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Boro language (India)

{{Short description|Tibeto-Burman language spoken in India}}

{{for|the Tibetic languages in a broad linguistic sense|Bodish languages}}

{{distinguish|Bodo language (Bantu)|Bodo blouse}}

{{More citations needed|date=June 2020}}

{{Use Indian English|date=September 2016}}

{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2017}}

{{Infobox language

| name = Boro

| altname = Bodo

| nativename = बर{{hamza}}

| image = Bodo Rao in Devanagari script.svg

| imagescale =

| imagecaption = The words Boro Rao (Boro language) written in Devanagari script

| states = Northeast India

| region = Bodoland (Assam)

| ethnicity = Boro people

| speakers = {{sigfig|1.4|2}} million

| date = 2011 census

| map = Bodoland Territorial Area Districts.svg

| mapcaption = Map of Bodoland region where the primary spoken language is Bodo

| ref = {{cite web |url=http://censusindia.gov.in/2011Census/C-16_25062018_NEW.pdf |archive-url=http://web.archive.org/web/20180627064326/http://censusindia.gov.in/2011Census/C-16_25062018_NEW.pdf |page=6 |title=Census of India 2011: Language |archive-date=2018-06-27}}

| familycolor = Sino-Tibetan

| fam2 = Tibeto-Burman

| fam3 = Central Tibeto-Burman languages (?)

| fam4 = Sal

| fam5 = Boro–Garo

| fam6 = Boroic

| script = *Devanagari (official)

| nation = India

| iso3 = brx

| glotto = bodo1269

| glottorefname = Bodo-Mech

| mapcaption2 =

| map2 =

}}

Boro"In terms of nomenclature, both Bodo and Boro are equally prevalent. The influential Bodo Sahitya Sabha (Bodo Literary Society) has approved the use of both Boro and Bodo to name the language. Many past and recent studies on the language like Burton-Page (1955), Bhat (1968), Bhattacharya (1977), Joseph and Burling (2001, 2006), Basumatary (2005), Boro (2007) and DeLancey (2010, 2011) have described the language as Boro. In this paper, we follow the name frequently used in these works on Boro and therefore use Boro." {{harvcol|Das|Mahanta|2019|p=1f}} (बर{{hamza}}, {{IPA|bo|bɔro|ipa}}), also rendered Bodo,"Table 1 - LSI: Bodo; Modern name: Boro" {{harvcol|Jaquesson|2017|p=101}} is a Sino-Tibetan language spoken primarily by the Boros of Northeast India and the neighboring nations of Nepal and Bangladesh. It is an official language of the Indian state of Assam, predominantly spoken in the Bodoland Territorial Region.{{cite news |last1=PTI |title=Assam Assembly Accords Associate Official Language Status To Bodo |url=https://www.ndtv.com/india-news/assam-assembly-accords-associate-official-language-status-to-bodo-2345750 |access-date=21 February 2022 |work=NDTV |date=30 December 2020}}{{cite web |title=THE ASSAM OFFICIAL LANGUAGE (AMENDMENT) ACT, 2020|url=https://legislative.assam.gov.in/sites/default/files/swf_utility_folder/departments/legislative_medhassu_in_oid_3/menu/document/the_assam_official_languageamendment_act_2020_assam_act_no.xi_of_2021.pdf}} It is also one of the twenty-two languages listed in the Eighth Schedule of the Constitution of India.{{cite web |title=Languages Included in the Eighth Schedule of the Indian Constitution |url=https://rajbhasha.gov.in/en/languages-included-eighth-schedule-indian-constitution}} Since 1975 the language has been written using the Devanagari script. It was formerly written using Latin and Eastern-Nagari scripts. Some scholars have suggested that the language used to have its own now lost script known as Deodhai.

Geographic distribution

In India, Bodo is spoken in the following places:

There are also Bodo speakers in the Jhapa District of NepalEthnologue and also in Bangladesh. There are also 6,700 Bodo in Bhutan,Joshua Project mostly in southern Bhutan which borders India.

