Brief Profile- Gondi Language

1) Introduction

Gonda(​Koytor)​ language belongs to the Dravidian language family and it is

in ​South-Central Dravidian(SCDr)​ subgroup. ​It's also known by various
names at different places, viz. GonDi, RajgonDi, Muriya Gondi, Dorli, Koya,
etc.​[6]​ ​As according to the 2011 census, It is spoken by about​ 2.98 million
people​, mostly belonging to Gonda community. It is the language of the
largest forest-dwelling tribal group in India, the Gonds.​[5]​ It is spoken ​chiefly
in the states of ​Madhya Pradesh​, ​Gujarat​, ​Telangana​, ​Maharashtra​,
Chhattisgarh​, ​Andhra Pradesh​ ​and in various adjoining areas of
neighbouring states.​[1]

2) Historical Background

It is the language of Koya or koithoor race of central India and surrounding

areas. The language finds its existence since the pre-Indus Valley
civilisation. It did not get constitutional recognition because the Gond
community strongly opposed EIC and feudal lords, thus to paralyse their
growth their language was neglected.​[2]
Gondi has a ​rich folk literature​, examples of which are marriage songs
and narrations.​[1]

3) Peculiar Features/Characteristics

It is ​not a written ​language​(means are written by a very few people) and

as such has no well-attested history before European colonization of the
region, which began in the late 18th century.​[4]
One interesting fact about this language is that​ ​it is spoken by two million
people across multiple States, has six different dialects, a rich folk tradition,
but ​can be written by only 100 people​.[3] ​
Gondi has more speakers than many official languages listed in the Eighth
Schedule of the Constitution. Despite so many ​people ​speaking the
language, Gondi is now in the ​‘vulnerable’​ category on Unesco’s Atlas of
the World’s Languages in Danger.​[3]
Gondi has a ​two-gender system​, ​substantives​ being either masculine or
nonmasculine. Gondi departed from the parent Proto-Dravidian language
by developing initial voiced ​stops​ (​g,​ ​j​, ​ḍ, ​d​, ​b​) and aspirated stops (​gh​, ​jh​,
ḍh, ​dh,​ ​bh)​ .​[1]

4) Number of Speakers

The 2011 census says that the total population of the Gond tribe in the
country is 11,344,629. However, the total Gondi speaking population,
according to it, is 2,713,790​[5]​, i.e. ​only one-fifth of Gonds​ can speak the
language, making it vulnerable to extinction.​[1]
But according to Gond community leaders and observers,​ the actual
numbers could be much higher,​ given the fact that huge concentrations
of Gondi-speaking people are located in the Naxalite-affected areas of
Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Chhattisgarh and Andhra Pradesh; ​in
most of these areas, no census is taking place​.[5] ​

5) Dialects and similarity with other languages

Gondi’s has a number of dialects and can be majorly divided into 2 groups:
mainly northwest and southeast regional dialect​.​[8]
The treatment of the original initial ‘s’ is preserved in northern and western
Gondi, while farther to the south and east it has been changed to ‘h’; in
some other dialects it has been lost completely. ​Other dialectal variations in
the Gondi language are the alteration of initial ​r​ with initial ​l​ and a change of
e​ and ​o​ to ​a​.[1]
​

Koya​, sometimes described as a dialect of Gondi​[7]​, has ​close relations to

southeastern Gondi​ dialects. [8] ​
One person on Quora, who claimed that Gondi is his mother tongue, has
even said that - K ​ oya and Gondi languages are 90% similar but not exactly same.​ [9]
​
Gondi also ​shares a number of characteristics with Telugu in
phonology, morphology and syntax​.[6] ​ ​It is similar with ​not only​ ​Telugu
​
but also Tamil​.[10]
Gondi, as spoken today, is heavily influenced by the other local languages
spoken in the respective states. For instance, the Gondi spoken in Andhra
Pradesh is known colloquially as ​“Telugu Gondi”​ and that spoken in
Maharashtra is known as ​“Marathi Gondi”​ because of the influence of
these languages on the particular dialect of Gondi spoken in these areas.​[5]

Hence, ​yet, there is no one standardised Gondi language that unifies them
all. Different versions and dialects exist, specific to the geographical areas
that they reside in, with influences of the regional languages seeping in.​[10]

6) Script

Gondi writing can be split into two categories: that using non-native scripts
and that using native scripts.
Due to lack of a widespread native script, Gondi has been traditionally
written in ​Devanagari​ and ​Telugu script​.
Native scripts also exist. This unique Gondi script, which is perhaps the
only script in the country besides Urdu which is written right to left, also has
three or four versions. Another unique quality of the script is that in the
northern and central parts of India, it is the only language, barring Gujarati,
which has a script of its own.​[5]
Masaram Gondi script ​-​ ​A ​Gond​ by the name of Munshi Mangal Singh
Masaram designed a Brahmi-based script in 1918, ​however, this script is
not widely used, even though a few publications have been made available
by his followers and supporters.​[11]
Gunjala Gondi Lipi ​- Very recently, a native script that dates up to 1750
has been discovered by a group of researchers from the University of
Hyderabad.​[11]​ Its discoverers believe that the discovery of the script had
even made the Gonds rediscover their old pride and self-respect.
Discovered manuscripts have been dated up to 1750, and discuss
information from as early as the 6th-7th centuries. Much of the information
reveals independence initiatives by the Gond Rajas and encounters with
the British. Also, the names of the days of the week, the months, the Gond
festivals have been discovered in this Gondi script.​[12]

Nonetheless, most Gonds are illiterate and do not use any script. ​The
Gunjala Gondi Lipi​ has witnessed a surge in prominence, and
well-supported efforts are being undertaken in villages of northern ​Andhra
Pradesh​ to widen its usage​.

