Oriya Language
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Odia (;"Odia"
''Lexico''.
,
ISO The International Organization for Standardization (ISO ; ; ) is an independent, non-governmental, international standard development organization composed of representatives from the national standards organizations of member countries. Me ...
: , ; formerly rendered as Oriya) is a classical Indo-Aryan language spoken in the Indian state of
Odisha Odisha (), formerly Orissa (List of renamed places in India, the official name until 2011), is a States and union territories of India, state located in East India, Eastern India. It is the List of states and union territories of India by ar ...
. It is the
official language An official language is defined by the Cambridge English Dictionary as, "the language or one of the languages that is accepted by a country's government, is taught in schools, used in the courts of law, etc." Depending on the decree, establishmen ...
in
Odisha Odisha (), formerly Orissa (List of renamed places in India, the official name until 2011), is a States and union territories of India, state located in East India, Eastern India. It is the List of states and union territories of India by ar ...
(formerly rendered as Orissa), where native speakers make up 82% of the population, and it is also spoken in parts of
West Bengal West Bengal (; Bengali language, Bengali: , , abbr. WB) is a States and union territories of India, state in the East India, eastern portion of India. It is situated along the Bay of Bengal, along with a population of over 91 million inhabi ...
,
Jharkhand Jharkhand (; ) is a States and union territories of India, state in East India, eastern India. The state shares its border with the states of West Bengal to the east, Chhattisgarh to the west, Uttar Pradesh to the northwest, Bihar to the north ...
,
Andhra Pradesh Andhra Pradesh (ISO 15919, ISO: , , AP) is a States and union territories of India, state on the East Coast of India, east coast of southern India. It is the List of states and union territories of India by area, seventh-largest state and th ...
and
Chhattisgarh Chhattisgarh (; ) is a landlocked States and union territories of India, state in Central India. It is the List of states and union territories of India by area, ninth largest state by area, and with a population of roughly 30 million, the List ...
. Odia is one of the official languages of India; it is the official language of Odisha and the second official language of Jharkhand. The Odia language has various dialects varieties, including the Baleswari Odia (Northern dialect), Kataki, Dhenkanalia, Anugulia(central dialect), Ganjami Odia (Southern dialect), Sundargadi Odia (Northwestern dialect), Sambalpuri Odia (Western dialect), Desia (South-western dialect) and Tribal Community dialects spoken by the tribals groups in Odisha who adopted the Odia language. Odia is the sixth Indian language to be designated a classical language.It traces its linguistic roots to the Eastern Magadhi Prakrit, evolving through stages such as Proto Odia (7th–9th century CE), Old Odia (10th-13th century CE), Middle Odia (14th–17th century CE), and Modern Odia (from the 18th century onward). The language displays a distinct phonological and morphological character shaped by centuries of interaction with tribal and Dravidian tongues. Recognized as a classical language of India, Odia has an unbroken literary tradition, with inscriptions dating back over a thousand years.


