# Sambalpuri language

Sambalpuri is an Indo-Aryan language variety spoken in western Odisha, India. It is alternatively known as Western Odia, and as Kosali (with variants Kosli, Koshal and Koshali), a recently popularised but controversial term, which draws on an association with the historical region of Dakshina Kosala, whose territories also included the present-day Sambalpur region.
Its speakers usually perceive it as a separate language, while outsiders have seen it as a dialect of Odia, and standard Odia is used by Sambalpuri speakers for formal communication. A 2006 survey of the varieties spoken in four villages found out that they share three-quarters of their basic vocabulary with Standard Odia.

## Geographical Distribution

* Bargarh (42.9%)
* Subarnapur (13.8%)
* Balangir (12.7%)
* Sambalpur (10.4%)
* Jharsuguda (9.3%)
* Nuapada (5.5%)
* Boudh (3.4%)
* Sundargarh (1.6%)
* Other districts (0.40%)
There were 2.63 million people in India who declared their language to be Sambalpuri at the 2011 census, almost all of them residents in Odisha. These speakers were mostly concentrated in the districts of Bargarh (1,130,000 speakers), Subarnapur (364,000), Balangir (335,000), Sambalpur (275,000), Jharsuguda (245,000), Nuapada (145,000), Baudh (90,700), and Sundargarh (42,700).

## Script

The inscriptions and literary works from the Western Odisha region used the Odia script, which is attested through the inscriptions like the Stambeswari stone inscription of 1268 CE laid by the Eastern Ganga monarch Bhanu Deva I at Sonepur and the Meghla grant and Gobindpur charter of Raja Prithvi Sing of Sonepur State and also through the major epic Kosalananda Kavya composed during the 17th century Chauhan rule under Raja Baliar Singh of the Sambalpur State, which was written in Sanskrit in Odia script.
The Devanagari script may have been used in the past, (the Hindi language was mandated in administration and education in Sambalpur for the brief period 1895–1901)

## Phonology

Sambalpuri has 28 consonant phonemes, 2 semivowel phonemes and 5 vowel phonemes.
Sambalpuri vowel phonemes :
| | Front | Central | Back |
| High | i | | u |
| Mid | e | | (o) |
| Low | | a | ɔ |
There are no long vowels in Sambalpuri just like Standard Odia.
Sambalpuri consonant phonemes :
| | | Labial | Alveolar /Dental | Retroflex | Palatal | Velar | Glottal |
| Nasal | Nasal | m | n | ɳ | | | |
| Stop/ Affricate | voiceless | p | t | ʈ | tʃ | k | |
| Stop/ Affricate | voiceless aspirated | pʰ | tʰ | ʈʰ | tʃʰ | kʰ | |
| Stop/ Affricate | voiced | b | d | ɖ | dʒ | ɡ | |
| Stop/ Affricate | voiced aspirated | bʱ | dʱ | ɖʱ | dʒʱ | ɡʱ | |
| Fricative | Fricative | | s | | | | ɦ |
| Trill/Flap | Trill/Flap | | ɾ | ɽ~ɽʰ | | | |
| Lateral approximant | Lateral approximant | | l | | | | |
| Approximant | Approximant | w | | | j | | |
Sambalpuri shows the loss of retroflex consonant like voiced retroflex lateral approximant [ɭ] (ଳ) which are present in Standard Odia, and a limited usage of retroflex unaspirated nasal (voiced retroflex nasal) ɳ (ଣ).