7) Grammar- Gender and Number

Gender: The masculine gender in Gondi is used simply for the name of
males, all other objects may be spoken of as neuter of the feminine.
Number: There are 2 numbers, singular and plural, dual doe not exist in
Gondi.​[13]

8) Socio-political, Socio-linguistic Issues

The Gond community is also disconnected from the administration as no

information on governance was disseminated in its language. There has
been a communication breakdown between the administration and the
​
Adivasis. They feel that no one wants to listen to them. [10]
Due to government neglect, Gondi script is falling into disuse. For example,
in Karnataka, the Gondi spoken in Bengaluru districts of Karnataka by
nomadic Rajgonds have come to be regarded as a dialect of Kannada,
because the people have switched to using the Kannada script.​[5]
In the absence of standardisation, the variations in dialect make it difficult
for Gondi speakers from different regions to communicate with one
another. So, even people who speak the same Gondi language can’t
understand each other.
Of the six States, some have been more proactive in promoting Gondi. In
the Telugu-speaking regions, there has been a lot of work in the Gondi
language. But a major issue is that Gondi has been developed separately
in each place with no Central coordination. In each place, the dialect has
been influenced by the dominant State language.​[5]

9) Recent Initiatives

With all these hurdles, people of Gonda community have been proactiv in
preserving their language.
(i) Books on Gondi alphabet, grammar and usage have appeared, and a
few dictionaries have also been compiled.​[5]
(ii) A school, and temple like structure for ‘reverence’ of the Gondi script,
have been made.​[12]
(iii) First Gondi dictionary of over 3,000 words to help bridge administrative
gaps has been developed. It will also standardise the language and bridge
communication gap between various dialects of Gondi making their
community stronger.​[10]

People of Gonda community believe that the government’s efforts have to

be even more urgent in the conflicted regions the Gondi tribes inhabit, over
and beyond the cultural need of preserving songs, folk tales and more that
the tribe has been handing down orally till date.​[3]
Citations:

[1]: Wikipedia, Gondi Language,

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gondi_language

[2]: Paper: Saumya Sharma, ​UNETHICAL TO CALL GONDI LANGUAGE

AS THE LINGUA FRANCA OF MAOISTS.
https://www.academia.edu/20617388/UNETHICAL_TO_CALL_GONDI_LA
NGUAGE_AS_THE_LINGUA_FRANCA_OF_MAOISTS

[3]: ​Article: This Indian language can be written by only 100 people, The
Hindu, March 31st, 2018.
https://www.thehindu.com/society/this-indian-language-can-be-written-by-o
nly-100-people/article23384526.ece

[4]: Encyclopedia Britannica, Gondi Language.

https://www.britannica.com/topic/Gondi-language

[5]: Article: ​Gondi language- victim of government neglect, Down to Earth,

4th July 2015
https://www.downtoearth.org.in/news/gondi-language-victim-of-government
-neglect-46707

[6]: ​Uma Maheshwar G​, Quora Answer: Is there anybody on Quora who
can speak Gondi language? What are some similarities and differences it
has with Telugu?
https://www.quora.com/Is-there-anybody-on-Quora-who-can-speak-Gondi-l
anguage-What-are-some-similarities-and-differences-it-has-with-Telugu

[7]: Wikipedia article- Koya Language

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Koya_language
[8]: Dravidian additional reading material- Scanned Notes(ENG 448)

[9]: ​Bheem Rao Bhadshaw​, Quora Answer: Is there anybody on Quora who
can speak Gondi language? What are some similarities and differences it
has with Telugu?
https://www.quora.com/Is-there-anybody-on-Quora-who-can-speak-Gondi-l
anguage-What-are-some-similarities-and-differences-it-has-with-Telugu

[10]: Article: ​First Gondi dictionary of over 3,000 words to help bridge
administrative gaps​, ​Livemint, Updated: 26 Mar 2018
https://www.livemint.com/Politics/CedDmXJQTHYEFHWGUGRRFO/First-
Gondi-dictionary-of-over-3000-words-to-help-bridge-ad.html

[11]: Wikipedia Article- Gondi writing

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gondi_writing

[12]: Article: ​Chance discovery of Gondi script opens new vistas of tribal
culture, The Hindu, January 30, 2013
https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/andhra-pradesh/chance-discovery
-of-gondi-script-opens-new-vistas-of-tribal-culture/article4359780.ece

[13]: ​Gondi grammar and vocabulary, by ​Williamson, Henry Drummond,

1854-1926
https://archive.org/details/gondigrammarvoca00willrich/page/n3