History

Odia is an Eastern Indo-Aryan language belonging to the Indo-Aryan language family. It descends from Odra Prakrit which itself evolved from
Magadhi Prakrit Magadhi Prakrit (''Māgadhī'') is of one of the three Dramatic Prakrits, the written languages of Ancient India following the decline of Pali. It was a vernacular Middle Indo-Aryan language, replacing earlier Vedic Sanskrit. History and over ...
. The latter was spoken in east India over 1,500 years ago, and is the primary language used in early Jain and Buddhist texts.Misra, Bijoy (11 April 2009)
Oriya Language and Literature
(PDF) (Lecture). Languages and Literature of India. Harvard University.
Odia appears to have had relatively little influence from Persian and
Arabic Arabic (, , or , ) is a Central Semitic languages, Central Semitic language of the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family spoken primarily in the Arab world. The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) assigns lang ...
, compared to other major Indo-Aryan languages. The history of the Odia language is divided into eras: * Proto-Odia (Odra Prakrit) (10th century and earlier): Inscriptions from 9th century shows the evolution of proto-Odia, i.e. Odra Prakrit or ''Oriya Prakrit'' words used along with Sanskrit. The inscriptions are dated to third quarter of 9th century during the reign of early Eastern Gangas. * Old Odia (10th century till 13th century): Inscriptions from the 10th century onwards provide evidence for the existence of the Old Odia language, with the earliest inscription being the Urajam inscription of the Eastern Gangas written in Old Odia in 1051 CE. Old Odia written in the form of connected lines is found in inscription dated to 1249 CE. * Early Middle Odia (13th century–15th century): The earliest use of prose can be found in the '' Madala Panji'' of the Jagannath Temple at Puri, which dates back to the 12th century. Such works as ''Sisu Beda'', ''Amarakosa'', ''Gorekha Samhita'', ''Kalasa Chautisa'' and ''Saptanga'' are written in this form of Odia. * Middle Odia (15th century–17th century): Sarala Das writes the ''Mahabharata'' and '' Bilanka Ramayana''. Towards the 15th century, Panchasakha 'five seer poets' namely Balarama Dasa, Jagannatha Dasa, Achyutananda Dasa, Sisu Ananta Dasa and Jasobanta Dasa wrote a number of popular works, including the ''Odia Bhagabata'', '' Jagamohana Ramayana'', '' Lakshmi Purana'', ''Haribansa'', ''Gobinda Chandra'' and more. Balarama Dasa, Ananta Dasa and Achyutananda Dasa of Pancha Sakha group hailed from Karana community. * Late Middle Odia (17th century–Early 19th century): ''Usabhilasa'' of Sisu Sankara Dasa, the ''Rahasya Manjari'' of Deba Durlabha Dasa and the ''Rukmini Bibaha'' of Kartika Dasa were written.
Upendra Bhanja ''Kabi Samrata'' Upendra Bhanja, ) was a 17th-century Odia poet-composer of classical Odissi music.Mansingha, Mayadhar: ''History of Oriya Literature'': Publisher, Sahitya Akademi, Delhi He is most known for his Odissi songs and kabyas written ...
took a leading role in this period with his creations ''Baidehisa Bilasa'', ''Koti Brahmanda Sundari'', ''Labanyabati'' which emerged as landmarks in Odia Literature. Dinakrushna Dasa's ''Rasakallola'' and Abhimanyu Samanta Singhara's ''Bidagdha Chintamani'' were prominent latter kabyas. Of the song poets who spearheaded
Odissi music Odissi music (, ) is a genre of Indian classical music, classical music originating from the eastern state of Odisha. Rooted in the ancient ritual music tradition dedicated to the deity Jagannatha, Odissi music has a rich history spanning over ...
, classical music of the state –
Upendra Bhanja ''Kabi Samrata'' Upendra Bhanja, ) was a 17th-century Odia poet-composer of classical Odissi music.Mansingha, Mayadhar: ''History of Oriya Literature'': Publisher, Sahitya Akademi, Delhi He is most known for his Odissi songs and kabyas written ...
, Banamali, Kabisurjya Baladeba Ratha, Gopalakrusna were prominent. Bhima Bhoi emerged towards the end of the 19th century. * Modern Odia (Late 19th century to present): The first Odia magazine, Bodha Dayini was published in Balasore in 1861. During this time many Bengali scholars claimed that Odia was just a dialect of Bengali to exercise of power by cornering government jobs. For instance Pandit Kanti Chandra Bhattacharya, a teacher of Balasore Zilla School, published a little pamphlet named 'Odia Ekti Swatantray Bhasha Noi' (Odia not an independent language) where Bhattacharya claimed that Odia was not a separate and original form of language and was a mere corruption of Bengali. He suggested British Government to abolish all Odia Vernacular Schools from Odisha and to alter into Bengali Vernacular Schools. The first Odia newspaper '' Utkala Deepika'', launched in 1866 under editors Gourishankar Ray and Bichitrananda. In 1869 Bhagavati Charan Das started another newspaper, Utkal Subhakari. More Odia newspapers soon followed like Utkal Patra, Utkal Hiteisini from Cuttack, Utkal Darpan and Sambada Vahika from Balasore and Sambalpur Hiteisini from Deogarh. Fakir Mohan Senapati emerged as a prominent Odia fiction writer of this time and Radhanath Ray as a prominent Odia poet. Other prominent Odia writers who helped promote Odia at this time were Madhusudan Das, Madhusudan Rao, Gangadhar Meher, Chintamani Mohanty, Nanda Kishore Bal, Reba Ray, Gopabandhu Das and Nilakantha Das.


