Bhojpuri language

Bhojpuri
भोजपुरी bhōjapurī
Spoken in
Region	Nepal, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Jharkhand, Assam, Delhi, Madhya Pradesh, West Bengal, Suriname (where it is called "Hindi")
Total speakers	38,546,000 [1]
Language family	Indo-European Indo-Iranian Indo-Aryan Eastern Group Bihari Bhojpuri
Dialects	Caribbean Hindustani
Writing system	Devanagari, Kaithi
Language codes
ISO 639-1	bh
ISO 639-2	bho
ISO 639-3	bho
Linguasphere
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Bhojpuri (pronunciation) is a dialect of Hindi spoken in parts of north-central and eastern India. It is spoken in the western part of state of Bihar, the northwestern part of Jharkhand, and the Purvanchal region of Uttar Pradesh(UP), as well as adjoining parts of the Nepal Terai.^[2] Bhojpuri is also spoken in Guyana, Suriname, Fiji, Trinidad and Tobago and Mauritius. The variant of Bhojpuri of the Surinamese Hindustanis, is also referred to Sarnami Hindi or just Sarnami when it is mixed with (Creole) English or Dutch words. More Indians in Suriname know Bhojpuri compared to Guyana and Trinidad.

Bhojpuri is part of the Eastern-Hindi or Bengali continuum of languages which once extended from Assam and Bengal to Benaras. While the rest of Bihar and Uttar Pradesh slowly adopted the new Hindi standard (Khadi Boli), the language remained strong in the areas between Patna and Benaras.

Bhojpuri and several closely related languages, including Maithili and Magadhi, are together known as the Bihari languages. They are part of the Eastern Zone group of Indo-Aryan languages which includes Bengali and Oriya.

The scholar, polymath and polyglot Mahapandit Rahul Sankrityayan wrote some works in Bhojpuri.^[3] Other eminent writers include Viveki Rai. The number of Bhojpuri writers is small compared to the number of speakers. Some other notable Bhojpuri personalities are legendary freedom fighter Swami Sahajanand Saraswati, first president of India Rajendra Prasad, Manoj Bajpai, and former Indian prime minister Lal Bahadur Shastri, Chandra Shekhar. Bihar Kokila Padma Shri Sharda Sinha is a famous Bhojpuri folk singer.

Contents 1 Number of speakers 2 Bhojpuri literature 3 Writing scripts 3.1 Kaithi 3.2 Nasta'liq (Persian) 3.3 Devanagari 3.4 Bhojpuri Media 4 Phonology 5 Comparison of Dialects of Bhojpuri 6 Introduction to usage and features 6.1 Spoken trends 6.2 Pronunciation of words 6.3 Trend of word formation 6.4 Comparison of common words in Eastern Hindi dialects 7 Common words 7.1 Weekdays 7.2 Numericals 7.3 Fruits and Vegetables 7.4 Colors 7.5 Measurements 7.6 Family Relations 7.7 Bhojpuri Samples 8 Bhojpuri in Nepal 9 See also 10 Notes and references

Number of speakers

According to an article published in Times of India, an estimated 70 million people in Uttar Pradesh and 80 million people in Bihar speak Bhojpuri as their first or second language. There are 6 million Bhojpuri speakers living outside of Bihar and Purvanchal. These areas include Nepal, especially Birgunj, Mauritius, Fiji, Suriname, Guyana, Uganda, Singapore, Trinidad & Tobago, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Great Britain, Canada and the United States. This makes the total Bhojpuri speaking population in the world close to 150 million.[1] However, the official figures of the 2001 Indian Census are much lower, showing 33 million speakers of the Bhojpuri dialect under the Hindi language sub-family.^[4]

Bhojpuri dialects, varieties, and creoles are also spoken in various parts of the world, including Brazil, Fiji, Guyana, Mauritius, South Africa, Suriname, and Trinidad and Tobago. During the late 1800s and early 1900s, many colonizers faced labor shortages and were unable to obtain slaves from Africa due to the abolition of slavery; thus, they imported many Indians as indentured servants to labor on plantations. Today, many Indians in the West Indies, Oceania, and South America still speak Bhojpuri as a native or second language.

The Bhojpuri language has been heavily influenced by other languages in many parts of the world. Mauritian Bhojpuri includes many Creole and English words, while the language spoken in Trinidad and Tobago includes Caribbean and English words.

