Linguistic history of India: Difference between revisions

{{shortShort description|History of the languages of Indianone}}

The oldest language surviving Sanskrit grammar is [[patanjaliPāṇini|Panini]]'s [[Aṣṭādhyāyī]] ("Eight-Chapter Grammar") dating to c. the 5th century BCE. It is essentially a prescriptive [[grammar]], i.e., an [[authority]] that defines (rather than describes) correct Sanskrit, although it contains descriptive parts, mostly to account for Vedic forms that had already passed out of use in Pāṇini's time.

The [[Prakrit]]s (which includes [[Pāli|Pali]]) were gradually transformed into [[Apabhramsha|Apabhraṃśas (अपभ्रंश)]] which were used until about the 13th century CE. The term '''apabhraṃśa,''' meaning "fallen away", refers to the dialects of [[Northern India]] before the rise of modern Northern Indian languages, and implies a corrupt or non-standard language. A significant amount of apabhraṃśa literature has been found in [[Jain]] libraries. While [[Amir Khusro]] and [[Kabir]] were writing in a language quite similar to modern [[Hindi]]-[[Urdu]], many poets, especially in regions that were still ruled by Hindu kings, continued to write in Apabhraṃśa. Apabhraṃśa authors include [[Sarahapad]] of [[Kamarupa]], [[Devasena]] of [[Dhar]] (9th century CE), [[Pushpadanta]] of [[Manikhet]] (9th century CE), [[Dhanapal]], [[Muni Ramsimha]], [[Hemachandra]] of [[Patan, Gujarat|Patan]], [[Raighu]] of [[Gwalior]] (15th century CE). An early example of the use of Apabhraṃśa is in [[Vikramōrvaśīyam]] of [[Kalidasa]], when [[Pururava]] asks the animals in the [[forest]] about his beloved who had disappeared.

Hindustani is right now the most spoken language in the Indian subcontinent and the fourth most spoken language in the world. The development of Hindustani revolves around the various Hindi dialects originating mainly from [[Sauraseni]] [[Apabhramsha]]. A Jain text Shravakachar written in 933AD is considered the first Hindi book.<ref name="West2009">{{cite book |author=Barbara A. West |title=Encyclopedia of the Peoples of Asia and Oceania |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=pCiNqFj3MQsC&pg=PA282 |date=1 January 2009 |publisher=Infobase Publishing |isbn=978-1-4381-1913-7 |pages=282–}}</ref> Modern Hindi is based on the prestigious Khariboli dialect which started to take Persian and Arabic words too with the establishment of the Delhi Sultanate; however, the Arabic-Persian influence was profound mainly on Urdu and to a lesser extent on Hindi. Khadiboli also started to spread across North India as a vernacular form previously commonly known as [[Hindustani language|Hindustani]]. Amir Khusrow wrote poems in Khariboli and Brajbhasha and referred that language as Hindavi. During the Bhakti era, many poems were composed in Khariboli, Brajbhasa, and Awadhi. One such classic is Ramcharitmanas, written by Tulsidas in Awadhi. In 1623 Jatmal wrote a book in Khariboli with the name 'Gora Badal ki Katha'.

Marathi is one of several languages that further descend from [[Maharashtri Prakrit]]. Further change led to the [[Apabhraṃśa]] languages like Old Marathi, however, this is challenged by Blochlinguist (1970)[[Jules Bloch]], who statesstated that [[Apabhraṃśa]] was formed after Marathi had already separated from the Middle Indian dialect.{{sfn|Bloch|1970|p=32}} The earliest example of Maharashtri as a separate language dates to approximately 3rd century BCE: a stone inscription found in a cave at [[Naneghat]], [[Junnar]] in [[Pune district]] had been written in Maharashtri using [[Brahmi script]]. A committee appointed by the Maharashtra State Government to get the [[Languages of India#Classical languages of India|Classical]] status for Marathi has claimed that Marathi existed at least 2300 years ago alongside [[Sanskrit]] as a [[sister language]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/mumbai/clamour-grows-for-marathi-to-be-given-classical-language-status/articleshow/63776578.cms|title=Clamour grows for Marathi to be given classical language status|author=Clara Lewis|website=[[The Times of India]]|date=16 April 2018|access-date=7 May 2018}}</ref> Marathi, a derivative of Maharashtri, is probably first attested in a 739 CE [[Indian copper plate inscriptions|copper-plate inscription]] found in [[Satara district|Satara]] After 1187 CE, the use of Marathi grew substantially in the inscriptions of the [[Seuna (Yadava) dynasty|Seuna (Yadava)]] kings, who earlier used Kannada and Sanskrit in their inscriptions.{{sfn|Novetzke|2016|pp=53-54}} Marathi became the dominant language of epigraphy during the last half century of the dynasty's rule (14th century), and may have been a result of the Yadava attempts to connect with their Marathi-speaking subjects and to distinguish themselves from the Kannada-speaking [[Hoysala]]s.{{sfn|Novetzke|2016|p=53}}<ref name="Talbot2001">{{cite book|author=Cynthia Talbot|title=Precolonial India in Practice: Society, Region, and Identity in Medieval Andhra|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=pfAKljlCJq0C&pg=PR9|date=20 September 2001|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=978-0-19-803123-9|pages=211–213}}</ref>