Geographical distribution


India

According to the 2011 census, there are 37.52 million Odia speakers in India, making up 3.1% of the country's population. Among these, 93% reside in Odisha. Odia is also spoken in neighbouring states such as
Chhattisgarh Chhattisgarh (; ) is a landlocked States and union territories of India, state in Central India. It is the List of states and union territories of India by area, ninth largest state by area, and with a population of roughly 30 million, the List ...
(913,581),
Jharkhand Jharkhand (; ) is a States and union territories of India, state in East India, eastern India. The state shares its border with the states of West Bengal to the east, Chhattisgarh to the west, Uttar Pradesh to the northwest, Bihar to the north ...
(531,077),
Andhra Pradesh Andhra Pradesh (ISO 15919, ISO: , , AP) is a States and union territories of India, state on the East Coast of India, east coast of southern India. It is the List of states and union territories of India by area, seventh-largest state and th ...
(361,471), and
West Bengal West Bengal (; Bengali language, Bengali: , , abbr. WB) is a States and union territories of India, state in the East India, eastern portion of India. It is situated along the Bay of Bengal, along with a population of over 91 million inhabi ...
(162,142), as of 2011 Census. Due to worker migration as tea garden workers in colonial India, northeastern states
Assam Assam (, , ) is a state in Northeast India, northeastern India, south of the eastern Himalayas along the Brahmaputra Valley, Brahmaputra and Barak River valleys. Assam covers an area of . It is the second largest state in Northeast India, nor ...
and
Tripura Tripura () is a States and union territories of India, state in northeastern India. The List of states and union territories of India by area, third-smallest state in the country, it covers ; and the seventh-least populous state with a populat ...
have a sizeable Odia-speaking population, particularly in Sonitpur, Tinsukia, Udalguri, Sivasagar, Golaghat,
Dibrugarh Dibrugarh () is a city in the Indian state of Assam, located 435 kms east of the state capital Dispur. It serves as the headquarters of the Dibrugarh district in Upper Assam. Dibrugarh also serves as the headquarters of the Sonowal Kach ...
, Cachar, Nagaon, Karimganj, Karbi Anglong,
Jorhat Jorhat ( /) is a major city in Upper Assam division, Upper Assam and among the fastest growing urban centres in the state of Assam in India. Etymology Jorhat ("jor" means twin and "hat" means market) means two hats or mandis - "Masorhaat" and ...
, Lakhimpur, Baksa, Kamrup Metropolitan, Hailakandi district of Assam and West Tripura, Dhalai, North Tripura district of Tripura. Similarly, due to increasing worker migration in modern India, the western states
Gujarat Gujarat () is a States of India, state along the Western India, western coast of India. Its coastline of about is the longest in the country, most of which lies on the Kathiawar peninsula. Gujarat is the List of states and union territories ...
and
Maharashtra Maharashtra () is a state in the western peninsular region of India occupying a substantial portion of the Deccan Plateau. It is bordered by the Arabian Sea to the west, the Indian states of Karnataka and Goa to the south, Telangana to th ...
also have a significant Odia speaking population. Additionally, due to economic pursuits, significant numbers of Odia speakers can be found in Indian cities such as Vishakhapatnam,
Hyderabad Hyderabad is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Telangana. It occupies on the Deccan Plateau along the banks of the Musi River (India), Musi River, in the northern part of Southern India. With an average altitude of , much ...
, Pondicherry,
Kolkata Kolkata, also known as Calcutta ( its official name until 2001), is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of West Bengal. It lies on the eastern bank of the Hooghly River, west of the border with Bangladesh. It is the primary ...
,
Bangalore Bengaluru, also known as Bangalore (List of renamed places in India#Karnataka, its official name until 1 November 2014), is the Capital city, capital and largest city of the southern States and union territories of India, Indian state of Kar ...
,
Chennai Chennai, also known as Madras (List of renamed places in India#Tamil Nadu, its official name until 1996), is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Tamil Nadu by population, largest city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost states and ...
, Goa,
Mumbai Mumbai ( ; ), also known as Bombay ( ; its official name until 1995), is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra. Mumbai is the financial capital and the most populous city proper of India with an estimated population of 12 ...
, Raipur,
Jamshedpur Jamshedpur (; ), also known as Tatanagar, is a major industrial city in eastern India. It is the List of cities in Jharkhand by population, largest city in the state of Jharkhand. With a population of 629,658 in the city limits and 1.3 million ...
, Vadodara, Ahmedabad,
New Delhi New Delhi (; ) is the Capital city, capital of India and a part of the Delhi, National Capital Territory of Delhi (NCT). New Delhi is the seat of all three branches of the Government of India, hosting the Rashtrapati Bhavan, New Parliament ...
,
Guwahati Guwahati () the largest city of the Indian state of Assam, and also the largest metropolis in northeastern India. Dispur, the capital of Assam, is in the circuit city region located within Guwahati and is the seat of the Government of Assam. Th ...
, Shillong,
Pune Pune ( ; , ISO 15919, ISO: ), previously spelled in English as Poona (List of renamed Indian cities and states#Maharashtra, the official name until 1978), is a city in the state of Maharashtra in the Deccan Plateau, Deccan plateau in Western ...
, Gurgaon, Jammu and Silvassa.