Bhojpuri literature

The Bhojpuri-speaking region, due to its rich tradition of creating leaders for building post-independence India such as first President Dr. Rajendra Prasad followed by many eminent politicians and humanitarians like Dr. Krishna Dev Upadhyaya, was never devoid of intellectual prominence which is evident in its literature.

Bhojpuri became one of the basis of the development of the official language of independent India, Hindi, in the past century. Bhartendu Harishchandra, who is considered the father of literary Hindi, was greatly influenced by the tone and style of Bhojpuri in his native region. Further development of Hindi was taken by prominent laureates such as Mahavir Prasad Dwivedi and Munshi Premchand from the Bhojpuri-speaking region. Bhikhari Thakur, known as the Shakespeare of Bhojpuri, has also given theater plays including the classics of Bidesiya. Pioneer Dr. Krishna Dev Upadhyaya from Ballia district devoted 60 years to researching and cataloging Bhojpuri folklore. Dr. H. S. Upadhyaya wrote the book Relationships of Hindu family as depicted in Bhojpuri folksongs (1996). Together they have cataloged thousands of Bhojpuri folksongs, riddles and proverbs from the Purvanchal U.P, Bihar, Jharkand and Chotta Nagpuri districts near Bengal.

The Bhojpuri literature has always remained contemporary. It was more of a body of folklore with folk music and poems prevailing. Literature in the written form started in the early twentieth century. During the British era, then known as the "Northern Frontier Province language", Bhojpuri adopted a patriotic tone and after independence it turned to community. In later periods, following the low economic development of the Bhojpuri-speaking region, the literary work is more skewed towards the human sentiments and struggles of life.

A recent publication (2009) 'Bhojpuri-Lok Sahitya: Lok Geeton Ki Samajik Sanskritik Sandarbh Evam Prishthbhumi" (Bhojpuri Folk Literature: Social and Cultural Landscape of Folk Songs) by Dr. Dharmveer Singh (Publisher: Chaukhamba Sanskrit Bhavan, P.O. Box 1160, Chowk, Varanasi-221001, India) contains an exhaustive research on the historical and social background of the origin and temporal development of this language in greatest detail. This book is exhaustive in its approach and is a gem for anyone who is interested in Bhojpuri as a language. The most impressive aspect of the book is the collection of folk-songs that the author has gleaned from various sources. With the advent of modern technology and effect of cinema, these folk-songs are becoming extinct. This book preserves not only the songs in a written form but also provides the context in which they should be viewed and appreciated.

• Bhojpuri Writers-Viveki Rai Is a famous Bhojpuri writer.

Writing scripts

Bhojpuri over the course of time has been written in various scripts by various people. Bhojpuri until late 19th century was commonly written in Kaithi script as well as Nasta'liq (Persian) script.

Mention of Bhojpuri literature cannot be complete without Bhikhari Thakur and his immemorial Bidesia. However, it is unfortunate that no conscious attempt is being made to preserve his literature which is mainly in various folklore.

A recent publication 'Bhojpuri-Lok Sahitya: Lok Geeton Ki Samajik Sanskritik Sandarbh Evam Prishthbhumi" (Bhojpuri Folk Literature: Social and Cultural Landscape of Folk Songs) by Dr. Dharmveer Singh (Publisher: Chaukhamba Sanskrit Bhavan, P.O. Box 1160, Chowk, Varanasi-221001, India) contains an exhaustive research on the historical and social background of the origin and temporal development of this language in greatest detail. This book is exhaustive in its approach and is a gem for anyone who is interested in Bhojpuri as a language. The most impressive aspect of the book is the collection of folk-songs that the author has gleaned from various sources. With the advent of modern technology and effect of cinema, these folk-songs are becoming extinct. This book preserves not only the songs in a written form but also provides the context in which they should be viewed and appreciated.