American Marathi mission]] and the Scottish missionaries led to the development of a peculiar pidginized Marathi called "Missionary Marathi”Marathi" in the early 1800s.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Sawant |first1=Sunil R. |chapter=Nineteenth Century Marthi Literary Polysystem |editor-last=Ray |editor-first=Mohit K. |title=Studies in translation |year=2008 |publisher=Atlantic Publishers & Distributors |location=New Delhi |isbn=9788126909223 |pages=134–135 |edition=2nd rev. and enl. |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Puy3WGwVWXoC&pg=PA133}}</ref>

{{tree chart| | |PROTOS| |PROTOC|PROTOS=Proto-South-Dravidian|PROTOC={{nobreaknowrap|Proto-South-Central}} Dravidian}}

{{More citations needed section|date=February 2024}}[[File:halmidi file.jpg|right|thumb|175px|[[Halmidi]] Inscription replica]]

The first written record in the Kannada language is traced to Emperor [[Ashoka]]'s ''[[Brahmagiri archaeological site|Brahmagiri edict]]'' dated 200 BCE.<ref name="classical2005">{{cite news |url=http://www.hindu.com/2005/05/27/stories/2005052703230500.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070105151817/http://www.hindu.com/2005/05/27/stories/2005052703230500.htm |url-status=dead |archive-date=5 January 2007 |title=Declare Kannada a classical language |location=Chennai, India |work=[[The Hindu]] |date=27 May 2005}}</ref><ref name="isila">The word ''Isila'' found in the Ashokan inscription (called the Brahmagiri edict from Karnataka) meaning to ''shoot an arrow'' is a Kannada word, indicating that Kannada was a spoken language (Dr. D.L. Narasimhachar in {{harvnb|Kamath|2001|p=5}})</ref> The first example of a full-length Kannada language stone inscription (''shilashaasana'') containing Brahmi characters with characteristics attributed to those of protokannada in ''Hale Kannada'' (''Old Kannada'') script can be found in the [[Halmidi inscription]], dated c. 450, indicating that Kannada had become an administrative language by this time.<ref name="admin">Ramesh (1984), p10</ref><ref name="Oldest inscription">A report on Halmidi inscription, {{cite news |title=Halmidi village finally on the road to recognition |url=http://www.hindu.com/2003/11/03/stories/2003110304550500.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20031124063238/http://www.hindu.com/2003/11/03/stories/2003110304550500.htm |url-status=dead |archive-date=24 November 2003 |author=Muralidhara Khajane |location=Chennai, India |work=[[The Hindu]] |date=3 November 2003}}</ref><ref name="ind">{{harvnb|Kamath|2001|p=10}}</ref> Over 30,000 inscriptions written in the Kannada language have been discovered so far.<ref name="total">{{cite news |title=Press demand for according classical status to Kannada |url=http://www.hindu.com/2006/04/17/stories/2006041707890400.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060524155425/http://www.hindu.com/2006/04/17/stories/2006041707890400.htm |url-status=dead |archive-date=24 May 2006 |location=Chennai, India |work=[[The Hindu]] |date=17 April 2006}}</ref> The Chikkamagaluru inscription of 500 CE is another example.<ref name="chikka">Narasimhacharya (1988), p6</ref><ref name="rice">Rice (1921), p13</ref> Prior to the Halmidi inscription, there is an abundance of inscriptions containing Kannada words, phrases and sentences, proving its antiquity. Badami cliff ''shilashaasana'' of [[Pulakeshin I]] is an example of a Sanskrit inscription in ''Hale Kannada'' script.<ref name="cliff">{{harvnb|Kamath|2001|p=58}}</ref><ref name="cliff1">{{cite web |title=Badami: Chalukyans' magical transformation |url=http://www.deccanherald.com/deccanherald/jul262005/spectrum1422512005725.asp |author=Azmathulla Shariff |work=Deccan Herald |date=26 July 2005 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061007040120/http://www.deccanherald.com/deccanherald/jul262005/spectrum1422512005725.asp <!-- Bot retrieved archive --> |archive-date=7 October 2006}}</ref>