Foreign countries

The Odia diaspora is sizeable in several countries around the world, bringing the number of Odia speakers worldwide to 50 million. It has a significant presence in eastern countries, such as
Thailand Thailand, officially the Kingdom of Thailand and historically known as Siam (the official name until 1939), is a country in Southeast Asia on the Mainland Southeast Asia, Indochinese Peninsula. With a population of almost 66 million, it spa ...
and
Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania, between the Indian Ocean, Indian and Pacific Ocean, Pacific oceans. Comprising over List of islands of Indonesia, 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, ...
, mainly brought by the sadhaba, ancient traders from Odisha who carried the language along with the culture during the old-day trading, and in western countries such as the
United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...
,
Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...
,
Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...
and
England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...
. The language has also spread to
Burma Myanmar, officially the Republic of the Union of Myanmar; and also referred to as Burma (the official English name until 1989), is a country in northwest Southeast Asia. It is the largest country by area in Mainland Southeast Asia and ha ...
,
Malaysia Malaysia is a country in Southeast Asia. Featuring the Tanjung Piai, southernmost point of continental Eurasia, it is a federation, federal constitutional monarchy consisting of States and federal territories of Malaysia, 13 states and thre ...
,
Fiji Fiji, officially the Republic of Fiji, is an island country in Melanesia, part of Oceania in the South Pacific Ocean. It lies about north-northeast of New Zealand. Fiji consists of an archipelago of more than 330 islands—of which about ...
,
Mauritius Mauritius, officially the Republic of Mauritius, is an island country in the Indian Ocean, about off the southeastern coast of East Africa, east of Madagascar. It includes the main island (also called Mauritius), as well as Rodrigues, Ag ...
,
Bangladesh Bangladesh, officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, eighth-most populous country in the world and among the List of countries and dependencies by ...
,
Sri Lanka Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, also known historically as Ceylon, is an island country in South Asia. It lies in the Indian Ocean, southwest of the Bay of Bengal, separated from the Indian subcontinent, ...
and
Middle East The Middle East (term originally coined in English language) is a geopolitical region encompassing the Arabian Peninsula, the Levant, Turkey, Egypt, Iran, and Iraq. The term came into widespread usage by the United Kingdom and western Eur ...
countries.


Standardisation and dialects


Major varieties

* Baleswari (Northern Odia): Spoken in Baleswar, Bhadrak, Mayurbhanj and Kendujhar districts of Odisha. The variant spoken in Baleswar is called ''Baleswaria''. * Kataki (Central Odia): Spoken in the coastal and central regions consisting of
Cuttack Cuttack (, or officially Kataka in Odia language, Odia ), is the former capital, deputy capital and the 2nd largest city of the Indian state of Odisha. It is also the headquarters of the Cuttack district. The name of the city is an anglicised f ...
, Khordha,
Puri Puri, also known as Jagannath Puri, () is a coastal city and a Nagar Palika, municipality in the state of Odisha in eastern India. It is the district headquarters of Puri district and is situated on the Bay of Bengal, south of the state ca ...
, Nayagarh, Jajpur, Jagatsinghpur, Kendrapara, Dhenkanal,
Angul Angul (also known as Anugul) is a city, municipality and the headquarters of Angul district in the state of Odisha, India. Angul has an average elevation of above sea level and total area of 6232 km2. Geography Angul is located at . I ...
and Eastern part of Boudh districts of Odisha with regional variations. The Cuttack variant is known as Katakia. **Khurda Odia : Spoken in Khordha,
Puri Puri, also known as Jagannath Puri, () is a coastal city and a Nagar Palika, municipality in the state of Odisha in eastern India. It is the district headquarters of Puri district and is situated on the Bay of Bengal, south of the state ca ...
and Nayagarh districts of Odisha. * Ganjami (Southern Odia): Spoken in Ganjam, Gajapati and parts of Kandhamal districts of Odisha, Srikakulam district of Andhra Pradesh. The variant spoken in Berhampur is also known as "''Berhampuria"''. * Sundargadi (Northwestern Odia): Spoken in Sundergarh and parts of adjoining districts of Odisha and the districts of Jashpur of
Chhattisgarh Chhattisgarh (; ) is a landlocked States and union territories of India, state in Central India. It is the List of states and union territories of India by area, ninth largest state by area, and with a population of roughly 30 million, the List ...
and Simdega of
Jharkhand Jharkhand (; ) is a States and union territories of India, state in East India, eastern India. The state shares its border with the states of West Bengal to the east, Chhattisgarh to the west, Uttar Pradesh to the northwest, Bihar to the north ...
. * Sambalpuri (Western Odia): It is the western dialect/variety of Odia language with the core variant spoken in Sambalpur, Jharsuguda, Bargarh, Balangir and Subarnapur districts, along with parts of Nuapada and western parts of Boudh districts of Odisha. Also spoken in parts of Raigarh, Mahasamund and Raipur districts of Chhattisgarh. A 2006 survey of the varieties spoken in four villages in Western Odisha found out that Sambalpuri share three-quarters of their basic vocabulary with Standard Odia and has 75%–76% lexical similarity with Standard Odia. * Desia (Southwestern Odia/Koraputi): Spoken in southwestern districts of Nabarangpur, Rayagada, Koraput, Malkangiri and southern parts of Kalahandi districts of Odisha and in the hilly regions of Vishakhapatnam and,
Vizianagaram Vizianagaram, also known as Vijayanagaram, is a city and the headquarters of the Vizianagaram district in the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. It is located in the Eastern Ghats, about west of the Bay of Bengal and north-northeast of Visakhapa ...
districts of Andhra Pradesh. A variant spoken in Koraput is also known as ''Koraputia''. Minor regional varieties * Singhbhumi Odia: Spoken in parts of East Singhbhum, West Singhbhum and Saraikela-Kharsawan district of
Jharkhand Jharkhand (; ) is a States and union territories of India, state in East India, eastern India. The state shares its border with the states of West Bengal to the east, Chhattisgarh to the west, Uttar Pradesh to the northwest, Bihar to the north ...
. * Phulbani Odia: spoken in Kandhamal and in parts of Boudh district. * Kalahandia Odia: Variant of Odia spoken in Kalahandi and Nuapada districts and neighbouring districts of
Chhattisgarh Chhattisgarh (; ) is a landlocked States and union territories of India, state in Central India. It is the List of states and union territories of India by area, ninth largest state by area, and with a population of roughly 30 million, the List ...
. * Debagadia Odia: It is a Variant of Odia spoken in Debagarh District, Redhakhol sub-division of Sambalpur District, Athmallik sub-division of Angul District and Bonai sub-division of Sundargarh District area.


