Bhumij language

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 Mundaric 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]

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]

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.

According to Ethnologue Bhumij is dialect of Mundari language.^[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 Mundari language variety

Census	Munda (±%)		Mundari (±%)		Bhumij (±%)		Total (±%)
1971	309,293		771,253		51,651		1,132,197
1981	377,492	(+22)	742,739	(-4)	50,384	(-2.5)	1,170,615	(+3.4)
1991	413,894	(+9.6)	861,378	(+16)	45,302	(-10.1)	1,320,574	(+12.8)
2001	469,357	(+13.5)	1,061,352	(+23)	47,443	(+4.7)	1,578,152	(+19.5)
2011	505,922	(+7.8)	1,128,228	(+6)	27,506	(-42)	1,661,656	(+5.3)
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]

  Jharkhand (41%)

  West Bengal (25.5%)

  Odisha (21.5%)

  Bihar (3.5%)

  Assam (3.5%)

  Mizoram (2%)

  Andaman and Nicobar islands (1.4%)

  Tripura (1.1%)

  Other (0.5%)

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

References

1. Moseley, Christopher; Nicolas, Alexander, eds. (2010). Atlas of the World's Languages in Danger (PDF) (3rd ed.). Paris: UNESCO. pp. 46–47. ISBN 978-92-3-104096-2. Archived from the original on 23 July 2022.
2. Parkin, Robert; Parkin, Visiting Lecturer Research Associate Robert (1991). A Guide to Austroasiatic Speakers and Their Languages. University of Hawaii Press. ISBN 978-0-8248-1377-2.
3. Anderson, Gregory D. S. (8 April 2015). The Munda Languages. Routledge. ISBN 978-1-317-82886-0.
4. "A-11 Individual Scheduled Tribe Primary Census Abstract Data and its Appendix". censusindia.gov.in. Office of the Registrar General & Census Commissioner, India. Retrieved 18 November 2017.
5. "Statement 1: Abstract of speakers' strength of languages and mother tongues – 2011" (PDF). www.censusindia.gov.in. Office of the Registrar General & Census Commissioner, India. Archived from the original (PDF) on 19 April 2022. Retrieved 7 July 2018.
6. Linguistic Survey of India. Office of the superintendent of government printing, India. 1906.
7. "Did you know Bhumij is at risk?". Endangered Languages. Retrieved 22 September 2022.
8. Abbi, Anvita (1997). Languages of Tribal and Indigenous Peoples of India: The Ethnic Space. Motilal Banarsidass Publishers. ISBN 978-81-208-1374-8.
9. "Bhumij | Living Tongues Institute for Endangered Languages". livingtongues.org. Retrieved 18 April 2022.
10. Ishtiaq, M. (1999). Language Shifts Among the Scheduled Tribes in India: A Geographical Study. Motilal Banarsidass Publ. ISBN 978-81-208-1617-6.
11. "Mundari | Ethnologue Free". Ethnologue (Free All). Retrieved 20 January 2024.
12. Pradhan, Hemanta (16 March 2016). "Tribals demand official status for Bhumij language". The Times of India. Retrieved 14 April 2022.
13. "C-16: Population by mother tongue, India - 2011". Office of the Registrar General & Census Commissioner, India.
14. "Statement 8 : Growth of Non-Scheduled Languages - 1971, 1981, 1991, 2001 and 2011" (PDF). censusindia.gov.in. Archived from the original (PDF) on 14 June 2021.
15. Anderson, Gregory D. S. (2008). The Munda Languages. Routledge. pp. 196–197. doi:10.4324/9781315822433. ISBN 9780415741835.
16. "Abstract of speakers' strength of languages and mother tongues –2001". censusindia.gov.in. Archived from the original on 15 April 2022. Retrieved 20 March 2022.
17. "Bhumij language and alphabet". Omniglot. Retrieved 18 April 2022.
18. Das, Tarakchandra (1931). The Bhumijas of Seraikella. University of Calcutta.
19. People of India: The scheduled tribes. Anthropological Survey of India. 1994. ISBN 978-81-85579-09-2.
20. "Jharkhand notifies Bhumij as second state language". The Avenue Mail. 5 January 2019. Retrieved 17 April 2022.
21. Pradhan, Hemanta (16 March 2016). "Tribals demand official status for Bhumij language". The Times of India. Retrieved 5 May 2022.

Sources

• Suresh, J. (2002). "Bhumij". Linguistic Survey of India – Orissa (PDF). Language division, Office of the Registrar General, India. pp. 250–270.

Further reading

• Bailey, Troy; Maggard, Loren (31 December 1996). A Sociolinguistic Survey of the Bhumij People of India (PDF) (Report). Journal of Language Survey Reports. Dallas, Texas: SIL International. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2 June 2022.