Kaithi

Kaithi script was used for administrative purposes in the Mughal era for writing Bhojpuri, Maithili, Bangla, Urdu, Magahi and Hindi from at least 16th century up to the first decade of 20th century. Government gazetteers report that Kaithi was used in a few districts of Bihar through the1960s.It is possible that Kaithi is still used today in very limited capacity in these districts and in rural areas of north India. The significance of Kaithi grew when the British governments of the Bengal Presidency (of which Bihar and some southern districts of Nepal was territory) and the NorthWestern Provinces & Oudh (hereafter, NWP&O) selected the script for use in administration and education. The first impetus of growth was the standardization of written Kaithi in 1875 by the government of NWP&O for the purpose of adapting the script for use in formal education. The second was the selection of Kaithi by the government of Bihar as the official script of the courts and administrative offices of the Bihar districts in1880.Thereafter; Kaithi replaced the Persian script as the writing system of record in the judicial courts of Bihar. Additionally, on account of the rate of literacy in Kaithi, the governments of Bihar and NWP&O advocated Kaithi as the medium of written instruction in their primary schools.

Nasta'liq (Persian)

Before 1880 all the administrative works in Bihar was done in this Persian script and possibly all the educated Muslims in the Bhojpuri speaking region wrote unofficial works in Nasta'liq script.

Devanagari

By 1894, official works were carried out in both Kaithi and Devanagari in Bihar which probably started giving way to replacement of Kaithi completely by Devanagari. At present almost all the Bhojpuri works are done in Devanagari even in the overseas islands where Bhojpuri is spoken.

Bhojpuri Media

• In Bhojpuri many magazine and papers published from U P, Bihar West Bengal & Assam. Sunday Indian is a leading magazine from Delhi. Sanesh this is a first quarterly magazine from north east Guwahati. Bhojpuri Lok Lucknow^[5]
• Mahuaa TVand Hamar TV are the Bhojpuri Channel.

Phonology

	Bilabial		Labio- dental		Dental/ Alveolar		Retroflex		Post-alv./ Palatal		Velar		Uvular		Glottal
Nasal	m				n		(ɳ)
Plosive	p pʰ	b bʱ			t̪ t̪ʰ	d̪ d̪ʱ	ʈ ʈʰ	ɖ ɖʱ			k kʰ	ɡ ɡʱ	q
Affricate									tʃ tʃʰ	dʒ dʒʱ
Fricative			f		s	z			ʃ		x	ɣ				ɦ
Tap or Flap					ɾ		(ɽ) (ɽʱ)
Approximant			ʋ		l				j

Comparison of Dialects of Bhojpuri

Introduction to usage and features

Many speakers of North Indian languages find the unique, distinct features of Bhojpuri humorous sounding. In Bollywood films, all the languages spoken in the villages of UP, Bihar, South Nepal, and North Jharkhand are often collectively referred to as Bhojpuri. Bhojpuri represents all the accents, tones, behaviours, village stories, idioms of the languages such as Awadhi, Braj bhasha, Kortha, Nagpuria, Magahi, and Maithili. Some of the features are discussed below:

Spoken trends

• Addition of “Waa” or “eeya” to Nouns and sometimes Verbs

For male Nouns:
In Hindi with Bhojpuri style – “ शाहरुखवा कहा कि ये मेरा कुत्ता नही है ”
In true Bhojpuri language - “ शाहरुखवा कहलख/कहलस कि ई हमार कुकुर ना ह”
English translation – Shahrukh said that he is not my dog.
English in Bhojpuri style – Shahrukhwa said that he is not my dog. For female Nouns:
In Hindi with Bhojpuri style – “ रिमिया रिया सेनवा के बहन है ”
In true Bhojpuri language - “ रिमिया रिया सेनवा के बहिन बिया ”
English translation – Rimi is the sister of Riya sen
English in Bhojpuri style – Rimia is the sister of Riya senwa. In Hindi with Bhojpuri style – “ लठीया चला के तुम्हारा कपार फोर देंगे
” In true Bhojpuri language - “लठीया चला के तोहार/तोहर कपारवे फोर देम ”
English translation – (I'll) throw the baton and crack your skull
English in Bhojpuri style – (I'll) throw the batowa and crack your skullwa. Notice that female names ending in “ee ” gets “eeya” as in “ रिमि becomes रिमिया ” and "लाठी" becomes "लठिया" similarly female names ending in “uu” gets “uaa” for example : In Hindi with Bhojpuri style – “खुश्बुआ का बाप मर गया है ”
In true Bhojpuri language - “खुश्बुआ के बाप मू गईल बा / खुश्बुआ के बाबू मू गैईल बाना ”
English translation – Khusbu’s dad has died
English in Bhojpuri style – Khusbuaa’s dad has died Apart from these all other females names and other nouns get "waa" in their ends.