History

As result of socio-political awakenings and movements launched by different Boro organisations since 1913, the language was introduced in 1963 as a medium of instruction in the primary schools in Boro dominated areas. Today, the Boro language serves as a medium of instruction up to the secondary level and it is an associated official language in the state of Assam. Boro language and literature have been offered as a post-graduate course at the University of Guwahati since 1996. There are a large number of Boro books on poetry, drama, short stories, novels, biography, travelogues, children's literature, and literary criticism. Though there exists different dialects, the Western Boro dialect Swnabari form used around Kokrajhar district has emerged as the standard.{{cite web |title=Boro language, RCILTS, IIT Guwahati|url=http://www.iitg.ernet.in/rcilts/boro.htm|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050907205229/http://www.iitg.ernet.in/rcilts/boro.htm|url-status=dead|archive-date=2005-09-07 |access-date=7 July 2021}}

Writing system and script movement

It is reported that the Boro and the Dimasa languages used a script called Deodhai that is no longer attested."Bishnu Prasad Rabha, the famous Artist of Assam, told me that in ancient times there were a kind of Deodhai scripts among the Kacharis (Boros and Dimasas). Sri Rabha represented in writing the Deodhai alphabet as gathered from an informant in Dimapur which was noted for the Kachari reign and remains representing the art and architecture. As this form of Deodhai scripts is no longer in vogue, I leave the matter for further enlightenment." {{harvcol|Bhattacharya|1964|pp=15–16}} The Latin script was used first to write down the language, when a prayer book was published in 1843, and then extensively used by the missionary Sidney Endle beginning 1884 and in 1904, when the script was used to teach children. The first use of the Assamese/Bengali script occurred in 1915 (Boroni Fisa o Ayen) and the first magazine, Bibar (1924–1940) was tri-lingual in Boro, Assamese and Bengali, with Boro written in Assamese/Bengali script. In 1952, the Bodo Sahitya Sabha decided to use the Assamese script exclusively for the language.{{harvcol|Sarmah|2014|pp=1335–1336}} In 1963 Boro was introduced in schools as a medium of instruction, in which Assamese script was used.{{harvcol|Sarmah|2014|p=1336}} Into the 1960s the Boro language was predominantly written in Assamese/Bengali script, though the Christian community continued to use Latin for Boro.{{harvcol|Bhattacharya|1964|p=16}}

=Boro Script Movement=

With the Assamese Language Movement in Assam peaking in the 1960s the Boro community felt threatened and decided to not use the Assamese script."The Assamese language movement of 1960 had stirred up their keenness to have separate script other than the Assamese, preferably the Roman script." {{harvcol|Sarmah|2014|p=1336}} After a series of proposals and expert committees the Bodo Sahitya Sabha reversed itself in 1970 and unanimously decided to adopt the Latin script for the language in its 11th annual conference. The BSS submitted this demand to the Assam Government in 1971, which was rejected on the grounds that the Latin script was of foreign origin. This instigated a movement for the Latin script which became a part of the movement for a separate state, Udayachal, then led by the Plains Tribe Council of Assam (PTCA). In this context, the Boro leaders were advised by the Prime Minister Indira Gandhi to choose any Indic script other than Latin or Tibetan.{{harvcol|Sarmah|2014|pp=1336–1337}} In defiance of the Assam Government the BSS, in April 1974, went ahead and published Bithorai, a Boro textbook, in Latin script and asked school teachers to follow it."On 22nd April, 1974 the Bodo Sahitya Sabha without the approval of the State Government adopted the Roman Script as the sole script for the Boro language. The Sabha declared its decision to introduce Bithorai, an elementary textbook written in the Roman script, in the school curriculum. The Sabha appealed to all the teachers of Boro medium primary schools to introduce the Bithorai in Class - 1 in their own." {{harvcol|Sarmah|2014|p=1337}}

