MaryjoM897 at 10:17, 19 April 2026

2026-04-19T10:17:37Z

New page

{{Short description|Dialect of Lower Mahasu Pahari, India}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2026}}
{{Use Indian English|date=March 2026}}
{{Infobox language
| name = Keonthali
| familycolor = Indo-European
| nativename = '''𑚊𑚮𑚣𑚝𑚥𑚦'''
| states = [[Himachal Pradesh]]
| region = [[Mahasu (region)|Mahasu]]
| fam1 = [[Indo-European]]
| fam2 = [[Indo-Iranian languages|Indo-Iranian]]
| fam3 = [[Indo-Aryan languages|Indo-Aryan]]
| fam4 = [[North-Western Indo-Aryan languages|North-Western]] or [[Northern Indo-Aryan languages|Northern]]
| fam5 = [[Western Pahari]]
| fam6 = [[Mahasu Pahari]]
| script = [[Takri script|Takri]]
| glotto = maha1287
| pushpin_map = India
| pushpin_map_caption = Approximate location of Keonthali speaking area
| coordinates = {{coord|31.087282|N|77.152888|E|display=inline}}
| pronunciation = [[Help:IPA/Hindi and Urdu|[kjoːn.tʰaː.li]]]
| image = Keonthali dialect of Mahasu Pahari.jpg
| imagecaption = {{ublist|Keonthali written in [[Devanagari|Devanagari script]]}}
| altname = '''क्योंथली'''
}}

'''Keonthali''' ([[Takri script|Takri]]:𑚊𑚮𑚣𑚝𑚥𑚦) is a dialect of Lower [[Mahasu Pahari]] belonging to the [[Western Pahari]] group of languages (as per [[George Abraham Grierson|Grierson]]). It is spoken in lower parts of [[Shimla district]] in the North Indian state of [[Himachal Pradesh]].<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://ruralindiaonline.org/en/library/resource/linguistic-survey-of-india---himachal-pradesh/ |title=Linguistic Survey of India - Himachal Pradesh |date=2023-07-13 |language=en}}</ref>

==Extent==
[[File:Map of Mahasuic group of languages.jpg|thumb|260x260px|Map of [[Mahasu (region)|Mahasuic]] group of languages, as Keonthali dialect is part of it]]Keonthali dialect got its name from former princely [[Keonthal|Keonthal state]], the dialect is spoken usually in the areas which were parts of the then Keonthal state. Today some of these areas include [[Shimla]], capital of [[Himachal Pradesh]], [[Junga, Himachal Pradesh|Junga]] (former capital of Keonthal), [[Kasumpati]], [[Mashobra]], [[Sunni, Himachal Pradesh|Sunni]], [[Kufri, India|Kufri]], [[Chail, Himachal Pradesh|Chail]], [[Shoghi, Shimla|Shoghi]], [[Ghanahatti]], [[Shimla Airport|Jubbarhatti]], [[Dhami State|Dhami]], [[Khatnol]], etc.<ref>{{Cite web| title=Languages of Himachal Pradesh | url=https://www.ekbharat.gov.in/images/InstituteActivities/Documents/855820220224114943/Language%20of%20HP.pdf | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220803083138/http://ekbharat.gov.in/images/InstituteActivities/Documents/855820220224114943/Language%20of%20HP.pdf | archive-date=2022-08-03}}</ref>

==Script and specimen==
Mahasu Pahari including Keonthali traditionally written in [[Takri script|Takri]], Pabuchi scripts.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2022-02-01 |title=With scripts on brink of extinction, HP history buffs look to restore vanishing culture |url=https://www.hindustantimes.com/cities/chandigarh-news/with-scripts-on-brink-of-extinction-hp-history-buffs-look-to-restore-vanishing-culture-101643659534966.html |access-date=2026-03-31 |website=Hindustan Times |language=en}}</ref> There are also some records of Mahasui written in [[Nastaliq script|Nastaliq]] script. Nowadays [[Devanagari|Devanagari script]] is usually used to write Mahasu Pahari which includes all its dialects as Keonthali.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Entries {{!}} Mahasuvi Living Dictionary |url=https://livingdictionaries.app/mahasuvi/entries |access-date=2026-03-31 |website=Living Dictionaries |language=en}}</ref>

Following is the specimen of Keonthali with its transliteration:[[File:Specimen 2 of Keonthali.jpg|thumb|Specimen of Keonthali dialect of Mahasu Pahari]]
[[File:Translation of Specimen 2 of Keonthali 06.jpg|thumb|Transliteration and Translation of Specimen of Keonthali<ref>{{Cite book |last=Grierson S |url=http://archive.org/details/dli.pahar.2036 |title=Linguistic Survey Of India Vol 9 Part 4 Pahari Languages |date=1916}}</ref>]]

==Phonology==
'''Inventory of Phonemes:'''

There are 42 phonemes of which 37 are consonants and 5 are vowels.

