III. INTRODUCTION TO HINDI

 

 

DIFFERENT MEANINGS FOR THE WORD HINDI: The use of the word ‘Hindi’ in the context of Hindi language was seen for the first time in the epic ‘Jafarnama’ (ज़फरनामा) in 1424 A.D. In the initial days of its development as a language for the masses Hindi was referred to as ‘Bhasha’ (भाषा). It was also called ‘Bhakha’ (भाखा). Jains use this name for Hindi even today. In its formative years the word Hindi was used to mean a lot of things like:

 

1.      It was used to designate Urdu (उर्दू) in the late Mughal Period.

2.      In the state of Bijapur, Hindi was used to mean Marathi

3.      Sanskrit (संस्कृत) was also referred to as Hindi by the people in Middle East

 

ANCIENT FORM OF HINDI: In the period 1500 B.C. to 600 B.C., the Vedic language was considered as the language of literature. The roots of Hindi can be thought to be in Prakrit which developed in the period 500 B.C. to 5th century A.D. It was developed to preach the ideas of Buddhism because it was close to the language of the common masses. But the Pali used in Buddhist literature was not devoid of Sanskrit influence.

Prakrit (प्राकृत) Pali (पालि) gave way to Apbhransh (अपभ्रंश) which actually led to the rise of different regional dialects of Hindi. These dialects paved the path for Khadi boli (खड़ी बोली) which is the form in which we recognize Hindi today.

 

HINDI AND ITS DIALECTS: We had earlier discussed that Hindi has regional variations and there are various dialects of Hindi depending upon the region in which it is spoken. We give a brief description of the dialects of Hindi [3]:

 

1.      Western Hindi (पश्चिमी हिन्दी) – Khadi Boli (खड़ी बोली), Braj (ब्रज), Kannauji (कन्नौजी) , Hariyani or Bangroo (हरियानी या बांगरू)

2.      Eastern Hindi (पूर्वी हिन्दी) – Avadhi (अवधी), Bagheli (बघेली), Chhatisgadhi (छत्तीसगढ़ी)

3.      Rajasthani (राजस्थानी) – Marwadi (मारवाड़ी), Jaipuri (जयपुरी), Mewadi (मेवाड़ी), Maalvi (मालवी)

4.      Pahadi (पहाड़ी) – Nepali (नेपाली), Kumaoni (कुमायूनी), Gadhwaali (गढ़वाली), Chamoli (चमोली), Kyonthali (क्योंठाली), Kullai (कुल्लई), Jaunsari (जौनसारी), Sirmauri (सिरमौरी)

5.      Bihari (बिहारी) – Maithili (मैथिली), Magahi (मगही), Bhojpuri (भोजपुरी)

 

HINDI AND KHADI BOLI: Khadi boli is also a dialect of Hindi which is spoken by a huge population in the northern belt. It is spoken in the northern tract between Ganga and Jamuna extending from Saharanpur to Bulandshahar. It also extends further east from Bijnaur to Rampur and on the west to Delhi and North Gurgaon. This dialect has been recognized as the modern and standardized form of Hindi (Figure 1).

Figure 1. Map showing the extent of Hindi in the northern belt

(Source: Dhirendra Verma, Hindi Bhasha aur Lipi)

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