Retaliating against the unilateral decision, the Assam Government withheld grants to schools using the Latin script. This triggered a phase of active movement that was joined by the All Bodo Students' Union (ABSU) and the PTCA. This led to a critical situation in November 1974 when fifteen volunteers of the movement died in a police firing, and many others were injured. Unable to resolve the issue, the Assam Government referred the matter to the Union Government.{{harvcol|Sarmah|2014|p=1337}} In the discussion, the Union Government suggested Devanagari script as the solution to the problem, which the BSS accepted in the Memorandum of Understanding in April 1975, and adopted later year in the Annual Conference."The representatives of the Bodo Sahitya Sabha signed a memorandum with the Union Government on 9th April, 1975, agreeing to adopt the Devanagari script for the Bodo language." {{harvcol|Sarmah|2014|p=1337}} This ended the Boro Script Movement.

=Final Acceptance of Devanagari script=

File:Bodo language textbooks.jpg

The Devanagari script for Boro was an unexpected development and it was not immediately accepted by the wider Boro community.{{harvcol|Sarmah|2014|p=1338}} The BSS failed to implement the use of the Devanagari script, and writers continued to use the Assamese/Bengali and Latin scripts."The failure of the Bodo Sahitya Sabha to show sincerity on the implementation of Devanagari script in strict sense sent a wrong message to the younger generation. They thought that the adoption of the Devanagari script is a temporary arrangement. Taking the advantage, a group of Boro writers continued the use of Assamese and Roman scripts instead of practicing the Devanagari script in their writings." {{harvcol|Sarmah|2014|p=1338}} In 1982, ABSU included the demand of the Latin script in Boro schools in its charter of Demands. Following an expert committee report, constituted by BSS, the Bodoland Autonomous Council adopted a resolution to use Latin script in its territory, which the Assam Government too accepted.

Nevertheless, in the discussion with the Bodo Liberation Tigers, the Union Government demanded the implementation of the earlier agreement with the BSS on the use of the Devanagari script if the Boro language was to be included in the Eighth Schedule of the Indian Constitution. Following this, the ABSU and the BSS surrendered and agreed to use the Devanagari script exclusively, and the matter was settled.

Dialects

Kiryu (2012) suggests that the language of the Meche people and the Boro of Bengal are western dialects whereas the dialects in Assam are the eastern dialects of Boro. The western dialects differ in phonology and grammar but are mutually intelligible.{{harvcol|Kiryu|2012|pp=10–11}} The Kokrajhar variety of the eastern dialects has been promoted as standard, at least for the eastern dialects.

Phonology

{{More citations needed section|date=June 2020}}

The Boro language has a total of 30 phonemes: 6 vowels, 16 consonants, and 8 diphthongs—with a strong prevalence of the high back unrounded vowel /ɯ/. The Boro language use tones to distinguish words. There are three different tones: high, medium and low. The difference between high and low tones is apparent and quite common.

=Vowels=

There are 6 vowels in Boro.

class="wikitable"

|+Vowels

!rowspan=2|

!colspan=3|Front

!colspan=3|Central

!colspan=3|Back

IPA

!ROM

!Script

!IPA

!ROM

!Script

!IPA

!ROM

!Script

style="text-align:center"

!rowspan=2|Close

|{{IPA link|i}}

|i

|

|colspan=3|

|{{IPA link|u}}

|u

|

style="text-align:center"

|colspan=3|

|colspan=3|

|{{IPA link|ɯ}}

|w

|

style="text-align:center"

!Close-mid

|{{IPA link|e}}

|e

|

|colspan=3|

|{{IPA link|o}}

|o

|

style="text-align:center"

!Open

|colspan=3|

|{{IPA link|a}}

|a

|

|colspan=3|

  • All vowels occur at the beginning, in the middle and at the end of syllables.

=Diphthongs=

class="wikitable"

|+Diphthongs

!

