View source for Bhili language

{{Short description|Western Indo-Aryan language spoken in west-central India}}
{{Use Indian English|date=March 2017}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2017}}
{{Infobox language
| name = Bhili
| nativename = {{script|Deva|भीली}}, ભીલી
| states = [[India]]
| region = [[Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu]], [[Madhya Pradesh]], [[Gujarat]], [[Rajasthan]], [[Maharashtra]]
| ethnicity = [[Bhil people]]
| speakers = 3,206,533
| date = 2011 census
| ref = <ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.censusindia.gov.in/2011Census/Language_MTs.html|title=Statement 1: Abstract of speakers' strength of languages and mother tongues - 2011|publisher=Office of the Registrar General & Census Commissioner, India|website=www.censusindia.gov.in|access-date=2018-07-07}}</ref>
| familycolor = Indo-European
| fam2 = [[Indo-Iranian languages|Indo-Iranian]]
| fam3 = [[Indo-Aryan languages|Indo-Aryan]]
| fam4 = [[Western Indo-Aryan languages|Western Indo-Aryan]]
| fam5 = [[Bhil languages|Bhil]]
| fam6 = Central
| script = [[Devanagari]], [[Gujarati alphabet|Gujarati]]<ref>{{cite web|url=http://scriptsource.org/cms/scripts/page.php?item_id=language_detail&key=bhb|title=ScriptSource - Bhili|access-date =2017-02-13}}</ref>
| lc1 = bhb
| ld1 = Bhili (Bhagoria, Bhilboli, Patelia)
| lc3 = gra
| ld3 = Rajput Garasia (Dungri)
| lc2 = gas
| ld2 = Adiwasi Garasia
| glotto = bhil1251
| glottoname = Bhili
| glotto2 = rajp1235
| glottoname2 = Rajput Garasia
| glotto3 = adiw1235
| glottoname3 = Adiwasi Garasia
}}
'''Bhili''' (Bhili: {{script|Deva|भीली}}), {{IPA-fr|bʱiːliː|IPA}}, is a Western [[Indo-Aryan languages|Indo-Aryan language]] spoken in west-central [[India]], in the states of [[Rajasthan]], [[Gujarat]], [[Maharashtra]], and [[Madhya Pradesh]].<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=fkIgsfb95rAC|title=Language Shifts Among the Scheduled Tribes in India, A Geographical Study|last=Ishtiaq|first=M.|publisher=Motilal Banarsidass Publishers|year=1999|isbn=9788120816176|location=Delhi}}</ref> Other names for the language include '''Bhagoria''' and '''Bhilboli'''; several varieties are called '''Garasia'''. Bhili is a member of the [[Bhil languages]], which are related to [[Gujarati language|Gujarati]] and [[Rajasthani language|Rajasthani]]. The language is written using the [[Devanagari]] script.
[[File:A partial specimen of the Bhili Language.png|thumb|Partial specimen of the Bhili language]]
The term Bhili is of [[Dravidian languages|Dravidian]]-origin ''Vil'' which means bow, referring to the Bow people.