'''Segmental Phonemes (Vowels)'''
{| class="wikitable"
|+
!
![[Front vowel|Front]]
![[Central vowel|Central]]
![[Back vowel|Back]]
|-
|[[Close vowel|Close]]
|i iː
|
|u uː
|-
|[[Mid vowel|Mid]]
|e eː
|
|o oː
|-
|[[Open-mid vowel|Open-Mid]]
|
|
|
|-
|[[Open vowel|Open]]
|
|ɑ
|
|}
'''Super segmental Phonemes:'''

* Length is a phoneme.
* Nasalization is a phoneme.

'''Consonants:'''<ref>https://language.census.gov.in/eLanguageDivision_VirtualPath/LSI_Reports/pdf/9.pdf{{Dead link | date=April 2026 | fix-attempted=yes}}</ref>
{| class="wikitable"
|+
![[Place of articulation|Place]]/[[Manner of articulation|Manner]]
![[Bilabial consonant|Bilabial]]
![[Labiodental consonant|Labio-Dental]]
![[Dental consonant|Dental]]
![[Alveolo-palatal consonant|Alveolar]]
![[Retroflex consonant|Retroflex]]
![[Palatal consonant|Palatal]]
![[Velar consonant|Velar]]
|-
|'''Stops unaspirated'''
|p
b
|
|t
d
|
|ʈ
ɖ
|t͡ɕ
d͡ʑ
|k
g
|-
|[[Aspirated consonant|'''Stops aspirated''']]
|pʰ
bʱ
|
|tʰ
dʱ
|
|ʈʰ
ɖʱ
|
|kʰ
gʱ
|-
|[[Affricate|'''Affricates''']]
|
|
|
|
|
|t͡ɕʰ
d͡ʑʱ
|
|-
|[[Fricative|'''Fricatives''']]
|
|f
|
|s
|
|ɕ
|ɦ
|-
|[[Nasal consonant|'''Nasals''']]
|m
|
|
|n
|ɳ
|
|ŋ
|-
|[[Nasal click|'''Aspirated Nasals''']]
|mʱ
|
|
|nʱ
|
|
|
|-
|[[Lateral consonant|'''Laterals''']]
|
|
|
|l
|ɭ
|
|
|-
|'''Aspirated Laterals'''
|
|
|
|lʱ
|
|
|
|-
|'''[[Tap and flap consonants|Flaps]]/[[Trill consonant|Trills]]'''
|
|
|
|r
|ɽ
|
|
|-
|[[Semivowel|'''Semi-Vowel''']]
|
|w
|
|
|
|j
|
|}

==Grammar==
'''Pronouns'''

The pronouns of Keonthali for different persons and numbers are as follows:
{| class="wikitable"
|+
!Person
!Number
!Keonthali
!IPA
!Meaning
|-
| rowspan="2" |'''1st'''
|Singular
|'''आऊँ/मा'''
|/aː.ũː/ /maː/ /aː.ɦaː/
|I am/Me/I
|-
|Plural
|'''हामे'''
|/ɦaː.meː/
|We
|-
| rowspan="2" |'''2nd'''
|Singular
|'''तू'''
|/t̪u/
|You
|-
|Plural
|'''तुस्से'''
|/tʊs.seː/
|You
|-
|'''3rd'''
|Singular & Plural
|'''से'''
|/seː/
|He/She/They
|}
'''Adverbial Pronouns'''
{| class="wikitable"
|+
!
!
!Intorregative
!Relative
!Distal
!Proximate
|-
| rowspan="3" |'''Time'''
|'''Keonthali'''
|'''कदी'''
|'''जदी'''
|'''तेबे'''
|'''ऐबु/ऐबे'''
|-
|Hindi
|कब
|जब
|तब
|अब
|-
|English
|When?
|When
|Then
|Now
|-
| rowspan="3" |'''Place'''
|'''Keonthali'''
|'''केथी/केई'''
|'''जेथी'''
|'''तेथी'''
|'''ऐथी'''
|-
|Hindi
|कहाँ
|जहाँ
|वहाँ
|यहाँ
|-
|English
|Where?
|Where
|There
|Here
|-
| rowspan="3" |'''Manner'''
|'''Keonthali'''
|'''किशे/कियें'''
|'''जिशे'''
|'''तिशे'''
|'''इशे'''
|-
|Hindi
|कैसे
|जैसे
|वैसे
|ऐसे
|-
|English
|How
|like/as/
|like that/in that way
|like this
|-
| rowspan="3" |'''Quantity'''
|'''Keonthali'''
|'''किशरा'''
|'''जिशरा'''
|'''तिशरा'''
|'''इशरा'''
|-
|Hindi
|कितना
|जितना
|उतना
|इतना
|-
|English
|How much/many
|as much as/as many as
|that much/that many
|this much/this many
|}
'''Verb conjugation'''

