page_title: Awadhi language
section_title: In India
hierarchical_section_title: Awadhi language / Geographic distribution / In India
context_page_description: Awadhi is an Eastern Hindi language of the Indo-Aryan branch spoken in northern India. It is primarily spoken in the Awadh region of present-day Uttar Pradesh, India. The name Awadh is connected to Ayodhya, the ancient town, which is regarded as the homeland of Śrī Rāma. It was, along with Braj Bhasha, used widely as a literary vehicle before being displaced by Hindustani in the 19th century.
  Linguistically, Awadhi is a language at par with Hindustani. However, it is regarded by the state to be a dialect of Hindi, and the area where Awadhi is spoken to be a part of the Hindi-language area owing to their cultural proximity. As a result, Modern Standard Hindi, rather than Awadhi, is used for school instructions as well as administrative and official purposes; and its literature falls within the scope of Hindi literature.
  Alternative names of Awadhi include Baiswāri, as well as the sometimes ambiguous Pūrbī, literally meaning "eastern", and Kōsalī.
context_section_description: Awadhi is predominantly spoken in the Awadh region encompassing central Uttar Pradesh, along with the lower part of the Ganga-Yamuna doab. In the west, it is bounded by Western Hindi, specifically Kannauji and Bundeli, while in the east there is the Bihari dialect Bhojpuri. In the north, it is bounded by the country of Nepal and in the south by Bagheli, which shares a great resemblance with Awadhi.
  
  The districts of Lakhimpur Kheri, Sitapur, Lucknow, Unnao, and Fatehpur form the western parts of the Awadhi-speaking area. The central districts include Barabanki, Rae Bareli, Amethi, and Baharich. The eastern parts include districts of Faizabad, Allahabad, Kaushambi, Gonda, Basti, Sultanpur, Ambedkar Nagar, and Pratapgarh. It is also spoken in some parts of Mirzapur, Azamgarh and Jaunpur districts.
caption: Awadhi speaking districts in Uttar Pradesh, India.