• Addition of "eeye" or "ey" in adverbs, adjectives and pronouns

In Hindi with Bhojpuri style – हम बहुत नजदिके से आ रहें है
In true Bhojpuri language – हम बहुत नजदिके स आवतानी/ आ रहल बानी.
English translation – We are coming from a very near place
English in Bhojpuri style – We are coming from a very nearey place.

Pronunciation of words

Bhojpuri has very distinct way of pronouncing, apparent to most north Indians would be aware of it. For example: मैं कहता हूँ is actually pronounced in Hindi as मै कैहता हूँ whereas in Bhojpuri it would be मैं कःहःता हूँ. The word for 'plenty' in Bhojpuri and Hindi is written as बहुत while Hindi pronounces it बहौत Bhojpuri retains बहुत even while pronouncing.

Trend of word formation

Though to speakers of Hindi, some Bhojpuri words may appear "mispronounced", they simply result from the divergent evolutions of the related languages. For example:

• अमरुद is Hindi word for Guava, in Bhojpuri it is अमरूद
• साइकिल is Hindi word (adapted from English) for cycle, in Bhojpuri many say साइकिल, सैकिलिया
• रक्सौल is a town in Champaran district of Bihar, many Bhojpuria people pronounce रस्कौल
• पहुँचना is a Hindi word for to arrive, in Bhojpuria people say चहुँपना
• उमेश is a Hindi name and Bhojpuria people say उमेशवा
• बच्चा is a Hindi word but Bhojpuria people say बचवा

Comparison of common words in Eastern Hindi dialects

खड़ी बोली	भोजपुरी	अवधी	मैथिली	मगही/मगधी	सादरी	खोरटा	कोसला	नागपुरिया	अंगिका	थारु दांगौरा	थारु राना	बज्जिका
हम	हमनी	हम	हम	हम	हम	?	?	?	हम	?	?	?
तू	तू	तो	तू	तू	?	?	?	?	तो	?	?	?
तुम	तू	तो	तू	तू	?	?	?	?	तो	?	?	तू
मैं	हम	मयो	हम	हम्मे/हम	?	?	?	?	हम	?	?	हम
आप	रउआ	आप	आंहा	अपने	?	?	?	?	अपने	?	?	आंहा
मेरा	हमार	मोर	हम्मर	हमर/हम्मर	?	?	?	?	हम्मर	?	?	हम्मर
तुम्हारा	तोहार	तोर	तोहर	तोहर/तोर	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	तोहर
तेरा	तोहार	तोहार	तोहर	तोहरा	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	तोहर
हमारा	हमरे	हमार	अप्पन	हमरा	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	हम्मर
मुझे	?	?	हमरा	हमरा	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?
उसे	ओकरा	ओहाक़े	ओकरा	ओकरा	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?
उसका	होकर	ओकर	ओक्कर	ओक्कर	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?
इसका	हेकर	एकर	एक्कर	एकरा	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?
ये	हई	ई	इ	इ	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?
वो	हऊ	हौ	उ	उ	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?
क्यूँ	काहे	काहे	Kiyea	काहे	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?

Common words

Weekdays

English	Bhojpuri	भोजपुरी
Sunday	Eitwaar	एतवार
Monday	Somaar	सोमार
Tuesday	Mangal	मंगर
Wednesday	Budhh	बुध
Thursday	Barashpat	बिफे
Friday	Sookar	सूक / जुमा
Saturday	Sunicher	सनिचर

Numericals

In Bhojpuri, ½ or half is called "aadha" ( आधा ) and when ½ or half is used with numbers higher than 2 then "saadhe" ( साढ़े ) is added before the whole number.
For example: 7.30 would be "saadhe saat"( साढ़े सात ).
Similarly, ¼ or quarter is called "sawaa"( सवा ) and when a number is ¼ or quarter less than a whole number then "pauney" ( पौने ) is added before the ceiling whole number.
For example: 7.15 would be "sawaa saat" ( सवा सात ) and 7.45 would be called "pauney aath" ( पौने आठ ).
There are other special names for 1.5 , 2.5 , 6 , and 12. They are called – "Dedh"( डेढ़ ), "Adhaai"( अढ़ाई ), "Aadha Darzan"( आधा दर्ज़न ) and "Darzan"( दर्ज़न ) respectively.
For currencies Bhojpuri uses the terms "Takiaa" ( टका ) , "Aanaa" ( आना ), "Kaudi" ( कौडी ), or "Paiisa" ( पईसा ) or "Ropeya / Rupaiya"( रोपेया / रुपईया ). It must be remembered that pronunciation of these words vary greatly while using in various circumstances.

