Bhojpuri — a language of two states and many countries

In India — western Bihar (Bhojpur, Buxar, Rohtas, Kaimur, Saran, Siwan, Gopalganj, the two Champarans) and eastern Uttar Pradesh (Varanasi, Ghazipur, Ballia, Deoria, Gorakhpur, Azamgarh and their neighbours), with pockets in Jharkhand. Tens of millions speak it, though the census counts them under Hindi.

Abroad — carried by indentured labourers in the 19th century to Mauritius, Guyana, Trinidad, Suriname, Fiji and South Africa. In Mauritius it is still spoken at home and taught in schools, and the island's Bhojpuri wedding songs, Geet-Gawai, were placed on UNESCO's list of Intangible Cultural Heritage in 2016.

Its family — an eastern Indo-Aryan language from Māgadhī Apabhraṃśa; Grierson grouped it with Maithili and Magahi as Bihari. It is the westernmost of the three, and the most influenced by Hindi.

Script — formerly Kaithi, today Devanagari.

Status — not yet in the Eighth Schedule; the demand for inclusion is a long-standing one.

The trap: Bhojpuri has more speakers than Maithili, yet it is Maithili that the Eighth Schedule includes (since 2003) — Bhojpuri is not yet listed.

Nouns — the definite -वा, the plural, the case-markers

The suffix -वा — Bhojpuri adds -वा (or -आ) to a noun to make it definite or familiar, much like English 'the':

The plural — -न on nouns for people (लइकन — the boys), or a following word: सब, लोग.

Case-markers

The genitive — as in Maithili, one form serves whatever the gender of the thing owned: राम के भाई, राम के बहिन.

The trap: the -वा in लइकवा is not a plural — it marks a particular, known boy; the plural is लइकन.

Pronouns, respect and the question words

Questions

Greetings in use

• ›'रउआ कइसन बानी?' — How are you? (respectful)
• ›'हम ठीक बानी।' — I am well.
• ›'का हाल बा?' — How are things?

The trap: रउआ is the respectful 'you' and takes the verb बानी — the same form as 'I' (हम बानी), not the third-person बा.

Verbs — the copula and the three tenses

'To be' — बा and its forms

Present continuous — 'हम जात बानी' (I am going) · 'ऊ जात बा' (he or she is going) · 'तू जात बाड़ऽ'

Past — 'हम गइनी' (I went) · 'ऊ गइल' · 'तू गइलऽ'

Future — 'हम जाइब' (I will go) · 'तू जइबऽ' · 'ऊ जाई'

Eastern markers shared with Maithili and Magahi — a past built on -ल (गइल) and a future on -ब (जाइब); Hindi has neither.

The final ऽ — Bhojpuri writing puts ऽ at the end of forms like बाड़ऽ, जइबऽ, बोलावऽ to show that the final short vowel is pronounced, not dropped as in Hindi.

The trap: Bhojpuri's 'हम जाइब' means 'I will go' — the -ब future — while 'हम गइनी' is the past; the Hindi-looking 'जात' appears only in the present.

Points to Remember

• ›spoken in western Bihar (Bhojpur, Buxar, Rohtas, Kaimur, Saran, Siwan, Gopalganj, Champaran) and eastern UP; pockets in Jharkhand
• ›diaspora — Mauritius, Guyana, Trinidad, Suriname, Fiji, South Africa · Geet-Gawai — UNESCO, 2016
• ›Māgadhī Apabhraṃśa; Grierson's Bihari; the westernmost of the three · script — Kaithi, now Devanagari
• ›not in the Eighth Schedule (Maithili is, since 2003)
• ›-वा — definite: लइकवा, घोड़वा · plural लइकन, सब, लोग
• ›case-markers — के (to, of), से, में, पर, खातिर (for) · genitive never changes
• ›pronouns — हम / हमनी; तू; रउआ (respectful); ऊ / ऊहाँ के · possessive हमार, तोहार, राउर, ओकर, उनकर
• ›questions — का, के, कहाँ, कब, काहे, कइसे
• ›copula — बानी (हम, रउआ), बाड़ऽ (तू), बा (ऊ) · past रहनी, रहे
• ›tenses — जात बानी (present) · गइनी / गइल (past) · जाइब (future)
• ›ऽ — final vowel pronounced (बाड़ऽ, जइबऽ)
• ›Exam tip: to tell Bhojpuri from Maithili in a passage, look at the copula — बा / बानी is Bhojpuri, अछि / छी is Maithili