!{{IPA|i}}

!{{IPA|o}}

!{{IPA|u}}

style="text-align:center"

!{{IPA|i}}

|

|

|{{IPA|iu}}

style="text-align:center"

!{{IPA|e}}

|

|{{IPA|eo}}

|

style="text-align:center"

!{{IPA|a}}

|{{IPA|ai}}

|{{IPA|ao}}

|

style="text-align:center"

!{{IPA|o}}

|{{IPA|oi}}

|

|

style="text-align:center"

!{{IPA|u}}

|{{IPA|ui}}

|

|

style="text-align:center"

!{{IPA|ɯ}}

|{{IPA|ɯi}}

|

|{{IPA|ɯu}}

=Consonants=

Boro has 16 consonants.

class="wikitable"

|+Consonants

!colspan=2 rowspan=2|

!colspan=3|Labial

!colspan=3|Alveolar

!colspan=3|Dorsal

!colspan=3|Glottal

IPA

!ROM

!Script

!IPA

!ROM

!Script

!IPA

!ROM

!Script

!IPA

!ROM

!Script

style="text-align:center"

!colspan=2|Nasal

|{{IPA link|m}}

|m

|

|{{IPA link|n}}

|n

|

|{{IPA link|ŋ}}

|ng

|

|colspan=3|

style="text-align:center"

!rowspan=2|Stop

!aspirated

|{{IPA link|pʰ}}

|ph

|

|{{IPA link|tʰ}}

|th

|

|{{IPA link|kʰ}}

|kh

|

|colspan=3|

style="text-align:center"

!voiced

|{{IPA link|b}}

|b

|

|{{IPA link|d}}

|d

|

|{{IPA link|ɡ}}

|g

|

|colspan=3|

style="text-align:center"

!rowspan=2|Fricative

!voiceless

|colspan=3|

|{{IPA link|s}}

|s

|

|colspan=3|

|colspan=3|

style="text-align:center"

!voiced

|colspan=3|

|{{IPA link|z}}

|z

|

|colspan=3|

|{{IPA link|ɦ}}

|h

|

style="text-align:center"

! colspan="2" rowspan="1" |Flap/Trill

|colspan=3|

|{{IPA link|ɾ}} ~ {{IPA link|r}}

|r

|

|colspan=3|

|colspan=3|

style="text-align:center"

! rowspan="2" |Approximant

!voiced

|{{IPA link|w}}

|w

|

| colspan="3" |

|{{IPA link|j}}

|y

|

| colspan="3" |

style="text-align:center"

!lateral

|colspan=3|

|{{IPA link|l}}

|l

|

|colspan=3|

|colspan=3|

  • The three voiceless aspirated stops, /{{IPA|pʰ, tʰ, kʰ}}/, are unreleased in syllable final position. Their unaspirated voiced counterparts are released and cannot occur word final position.
  • Sometimes, /{{IPA|pʰ, tʰ, kʰ, s}}/ are pronounced as /{{IPA|b, d, g, z}}/ respectively.
  • The consonants /{{IPA|b, d, m, n, ɾ, l}}/ can occur in all positions.
  • The consonants /{{IPA|pʰ, tʰ, kʰ, g, s, ɦ}}/ cannot appear at the end of indigenous Boro words but occur in loanwords.
  • The consonants /{{IPA|ŋ, j, w}}/ cannot appear at the beginning of words.

=Tones=

Since Boro is a tonal language, changes in tone affect the meaning:{{Cite book|title=Bodo-English Dictionary|last=Mochari|first=Moniram|publisher=The Bodo Catholic Youth Association|year=1985|location=Bengtol, Kokrajhar}}

class="wikitable"

|+Examples of high and low tone and difference in meaning

!High

!Meaning

!Low

!Meaning

Buh

| to beat

| Bu

| to swell

Hah

| mud, to be able

| Ha

| to cut

Hahm

| to get thin

| Ham

| to get well

Gwdwh

| to sink

| Gwdw

| past

Jah

| to eat

| Ja

| to be

Rahn

| to get dry

| Ran

| to divide

Grammar

=Sentence structure=

Sentences in Boro consist of either a "Subject + Verb" or a "Subject + Object + Verb".

class="wikitable"

|+Examples of sentences in Boro

!Subject + Verb

!Subject + Object + Verb

Ang mwnthiya

| Laimwn ah Apple jadwng

Nijwm ah undudwng

| Nwng wngkham jabai?