English	Bhojpuri	भोजपुरी
Zero, One, Two, Three, Four, Five, Six, Seven, Eight, Nine, Ten	Soonna, Ek, Du, Teen, Chaar, Paanch, Chau, Saat, Aath, Nau, Dus	सुन्ना, एक, दु, तीन, चार, पाँच, छौ, सात, आठ, नौ, दस
One/Two/Five/Ten/20/50/100 Rupee Notes	Ek/Du/Paanch/Dus/Bees/Pachaas/Sai takia (only for currency paper)	एक/दु/पाँच/दस/बीस/पचास/सय टकिया
500/ 1000 or higher denomination Notes	Lamri or Numri	लमरी चाहे नमरी
One Rupee	Ek ropeya (for quoting price)
Coin	Sikka
25 Paisa( a quarter)	Chau anni
50 Paisa( a half)	Atth anni (Atth = Aath)
75 Paisa(quarter to one)	Baarey anaa (Baarey = Baarah )
100 Paisa	Sorey anaa ( Sorey = Sorah)

Fruits and Vegetables

English	Bhojpuri	भोजपुरी	English	Bhojpuri	भोजपुरी
Mango	Aam	आम	Apple	Seo	सेव
Orange	Samtola/Limu	सम्तोला/लीमु	Lemon	Nimo/Nebua	निमो
Grapefruit; pomelo	Mausmi/	मौसमी	Papaya	Papita/Armewa	पपीता/अरमेवा
Guava	Roonie/Amdur	रुनी/अमदुर	Melon	Jaamun	जामुन
Sweet Potato	Shataalu	शतालु	Pomegranate	Anaar	अनार
Grape	Angoor	अंगूर	Custard apple	Shareefa	शरीफा
Banana	Keraa	केरा	Lytchee	Litchi	लीची
Tomato	Tamaatar	टमाटर	Jackfruit	Katahar	कटहर
Jack Fruit	Bhuikatahar	भुईकटहर

Colors

English	Bhojpuri	भोजपुरी
Red	Laal	लाल
Green	Hariyur	हरियर
Blue	Aasmaani	आसमानी
Yellow	Piyar	पियर
Pink	Gulaabi	गुलाबी
Black	Kariya	करीया
White	Ujjar	उज्जर
Brown	Khairahu	खैरःहुँ
Gray	Raakh	राख
Indigo	Neel	नील
Rainbow	Saabhaa	साभा / इन्दरधनुष

Measurements

English	Bhojpuri	भोजपुरी
Hand	Haath	हाथ
Mile	mile	mile

Family Relations

English	Bhojpuri	भोजपुरी
Papa / Dad	Baabu	babuji
Mummy / Mom	Maai / Maay / Ammi	mai
Sister	Bahin / Didi / Baaji	bahin / jiji
Brother	Bhaai / Bhaiya
Grand Dad	Baba / Daada / Babba/ Aja
Grand Mom	Daai / Aaji / Eeya / Daadi / Amma
Uncle and Auntie (father' brother and wife)	Chacha and Chachi
Auntie and Uncle(father's sister and husband)	Phua and Phuppa
Uncle and Auntie(mother's brother and wife)	Mama and Mami
Auntie and Uncle(mother's sister and husband)	Mousi and Mousa

