Awadhi language

language
name=Awadhi
nativename= _aw. अवधी IAST2|"avadhī"
states=India, Nepal, Mauritius
region=Uttar Pradesh in India
speakers=20 million
rank=40
familycolor=Indo-European
fam2=Indo-Iranian
fam3=Indo-Aryan
fam4=Sauraseni Prakrit
script=Devanagari, Kaithi
nation=No official status
iso1=Hindi
iso2=awa
iso3=awa
notice=Indic

Awadhi is an Indo-Aryan language. It is spoken chiefly in the Awadh (Oudh) region of Uttar Pradesh, although its speakers are also found in Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Delhi and Nepal. Awadhi in slightly different forms (influenced by Brij Bhasha or Bundeli) is also spoken in the vatsa country (lower Doab) south of Awadh region which includes Kanpur and Allahabad.

Although today it is only considered a dialect of Hindi, before the standardization of Hindi, it was the second most important literary dialect of Hindustani (the first was Braj-Bhasha).Important works in Awadhi are the Raamcharitmaanas" of Tulsidaas, the Padmawat of Malik Mohammad Jaisi.

Awadhi originated from Eastern Hindi and Brij Bhasa from Western Hindi. If Khadi boli is the father of modern Hindi, Awadhi can be called its mother. Because Hindi, or rather 'Hindvi' as it was first known, originated in the Lucknow region by people who migrated from the area around Delhi (this included people like Amir Khusrau, who some claim to be the founder of modern 'Hindi'). Awadhi has had an important influence in the development of Hindi.

Awadhi is a different dialect from Bhojpuri and Bihari. The three dialects may have similarities, but they are very different from each other, a fact reiterated by native speakers each time they would watch actors (usually playing servants in films or television serials) goof up on the dialect big time in their unsuccessful attempts to represent an eastern UP immigrant to Bombay.

Awadhi is spoken in the following districts:

*Lucknow
*Rae Bareli
*Faizabad
*Barabanki
*Basti
*Sitapur District
*Lakhimpur Kheri
*Hardoi
*Baharaich
*Gonda
*Sultanpur
*Unnao
*Pratapgarh
*Fatehpur
*Balrampur

Awadhi is also spoken in:
*Kanpur
*Allahabad
*Fatehpur

See also

* Languages of India
* List of national languages of India
* List of Indian languages by total speakers

External links

Religious

* [http://sanskritdocuments.org/hindi/ Tulsi Ramayana]
* [http://www.wbtc.com/site/PageServer?pagename=downloads_awadhi World Bible Translation Center: New Testament in Awadhi]