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Kutchi language
Indo-Aryan language spoken in India and Pakistan From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Kutchi (/ˈkʌtʃi/; કચ્છી, 𑊺𑋀𑋪𑋁𑋢, ڪڇّي) or Kachhi[b] is an Indo-Aryan language spoken in the Kutch region of Gujarat, and some parts of Rajasthan, India and Sindh, Pakistan.[4][5] The Jadeja rulers of Cutch and Rajputs of Kutch, speak Kutchi language.[6] Apart from Rajputs, Kutchi Jains, Kutchi Lohana, Kutchi Rabari, Sidis of Kutch even today use Kutchi in their home as lanugage of communication.
 | This article needs additional citations for verification. (February 2012) |
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Influences from other languages
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Some scholars have considered Kutchi to be a dialect of Sindhi, but the two languages are quite distinct from one another.[7] Over time, it has borrowed vocabulary from Gujarati. The variety of Kutchi spoken in Sindh and in the Banni region of Kutch is more similar to the Lari dialect of Sindhi, whereas the Kutchi spoken in the eastern parts of Kutch has more Gujarati influence, and is slowly becoming more similar to Gujarati.
Most Kutchis living in India are bilingual or trilingual, due to exposure to closely related neighbouring languages such as Gujarati. Many Pakistani Kutchis are also bilingual or trilingual; many residents of Karachi speak Kutchi.[1][8] Its differences from neighbouring languages are more pronounced in its spoken varieties, but it has many loans from Gujarati, Marwari (a major western Rajasthani language) and Hindi-Urdu as well. Kutchi-speakers are often part of the Charans, Jadeja, Bhanushalis, Lohanas, Brahmins (Rajgor), Meghwals, Visa Oswal and Dasa Osval (Oshwal) Jains, Ismaili Khojas and followers of the Satpanth, Bhatias, Rabaris, Muslim Kutchi Khatris, the Muslim Rajput-Rayma, or Kutchi Memons.[9]
During the British reign, many traders and families of the Kutchi communities left the Indian subcontinent and settled in regions of East Africa such as Kenya, Somalia, Tanzania, Uganda, Zaire/Congo, and even as far south as South Africa. The landing point of entry into Africa was in Zanzibar, a trading post of goods between India and East Africa in the late 1800s. Kutchi communities in this region often integrated Swahili words and phrases into their language, producing a creole language called Kutchi-Swahili.
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Common words and phrases
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There are distinct regional accents and variations in grammar. As in many languages spoken along Asian trade routes. Many Kutchi speakers also speak Gujarati as a separate language, especially as it is the language in which Kutchi speakers customarily write. Kutchi speakers' Gujarati accent and usage tends towards standard forms that any Gujarati speaker would be able to understand.
The following words are commonly used by Hindu individuals descending from the Kutch rural area of Gujarat, India, who, especially if in east Africa, reject Kutchi. These are colloquial forms of general Gujarati phrases that are often used in daily conversation in villages, particularly of Kutchi predominance, and are Gujaratisized versions of Kutchi words. Kutchi is also very close to Sindhi and Gujarati due to historical, cultural and geographic influences. These relationships are evident in the following examples:
Note: Bracketed texts indicate nasal or strong sounds
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Writing system
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Kutchi is normally written using a modified version of the Gujarati script.[3] Many books and magazines are published in the language using the modified Gujarati script, including Vadhod ("Inquiry"). In parts of Pakistan, the modified Perso-Arabic script is used instead.[10] In earlier times it was written in the Khudabadi and Khojki scripts, the latter of which is now extinct. Additionally, there may have been a Kutchi script, samples of which may be in the Kutch Museum[citation needed]. Below is a table of how different Kutchi words can be written in different scripts:
One of the issues confronting research into the Kutchi is the inaccessibility of information about the language. The Kutchi Language Online website (now archived) maintains a list of Kutchi vocabulary words, which can be accessed through their website.[11] Dr Rajul Shah, an ayurvedic doctor, psychologist and a graphologist has created a script to use for the language.[12][13]
Kutchi people
See also
Notes
- Also spoken in parts of Rajasthan and Sindh near the border with Kutch, India
References
External links
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