| Kauravi | |
|---|---|
| Khaṛībolī | |
| Native to | India |
| Region | Delhi, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh (Rohilkhand), Rajasthan, Uttarakhand |
Native speakers | 1,800,000 (2011 census)[1] Census results conflate some speakers with Hindi.[2] |
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-3 | – |
| Glottolog | None |
| Linguasphere | 59-AAF-qd |
 Khariboli Dialect Area in the northern subcontinent | |
Kauravi (Hindi: कौरवी, Urdu: کَوروی), also known as Khaṛībolī, is a dialect of Hindustani descended from Shauraseni Prakrit that is mainly spoken in northwestern Uttar Pradesh, outside of Delhi.
Modern Hindi and Urdu are two standard registers of Hindustani, descending from Old Hindi. Dehlavi, also called Hindavi, gained prestige when it was accepted along with Persian as a language of the courts. Before that, it was only a language the Persianate states (like Delhi Sultanate) spoke to their subjects in, and later as a sociolect of the same ruling classes.[3]
Modern Kauravi contains some features, such as gemination, which give it a distinctive sound and differentiates it from Braj and Awadhi. Old Hindi developed into Hindustani and then into today's Hindi and Urdu registers.[4][5]
- ^ "Statement 1: Abstract of speakers' strength of languages and mother tongues - 2011". www.censusindia.gov.in. Office of the Registrar General & Census Commissioner, India. Retrieved 7 July 2018.
- ^ "Census of India: Abstract of speakers' strength of languages and mother tongues –2001". censusindia.gov.in. Retrieved 16 July 2015.
- ^ Muzaffar, Alam (1998). "The pursuit of Persian: Language in Mughal Politics". Cambridge University Press. 32 (2): 317–349. doi:10.1017/s0026749x98002947.
- ^ Masica, Colin P. (2007). Old and New Perspectives on South Asian Languages: Grammar and Semantics. Motilal Banarsidass Publishers. p. 51. ISBN 978-81-208-3208-4.
Braj and Awadhi in early and middle stages preserve old case endings -hi, etc, while Khari Boli (Old Hindi) and Dakkhini seem to have lost these endings in the Apabhramsa period.
- ^ Matthews, David John; Shackle, C.; Husain, Shahanara (1985). Urdu literature. Urdu Markaz; Third World Foundation for Social and Economic Studies. ISBN 978-0-907962-30-4.
But with the establishment of Muslim rule in Delhi, it was the Old Hindi of this area which came to form the major partner with Persian. This variety of Hindi is called Khari Boli, 'the upright speech'.