Editing Awadhi language (section)

{{short description|Indo-Aryan language}}
{{Use Indian English|date=August 2021}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=February 2022}}
{{Infobox language
| name             = Awadhi
| nativename       = अवधी · 𑂃𑂫𑂡𑂲
| states           = [[India]] and [[Nepal]]
| region           = [[Awadh]]
| ethnicity        = [[Awadhi people|Awadhis]]
| speakers         = {{sigfig|38.50906|3}} million in India
| date             = 2011
| ref              = <ref>{{cite web |url= https://www.dnaindia.com/analysis/column-the-slow-death-of-bhojpuri-and-awadhi-2122062|title=The Slow Death of Awadhi and Bhojpuri}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url= https://www.omniglot.com/writing/awadhi.htm|title=Omniglot — Awadhi (अवधी)}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url= https://www.bignewsnetwork.com/news/270676192/awadhi-language-is-grouped-as-mother-tongue-under-hindi|title='Awadhi language is grouped as mother tongue under Hindi' says Minister of State for Home Affairs}}</ref>
| familycolor      = Indo-European
| fam2             = [[Indo-Iranian languages|Indo-Iranian]]
| fam3             = [[Indo-Aryan languages|Indo-Aryan]]
| fam4             = [[Central Indo-Aryan languages|Central Indo-Aryan]]
| fam5             = [[Eastern Hindi languages|Eastern Hindi]]
| script           = {{unbulleted list
|[[Devanagari]] (current)
|[[Kaithi]] (historical)
|[[Perso-Arabic script|Perso-Arabic]]
|[[Latin script|Latin-Roman]]
}}
| ancestor         = [[Ardhamagadhi Prakrit]]
| ancestor2        = [[Apabhraṃśa|Ardhamagadhi Apabhraṃśa]]
| iso2             = awa
| iso3             = awa
| glotto           = awad1243
| glottorefname    = Awadhi
| lingua           = 59-AAF-ra
| notice           = IPA
| dia1             = Pardesi
| dia2             = [[Gangapari]]
| dia3             = Uttari
| dia4             = [[Mirzapuri]]
| dia5             = [[Caribbean Hindustani]]
| pronunciation    = {{IPA|hi|əʋ.d̪ʱi|}}
| map              = Awadhi_language.png
| mapcaption       = Regions Of India And Nepal Where Awadhi  is spoken
| nation           = {{FIJ}} {{small|(as [[Fiji Hindi]])}}
| altname          = {{IAST2|''Avadhī''}}
| image            = Awadhi language.svg
| imagecaption     = The word "Awadhi" written in Devanagari script
| dia6             = [[Fiji Hindi]]
| glotto2          = gang1265
| glottoname2      = Gangapari
| glotto3          = mirz1238
| glottoname3      = Mirzapuri
| glotto4          = utta1238
| glottoname4      = Uttari
}}
{{Contains special characters|Indic}}

'''Awadhi''',{{efn|({{IPA|hi|əʋ.d̪ʱi}}; [[Devanagari]]: अवधी, [[Kaithi]]: 𑂃𑂫𑂡𑂲)}} also known as '''Audhi''',{{efn|<ref>{{cite book |last=Oldenburg |first=Veena Talwar |author-link= |date= |title=The Making of Colonial Lucknow, 1856–1877 |url= |location= |publisher=Princeton University Press |page=5 |isbn=}}</ref> ({{lang|hi|औधी}}, 𑂌𑂡𑂲)}} is an [[Indo-Aryan language]] belonging to the [[Indo-Iranian languages|Indo-Iranian]] subdivision of the [[Indo-European]] languages. It is spoken in the [[Awadh]] region of [[Uttar Pradesh]] in northern [[India]] and in [[Terai|Terai region]] of western [[Nepal]].<ref name=":5">{{Cite web |last=Meaning |first=Nepali |date=2023-08-12 |title=Origin, Structure, Development, and Situation of Awadhi Language in Nepal - Nepali Meaning |url=https://nepalimeaning.com/origin-structure-development-and-situation-of-awadhi-language-in-nepal/ |access-date=2024-02-04 |website=nepalimeaning.com |language=en-US}}</ref><ref name=":0">{{Harvcoltxt|Saxena|1971|p=1}}</ref><ref>{{Harvcoltxt|Grierson|1904|p=1}}</ref> The name ''Awadh'' is connected to [[Ayodhya]], the ancient city, which is regarded as the homeland of the [[Hinduism|Hindu]] deity [[Rama]], the earthly [[avatar]] of [[Vishnu]]. Awadhi is also widely spoken by the diaspora of Indians descended from those who left as [[Indian indenture system|indentured laborers]] during the colonial era. Along with [[Braj Bhasha|Braj]], it was used widely as a literary vehicle before being displaced by [[Hindi]] in the 19th century. Though distinct from standard Hindi, it continues to be spoken today in its unique form in many districts of central and east [[Uttar Pradesh]].<ref name=":2">{{Harvcoltxt|Saxena|1971|p=6}}</ref>

The Indian government considers Awadhi to be a greater mother-tongue grouped under [[Eastern Hindi languages]]. Standard Hindi serves as the [[lingua franca]]<ref name="fulllangdatacensus 2011">{{cite web |last=Kawoosa |first=Vijdan Mohammad |date=22 November 2018 |title=How languages intersect in India |url=https://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/how-languagesintersect-in-india/story-g3nzNwFppYV7XvCumRzlYL.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221015014438/https://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/how-languagesintersect-in-india/story-g3nzNwFppYV7XvCumRzlYL.html |archive-date=Oct 15, 2022 |publisher=Hindustan Times}}</ref> of the region; [[Hindi]], rather than Awadhi, is used for school instruction as well as administrative and official purposes and its literature falls within the scope of [[Hindi literature]].<ref>{{Harvcoltxt|Masica|1993|p=9}}- A vast central portion of the subcontinent, consisting of the Indian states of Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Haryana, and Himachal Pradesh, plus the Union Territory of Delhi, is known as the "HINDI area", because the official and general written language, that is to say, that of administration, press, school instruction, and modern literature, is Hindi, sometimes called MODERN STANDARD HINDI, and the whole area is heir to the "Hindi literary tradition" – Hindi being used here in a different and wider sense, to refer to pre-modern literature in Braj and Awadhi, and often to those languages proper to Rajasthan and Bihar as well</ref> Some of the most culturally significant works in Indian literature like the ''[[Ramcharitmanas]]'' and ''[[Hanuman Chalisa]]'' have been written in Awadhi.

Alternative names of Awadhi include ''Baiswāri'' (after the subregion of [[Baiswara]]),<ref>{{Harvcoltxt|Grierson|1904|p=10}}</ref> as well as the sometimes ambiguous ''Pūrbī'', literally meaning "eastern", and ''Kōsalī'' (named after the ancient [[Kosala|Kosala Kingdom]]).<ref name=":0" />