Major tribal and community dialects/sociolects

* Bodo Parja (Jharia): spoken by the Parang Proja tribe of Koraput and neighbouring districts of
Odisha Odisha (), formerly Orissa (List of renamed places in India, the official name until 2011), is a States and union territories of India, state located in East India, Eastern India. It is the List of states and union territories of India by ar ...
. * Bhatri: language variety spoken by the Bhottada tribe in Odisha and Chhattisgarh. * Reli: language variety spoken by the Reli people in the Koraput and Rayagada districts of southern Odisha and bordering districts of
Andhra Pradesh Andhra Pradesh (ISO 15919, ISO: , , AP) is a States and union territories of India, state on the East Coast of India, east coast of southern India. It is the List of states and union territories of India by area, seventh-largest state and th ...
. * Kupia: language variety spoken by Valmiki people of Odisha and Andhra Pradesh, mostly in Koraput, and
Visakhapatnam Visakhapatnam (; List of renamed places in India, formerly known as Vizagapatam, and also referred to as Vizag, Visakha, and Waltair) is the largest and most populous metropolitan city in the States and union territories of India, Indian stat ...
districts. Minor sociolects Odia minor dialects include: * Bhuyan: Tribal dialect spoken in Northern
Odisha Odisha (), formerly Orissa (List of renamed places in India, the official name until 2011), is a States and union territories of India, state located in East India, Eastern India. It is the List of states and union territories of India by ar ...
. * Sounti: Spoken in Northern Odisha. * Bathudi: Spoken in Northern Odisha. * Kondhan: Tribal dialect spoken in Western Odisha. * Agharia: Spoken by Agharia community in districts of Western Odisha and Chhattisgarh. * Bhulia: Spoken by Bhulia community in districts of Western Odisha and Chhattisgarh. * Matia: Tribal dialect spoken in Southern Odisha.


Phonology

Odia has 30 consonant phonemes, 2 semivowel phonemes and 6 vowel phonemes. Length is not contrastive. The vowel can also be heard as an allophone of , or as an allophone of the coalescence of the sequences or . Final vowels are pronounced in the standard language, e.g. Odia contrasts Bengali "flower". Odia retains the
voiced retroflex lateral approximant The voiced retroflex lateral approximant is a type of consonantal sound used in some spoken languages. The symbol in the International Phonetic Alphabet that represents this sound is , and the equivalent X-SAMPA symbol is l`. The retroflex lat ...
, among the Eastern Indo-Aryan languages. The
velar nasal The voiced velar nasal, also known as eng, engma, or agma (from Greek 'fragment'), is a type of consonantal sound used in some spoken languages. It is the sound of ''ng'' in English ''sing'' as well as ''n'' before velar consonants as in ''E ...
is given phonemic status in some analyses, as it also occurs as a terminal sound, e.g. ଏବଂ- ebaṅ /ebɔŋ/ Nasals assimilate for place in nasal–stop clusters. have the near-allophonic intervocalic flaps in intervocalic position and in final position (but not at
morpheme A morpheme is any of the smallest meaningful constituents within a linguistic expression and particularly within a word. Many words are themselves standalone morphemes, while other words contain multiple morphemes; in linguistic terminology, this ...
boundaries). Stops are sometimes deaspirated between and a vowel or an
open syllable A syllable is a basic unit of organization within a sequence of Phone (phonetics), speech sounds, such as within a word, typically defined by linguists as a ''nucleus'' (most often a vowel) with optional sounds before or after that nucleus (''ma ...
+vowel and a vowel. Some speakers distinguish between single and geminate consonants.


Grammar

Odia retains most of the cases of
Sanskrit Sanskrit (; stem form ; nominal singular , ,) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in northwest South Asia after its predecessor languages had Trans-cultural ...
, though the
nominative In grammar, the nominative case ( abbreviated ), subjective case, straight case, or upright case is one of the grammatical cases of a noun or other part of speech, which generally marks the subject of a verb, or (in Latin and formal variants of E ...
and vocative have merged (both without a separate marker), as have the accusative and dative. There are three genders (masculine, feminine and neuter) and two
grammatical number In linguistics, grammatical number is a Feature (linguistics), feature of nouns, pronouns, adjectives and verb agreement (linguistics), agreement that expresses count distinctions (such as "one", "two" or "three or more"). English and many other ...
s (singular and plural). The usage of gender is semantic (a bit like in English), i.e. to differentiate male members of a class from female members. There are three tenses coded via affixes (i.e., present, past and future), others being expressed via auxiliaries.


