Bhumij language

Bhumij
ভূমিজ, ଭୁମିଜ୍, भूमिज, 𞗘𞗪𞗢𞗑𞗜𞗥𞗰
The word "Bhumij" in Ol Onal script
Native toJharkhand, Odisha, West Bengal, India
EthnicityBhumij people
Native speakers
27,506 (2011 census)
Austroasiatic
  • Munda
    • North Munda
      • Kherwarian
        • Mundaric
          • Bhumij
Ol Onal script
Others: Devanagari script, Odia script, Bengali script
Official status
Official language in
 India
Language codes
ISO 639-3–
unr-bhu
Glottologbhum1234  Bhumij
ELPBhumij
Distribution of Bhumij language in India
Bhumij is classified as Vulnerable by the UNESCO Atlas of the World's Languages in Danger[1]

Bhumij is an Austroasiatic language belonging to the Munda subfamily, related to Ho, Mundari, and Santali, primarily spoken by Bhumij peoples in the Indian states Jharkhand, Odisha and West Bengal.[2][3] As per the 2011 census, only 27,506 people out of 911,349 Bhumij people spoke Bhumij as their mother tongue, as most Bhumijas have shifted to one of the regional dominant languages.[4][5][6] Thus the language is considered an extremely endangered language.[7][8]

  1. ^ Moseley, Christopher; Nicolas, Alexander, eds. (2010). Atlas of the World's Languages in Danger (PDF) (3rd ed.). Paris: UNESCO. pp. 46–47. ISBN 978-92-3-104096-2. Archived from the original on 23 July 2022.
  2. ^ Parkin, Robert; Parkin, Visiting Lecturer Research Associate Robert (1991). A Guide to Austroasiatic Speakers and Their Languages. University of Hawaii Press. ISBN 978-0-8248-1377-2.
  3. ^ Anderson, Gregory D. S. (8 April 2015). The Munda Languages. Routledge. ISBN 978-1-317-82886-0.
  4. ^ "A-11 Individual Scheduled Tribe Primary Census Abstract Data and its Appendix". censusindia.gov.in. Office of the Registrar General & Census Commissioner, India. Retrieved 18 November 2017.
  5. ^ "Statement 1: Abstract of speakers' strength of languages and mother tongues – 2011" (PDF). www.censusindia.gov.in. Office of the Registrar General & Census Commissioner, India. Archived from the original (PDF) on 19 April 2022. Retrieved 7 July 2018.
  6. ^ Linguistic Survey of India. Office of the superintendent of government printing, India. 1906.
  7. ^ "Did you know Bhumij is at risk?". Endangered Languages. Retrieved 22 September 2022.
  8. ^ Abbi, Anvita (1997). Languages of Tribal and Indigenous Peoples of India: The Ethnic Space. Motilal Banarsidass Publishers. ISBN 978-81-208-1374-8.