Sirmauri language
{{Short description|Western Pahari language}}
{{Infobox language
| name = Sirmauri
| nativename = सिरमौरी
| states = India
| region = Himachal Pradesh
| ethnicity = Sirmauri people
| speakers = 107,401
| date = 2011 census
| familycolor = Indo-European
| fam2 = Indo-Iranian
| fam3 = Indo-Aryan
| fam4 = Northern
| fam5 = Western Pahari
| dia1 = Dharthi
| dia2 = Giripari
| iso3 = srx
| glotto = sirm1239
| glottorefname = Sirmauri
| script = Sirmauri script{{cite book |last=Grierson |first=George Abraham |author-link=George Abraham Grierson|date= |title=Linguistic Survey Of India, Volume 9.4 |url= |location= |publisher= |pages=458–459 |isbn=}}
| image = Sirmauri script example.png
| imagecaption = Sirmauri written in Sirmauri script.
}}
{{Contains special characters|Indic}}
Sirmauri is a Western Pahari language spoken in the Sirmaur district in the northern Indian state of Himachal Pradesh. Its two main varieties are Dharthi (also called Giriwari) and Giripari.
{{wiktionary category 2|Sirmauri language}}
Grammar
=Postpositions=
| class="wikitable"
|+Basic postpositions{{Cite web|url=http://www.languageinindia.com/jan2002/sirmauri.html|title=Language in India|website=www.languageinindia.com|access-date=2017-12-30}} !case !masculine !feminine !neuter |
| genitive
|/ra/ |/ree/ |/roo/ |
| locative
|/da/ |/dee/ |/doo/ |
| ablative
|/sa/ |/see/ |/soo/ |
Script
The native script of the language is called the Sirmauri script.{{cite book |last=Grierson |first=George Abraham |author-link=George Abraham Grierson|date= |title=Linguistic Survey Of India, Volume 9.4 |url= |location= |publisher= |pages=383–84, 458–59 |isbn=}} This script is under proposal to be encoded in Unicode.{{Cite web|title=Sirmauri Unicode|url=https://www.unicode.org/L2/L2018/18085-sirmauri.pdf}} It is locally known as Dhankari. Pabuuchi was a script used by a class of astrologers.
Status
The language is commonly called Pahari or Himachali. The language has no official status and is recorded as a dialect of Hindi.{{Cite web|title=Indian Language Census|url=https://censusindia.gov.in/2011Census/Language-2011/Statement-1.pdf}} According to the United Nations Education, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO), the language is in the critically endangered category, i.e. the youngest speakers of Sirmauri are generally grandparents or older and they too speak it infrequently or partially.{{Cite web|title=Endangered Language|date=15 April 2011|url=https://www.theguardian.com/news/datablog/2011/apr/15/language-extinct-endangered}} Earlier the language enjoyed some state patronage, but this ended after independence due to the government favoring Hindi more.
The demand for the inclusion of 'Pahari (Himachali)' under the Eight Schedule of the Constitution, which is supposed to represent multiple Pahari languages of Himachal Pradesh, was made in 2010 by the state's Vidhan Sabha.{{Cite news|title=Pahari Inclusion|work=Zee News|url=https://zeenews.india.com/news/himachal-pradesh/hp-for-inclusion-of-pahari-language-in-eighth-schedule_615857.html}} However, no positive progress on this matter has been made since then. Some small organisations are attempting to save the language.{{Cite news|title=Pahari Inclusion|work=The Statesman|url=https://www.thestatesman.com/cities/demand-for-pahari-as-language-in-8th-schedule-of-constitution-1479046804.html}}
References
{{reflist}}
{{Indo-Aryan languages}}
Category:Northern Indo-Aryan languages
Category:Languages of Himachal Pradesh
Category:Endangered languages of India
Category:Languages written in Devanagari
Category:Languages listed as Hindi dialects in latest census
{{IndoAryan-lang-stub}}