Bagri language
Indian language
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The speakers are mostly in India, with a minority of them in Bahawalpur and Bahawalnagar areas in modern day Pakistan. According to the 2011 census of India, there are 234,227 speakers of Bagri in Rajasthan and 1,656,588 speakers of Bagri in Punjab and Haryana. However, reported speaker numbers for Rajasthani languages, including Bagri, can be misleading due to classification practices in the Indian census.
None of the Rajasthani languages—including major varieties such as Marwari, Mewari, Dhundhari, Hadauti, Malvi, and Bagri—possess official status in India. They are not recognized in the Eighth Schedule of the Indian Constitution, nor do they hold the position of an official language at the state or national level. Hindi serves as the official language of Rajasthan.
In the Census of India, most speakers of Rajasthani varieties are categorized under the broader "Hindi" umbrella as mother tongues. This practice groups numerous distinct Indo-Aryan languages and dialects spoken in Rajasthan (and adjacent regions) with Hindi, resulting in an underrepresentation of the actual number of Rajasthani language users.
Geographical distribution
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Features
Phonology
Bagri distinguishes 31 consonants including a retroflex series, 10 vowels, 2 diphthongs, and 3 tones.
/ɳ/, /ɭ/ and /ɽ/ do not occur word initially.
All vowels have their nasalised counterpart, marked with ◌̃ (ँ in Devanagari).
Bagri has 3 tones in a similar way to the Punjabi language. A rising-falling tone ◌́, a rising tone ◌̀, and an unmarked mid tone.
Declension
- There are two numbers: singular and plural.
- Two genders: masculine and feminine.
- Three cases: simple, oblique, and vocative. Case marking is partly inflectional and partly postpositional.
- Nouns are declined according to their final segments.
- All pronouns are inflected for number and case but gender is distinguished only in the third person singular pronouns.
- The third person pronouns are distinguished on the proximity/remoteness dimension in each gender.
- Adjectives are of two types: either ending in /-o/ or not.
- Cardinal numbers up to ten are infected.
- Both present and past participles function as adjectives.
Verbs
- There are three tenses and four moods.
Syntax
- Sentence types are of traditional nature.
- Coordination and subordination are very important in complex sentences.
- Parallel lexicon are existing and are very important from sociolinguistic point of view.
Samples
रोळो
roļo
है
hai
के
ke
कोई
koī
तेरै
terai
Do you have any problem?
तू
tū
कठ्ठै
katthe
गयैड़ो
gayairo
हो
ho
Where had you been?
घोड़ो
Ghodo
होवै
hovai
जियां
jiyan
Like a horse
ब्या
Byāh
म
ma
कुण
kun
आयो
āyo
Who came in the marriage?
टाबरों,
tabaron,
के
ke
करो
karo
हो
ho
What are you doing kids?
दोफारां
Dophārān
गी
gi
मेरी
meri
आसंग
āsang
कोनी
koni
I'm not well since afternoon.
भांडा
Bhanda
Utensils
बैद
Baid
Doctor
कोजवाड़
kojwād
Embarrassing.
Official status
Bagari is language of Bagar region of Rajasthan extended to some parts of Punjab and Haryana and Pakistan also. Bagri is spoken by Kumawats, Jats, Rajputs, Bagri Kumhars, Suthar, Meghwal, Chamars and others casts residing there. Bagri derives its roots from Marwari when bhati dynasty ruled over the region from Bhatner, modern day Hanumangarh which is epicentre of Bagri language. Bagri culture is also same in this region .
<sup about="#mwt81" class="mw-ref reference" id="cite_ref-Census_Lang_13-0" rel="dc:references" typeof="mw:Extension/ref" data-mw='{"name":"ref","attrs":{"name":"Census_Lang"},"body":{"id":"mw-reference-text-cite_note-Census_Lang-13"}}'><a href="./Bagri_language#cite_note-Census_Lang-13" id="mwAcA"><span class="mw-reflink-text" id="mwAcE"><span class="cite-bracket" id="mwAcI">[</span>13<span class="cite-bracket" id="mwAcM">]</span></span></a></sup>Work on Bagri
- Grierson, G. A. 1908. (Reprint 1968). Linguistic Survey of India. Volume IX, Part II. New Delhi: Motilal Banarasidass
- Gusain, Lakhan. 1994. Reflexives in Bagri. M.Phil. dissertation. New Delhi: Jawaharlal Nehru University
- Gusain, Lakhan. 1999. A Descriptive Grammar of Bagri. Ph.D. dissertation. New Delhi: Jawaharlal Nehru University
- Gusain, Lakhan. 2000a. Limitations of Literacy in Bagri. Nicholas Ostler & Blair Rudes (eds.). Endangered Languages and Literacy. Proceedings of the Fourth FEL Conference. University of North Carolina, Charlotte, 21–24 September 2000
- Gusain, Lakhan. 2000b. Bagri Grammar. Munich: Lincom Europa (Languages of the World/Materials, 384)
- Gusain, Lakhan. 2008. Bagri Learners' Reference Grammar. Ann Arbor, Michigan: Northside Publishers
- Wilson, J. 1883. Sirsa Settlement Report. Chandigarh: Government Press