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BROKEN DIALECTS OF THE EAST.
In the eastern part of the Central Provinces Marh
is surrounded by Chhatt
sga
h
and other dialects of Eastern Hind
in the north, and by G
and other aboriginal forms of speech in the south. There are no intermediary
dialects connecting Mar
h
with any of these dialects.
Farther to the east we find another Aryan language, Oiy
. A dialect
of this language, Bhatr
, is spoken in the Bastar State, and forms a kind
of connecting link between O
iy
and the language of the central portion
of Bastar. This latter is known as Hal
b
, and is a curious mixture of
O
iy
, Chhatt
sga
h
, and Mar
h
. Some minor dialects
in Raipur and Kanker, such as Bhunji
, N
har
, and Kam
r
, have
several points of analogy with Hal
b
, of which language the two former
may be considered as sub-dialects. The revised figures for all these forms of
speech are as follows:-
Hal![]() ![]() |
104,971
|
Bhunji![]() |
2,000
|
N![]() ![]() |
482
|
Kam![]() ![]() |
3,743
|
TOTAL.
|
111,196
|
These dialects are the only one which can claim to be intermediary between
Marh
and O
iy
. The remarks which follow will, however, show
that they are not organic links, but merely mechanical mixtures of all the Aryan
languages which meet in the eastern part of the Central Provinces.
HALB
.
The Halbas are one of the principal tribes of the Baster and Kanker States. In Bastar they are chiefly found in the central part of the district, from the eastern frontier westwards. They are also found in the north-west, on the frontier towards Kanker, and farther into this latter State. Halbas have also settled in Bhandara, the eastern portion of Chanda, and Raipur.
Outside the Central Provinces Halbas were returned at the Census of 1891 from
the Jeypore zamindari of Madras (1,887) and from Berar (2,841). In Madras they
are classed as a sub-division of the Gs.
In Berar they are weavers, and most of them are found in Ellichpur.
Halb
, the dialect of the Halbas, has only been returned for this Survey
from the Central Provinces. A specimen has, however, been forwarded from Berar.
It differs from the other Hal
b
specimens, and it will therefore be separately
dealt with.
The number of speakers in the Central Provinces has been estimated for this Survey as follows:-
Bastar... |
96,181
|
Kanker... |
5,000
|
Chanda... |
3,500
|
Bhandara... |
150
|
Raipur... |
140
|
TOTAL.
|
104,971
|