Editing Awadhi language (section)

== Classification ==
[[File:Awadhi classification.png|alt=|thumb|Linguistic classification of Awadhi language.]]

Awadhi is an [[Indo-European languages|Indo-European language]] and belongs to the [[Indo-Aryan languages|Indo-Aryan]] sub-group of the [[Indo-Iranian languages|Indo-Iranian]] language family. Within the Indo-Aryan [[dialect continuum]], it falls under the East-Central zone of languages and is often recognised as Eastern-Hindi. It is generally believed that an older form of [[Ardhamagadhi Prakrit|Ardhamagadhi]], which agreed partly with [[Shauraseni language|Sauraseni]] and partly with [[Magadhi Prakrit]], could be the basis of Awadhi.<ref name="auto">{{Harvcoltxt|Grierson|1904|p=2}}</ref>

The closest relative of Awadhi is the [[Bagheli language]] as genealogically both descend from the same 'Ardha-Magadhi'. Most early Indian linguists regarded Bagheli merely as 'the southern form of Awadhi', but recent studies accept Bagheli as a separate dialect at par with Awadhi and not merely a sub-dialect of it.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=__DaXf3XedoC|title=Patterns of Regional Geography: Indian perspective|last=Mandal|first=R. B.|date=1990|publisher=Concept Publishing Company|isbn=978-81-7022-291-0|pages=127–129|language=en}}</ref>