Bajjika is an Indo-Aryan language variety spoken in parts of Bihar, India and in Nepal.[1]
Territory and speakers
Bajjika language is spoken in the north-western part of Bihar, in a region popularly known as Tirhut.[2] It is mainly spoken in the Sheohar, Muzaffarpur, Sitamarhi, Samastipur and Vaishali districts of Bihar.Template:Sfn A 2013 estimate based on 2001 census data suggests that there were 20 million Bajjika speakers in Bihar.Template:Sfn
Bajjika is also spoken by a major population in Nepal, where it has 1,133,764 speakers according to the country's 2021 census. It is the most spoken language in Rautahat, Sarlahi and Mahottari district of Madhesh Province.[3]Template:Sfn
Academy
In a move aimed at protecting indigenous language and culture, the Bihar government has decided to set up two new academies to promote local dialects; Surjapuri and Bajjika, spoken in politically influential Seemanchal and Bajjikanchal regions of the state.[4]
Swadesh list
The Swadesh list for Bajjika, an Eastern Indo-Aryan language spoken in Bihar, India, and parts of Nepal, is a standardized vocabulary set used for linguistic comparison. Bajjika, often considered a dialect of Maithili, lacks extensive public documentation, so its Swadesh list is typically constructed by approximation, drawing from related languages like Maithili and Hindi, with adjustments for Bajjika's unique phonological and lexical features.
| S.No | English | Bajjika | IPA |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | I | हम | /ɦəm/ |
| 2 | You | तू | /t̪uː/ |
| 3 | we | हमनी | /ɦəməniː/ |
| 4 | This | ई | /iː/ |
| 6 | Who | के | /keː/ |
| 7 | What | का | /kɑː/ |
| 8 | No | न | /nə/ |
| 9 | All | सब | /səb/ |
| 10 | Many | बहुत | /bəɦʊt̪/ |
| 11 | One | एक | /eːk/ |
| 12 | Two | दुइ | /d̪ui/ |
| 13 | Big | बड़ा | /bəɽɑː/ |
| 14 | Long | लम्मा | /ləmmɑː/ |
| 15 | Small | छोट | /tʃʰoʈ/ |
| 16 | Women | औरत | /ɔːrət̪/ |
| 17 | Man | मर्द | /mərd̪/ |
Films in Bajjika
Lakshmi Elthin Hammar Angna (2009) was the first formal feature film in Bajjika. Sajan Aiha Doli le ke subsequently followed.[5]
See also
References
- ↑ Handbook of Comparative and Historical Indo-European Linguistics{{#if:|, {{{last}}}}. Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co KG(2017-09-25). ISBN 978-3-11-026128-8
- ↑ Bihar General Knowledge Digest: Bestseller Book by Pradhuman Singh: Bihar General Knowledge Digest{{#if:Singh|, Singh}. Prabhat Prakashan(2021-01-19). ISBN 978-93-5266-769-7
- ↑ 2021 Nepal Census, Social Characteristics Tables. Retrieved 15 September 2019.
- ↑ Bihar to get two new academies to promote Surjapuri and Bajjika dialects. Outlook. Retrieved 2025-08-31.
- ↑ Bhojpuri artist to make first Bajjika film. The Times of India(17 August 2009).
Bibliography
- The People's Linguistic Survey of India{{#if:|, {{{last}}}}. Orient Blackswan(2014)
- Gender, Language and the Periphery: Grammatical and social gender from the margins{{#if:|, {{{last}}}}. John Benjamins(2016). ISBN 978-90-272-6683-5
- The Culture of India{{#if:|, {{{last}}}}. Rosen(2010). ISBN 978-1-61530-149-2
- The politics of minority languages: Some reflections on the Maithili language movement. Journal of Social and Economic Development({Template:Year).
- Language Politics and Public Sphere in North India: Making of the Maithili Movement{{#if:|, {{{last}}}}. Oxford University Press India(2017). ISBN 978-0-19-909172-0
Further reading
- Kashyap, Abhishek Kumar. 2014. The Bajjika language and speech community. International Journal of the Sociology of Language 227: 209–224.
- Kashyap, Abhishek Kumar. 2012. The pragmatic principles of agreement in Bajjika verb. Journal of Pragmatics 44: 1668–1687.
External links
- http://www.bajjika.in Template:Webarchive Official Website of Bajjika Vikash Manch