06-01-025

CHHATTSGAH.

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　Finally, the following are the figures for the Surguji sub-dialect:-

　Besides the above, six broken dialects, as named below, are spoken in Chhattisgarh and the neighbouring Feudatory States by aborigines who have forsaken their ancestral tongues, and try to speak the language of their Aryan-speaking neighbours. These are rather jargons than dialects, and it will be understood that the correctness of the Chhattsgah depends a great deal upon the personal equation of each speaker. The following are these broken dialects:-

Name of dialect.	Where spoken.	Number of speakers.
Sadr Korw...	Jashpur...	4,000
Baign...	Balaghat, Raipur, Bilaspur, Sambalpur, State Kawardha.	7,100
Binjhwr...	Raipur, States Raigarh, Sarangarh, Patna.	9,662
Kalag...	State Patna...	600
Bhuli...	States Sonpur, Patna...	13,560
	TOTAL.	34,922

　With reference to the above, it is necessary to explain that the term 'Sadr' is used in this part of India to imply the form which an Aryan language takes in the mouth of an aborigine. Thus, Sadr Korw means the form which the local Aryan language, in this case Surguji, takes in the mouth of a Korw. Similarly, the Sadr Kl of Bamra means the form which an Aryan language, in this case the Kuml sub-dialect of Magah, takes in the mouth of a Kl.

　Two dialects have been inserted in the above list which have not hitherto been classed as Chhattsgah, viz., Kalag and Bhuli. They have hitherto been classed as dialects of Oiy. They are both clearly forms of Chhattsgah. Kalag and Bhuli, when written, are written in the Oiya character. Four dialects, which were originally classed as forms of Chhattsgah, have been removed from the list. They are Halab, Bastar, Bhunji, and Sadr Kl. An examination of the specimens of Halab shows that it is, rather, a mixture of Chhattsgah, Oiy, and Marh, and can most conveniently be considered in connexion with the last-named language. Bastar and Bhunji are only other names of Halab. On the other hand, Sadr Kl, which is only returned from the Bamra State, is a form of Bihr spoken by aboiginal tribes. It is identical with the Kuml sub-dialect of Magah spoken in the Manbhum District. It is a curious little island of Bihr in the midst of an Oiy-speaking population.

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