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Bhadarwahi language

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Bhadarwahi
Bhadrawahi
𑚡𑚛𑚶𑚤𑚦𑚭𑚩𑚯 भद्रवाही بھدرواہی
Bhadarwahi written in Takri, Devanagari and Perso-arabic scripts
Native to	Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh
Region	Bhadarwah, Doda district
Ethnicity	Bhadarwahis
Native speakers	120,000 (2011)[1]
Language family	Indo-European Indo-Iranian Indo-Aryan Northern Western Pahari Bhadarwahi
Dialects	Bhalesi Bhadrawahi proper Khasali dialect
Writing system	Devanagari, Takri, Perso-Arabic script
Language codes
ISO 639-3	bhd
Glottolog	bhad1241
ELP	Bhadrawahi

Bhadarwahi (Bhadrawahi) is an Indo-Aryan language of the Western Pahari group spoken by the Bhadarwahi people of the Bhadarwah region of Indian-administered Jammu and Kashmir.

The name Bhadarwahi can be understood either in a narrow sense as referring to the dialect, locally known as Bhiḍlāi, native to the Bhadarwah valley, or in a broader sense to cover the group of related dialects spoken in the wider region where Bhadarwahi proper is used as a lingua franca. In addition to Bhadarwahi proper, this group also includes Bhalesi, and Khasali (Khashali) dialect.^[2] The Churahi language is closely related.

Wiktionary has a category on Bhadrawahi language.

This article contains Indic text. Without proper rendering support, you may see question marks or boxes, misplaced vowels or missing conjuncts instead of Indic text.

The name of the language is spelt in the Takrias𑚡𑚛𑚤𑚦𑚭𑚩𑚯. Variants include Bhaderwahi (𑚡𑚛𑚲𑚤𑚦𑚭𑚩𑚯),^[3] Baderwali (𑚠𑚛𑚲𑚤𑚦𑚭𑚥𑚯), Bhadri (𑚡𑚛𑚤𑚯), Badrohi (𑚠𑚛𑚶𑚤𑚴𑚩𑚯), Bhadlayi (𑚡𑚛𑚥𑚭𑚣𑚯), and Bhadlai (𑚡𑚛𑚥𑚭𑚃).

According to Masica (1991) there are a set of lateral retroflex affricates /ʈ͡ꞎ ɖ͡𝼅 ɖ͡𝼅ʱ/ from old /Cr/ clusters.^[5]

The language is commonly called Pahari.^{[citation needed]} Some speakers may call it a dialect of Dogri.^[6] The language has no official status. It is classified by the United Nations Education, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) as "definitely endangered," meaning that many Bhadarwahi parents are not teaching it to their children and the number of native speakers is decreasing. Other languages, such as Kashmiri and Urdu/Hindi, are being spoken in the home in its place. This is a natural human tendency to pick up the language of people perceived as better off economically and/or socially. ^[7]

A daily headline news program is broadcast by a news outlet The Chenab TimesinSarazi and Bhadarwahi languages to promote them.^[8][9]

• Masica, Colin P. (21 March 1991). The Indo-Aryan Languages. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-521-23420-7.