Ang fɯibai

| Ang nɯkhɯo mɯzang mɯnɯ

Vocabulary

=Numerals=

Bodo has a decimal system and counts to 10 with unique words, after which the number words combine to add to the larger number as shown in the chart below.{{Cite web|url=https://mpi-lingweb.shh.mpg.de/numeral/Bodo.htm|title=Sino-Tibetan Languages: Bodo|last=Brahma|first=Aleendra|date=2009|website=Numeral Systems of the World's Languages}}

class="wikitable"

|+Numerals in Boro and Garo language comparison

!Number

!In Boro

!In English

!In Garo (A.chikku)

0

| Latikho

|Zero

1

| Se

| One

| Sa

2

| Nwi

| Two

| Gni

3

| Tham

| Three

| Gittam

4

| Brwi

| Four

| Bri

5

| Ba

| Five

| Bonga

6

| Do

| Six

| Dok

7

| Sni

| Seven

| Sni

8

| Daen

| Eight

| Chet

9

| Gu

| Nine

| Sku

10

| Zi

| Ten

|Chikking

11

| Zi se

| Eleven

12

| Zi nwi

| Twelve

13

| Zi tham

| Thirteen

14

| Zi brwi

| Fourteen

15

| Zi ba

| Fifteen

16

| Zi do

| Sixteen

17

| Zi sni

| Seventeen

18

| Zi daen

| Eighteen

19

| Zi gu

|Nineteen

20

| Nwi zi

| Twenty

30

| Tham Zi

| Thirty

40

| Brwi Zi

| Forty

50

| Ba Zi

| Fifty

60

| Do Zi

| Sixty

70

| Sni Zi

| Seventy

80

| Daen Zi

| Eighty

90

| Gu Zi

| Ninety

100

| Zause/ Se zau

| One Hundred

200

| Nwi zau

| Two Hundred

300

| Tham zau

| Three Hundred

1,000

| Se Rwza

| One Thousand

2,000

| Nwi Rwza

| Two Thousand

10,000

| Zi Rwza

| Ten Thousand

Education

Boro is a compulsory subject till class 10 in tribal areas of Assam who do not want to study Assamese. The subject is mandatory in all schools including those under the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) and Kendriya Vidyalaya Sangathan (KVS). The legislation was passed in the assembly in August 2017.{{Cite news|url=http://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/assam-to-make-assamese-mandatory-till-class-10-bodo-bengali-options-for-some/story-waCJyVrdUoaxsnhgQPpmbK.html|title=Assam to make Assamese mandatory till Class 10; Bodo, Bengali options for some|date=2017-04-19|work=hindustantimes.com/|access-date=2017-05-04|language=en|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170422001854/http://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/assam-to-make-assamese-mandatory-till-class-10-bodo-bengali-options-for-some/story-waCJyVrdUoaxsnhgQPpmbK.html|archive-date=22 April 2017|df=dmy-all}}

Sample text

The following is a sample text in Boro, of Article 1 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, with a transliteration (IAST) and transcription (IPA).{{Cite web |title=Bodo language and alphabet |url=https://www.omniglot.com/writing/bodo.htm |access-date=2023-08-07 |website=www.omniglot.com}}

; Boro in Devanagari Script

: गासै सुबुं आनो उदांयै मान सनमान आरो मोनथाय लाना जोनोम लायो। बिसोरो मोजां- गाज्रि सान्नो हानाय गोहो आरो सोलो दं। बिसोरो गावखौनो गाव बिदा फंबाय बायदि बाहाय लायनांगौ।

; Transliteration (ISO 15919)

: Gāsai subuṁ āno udāṁyai mān sanmān āro monthāy lānā jonom lāyo. Bisorā mojāṁ-gājri sānno hānāy goho āro solo daṁ. Bisoro gāvkhauno gāv bidā phaṁbāy bāydi bāhāy lāynāṁgau.

