Haflong Hindi

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Haflong Hindi (Hindi: हफ़लौंग हिन्दी) is the lingua franca of Dima Hasao district of Assam state of India.[1] It is a creole language that stemmed from Hindi and included vocabulary from several other languages, such as Bengali, Assamese, Dimasa and the Zeme Naga dialect. It is named after Haflong, which is the headquarters of Dima Hasao district.

Example Phrases

The dialect is largely intelligible to Hindi speakers, and features simplified grammar with loanword infusions.[2]

Phrase English glosses Meaning
tumko mairong leke aayaa I (implied) you (tumko) rice (mairong) tak-ing (le-ke) came (aayaa) 'I brought you rice.'
tumraa kuttaa hamko kamraayaa Your (tumraa) dog (kuttaa) me (hamko) bit (kamraayaa) 'Your dog bit me.'
tum kahaan jaaegaa Where (kahaan) you (tum) go-Fut (jaa-egaa) 'Where will you go?'

In contrast to printed forms of Hindi, the Haflong variety lacks person and number agreement in the verb and ergative marking of the subject when transitive clauses are in a preterite or perfect tense.

Creole language

Many pidgin dialects remain confined to that status, being used largely for trade purposes. When a dialect broadens and becomes a native vernacular and achieves strong adoption and stability, it is technically a language. Tok Pisin (an official language of Papua New Guinea) and Seselwa (an official language of the Seychelles) have achieved that status. Haflong Hindi demonstrates these signs of standardization and wide adoption. For instance, All India Radio employs it for broadcasts in Dima Hasao, and Hindi speakers (including government officials) in the region are expected to learn Haflong Hindi.[1][2] Therefore, Haflong Hindi is more correctly classified as a creole language rather than a pidgin.

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Col Ved Prakash, "Encyclopaedia of North-east India, Vol# 2", Atlantic Publishers & Distributors;Pg 575, ISBN 978-81-269-0704-5
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 "In this Assam district, Hindi unites 11 tribes". Indian Express, September 10, 2007. Retrieved 2008-09-17. 


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