Bhumij language

Bhumij is an Austroasiatic language belonging to the Munda subfamily, related to Ho, Mundari, and Santali, primarily spoken by Bhumij peoples in the Indian states Jharkhand, Odisha and West Bengal.^[2][3] As per the 2011 census, only 27,506 people out of 911,349 Bhumij people spoke Bhumij as their mother tongue, as most Bhumijas have shifted to one of the regional dominant languages.^[4][5][6] Thus the language is considered an extremely endangered language.^[7][8]

Bhumij
ভূমিজ, ଭୁମିଜ୍, भूमिज, 𞗘𞗪𞗢𞗑𞗜𞗥𞗰
The word "Bhumij" in Ol Onal script
Native to	Jharkhand, Odisha, West Bengal, India
Ethnicity	Bhumij people
Native speakers	27,506 (2011 census)
Language family	Austroasiatic Munda North Munda Kherwarian Bhumij
Writing system	Ol Onal script Others: Devanagari script, Odia script, Bengali script
Official status
Official language in	India Jharkhand (additional)
Language codes
ISO 639-3	–
Linguist List	unr-bhu
Glottolog	bhum1234  Bhumij
ELP	Bhumij
Distribution of Bhumij language in India
Bhumij is classified as Vulnerable by the UNESCO Atlas of the World's Languages in Danger[1]

History

Bhumij speakers have traditionally lived throughout the Kherwarian area in the modern states of Jharkhand, Orissa and West Bengal.^[9] While spoken by very few Bhumij people today, it was much more widespread historically. Those who lived east in Dhalbhum mostly shifted to the Bengali language and lost their local tongue, while those who lived around the Chota Nagpur Plateau held on to their language.^[10] However, the number of Bhumij speakers has significantly declined since the early 20th century. This decline attributed to the classification of Bhumij as a dialect of Mundari language and the language replacement within the Bhumj society.

Bhumij was mainly an oral language until the development of the Ol Onal script by the Ol Guru Mahendra Nath Sardar between 1981-1992.

Bhumij is closely related to Ho, Mundari language and Santali and are often described as sister languages.^[11] Bhumij tribal people have protested for greater recognition and government funding for Bhumij-language education and public broadcasting resources.^[12]

Geographic distribution

Historical speaker of Bhumij language

Census	Bhumij (±%)
1971	51,651
1981	50,384	(-2.5)
1991	45,302	(-10.1)
2001	47,443	(+4.7)
2011	27,506	(-42)
Note: In the 2011 census, for the first time, 34,651 respondents (primarily in Odisha) recorded Bhumijali as their mother tongue, likely as an alternative name for the Bhumij language. However, for census purposes, it was categorized under the Odia language, which resulted in a 42 percent decline in the number of Bhumij speakers.[13]
Source: Census of India[14][15][16]

Distribution of Bhumij language in the state of India^[13]

1. Jharkhand (41%)
2. West Bengal (25.5%)
3. Odisha (21.5%)
4. Bihar (3.5%)
5. Assam (3.5%)
6. Mizoram (2%)
7. Andaman and Nicobar islands (1.4%)
8. Tripura (1.1%)
9. Other (0.50%)

The highest concentrations of Bhumij language speakers are in East Singhbhum and Seraikela Kharsawan districts of Jharkhand, the Jangal mahals region of West Bengal (Jhargram, Bankura and Purulia districts) and Mayurbhanj district of Odisha.^[17][18][19]

Official status

In January 2019, Bhumij was accorded the status of second language in the state of Jharkhand.^[20]

States like Odisha, West Bengal and Bihar have a large number of Bhumij people, yet the Bhumij language has not been given the status of a state language in these states so far.^[21]

Writing system

Main article: Ol Onal

Bhumij language has been written in Ol Onal script, invented between 1981 and 1992 by Mahendra Nath Sardar. The Bengali script, Odia script and Devanagari are also used to write the language.

See also

• Languages of India
• Ol Onal script
• Bhumij