## Characteristics

The following is a list of features and comparison with Standard Odia:
Some key features include-
* r-insertion: insertion or paragogue of /r/ at the end of Sambalpuri verbs
* Word Medial Vowel Deletion: Syncope of certain word medial vowels, with exceptions seen in -ai diphthongs.
* Vowel Harmony: a shift of /o/ to /u/. This is also seen in the Baleswari Odia dialect and to an extent the Ganjami Odia dialect.
* Word Final Vowel Deletion: Apocope of word-final schwa (see Schwa deletion).
* Voiced retroflex consonant usage: Absence of voiced retroflex lateral approximant [ɭ] (ଳ) and limited usage of voiced retroflex nasal ɳ (ଣ).
Voiced retroflex consonant
| Standard Odia | Sambalpuri | Meaning |
| କଣ (kaṇa) | କଣ୍ (kaṇ) | what |
Word Medial Vowel Deletion: Syncope
| Standard Odia | Sambalpuri | Meaning |
| ପଢ଼ିବା (paṛibā) padhibā | ପଢ଼୍‌ବାର୍ (paṛbār) padhbār | to study |
| ଗାଧେଇବା (gādheibā) | ଗାଧ୍‌ବାର୍ (gādhbār) | to bath |
| ହସିବା (hasibā) | ହସ୍‌ବାର୍ (hasbār) | to laugh |
| ବୁଲିବା (bulibā) | ବୁଲ୍‌ବାର୍ (bulbār) | to roam |
| ରାନ୍ଧିବା (rāndhibā) | ରାନ୍ଧ୍‌ବାର୍ (rāndhbār) | to cook |
| ଖେଳିବା (kheḷibā) | ଖେଲ୍‌ବାର୍ (khelbār) | to play |
Exceptions to Word Medial Vowel Deletion: seen in '-ai' diphthongs
| Standard Odia | Sambalpuri | Meaning |
| ଖାଇବା (khāibā) | ଖାଏବାର୍ (khāebār) | to eat |
| ଗାଇବା (gāibā) | ଗାଏବାର୍ (gāebār) | to sing |
| ପାଇବା (pāibā) | ପାଏବାର୍ (pāebār) | to get |
| ହାଇ (hāi) | ହାଇ (hāi) | yawn |
| ଗାଇ (gāi) | ଗାଏ (gāe) | cow |
Vowel Harmony: 'o' to 'u' phoneme shift, feature also seen in Baleswari Odia dialect
| Standard Odia | Sambalpuri | Meaning |
| ଶୋଇବା (soibā) | ସୁଇବାର୍ (suibār) | to sleep |
| ଖୋଜିବା (khojibā) | ଖୁଜ୍‌ବାର୍ (khujbār) | to search |
Lengthening of Vowel Sound: vowels which appear in between consonants take their longer counterpart
| Standard Odia | Sambalpuri | Meaning |
| ପାଣି (pāṇi) | ପାଏନ୍ (pāen) | water |
| ଚାରି (cāri) | ଚାଏର୍ (cāer) | four |
Consonant shift- shift of 'ḷ' phoneme to 'l'
| Standard Odia | Sambalpuri | Meaning |
| ଫଳ (phaḷa) | ଫଲ୍ (phal) | fruit |
Word Final Vowel Deletion(Schwa deletion Apocope)- a characteristic feature of Sambalpuri
| Standard Odia | Sambalpuri | Meaning |
| ଭଲ (bhala) | ଭଲ୍ (bhal) | good |
| ବାଘ (bāgha) | ବାଘ୍ (bāgh) | tiger |
| କୁକୁର (kukura) | କୁକୁର୍ (kukur) | dog |
| ଲୋକ (loka) | ଲୋକ୍ (lok) | people |
| ଗଛ (gacha) | ଗଛ୍ (gach) | tree |
| ଫୁଲ (phula) | ଫୁଲ୍ (phul) | flower |
| ଭାତ (bhāta) | ଭାତ୍ (bhāt) | rice |
| ଘର (ghara) | ଘର୍ (ghar) | house |
Sambalpuri words
| Standard Odia | Sambalpuri | Meaning |
| ମାଛ (mācha) | ଝୁରି (jhuri) | fish |
| ବାଣ (bāṇa) | ଫଟ୍କା (phatka) | firecracker |

## Language movement

There has been a language movement campaigning for the recognition of the language. Its main objective has been the inclusion of the language into the 8th schedule of the Indian constitution.

## Literature

* Satya Narayan Bohidar, writer and pioneer of Sambalpuri literature. Notable works include Ṭikcaham̐rā (1975), Sambalapurī bhāshāra sabda-bibhaba: bā, Saṃkshipta Sambalapurī byākaraṇa o racanā (1977)
* Prayag Dutta Joshi, Sambalpuri writer
* Nil Madhab Panigrahi, wrote Mahabharat Katha
* Haldhar Nag, Sambalpuri poet popularly known as "Lok kabi Ratna". His notable Sambalpuri works are Lokgeet, Samparda, Krushnaguru, Mahasati Urmila, Tara Mandodari, Achhia, Bacchhar, Siri Somalai, Veer Surendra Sai, Karamsani, Rasia Kavi, Prem Paechan. His works has been compiled into "Lokakabi Haladhar Granthabali" and "Surata". He was awarded the Padma Shri in 2016.
* Prafulla Kumar Tripathy, compiled the Sambalpuri-Odia Dictionary- Samalpuri Odia Shabdakosha (2001).
* Hema Chandra Acharya, wrote Ram Raha (2001), the Sambalpuri version of the Ramayana.