; Boro in Latin script

: Gaswi subung anw udangwi man sanman arw mwnthai lana jwnwm layw. Biswrw mwjang-gajri sannw hanai gwhw arw swlw dong. Biswrw gaokhwunw gao bida phongbai baidi bahai lainangwu.

; Translation (grammatical)

: 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.

See also

Notes

{{reflist|2}}

References

{{refbegin}}

  • {{cite thesis |last=Bhattacharya |first=Pramod Chandra|date=1964 |title=A descriptive analysis of the Boro language |type=PhD |hdl=10603/66710}}
  • {{cite thesis |last=Brahma |first=Pratima|date=2014 |title=Phonology and morphology of Bodo and Dimasa: a comparative study |type=PhD |hdl=10603/21160}}
  • {{cite journal |last1=Das |first1=Kalyan |last2=Mahanta |first2=Sakuntala |title=Intonational phonology of Boro | journal=Glossa: A Journal of General Linguistics |volume=4 |issue=1 |year=2019 |doi=10.5334/gjgl.758|doi-access=free }}
  • {{cite journal |last1=Jaquesson |first1=François |translator-last=van Breugel |translator-first=Seino |year=2017 |title=The linguistic reconstruction of the past: The case of the Boro-Garo languages |journal=Linguistics of the Tibeto-Burman Area |volume=40 |issue=1 |pages=90–122 |doi=10.1075/ltba.40.1.04van }}
  • Perumalsamy, P (2016) Bodo in 'Linguistic Survey of India: West Bengal Volume, Part-I' New Delhi: Office of the Registrar General India pp 496–570 https://censusindia.gov.in/nada/index.php/catalog/34826
  • {{cite thesis |last=Sarmah |first=Priyankoo|date=2004 |title=Some Aspects of the Tonal Phonology of Bodo |type=MPhil |url=http://www.iitg.ac.in/priyankoo/personal/mphilthesis.pdf |access-date=2019-02-16}}
  • {{Cite journal| last = Sarmah| first=Satyendra Kumar| title =Script Movement Among the Bodo in Assam | journal= Proceedings of the Indian History Congress| volume=75 | year=2014| pages= 1335–1340| jstor=44158526 }}
  • {{Cite journal |last=Kiryu |first=Kazuyuki |date=2012 |title=Western Boro dialects in Nepal and northern West Bengal |url=https://www.academia.edu/78590940 |journal=美作大学紀要 |language=en |volume=45 |pages=9–18}}

{{refend}}

External links

{{Incubator|brx}}

  • [https://web.archive.org/web/20050907205229/http://www.iitg.ernet.in/rcilts/boro.htm Boro language]
  • [https://web.archive.org/web/20100803000435/http://ildc.in/bodo/boindex.aspx Bodo computing resources at TDIL]
  • [http://www.lisindia.net/Boro/Boro.html Language Information Service – India]
  • Linguistic Survey of India West Bengal VolumeI [https://www.censusindia.gov.in/2011-documents/lsi/lsi_wb/4%20INTRODUCTION&REPORTS.pdf]
  • [https://digital.library.unt.edu/explore/collections/BLR Boro Language Resource] collection of Boro language documentation in the Computational Resource for South Asian Languages (CoRSAL) archive
  • [https://catalog.paradisec.org.au/repository/BRX1 Bodo narratives and descriptions of traditional practices] collection in PARADISEC archive

{{Sino-Tibetan languages}}

{{Sal languages}}

{{Languages of Northeast India}}

{{Languages of India}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bodo Language}}

Category:Official languages of India

Category:Sal languages

Category:Official languages of Assam

Category:Languages written in Brahmic scripts

Category:Languages written in Devanagari