Jaunsari () is a
Western Pahari language
The Western Pahari languages are a group of Northern Indo-Aryan languages that are spoken in the state of Himachal Pradesh, Jammu region of Jammu and Kashmir and parts of Uttarakhand and Punjab
Languages
The following lists the languages cla ...
of northern India spoken by the
Jaunsari people
The Jaunsari are a small community found in Uttarakhand, northern India, more specifically in the Jaunsar-Bawar region of the western portion of the state in Garhwal Division. They speak the Jaunsari language which is an Indo-Aryan language
...
in the
Chakrata
Chakrata is a cantonment town and also a sub district/tehsil, in Dehradun district. in the state of Uttarakhand, India.
It lies between the Tons and Yamuna rivers, at an elevation of 2118 m, 98 km from the state capital, Dehradun. Chakrat ...
and
Kalsi blocks of
Dehradun district in the
Garhwal region
Garhwal (IPA: /ɡəɽʋːɔɭ/) is one of the two administrative divisions of the Indian state of Uttarakhand. Lying in the Himalayas, it is bounded on the north by Tibet, on the east by Kumaon, on the south by Uttar Pradesh state, and on the ...
of
Uttarakhand
Uttarakhand ( , or ; , ), also known as Uttaranchal ( ; the official name until 2007), is a state in the northern part of India. It is often referred to as the "Devbhumi" (literally 'Land of the Gods') due to its religious significance and ...
state.
The dialects of Jaunsari share about 60% of their basic vocabulary with each of the neighbouring varieties of
Bangani
Bangani ( ''baṅgāṇī'') is an Indo-Aryan language spoken in parts of Uttarkashi district in the west of the Garhwal region of Uttarakhand, India. It has been described either as a member of the Western Pahari language group, or as a diale ...
,
Jaunpuri,
Nagpuriya and
Sirmauri
Sirmauri is a Western Pahari language spoken in the Sirmaur district in the northern Indian state of Himachal Pradesh
Himachal Pradesh (; ; "Snow-laden Mountain Province") is a state in the northern part of India. Situated in the Western H ...
.
Script
Jaunsari was historically written in Jaunsari Script . The Devanagari script is being used these days in certain works.
Status
The language has no official status. According to the
United Nations Education, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO), the language is of definitely endangered category, i.e. many Jaunsari children are not learning Jaunsari as their mother tongue any longer. The Ethnologue reports otherwise.
In 2016, State Council of Educational Research and Training (SCERT) announced that Garhwali, Kumaoni, Jaunsari and Rang languages would be introduced on pilot basis for students in standard one to 10th in government schools Under the ‘Know Your Uttarakhand’ project.
References
{{Uttarakhand
Northern Indo-Aryan languages
Endangered languages of India
Languages of Uttarakhand