Garhwali
is the main language spoken in Garhwal. It is one of the
languages of the central Pahari
language group of the Himalaya. Lan-
guages of this group are spoken
in the eastern parts of Himachal Pradesh and Garhwal. In turn, Garhwali
has a number of dialects which are variations of the main language---
-- Jaunsari of the people of Jaunsar-Babar
and the adjoining tracts
-- Marchi or Bhotia dialect of the
Marchas
-- Jadhi or dialect of parts of
Uttarkashi
-- Sailani or dialect of parts of
Tehri.
Influence of Other Languages and
Dialects
Many languages and dialects have
had an effect on the Garhwali
language. These are:
1. Bhotia dialect
of Tibet and China Sanskrit, or Hindi, or Hindustani, that is spoken in
the areas to the south of Garhwal.
3. Kumaoni and Nepali
spoken in the area to the east of Garhwal.
4. Languages and dialects
of the western Pahari group that is
spoken by the people living in the
adjoining tracts of Himachal Pradesh.
The influence of these languages
and dialects have been found on
the Garhwali language because the
people speaking them have moved
across the borders of various regions
and settled in Garhwal. In turn,
the peopie of Garhwal, too, have
moved to these areas picking up influences of the language spoken there,
gradually incorporating them into Garhwali.
Origin of Garhwali
Garhwali is believed to have originated
due to any or a combina-
tion of the factors below:
a) Sauraseni Prakrit, which
is also considered to be the source of
Rajasthani and Brij bhasha
b) Western or central Pahari language
c) Sanskrit or its variations
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