Editing Saurashtra language (section)

{{Short description|Indo-Aryan language spoken in India}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2021}}
{{Use Indian English|date=February 2018}}
{{Infobox language
| name = Saurashtra
| nativename = {{Script|Saur|ꢱꣃꢬꢵꢰ꣄ꢜ꣄ꢬ ꢩꢵꢰꢵ}}<br />சௌராட்டிர மொழி<br />సౌరాష్ట్ర భాష<br />सौराष्ट्र भाषा<br />ಸೌರಾಷ್ಟ್ರ ಭಾಷೆ
| pronunciation = 
| states = [[India]]
| region = [[Tamil Nadu]], [[Andhra Pradesh]], [[Karnataka]]
| ethnicity = [[Saurashtra people|Saurashtrians]]
| speakers = 247,702
| date = 2011 census
| ref =<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.censusindia.gov.in/2011Census/Language_MTs.html|title=Statement 1: Abstract of speakers' strength of languages and mother tongues – 2011|publisher=Office of the Registrar General & Census Commissioner, India|website=www.censusindia.gov.in|access-date=7 July 2018}}</ref>
| familycolor = Indo-European
| fam2 = [[Indo-Iranian languages|Indo-Iranian]]
| fam3 = [[Indo-Aryan languages|Indo-Aryan]]
| fam4 = [[Western Indo-Aryan languages|Western Indo-Aryan]]
| fam5 = [[Gujarati languages|Gujarati]]
| ancestor = [[Sauraseni Prakrit]]
| dia1 = Northern Saurashtra
| dia2 = Southern Saurashtra
| script = [[Saurashtra script]] ([[Brahmic scripts|Brahmic]]) <br /> [[Tamil script]] <br /> [[Telugu script]] <br /> [[Devanagari script]] <br /> [[Latin script]]
| iso3 = saz
| image = Saurashtra Script.svg
| imagescale =
| imagecaption = Word "Saurashtra" in [[Saurashtra alphabet|Saurashtra Script]]
| notice = Indic
| glotto = saur1248
| glottorefname = Saurashtra
}}
'''Saurashtra''' ([[Saurashtra script]]: {{Script|Saur|{{Lang|saz|ꢱꣃꢬꢵꢰ꣄ꢜ꣄ꢬ ꢩꢵꢰꢵ}}}}, [[Tamil script]]: சௌராட்டிர மொழி, [[Devanagari script]]: सौराष्ट्र भाषा) is an [[Indo-Aryan languages|Indo-Aryan language]] spoken primarily by the [[Saurashtra people|Saurashtrians]] of [[Southern India]] who migrated from the [[Lata (region)|Lata region]] of present-day [[Gujarat]] to south of [[Vindhyas]] in the [[Medieval India|Middle Ages]].

Saurashtra, an offshoot of [[Sauraseni Prakrit]],<ref name=":0">{{Cite news|url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Gujarat-weavers-who-settled-in-Madurai-centuries-ago-brought-with-them-a-unique-language/articleshow/52927461.cms|title=Gujaratis who settled in Madurai centuries ago brought with them a unique language – Times of India|last=Paul John|first=Vijaysinh Parmar|date=2016|work=The Times of India|access-date=15 April 2018}}</ref> once spoken in the [[Saurashtra (region)|Saurashtra region]] of [[Gujarat]], is now chiefly spoken in various places of [[Tamil Nadu]] and are mostly concentrated in [[Madurai]], [[Thanjavur]] and [[Salem, Tamil Nadu|Salem]] [[Districts of India|Districts]].<ref name=":2" />

The language has its own script of the same name, but is also written in the [[Tamil script|Tamil]], [[Telugu script|Telugu]], and [[Devanagari]] scripts. The [[Saurashtra script]] is of [[Brahmi script|Brahmic]] origin, although its exact derivation is not known. Unlike most of the surrounding [[Dravidian languages]], Saurashtra is [[Indo-European languages|Indo-European]]. There is some debate amongst speakers of the Saurashtra language as to which script is best suited to the language.<ref name="ScriptSource">{{cite web|title=Script Description [Saurashtra]|url=http://scriptsource.org/cms/scripts/page.php?item_id=entry_detail&uid=ypnsb92h4z|publisher=ScriptSource|access-date=16 April 2018}} [[File:CC-BY-SA icon.svg|50px]] Material was copied from this source, which is available under a [https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/ Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported] license.</ref> Census of India places the language under [[Gujarati languages|Gujarati]]. Official figures show the number of speakers as 247,702 (2011 census).<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.censusindia.gov.in/2011Census/Language_MTs.html|title=Statement 1: Abstract of speakers' strength of languages and mother tongues – 2011|publisher=Office of the Registrar General & Census Commissioner, India|website=www.censusindia.gov.in|access-date=7 July 2018}}</ref>