Writing system

The Odia language uses the Odia script (also known as the Kalinga script). It is a Brahmic script used to write primarily the Odia language and others like Sanskrit and several minor regional languages. The script has developed over nearly 1000 years, with the earliest trace of the script being dated to 1051 AD. Odia is a syllabic alphabet, or an
abugida An abugida (; from Geʽez: , )sometimes also called alphasyllabary, neosyllabary, or pseudo-alphabetis a segmental Writing systems#Segmental writing system, writing system in which consonant–vowel sequences are written as units; each unit ...
, wherein all
consonant In articulatory phonetics, a consonant is a speech sound that is articulated with complete or partial closure of the vocal tract, except for the h sound, which is pronounced without any stricture in the vocal tract. Examples are and pronou ...
s have an inherent
vowel A vowel is a speech sound pronounced without any stricture in the vocal tract, forming the nucleus of a syllable. Vowels are one of the two principal classes of speech sounds, the other being the consonant. Vowels vary in quality, in loudness a ...
. Diacritics (which can appear above, below, before, or after the consonant they belong to) are used to change the form of the inherent vowel. When vowels appear at the beginning of a syllable, they are written as independent letters. Also, when certain consonants occur together, special conjunct symbols are used to combine the essential parts of each consonant symbol. The curved appearance of the Odia script is a result of the practice of writing on palm leaves, which have a tendency to tear if too many straight lines are used. Karani Script (Odia: କରଣୀ ଲିପି) is a traditional script used primarily in Odisha, India, for administrative and literary purposes during the medieval and early modern periods. Named after the Karana scribes (the traditional writer caste of Odisha), the script was predominantly used in the royal courts and temples, especially for writing on palm leaf manuscripts. It is a cursive form derived from the Odia script, developed to enable faster writing with a stylus or pen. The Karani script is characterized by its flowing, connected style, making it distinct from the formal printed Odia script. Though no longer in widespread use, it remains an important part of Odisha’s manuscript heritage and is preserved in temple records, historical documents, and museum collections.