न नौ मःन तेल होइ न राधा नचीहें
चिरई के जान जाए लइका के खेलौना
न रही बाँस न बाजी बँसुरी
सौ सोनार के एक लोहार के
नापल जोखल थाहे, aa लैका डुब गेल काहे
चानी सोना में लाग जाई काई दमड़ी के गोदना संगे जाई
रहली में दु जनी पादली में कए जनी
नाँच न जाने अँगनवे टेढ़
मन चंगा त कठौती में गंगा
बाप के नाम साग पात पूत के नाम परोरा
एगो अनार सय गोड़े बेमार
जे खाए गोरू के गोस्त उ कइसे हीनू के दोस्त ?
दुध के रखवारी करे बिलाई
नाया नौ दिन पुराना सौ दिन
दिन भर हर-पर रात मे चहर-पहर पकड़े के गोड़ त पकड़ले बाड़े सोर
पानी में मछरी, नौ-नौ कुटिया बखरा
कौआ चले बगुला के चाल
बाप के नाम साग-पात बेटा के नाम परौर
दु अक्षर पढ़ लिया गुरुजी के दुख दिया बिन जोल ईद
हड्बडी के काम कनपट्टी मे सेनुर
मेहरी के खीस डिहरी पर
सौती के खीस कठौती पर
बानर के हाथ मे नारियल
बाड़ी पूजा पर मन बाटे भूजा पर मांगे के भीख पादे के बीख
लोग कहे आम त इ कहे इमःली
राम राम जपना पराया माल अपना
सकल चुड़इल के, मजमून परी के
Jetna k babua na otna ke jhunjhuna.
jab haandi par dhapna na hokhe, ta bilaaiyo ke kuch laaj kare ke chahi.
Babua haaz kare gailan sikhalan ulta vani, Aab aab karke mar gailan palang ke nicha rahe paani.

Bhojpuri Samples

Some samples of Bhojpuri Language include:

• PraÑām/Parnām. प्रणाम/ परणाम — all-purpose Hindu greeting,the former(PraÑām) is a Sanskrit word and in Bhojpuri it is generally pronounced as Parnām, often translated as "I salute you" and in common usage simply means "hello" and even "goodbye."

• Pae Lagoo / Paalagi / Paa lagat tani - customary touching of feet to take the blessings of elders.

• Rām Rām/Jai Rām ji kī राम राम / जय राम जी की - Bye Bye or simply Hi!!.

• Hamar/Hamār/Morā nām Bharat ha हमर / हमार / मोरा नाम भरत ह — My name is Bharat.

• Kaisan Bā? कइसन बा ? — How are you/ What's up?

The following are more commonly used:

• kā ha? का ह? (informal)- What's the matter?, sab samāchār thīk ba? सब समाचार ठीक बा? are you all fine?

• khāek ho gaīl? खाएक हो गइल ? — Is the food ready?

• Bīrgunj bahūte baDka shahar hot jā rahal bā. बीरगञ्ज बहुते बड़का शहर होत जा रहल बा. Birgunj is becoming a big city.

• Deshwālī logan ke Bhojpurī,Maithili,Awadhi,Hindi, ā urdū se māyā kareke chāhĩ देशवाली लोगन के भोजपुरी, मैथिली, अवधी, हिन्दी आ उर्दू से माया करेके चाहीं — People of Terai shoul love Bhojpuri, Maithili, Awadhi, Hindi, and Urdu.

• Jūg jūg jiya/ khus rah जुग जुग जिय/ खुश रह – long live/stay happy

• Beyr dūb gaīl? बेर डुब गईल? – has the sun set?

• kaūni beyr? कौनी बेर?– at what time?

Also:

• Where is Mr. John? – मिस्टर जॉन कहाँ बाड़न? / मिस्टर जॉन कहाँ बानी?

• Where is Ramesh? - रमेशवा केने बा? / रमेशवा केने बाटे?

• Who has Sita called? - सीता केकरा बोलौले बीया?

Bhojpuri in Nepal

Bhojpuri is spoken by at least 2.5 million people in Nepal (9% of the total population of Nepal), the districts categorised as Bhojpuria districts lying between the Mithilanchal and Awadh regions of Nepal are: Rautahat, Bara, Parsa, Chitwan, Nawalparasi and Rupandehi. As people from hills have migrated in large numbers to these districts the native Bhojpuri language is suffering from adulteration and as Nepali has been imposed on people of these regions, most of the adulteration is due to Nepali language. However, the Nepali speakers in this region have somehow become modest speakers of Bhojpuri and can understand Bhojpuri quite well. And due to similarity, Maithili and Awadhi speakerscan also understand Bhojpuri quite well. Total Number of People who can understand the language in Nepal exceeds 12 million however who speak it as first or second tongue are around 4 million.

Some of the very popular local Radio stations in this region have been broadcasting news and entertainment materials in Bhojpuri, although due to Nepali speakers speaking bhojpuri in these radio stations, Bhojpuri sometimes appears awkward. Some of the popular radio stations for Bhojpuri are : Gadhimai FM, Indreni FM, Bijay FM, Rupandehi FM, Samyak FM, Radio Birgunj, Narayani FM and others are in the pipeline such as : Masti FM, Nobel FM, Kadambari FM, Rautahat FM, Gaur FM, Radio Namaste and Madhyabindu FM.