[[Malayalam]] is thought to have diverged from [[Middle Tamil]] approximately the 6th century in the region coinciding with modern [[Kerala]]. The development of Malayalam as a separate language was characterized by a moderate influence from Sanskrit, both in lexicon and grammar, which culminated in the [[Adhyathmaramayanam|''Aadhyaathma Ramayanam'']], a version of the Ramayana by [[Thunchaththu Ezhuthachan]] which marked the beginning of modern Malayalam. Ezhuthachan's works also cemented the use of the [[Malayalam script]], an alphabet blending the Tamil [[Vatteluttu alphabet]] with elements of the [[Grantha alphabet|Grantha script]] resulting in a large number of letters capable of representing both Indo-Aryan and Dravidian sounds.<ref>{{cite book |last=Aiyar |first=Swaminatha |title=Dravidian theories |year=1987 |isbn=978-81-208-0331-2 |page=286 |publisher=Motilal Banarsidass Publishers |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=D-dIbnuJCjUC&q=malayalam |access-date=22 January 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Malayalam |url=http://www.alsintl.com/resources/languages/Malayalam/ |publisher=ALS International |access-date=22 January 2014}}</ref> Today, it is considered one of the 22 [[Languages with official status in India|scheduled languages of India]] and was declared a [[Languages of India#Classical languages of India|classical language]] by the Government of India in 2013.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-national/classical-status-for-malayalam/article4744630.ece |title='Classical' status for Malayalam |work=[[The Hindu]] |date=24 May 2013 |location=Thiruvananthapuram, India}}</ref>

[[Meitei language]] (officially known as [[Manipuri language]]) was the ancient court language of [[Manipur Kingdom]] ({{lang-mni|Meeteileipak}}), which was used with honour before and during the kingdom's [[Durbar (court)]] sessions, until [[Manipur]] was merged into the [[Republic of India]] on 21 September 1949.<ref name="Sanajaoba 1988 290">{{Cite book |last=Sanajaoba |first=Naorem |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-CzSQKVmveUC&dq=manipuri+court+language&pg=PA290 |title=Manipur, Past and Present: The Heritage and Ordeals of a Civilization |date=1988 |publisher=Mittal Publications |isbn=978-81-7099-853-2 |pages=290 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Mohanty |first=P. K. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=zkguECp3vKEC&dq=manipuri+court+language&pg=PA149 |title=Encyclopaedia of Scheduled Tribes in India: In Five Volume |date=2006 |publisher= Gyan Publishing House|isbn=978-81-8205-052-5 |pages=149 |language=en}}</ref>

[[:simple:Classical Meitei language|Classical Meitei]] (also called [[:simple:Classical Manipuri|Classical Manipuri]]) is the standardised form of Meitei and is also the liturgical language of [[Sanamahism]] (traditional [[Meitei religion]]), serving as the medium of thoughts on the [[Puya (Meitei texts)]].

According to the "Report on the Archaeological Studies in Manipur, Bulletin No-1", a [[Meitei language]] copper plate inscription was found to be dated back to the 8th century CE. It is one of the preserved earliest known written records of Meitei language.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2021-09-16 |script-title=bn:মণিপুরি ভাষা ও লিপি – এল বীরমঙ্গল সিংহ {{!}} আপনপাঠ ওয়েবজিন |url=https://aponpath.com/manipuri-bhasa-o-lipi-l-birmangal-singh/ |access-date=2022-08-20 |language=bn}}</ref>