Odia script


Literature

The earliest literature in Odia can be traced to the Charyapadas, composed in the 7th to 9th centuries. Before Sarala Das, the most important works in Odia literature are the Shishu Veda, Saptanga, Amara Kosha, ''Rudrasudhanidhi'', ''Kesaba Koili'', ''Kalasa Chautisa,'' etc. In the 14th century, the poet Sarala Das wrote the Sarala Mahabharata, Chandi Purana, and Vilanka Ramayana, in praise of the goddess Durga. Rama-Bibaha, written by Arjuna Dasa, was the first long poem written in the Odia language. The following era is termed the Panchasakha Age and stretches until the year 1700. Notable religious works of the Panchasakha Age include those of Balarama Dasa, Jagannatha Dasa, Yasovanta, Ananta and Acyutananda. The authors of this period mainly translated, adapted, or imitated Sanskrit literature. Other prominent works of the period include the ''Usabhilasa'' of Sisu Sankara Dasa, the ''Rahasya Manjari'' of Debadurlabha Dasa and the ''Rukmini Bibha'' of Kartika Dasa. A new form of novels in verse evolved during the beginning of the 17th century when Ramachandra Pattanayaka wrote ''Harabali''. Other poets, like Madhusudana, Bhima Dhibara, Sadasiba and Sisu Iswara Dasa composed another form called kavyas (long poems) based on themes from Puranas, with an emphasis on plain, simple language. However, during the Bhanja Age (also known as the Age of Riti Yuga) beginning with turn of the 18th century, verbally tricky Odia became the order of the day. Verbal jugglery and eroticism characterise the period between 1700 and 1850, particularly in the works of the era's eponymous poet
Upendra Bhanja ''Kabi Samrata'' Upendra Bhanja, ) was a 17th-century Odia poet-composer of classical Odissi music.Mansingha, Mayadhar: ''History of Oriya Literature'': Publisher, Sahitya Akademi, Delhi He is most known for his Odissi songs and kabyas written ...
(1670–1720). Bhanja's work inspired many imitators, of which the most notable is Arakshita Das. Family chronicles in prose relating religious festivals and rituals are also characteristic of the period. The first Odia printing typeset was cast in 1836 by Christian missionaries. Although the handwritten Odia script of the time closely resembled the Bengali and Assamese scripts, the one adopted for the printed typesets was significantly different. Amos Sutton produced an Oriya Bible (1840), Oriya Dictionary (1841–43) and ''An Introductory Grammar of Oriya'' (1844). Odia has a rich literary heritage dating back to the thirteenth century. Sarala Dasa who lived in the fourteenth century is known as the
Vyasa Vyasa (; , ) or Veda Vyasa (, ), also known as Krishna Dvaipayana Veda Vyasa (, ''Vedavyāsa''), is a ''rishi'' (sage) with a prominent role in most Hindu traditions. He is traditionally regarded as the author of the epic Mahabharata, Mah ...
of Odisha. He wrote the Mahabharata into Odia. In fact, the language was initially standardised through a process of translating or transcreating classical Sanskrit texts such as the Mahabharata,
Ramayana The ''Ramayana'' (; ), also known as ''Valmiki Ramayana'', as traditionally attributed to Valmiki, is a smriti text (also described as a Sanskrit literature, Sanskrit Indian epic poetry, epic) from ancient India, one of the two important epics ...
and the
Bhagavad Gita The Bhagavad Gita (; ), often referred to as the Gita (), is a Hindu texts, Hindu scripture, dated to the second or first century BCE, which forms part of the Hindu epic, epic poem Mahabharata. The Gita is a synthesis of various strands of Ind ...
. The translation of the ''Bhagavatam'' by ''Atibadi'' Jagannatha Dasa was particularly influential on the written form of the language. Another of the Panchasakha, ''Matta'' Balarama Dasa transcreated the Ramayana in Odia, titled '' Jagamohana Ramayana''. Odia has had a strong tradition of poetry, especially devotional poetry. Other eminent Odia poets include ''Kabi Samrat'' Upendra Bhanja, ''Kabisurjya'' Baladeba Ratha, Banamali Dasa, Dinakrusna Dasa and Gopalakrusna Pattanayaka. Classical Odia literature is inextricably tied to music, and most of it was written for singing, set to traditional Odissi ragas and talas. These compositions form the core of the system of
Odissi music Odissi music (, ) is a genre of Indian classical music, classical music originating from the eastern state of Odisha. Rooted in the ancient ritual music tradition dedicated to the deity Jagannatha, Odissi music has a rich history spanning over ...
, the classical music of the state. Three great poets and prose writers, Kabibar Radhanath Ray (1849–1908), Fakir Mohan Senapati (1843–1918) and Madhusudan Rao (1853–1912) made Odia their own. They brought in a modern outlook and spirit into Odia literature. Around the same time the modern drama took birth in the works of Rama Sankara Ray beginning with Kanci-Kaveri (1880). Among the contemporaries of Fakir Mohan, four novelists deserve special mention: Aparna Panda, Mrutyunjay Rath, Ram Chandra Acharya and Brajabandhu Mishra. Aparna Panda's Kalavati and Brajabandhu Mishra's Basanta Malati were both published in 1902, the year in which Chha Mana Atha Guntha came out in the book form. One of the great writers in the 20th century was Pandit Krushna Chandra Kar (1907–1995) from Cuttack, who wrote many books for children like ''Pari Raija, Kuhuka Raija, Panchatantra, Adi Jugara Galpa Mala'', etc. He was last felicitated by the Sahitya Academy in 1971–72 for his contributions to Odia literature, development of children's fiction, and biographies. One of the prominent writers of the 20th and 21st centuries was Muralidhar Mallick (1927–2002). His contribution to Historical novels is beyond words. He was last felicitated by the Sahitya Academy in the year 1998 for his contributions to Odia literature. His son Khagendranath Mallick (born 1951) is also a writer. His contribution towards poetry, criticism, essays, story and novels is commendable. He was the former President of Utkal Kala Parishad and also former President of Odisha Geeti Kabi Samaj. Presently he is a member of the Executive Committee of Utkal Sahitya Samaj. Another illustrious writer of the 20th century was Chintamani Das. A noted academician, he was written more than 40 books including fiction, short stories, biographies and storybooks for children. Born in 1903 in Sriramachandrapur village under Satyabadi block, Chintamani Das is the only writer who has written biographies on all the five 'Pancha Sakhas' of Satyabadi namely Pandit Gopabandhu Das, Acharya Harihara, Nilakantha Das, Krupasindhu Mishra and Pandit Godabarisha. Having served as the Head of the Odia department of Khallikote College, Berhampur, Chintamani Das was felicitated with the Sahitya Akademi Samman in 1970 for his outstanding contribution to Odia literature in general and Satyabadi Yuga literature in particular. Some of his well-known literary creations are 'Bhala Manisha Hua', 'Manishi Nilakantha', 'Kabi Godabarisha', 'Byasakabi Fakiramohan', 'Usha', 'Barabati'. 20th century writers in Odia include Pallikabi Nanda Kishore Bal, Gangadhar Meher, Chintamani Mahanti and Kuntala Kumari Sabat, besides Niladri Dasa and Gopabandhu Das. The most notable novelists were Umesa Sarakara, Divyasimha Panigrahi, Gopala Chandra Praharaj and Kalindi Charan Panigrahi. Sachi Kanta Rauta Ray is the great introducer of the ultra-modern style in modern Odia poetry. Others who took up this form were Godabarisha Mohapatra, Mayadhar Mansingh, Nityananda Mahapatra and Kunjabihari Dasa. Prabhasa Chandra Satpathi is known for his translations of some western classics apart from Udayanatha Shadangi, Sunanda Kara and Surendranatha Dwivedi. Criticism, essays and history also became major lines of writing in the Odia language. Esteemed writers in this field were Professor Girija Shankar Ray, Pandit Vinayaka Misra, Professor Gauri Kumara Brahma, Jagabandhu Simha and Harekrushna Mahatab. Odia literature mirrors the industrious, peaceful and artistic image of the
Odia people The Odia (), formerly spelled Oriya, are an Indo-Aryan peoples, Indo-Aryan ethno-linguistic group native to the Indian state of Odisha who speak the Odia language. They constitute a majority in the eastern coastal state, with significant min ...
who have offered and gifted much to the Indian civilisation in the field of art and literature. Now Writers Manoj Das's creations motivated and inspired people towards a positive lifestyle. Distinguished prose writers of the modern period include Baidyanath Misra, Fakir Mohan Senapati, Madhusudan Das, Godabarisha Mohapatra, Kalindi Charan Panigrahi, Surendra Mohanty, Manoj Das, Kishori Charan Das, Gopinath Mohanty, Rabi Patnaik, Chandrasekhar Rath, Binapani Mohanty, Bhikari Rath, Jagadish Mohanty, Sarojini Sahoo, Yashodhara Mishra, Ramchandra Behera, Padmaja Pal. But it is poetry that makes modern Odia literature a force to reckon with. Poets like Kabibar Radhanath Ray, Sachidananda Routray, Guruprasad Mohanty, Soubhagya Misra, Ramakanta Rath, Sitakanta Mohapatra, Rajendra Kishore Panda, Pratibha Satpathy have made significant contributions towards Indian poetry. Anita Desai's novella, ''Translator Translated'', from her collection ''The Art of Disappearance'', features a translator of a fictive Odia short story writer. The novella contains a discussion of the perils of translating works composed in regional Indian languages into English. Four writers in Odia – Gopinath Mohanty, Sachidananda Routray, Sitakant Mahapatra and
Pratibha Ray Pratibha Ray (born 21 January 1944) is an Indian academic and writer of Odia language, Odia-language novels and stories. For her contribution to the Indian literature, Ray received the Jnanpith Award in 2011. She was awarded the Padma Bhushan ...
– have been awarded the Jnanpith, an Indian literary award.


