Dogri Language
Dogri is an Indo-European language belonging to the Indo-Aryan group, primarily spoken in India and Pakistan, particularly in the Indian states of Jammu and Kashmir. It is classified as a Western Pahari language and has historical roots in Classical Sanskrit. Initially written in the Takri script, Dogri now uses the Devanagari script, which is also utilized by several other Indian languages. The language features a tonal system, where pitch can alter meaning, and employs nasalization, differentiating among multiple vowel and consonant sounds.
With around five million speakers, Dogri has a rich cultural heritage, evidenced by its literary development that gained momentum in the mid-twentieth century with the establishment of the Dogri Sanstha. Recognized as a modern literary language by the Sahitya Academy in 1969 and included in the Indian Constitution's Eighth Schedule in 2003, Dogri enjoys institutional support for its growth. The language is actively taught in schools and universities and has a developing presence in media and cinema, including radio broadcasts and films. Despite its vibrancy, Dogri lacks official recognition in Pakistan, where it is also spoken.
Dogri Language
The Dogri Language is an Indo-European language belonging to the Indo-Aryan group. Indo-European languages are the common ancestor to several hundred languages used in Europe and parts of Western, Central, and South Asia. The Indo-Aryan group, also known as the Indic languages, include languages spoken primarily in India, Bangladesh, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka.
Dogri is further classified as a Western Pahari language. Pahari languages are spoken in the lower Himalayas. Western Pahari languages are spoken from Pakistan to Nepal.
Dogri was originally written using the Takri script, which was an official script in parts of northern India between the seventieth and mid-twentieth centuries. It was later replaced by Devanagari script. Devanagari script, also known as Nagari, is an alphabet of India and Nepal. It is written from left to right and uses rounded shapes within squared outlines. A horizontal line runs along the tops of full letters. The Devanagari script is used for more than 120 languages, including Hindi, Nepali, and Sindhi. This script has forty-seven primary characters, fourteen of which are vowels. There are no capital or small letters.
Dogri has its own grammar and dictionary, which have a strong base in Sanskrit, the sacred language of Hinduism. Some words are derived directly from Sanskrit and others are derived with phonetic changes. Dogri is a tonal language, which means pitch is used as a part of speech. Saying the same word with a rising tone or a falling tone can drastically change the meaning of the word. Dogri also uses nasalization, the production of a sound in such a way that some air escapes through the nose. Dogri differentiates among 10 vowel phonemes and 28 consonant phonemes by using changes in length, nasalization, and tone. A phenome is a small linguistic unit that can be used to bring about a change in meaning.
History and Classification
Dogri is descended from Classical Sanskrit, which is a Vedic language. Due to political turbulence in Northern India, foreign languages, such as Persian and English, have had an impact on the Dogri vocabulary, but did not affect the grammatical structure.
The earliest known reference to Dogri is in a list of languages written by poet Amir Khusrau in 1317 CE. Even though the language is very old, literary writing in Dogri language did not become common until the mid-twentieth century with the formation of Dogri Sanstha. The Dogri Sanstha is a compilation of folk literature, including poetry, novels, short stories, and plays. It eventually expanded to cover all genres.
In 1969, Dogri was recognized by the General Council of the Sahitya Academy, Delhi as an independent modern literary language of India. It was recognized as a national language of India in the Indian Constitution in 2003. The Constitution of India recognizes Hindi and English as the official languages of the Government of India. In addition, states within India have the liberty to specify their own official languages. The constitution provides detailed guidelines for determining languages to be used for official purposes, but does not limit the possible languages. The Eighth Schedule to the Indian constitution lists twenty-two scheduled languages. Inclusion on this list is of particular significance to the Dogri language because it means the language is entitled to representation in government and is considered a base for the enrichment of Hindi. It also means the Government of India will take measures to support and develop the language. Although Dogri also thrives in Pakistan, it has not officially recognized there.
Geographic Distribution and Modern Usage
The Dogri Language is spoken by approximately five million people in India and Pakistan, primarily in the Indian states of Jammu and Kashmir. It is also spoken in the nearby regions of Punjab and Himachal and in lesser frequency in several other regions, including Udhampur, Reasi, Kathua, and the Chamba and Kangra districts.
People who speak Dogri are known as Dogras, and the region where is its spoken is called Duggar. Dogri is taught in government schools in Jammu and Kashmir, and is available as a subject at the university level.
Dogri has numerous dialects, which can generally be understood by people speaking different dialects. The Department of Dogri at Jammu University selected a dialect known as Samba to be the standard dialect and published textbooks using it.
Dogri literature continues to expand. In 2005, a collection of more than 100 works published over the previous fifty years was made accessible online at the Central Institute of Languages, Mysore. This agency was created to coordinate the development of Indian languages and to bring about unity through scientific studies of languages and their histories.
Up until Dogri became an official language of India, a regular two-page supplement had been published in the Hindi daily Dainik Kashmir Times. The Kashmir Times Group later launched the first daily newspaper in the Dogri language in Jammu.
Programming in the Dogri language is featured regularly in Jammu and Kashmir on Radio Kashmir, a division of All India Radio; and Doordarshan, which is Indian state television. No state television channels are dedicated to Dogri as of yet. In terms of cinema, the first Dogri language film was a black and white film called Gallan Hoyein Beetiyan released in 1966. The first color film, Maa Ni Mildi, was not produced until 2010. In 2011, a Dogri film titled Dille Ch Vasya Koi received the National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Dogri.
Bibliography
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