In modern era, the ''"[[Manipur State Constitution Act 1947]]"'' of the once independent [[Manipur Kingdom]] accords [[Meitei language]] as the court language of the kingdom (before merging into the [[Indian Republic]]).<ref>{{Cite book |last=Chishti |first=S. M. A. W. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=YMcxSM_ZO30C&dq=Manipuri+court+language&pg=PA282 |title=Political Development in Manipur, 1919-1949 |date=2005 |publisher= Gyan Publishing House|isbn=978-81-7835-424-8 |pages=282 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Sharma |first=Suresh K. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=dpyeNBqtHlgC&dq=Manipuri+court+language&pg=PA168 |title=Documents on North-East India: Manipur |date=2006 |publisher=Mittal Publications |isbn=978-81-8324-092-5 |pages=168 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Tarapot |first=Phanjoubam |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=FsUJ0E3BXkMC&dq=Manipuri+court+language&pg=PA309 |title=Bleeding Manipur |date=2003 |publisher=Har-Anand Publications |isbn=978-81-241-0902-1 |pages=309 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Sanajaoba |first=Naorem |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=vO-vtI8NuxIC&dq=manipuri+court+language&pg=PA369 |title=Manipur: Treatise & Documents |date=1993 |publisher=Mittal Publications |isbn=978-81-7099-399-5 |pages=369 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Sanajaoba |first=Naorem |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=vO-vtI8NuxIC&dq=manipuri+court+language&pg=PA255 |title=Manipur: Treatise & Documents |date=1993 |publisher=Mittal Publications |isbn=978-81-7099-399-5 |pages=255 |language=en}}</ref>

On the 20th20 August 1992, [[Meitei language]] was included in the [[Eighth Schedule to the Constitution of India]] and made one of the [[languages with official status in India]]. The event was commemorated every year as the [[Meitei Language Day]] (officially called [[Manipuri Language Day]]).<ref>{{Cite book |last=Bhardwaj |first=R. C. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=XXj69CpMnF4C&q=manipuri%20language%20included%20in%20scheduled%20language%20august%2020&pg=PA189 |title=Legislation by Members in the Indian Parliament |date=1994 |publisher=Allied Publishers |isbn=978-81-7023-409-8 |pages=189 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Khullar |first=D. R. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=gqE_DAAAQBAJ&q=manipuri%20language%20included%20in%20scheduled%20language%20august&pg=PA188 |title=Geography Textbook |publisher=New Saraswati House India Pvt Ltd |isbn=978-93-5041-243-5 |pages=188 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Bhattacharyya |first=Rituparna |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DEZ1EAAAQBAJ&q=manipuri%20eighth%20schedule%20august%2020&pg=PT209 |title=Northeast India Through the Ages: A Transdisciplinary Perspective on Prehistory, History, and Oral History |date=2022-07-29 |publisher=[[Taylor & Francis]] |isbn=978-1-000-62390-1 |pages=209 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=30th Manipuri Language Day observed : 21st aug21 ~ E-Pao! Headlines |url=http://e-pao.net/GP.asp?src=7..210821.aug21 |access-date=2022-07-28 |website=e-pao.net}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Manipuri Language Day observed in Manipur - Eastern Mirror |url=https://easternmirrornagaland.com/manipuri-language-day-observed-in-manipur/ |website=easternmirrornagaland.com |date=20 August 2017 |language=en-GB}}</ref>

[[File:Brahmic script travel from India.png|thumb|right|350px|Spread of scripts in [[Asia]]. ]]

This script is ancestral to the [[Brahmic family]] of scripts, most of which are used in [[South Asia|South]] and [[Southeast Asia]], but which have wider historical use elsewhere, even as far as [[Mongolia]] and perhaps even [[Korea]], according to one theory of the origin of [[Hangul]]. The [[Brahmi numeral|Brāhmī numeral]] system is the ancestor of the [[Hindu-ArabicHindu–Arabic numeral system|Hindu–Arabic numerals]], which are now used worldwide.

Brāhmī is generally believed to be derived from a [[Semitic script]] such as the Imperial [[Imperial Aramaic alphabet]], as was clearly the case for the contemporary [[Kharosthi]] alphabet that arose in a part of northwest Indian under the control of the [[Achaemenid]] Empire. [[Rhys Davids]] suggests that writing may have been introduced to India from the [[Middle East]] by traders. Another possibility is with the Achaemenid conquest in the late 6th century BCE. It was often assumed that it was a planned invention under Ashoka as a prerequisite for his edicts. Compare the much better-documented parallel of the [[Hangul]] script.

* {{cite book |last=Bloch |first=J |author-link=Jules Bloch |translator-last=Chanana |translator-first=Dev Raj |title=Formation of the Marathi Language |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=1noaklDiSOEC&pg=PA32 |year=1970 |orig-year=First published 1914 |publisher=Motilal Banarsidass |isbn=978-81-208-2322-8}}