Western Hindi languages


The Western Hindi languages, are a branch of the Indo-Aryan language family spoken chiefly in Haryana, Western Uttar Pradesh and Bundelkhand region of Madhya Pradesh, in Northwest and Central India. The Western Hindi languages evolved from Sauraseni Prakrit. The most-spoken language in the Western Hindi language family is Standard Hindi, one of the official languages of the Government of India and one of the 22 Scheduled Languages of India.

Geographical extent

Western Hindi languages are much more widespread and spoken than their Eastern counterpart. Western Hindi languages are spoken in India and Pakistan. In India, it is chiefly spoken in Western Uttar Pradesh, in the Bundelkhand region and the Braj region and in pockets of the Deccan region. In Pakistan, it is spoken by Muhajirs. Apart from this, Hindustani forms the lingua franca in a large region in Pakistan and North India and the trade language in Andaman and Arunachal Pradesh. A version of Hindustani heavily influenced by Magadhi, Maithili and Bhojpuri, called Bihari Hindi is spoken in Patna and some other urban areas in Bihar. Another version influenced by Marathi, called Bombay Hindi is spoken in Mumbai and neighbouring urban regions in Maharashtra.

Languages and dialects