Conjugation of the verb Lekh (लेख) to write, in all three tenses in Keonthali.
{| class="wikitable"
|+Present tense
!
!Singular
!Plural
|-
|'''Keonthali'''
|'''आऊं लिखूँ'''
|'''हामे लिखूँ'''
|-
|'''IPA'''
|/aːũː lɪkʰũː/
|/haːmeː lɪkʰũː/
|-
|'''Hindi'''
|मैं लिखता हूँ
|हम लिखते हैं
|-
|'''English'''
|I write
|We write
|}
{| class="wikitable"
|+Past tense
!
!Singular
!Plural
|-
|'''Keonthali'''
|'''मा लिखा'''
|'''हामे लिखा'''
|-
|'''IPA'''
|/maː lɪkʰaː/
|/haːmeː lɪkʰaː/
|-
|'''Hindi'''
|'''मैंने लिखा'''
|'''हमने लिखा'''
|-
|'''English'''
|I wrote
|We wrote
|}
{| class="wikitable"
|+Future tense
!
!Singular
!Plural
|-
|'''Keonthali'''
|'''आऊं लिखमा'''
|'''हामे लिखमे'''
|-
|'''IPA'''
|/aːũː lɪkʰmaː/
|/haːmeː lɪkʰmeː/
|-
|'''Hindi'''
|मैं लिखूँगा
|हम लिखेंगे
|-
|'''English'''
|I will write
|We will write
|}

==Further reading==

* Thomas Grahame Bailey's : ''Languages of the Northern Himalayas (Sketch of the Keonthali)''.
* [[Sir Richard Temple, 1st Baronet|Colonel Sir Richard Temple]] : ''He has given several excellent examples of Keonthali poetry on pp. 367 ff. of Vol. I. of his Legends of the Punjab, to which he has prefixed a very useful vocabulary.''
* [[Horace Arthur Rose|Mr. H. A. Rose]] : ''He has published two Keonthali ballads (both Text and Translation), entitled, respectively, Subdi ki Nati, o Pahéri Love Song from Keonthal [Indian Antiquary, Vol. xxxviii (1909), p: 328], and Mohiye ki Har, or Bar [ib. Vol. xxxvii (1908), pp. 299 ff, and Vol. xxxviii (1909), pp. 40 ff., 69 ff.]''<ref>{{Cite book |last=Grierson S |url=http://archive.org/details/dli.pahar.2036 |title=Linguistic Survey Of India Vol 9 Part 4 Pahari Languages |date=1916}}</ref>

==See also==

* [[Keonthal|Keonthal State]]
* [[Baghati dialect]]
* [[Baghliani dialect]]
* [[Hinduri dialect]]

==References==
<references />

==External links==
* {{YouTube|id=YtGnEHqaTmo|title=Himachali folk song "Banka Mulk", in Keonthali dialect of Mahasui, as a sample}}

[[Category:Languages of India]]
[[Category:Languages of Himachal Pradesh]]
[[Category:Culture of Himachal Pradesh]]
[[Category:Indo-Aryan languages]]
[[Category:Northern Indo-Aryan languages]]
[[Category:Endangered languages of India]]
[[Category:Languages written in Devanagari]]
[[Category:Languages written in Takri]]
[[Category:Languages listed as Hindi dialects in latest census]]

Keonthali dialect - Revision history

MaryjoM897 at 10:17, 19 April 2026