== Phonology ==
=== Consonants ===
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
! colspan="2" |
![[Labial consonant|Labial]]
![[Dental consonant|Dental]]/<br/>[[Alveolar consonant|Alveolar]]
![[Retroflex consonant|Retroflex]]
![[Palatal consonant|Palatal]]
![[Velar consonant|Velar]]
![[Glottal consonant|Glottal]]
|-
! rowspan="4" |[[Stop consonant|Stop]]
!<small>[[Voicelessness|voiceless]]</small>
|{{IPA|p}}
|{{IPA|t}}
|{{IPA|ʈ}}
|
|{{IPA|k}}
|
|-
!<small>[[Aspirated consonant|aspirated]]</small>
|{{IPA|pʰ}}
|{{IPA|tʰ}}
|{{IPA|ʈʰ}}
|
|{{IPA|kʰ}}
|
|-
!<small>[[Voice (phonetics)|voiced]]</small>
|{{IPA|b}}
|{{IPA|d}}
|{{IPA|ɖ}}
|
|{{IPA|ɡ}}
|
|-
!<small>[[Breathy voice|breathy]]</small>
|{{IPA|bʱ}}
|{{IPA|dʱ}}
|{{IPA|ɖʱ}}
|
|{{IPA|ɡʱ}}
|
|-
! rowspan="2" |[[Affricate consonant|Affricate]]
!<small>[[Voicelessness|voiceless]]</small>
|
|
|
|{{IPA|tʃ}}
|
|
|-
!<small>[[Voice (phonetics)|voiced]]</small>
|
|
|
|{{IPA|dʒ}}
|
|
|-
! colspan="2" |[[Fricative consonant|Fricative]]
|
|{{IPA|s}}
|
|({{IPA|ʃ}})
|
|{{IPA|h}}
|-
! colspan="2" |[[Nasal consonant|Nasal]]
|{{IPA|m}}
|{{IPA|n}}
|{{IPA|ɳ}}
|
|({{IPA|ŋ}})
|
|-
! colspan="2" |[[Lateral consonant|Lateral]]
|
|{{IPA|l}}
|{{IPA|ɭ}}
|
|
|
|-
! colspan="2" |[[Trill consonant|Trill]]
|
|{{IPA|r}}
|
|
|
|
|-
! colspan="2" |[[Approximant consonant|Approximant]]
|{{IPA|w}}
|
|
|{{IPA|j}}
|
|
|}

* {{IPA|/w/}} may also be heard as {{IPA|[ʋ]}} in free variation.
* {{IPA|/ʃ/}} occurs in loanwords from Persian and Hindi.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Phillips|first=Maxwell P.|title=Dialect Continuum in the Bhil Tribal Belt: Grammatical Aspects|publisher=University of London|year=2012}}</ref>
* {{IPA|[ŋ]}} is heard as an allophone of {{IPA|/n/}} preceding {{IPA|/k/}}.

=== Vowels ===
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
!
![[Front vowel|Front]]
![[Central vowel|Central]]
![[Back vowel|Back]]
|- align="center"
![[High vowel|High]]
|{{IPA|i}}
|
|{{IPA|u}}
|- align="center"
![[Mid high|Mid-high]]
|{{IPA|e}}
| rowspan="2" |{{IPA|ə}}
|{{IPA|o}}
|-
![[Mid low|Mid-low]]
|{{IPA|ɛ}}
|{{IPA|ɔ}}
|- align="center"
![[Low vowel|Low]]
|({{IPA|æ}})
|{{IPA|a}}
|
|}

* Vowels {{IPA|/i, u/}} can also be heard as {{IPA|[ɪ, ʊ]}}.
* {{IPA|[æ]}} is borrowed from Hindi.
* {{IPA|/ə/}} may also be heard as {{IPA|[ɤ]}} in final position.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Yogendra Dhirubhai|first=Vyas|title=A linguistic study of Bhili dialects: A descriptive study of central and north Bhili|publisher=Gujarat University|year=1967}}</ref>
*

==Further reading==
* Bodhankar, Anantrao. ''Bhillori (Bhilli) – English Dictionary''. Pune: Tribal Research & Training Institute, 2002.{{fix|text=not [[Bhilori language]]?}}
* Jungblut, L. ''A Short Bhili Grammar of Jhabua State and Adjoining Territories''. S.l: s.n, 1937.
* Thompson, Charles S. ''Rudiments of the Bhili Language''. Ahmedabad [India]: United Printing Press, 1895.

== See also ==
* [[Languages of India]]
* [[Languages with official status in India]]
* [[List of Indian languages by total speakers]]

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

{{Indo-Aryan languages}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Western Indo-Aryan languages]]
[[Category:Languages of India]]
[[Category:Languages of Madhya Pradesh]]
[[Category:Languages of Rajasthan]]
[[Category:Bhil]]


{{India-culture-stub}}