Gujarati is an Indo-Aryan language spoken primarily in the Indian state of Gujarat, but also in neighboring Pakistan. It is the 26th most widely spoken language in the world and official language of Gujarat. With over 55 million speakers, it is one of the major languages of India. Gujarati is mostly written in the Gujarati script, which is derived from the Devanagari script and is used to write several other Indian languages as well.
| Gujarati | |
|---|---|
| ગુજરાતી गुजराती | |
| Gujarātī | |
 "Gujarati" in Gujarati script. | |
| Pronunciation | [ɡudʒəˈɾɑːt̪i] |
| Native to | India, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Myanmar, Thailand and Pakistan |
| Region | Gujarat (India) Sindh (Pakistan) |
| Ethnicity | Gujaratis |
Native speakers | 49 million (2007)[1] |
Early forms | |
| Gujarati alphabet (Brahmic) Gujarati Braille Arabic script Devanagari (historical) | |
| Official status | |
Official language in | Gujarat (India)[3] Daman and Diu (India) Dadra and Nagar Haveli (India) Maharashtra (India) |
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-1 | gu |
| ISO 639-2 | guj |
| ISO 639-3 | guj |
| Glottolog | guja1252 |
| Linguasphere | 59-AAF-h |
 Distribution of native Gujarati speakers in India | |
| Part of a series on | |
|---|---|
| |
| Constitutionally recognised languages of India | |
| Category | |
| Scheduled Languages | |
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| Related | |
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Official languages of India
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Gujarati has a rich cultural heritage and is used in literature, poetry, songs, and everyday communication. The language has a long history, with some of its earliest literature dating back to the 12th century. It has also been influenced by several other languages, including Sanskrit, Arabic, and Persian, which has resulted in a unique and diverse vocabulary. Gujarati is an important language for the business community in India and is widely used in trade and commerce. It is also used in education and the media, making it a key component of the cultural identity of the people of Gujarat.
Dialects
changeThe Gujarati language has four main dialects. Surati stands among four major dialects along with Charotari, and Pattani, and Saurashtari.[4][5]
Surati
changeMainly spoken in Surat and southern Gujarat. Source speakers use this dialect through their distinctive speech patterns and relaxed speech functions. It is named after Surat district in southern Gujarat.[6]
Charotari
changeCharotari also known as Bhili Charotari, is mainly spoken in the Anand and Kheda districts of central Gujarat, and this area is known as Charotar. Some rural parts of the Charotar region maintain archaic phonetic elements.[6]
Patani
changeThe speakers of Patani are found mainly in Banaskantha and Patan, which are located in north Gujarat. The dialect got its name from Patan city in Gujarat.[7]
Saurashtri
changeSaurashtri, which is also known as Kathiawadi, serves as the primary dialect for the Kathiawar peninsula found within the Saurashtra region. The dialect has a strong consonant system that creates exclaiming vowel tones. Rajasthani dialects have a major influence on dialect. Saurashtri has four additional subdialects.[5]
- Gohilawadi
- Halari
- Sorathi
- Jhalawadi
Other
changeThe Bhil, Jain and Parsi communities speak their own varieties of the Gujarati language.[4]
Parsi Gujarati
changeParsi Gujarati is a Standard dialect of Gujarati and mainly spoken by Parsis in Gujarat and Mumbai. The language contains expressions from both Persian and ancient Gujarati languages.[8]
Kutchi
changeKutchi is a primary dialect of both Hindu Bhatias and Muslim trading communities of Kutch. The differences between Kutchi and Gujarati remain uncertain because they exhibits different grammatical patterns and lexicon. Sindhi influences the language, which contains distinguished phonetic characteristics that include implosive consonant sounds.[9]
References
change- ↑ Mikael Parkvall, "Världens 100 största språk 2007" (The World's 100 Largest Languages in 2007), in Nationalencyklopedin
- ↑ Ernst Kausen, 2006. Die Klassifikation der indogermanischen Sprachen (Microsoft Word, 133 KB)
- ↑ Dwyer 1995, p. 5
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Dave, Jagdish (2015-08-27). Colloquial Gujarati: The Complete Course for Beginners (in Gujarati). Routledge. ISBN 978-1-317-30535-4.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Ayyappap, Panikkar (1997). Medieval Indian Literature: Surveys and selections. Sahitya Akademi. p. 1992. ISBN 978-81-260-0365-5.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 Jain, Sweety (2023-07-12). "Languages in Gujarat - Gujarati, Kathiwadi or Kutchchi?". Savaari Car Rentals Blog. Retrieved 2025-04-02.
- ↑ Doctor, Raimond (2004). A Grammar of Gujarati. LINCOM Europa. p. 2. ISBN 978-3-89586-723-1.
Patani which is a northern dialect named after the city of Patan and Vadodari spoken in Vadodara.
- ↑ Cama, Shernaz (11 November 2022). "Parsi Gujarati: A Maker of a Minority" (PDF). International Journal of Creative Research Thoughts (IJCRT). 10 (11): 264_267. ISSN 2320-2882 – via ijcrt.org.
- ↑ Isaka, Riho (2021-10-28). Language, Identity, and Power in Modern India: Gujarat, C.1850-1960. Taylor & Francis. ISBN 978-1-000-46859-5.
