Sirmauri language

Sirmauri is a Western Pahari language spoken in the Sirmaur district in the northern Indian state of Himachal Pradesh. Its two main varieties are Dharthi (also called Giriwari) and Giripari.

Wiktionary has a category on Sirmauri language.
Sirmauri
सिरमौरी
Sirmauri written in Sirmauri script.
Native toIndia
RegionHimachal Pradesh
EthnicitySirmauri people
Native speakers
107,401 (2011 census)[1]
Dialects
  • Dharthi
  • Giripari
Sirmauri Script[2]
Language codes
ISO 639-3srx
Glottologsirm1239
ELPSirmauri

Grammar

Postpositions
Basic postpositions[3]
case masculine feminine neuter
genitive /ra/ /ree/ /roo/
locative /da/ /dee/ /doo/
ablative /sa/ /see/ /soo/

Script

The native script of the language is called Sirmauri script.[4] This script is under proposal to be encoded in the Unicode.[5] It is locally known as Dhankari. Pabuuchi was a script used by a class of astrologers.

A specimen in Sirmauri Script

Status

The language is commonly called Pahari or Himachali. The language has no official status and is recorded as a dialect of Hindi.[6] According to the United Nations Education, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO), the language is in the critically endangered category, i.e. the youngest speakers of Sirmauri are generally grandparents or older and they too speak it infrequently or partially.[7] Earlier the language enjoyed some state patronage. After independence, everything changed due to the government favoring Hindi more.

The demand for the inclusion of 'Pahari (Himachali)' under the Eight Schedule of the Constitution, which is supposed to represent multiple Pahari languages of Himachal Pradesh, had been made in the year 2010 by the state's Vidhan Sabha.[8] There has been no positive progress on this matter since then even when small organisations strive to save the language.[9]

References
  1. "Statement 1: Abstract of speakers' strength of languages and mother tongues - 2011". www.censusindia.gov.in. Office of the Registrar General & Census Commissioner, India. Retrieved 2018-07-07.
  2. Grierson, George Abraham. Linguistic Survey Of India, Volume 9.4. pp. 458–459.
  3. "Language in India". www.languageinindia.com. Retrieved 2017-12-30.
  4. Grierson, George Abraham. Linguistic Survey Of India, Volume 9.4. pp. 383–84, 458–59.
  5. "Sirmauri Unicode" (PDF).
  6. "Indian Language Census" (PDF).
  7. "Endangered Language". 15 April 2011.
  8. "Pahari Inclusion". Zee News.
  9. "Pahari Inclusion". The Statesman.
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