In Kathmandu, Music FM broadcasts Bhojpuri songs and some daily programmes in the language.

Radio Nepal, the state controlled radio broadcasts daily news in Bhojpuri at 6:05 PM local time daily. Above that, the state controlled Nepal Television 2 shows weekly Bhojpuri cultural programmes.

There are at least 5 Bhojpuri Newspapers being circulated on regular basis in this region.

See also

• Hindustani language
• Bhojpuri cinema
• Languages with official status in India
• List of Indian languages by total speakers
• List of Bhojpuri poets
• Languages of Nepal

Notes and references

Bihari languages Angika  · Bhojpuri  · Fiji Hindi  · Kudmali  · Magahi  · Maithili  · Majhi  · Musasa  · Panchpargania  · Sadri  · Sadri, Oraon  · Sarnami Hindustani  · Surajpuri  · Vajjika

Indo-Iranian languages   Indic (Indo-Aryan)   Old · Middle Old Sanskrit (Vedic · Classical) · Mitanni superstrate Middle Abahatta · Apabhraṃśa · Dramatic Prakrits (Magadhi · Maharashtri · Shauraseni) · Elu · Gāndhārī · Jain · Paisaci · Pāli · Prakrit   Modern Central Hindi Awadhi · Bagheli · Bambaiya Hindi · Brij Bhasha · Bundeli · Chhattisgarhi · Fiji Hindi · Haryanvi · Kannauji · Sansiboli · Sadhukaddi (early form) Urdu Dakhni · Rekhta (early form) Others Dhanwar Rai Eastern Bengali Chittagonian · Sylheti Others Angika · Assamese · Bhojpuri · Bishnupriya Manipuri · Chakma · Halbi · Hajong · Kayort · Kharia Thar · Magahi · Maithili · Majhi · Mal Paharia · Nahari · Oriya · Rajbanshi · Rohingya · Sadri Northern Garhwali · Kumaoni · Nepali (Palpa) · Potwari North western Punjabi Saraiki · Majhi Others Aer · Derawali · Dogri · Hindko · Kangri · Kutchi · Sindhi Southern Dhivehi · Konkani · Mahal · Marathi · Sinhala Western Bhil Bhili · Gamit Rajasthani Bagri · Goaria · Gojri · Jaipuri · Malvi · Marwari · Mewari · Dhatki (sociolect) Others Domari · Gujarati · Kalto · Khandeshi · Parkari Koli · Romani · Saurashtra   Iranian   Old · Middle Old Western Old Persian · Median Eastern Avestan · Old Scythian Middle Western Middle Persian · Parthian Eastern Bactrian · Khwarezmian · Ossetic (Jassic) · Sakan (Sacian) · Scythian · Sogdian   Modern Western Persian Aimaq · Bukhori · Dari · Dehwari · Dzhidi · Hazaragi · Iranian Persian · Judeo-Shirazi · Khuzestani · Larestani · Tajik Kurdish Kermanshahi · Kurmanji · Soranî · Laki Others Old Azari · Balochi · Bashkardi · Caspian · Central Iran · Dari (Zoroastrian) · Fars · Gilaki · Gorani · Harzandi · Juhuri · Kumzari · Luri · Bakhtiari Lori · Mazandarani (Gorgani) · Ormuri · Sangsari · Parachi · Semnani · Taleshi · Tajik · Tat · Tati · Zazaki Eastern Pamir Ishkashimi · Munji · Roshani (Roshni) · Shughni · Sarikoli · Wakhi · Yazgulami · Yidgha Others Bartangi · Hindukush group · Ishkashmi · Karakoram group · Khufi · Munji · Oroshori · Ossetic · Pashto · Sanglechi · Vanji · Waziri · Yaghnobi · Zebaki Unclassified Tangshewi   Other Indo-Iranian languages Dardic Dameli · Domaaki · Gawar-Bati · Kalami · Kalash · Kashmiri · Khowar · Kohistani · Nangalami · Palula · Pashayi · Shina · Shumashti · Torwali · Ushoji Nuristani Kamkata-viri Kamviri · Kata-vari · Mumviri Others Askunu · Kalasha-ala · Kamkata-viri · Tregami language · Vasi-vari Italics indicate extinct languages.