Sample text

The following is a sample text in Odia of Article 1 of the
Universal Declaration of Human Rights The Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) is an international document adopted by the United Nations General Assembly that enshrines the Human rights, rights and freedoms of all human beings. Drafted by a UN Drafting of the Universal D ...
(): Odia in the Odia script : Odia in
IAST The International Alphabet of Sanskrit Transliteration (IAST) is a transliteration scheme that allows the lossless romanisation of Brahmic family, Indic scripts as employed by Sanskrit and related Indic languages. It is based on a scheme that ...
:Anuccheda eka: Samasta manuṣya janmakāḷaru swādhīna ebaṅ marẏyādā o adhikārare samāna. Semānaṅkaṭhāre buuddhi o bibeka nihita achi ebaṅ semānaṅku paraspara prati bhrātr̥twa manobhābare byabahāra karibā ucit. Odia in the IPA :: Gloss :Article 1: All human beings from birth are free and dignity and rights are equal. Their reason and intelligence endowed with and they towards one another in a brotherhood spirit behaviour to do should. Translation :Article 1: All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood.


Software

Google Google LLC (, ) is an American multinational corporation and technology company focusing on online advertising, search engine technology, cloud computing, computer software, quantum computing, e-commerce, consumer electronics, and artificial ...
introduced the first automated translator for Odia in 2020.
Microsoft Microsoft Corporation is an American multinational corporation and technology company, technology conglomerate headquartered in Redmond, Washington. Founded in 1975, the company became influential in the History of personal computers#The ear ...
too incorporated Odia in its automated translator later that year.


References


Sources

* * * *


Further reading

* * * Mohanty, Prasanna Kumar (2007). ''The History of: History of Oriya Literature'' (Oriya Sahityara Adya Aitihasika Gana). * * * *


External links

* * Odia Wikipedia * Praharaj, G.C
Purnachandra Odia Bhashakosha
(Odia-English dictionary). Cuttack: Utkal Sahitya Press, 1931–1940.
A Comprehensive English-Oriya Dictionary (1916–1922)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Odia Language Articles containing video clips Classical Language in India Eastern Indo-Aryan languages Indo-Aryan languages Languages attested from the 3rd century BC Languages of Odisha Languages of Jharkhand Languages written in Brahmic scripts Official languages of India Subject–object–verb languages