūrjā (energy) sthitij ūrjā (static energy) tāpmān (temperature) tāpānka (degree) himanka (frazing point) galanānka (melting point) vātānukūlit (air-conditioned) ūtak (tissue) nābhikīya (nuclear) koshikā (cell) harmon (harmone) prakash parāvartan (reflection) sampunjan (focus) dhvani vistāran (sound amplification) dhvanirodhak (sound insulator) vāyumāpī (airmetre) varshāmāpī (rain gaze) svanamāpī (sonometre) prakāshmāpī (lightmetre) gurutvākarshan (gravitation) bhārhīntā (weightlessness) chumbatīya bal (magnetic power) antariksha vigyān (space science)
Words which have gained world-wide usage, e.g., Radio, Radar, Petrol etc., terms based on proper names, e.g., Fahrenheit scale, Voltmeter, Ampere etc., names of elements and compounds e.g., Oxygen, nitrogen, chlorine, hydrogen, ozone etc., binomial nomenclature in such sciences as Botony, Zoology etc., units of weights, measures and physical quantities, e.g., Calorie, ampere, etc., and numerals, symbols, signs and formulae e.g, Sin, Cos, Tan, Log, etc., are used in their current English forms.
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