Hello everyone!
I have recently developed an interest in Kutchi, cos of my boyfriend. It’s a very interesting “Boli” ‘cos of the lovely way it combines so many languages. I love the way it sounds… Another reason why I find it fascinating is that I am training to become a Linguist. My linguist mind won’t leave me alone and I have some questions which keep coming back to my mind all the time. Would any native speakers help me with answers?
Oh, btw… I am Purnima, and am a native speaker of Marathi.
– Purnima
Purnima what are your questions? And where do you currently reside? (India or USA)
Your Comment: Hi Prashant, I currently reside in the U.S. Like I said I am studying here. Am a linguistics student in NYC. I have a number of questions, so here goes: 1) I understand Kutchi is a \”Boli\” or \”dialect\” thus is mostly spoken. Is there also literature, newspapers etc in Kutchi? I understand it is written in the Gujarati script, am I right? 2) If there is literature in the langauge, would you know if grammar books for the language are availabale? If so, do you know how I can get hold of one? 3) Does the language make a distinction between \”sh\” and \”s\”, i.e. does it have two distinct sounds \”sh\” and \”s\”? For e.g. in Marathi we distinguish between \”shwaas\” and \”suvaas\”. If it does, could you give me some examples? 4) And finally, i understand there are very few monolingual speakers of Kutchi, i.e. speaking only Kutchi. I understand nearly all people who speak Kutchi also speak Gujarati or Sindhi or Urdu. Do you by any chance know of any monolingual speakers – i.e. speaking only and only Kutchi? Hope I have not overwhelmed you with my questions. Thanks for your patience! 🙂 Purnima
1) Kutchi is written in Gujarati script. There are no newspapers that i know of. But there is literature for sure (books, magazines written in Gujarati). There is a daily newsletter called Patrika which gets delivered to most of the Kutchi homes in Bombay and elsewhere.
2) I have never seen a grammar book for kutchi.
3) About sh vs s , i know that in Gujarati plenty of people use “S” where “Sh” should be used and Vice Versa. I have not seen that in Kutchi Language per se. I cannot think of any original kutchi words which have “Sh” in them. :-(. So maybe the influence of “Sh” may be very little.
4) In the modern generation i dont know of any kutchi monolingual speakers. One of my friend’s Dadi speaks only kutchi and nothing else. But such people are rare. At least the grandparents will know Gujarati also.
Hi Purnima,
I am taking the liberty to answer your questions though Prashant would have answered them for you as well. Hope Prashant will excuse me,
So,
1. There is literature in Kutchi and there is a small newsletter called the Patrika which can be accessed online at http://www.asanjokutch.com/patrika/index.asp Yes, Kutchi is written in Gujarati script, it can be written in Hindi as well but widely it is written in Gujarati.
2. There are two dignitaries for Kutchi language and they have done lot of work in it and both reside in Mumbai, India. Visanji Nagda and Manilal Gala, Manilal Gala is working on his own Kutchi language script for which i am presuming, he would have published grammar books. Kutchi language books are available with few people and very few stores carry them, you may find some in some book stores in South Bombay and mostly with people. I have few Kutchi language books but its a rare collection.
3. Your 3rd question is interesting and has put me to thought, i could find words that use \”s\ like \”selo\ which means \”simple\, \”sakar\ which means \”sugar\ but i haven’t been able to find a word which would use \”sh\. i will def look more into it and see if there’s actually something
4. Regarding monoligual speakers, my great grandmother could speak only Kutchi though she could understand bit of Gujarati and Hindi. I have visited some families in some remote villages of Kutch, those people were Muslims but spoke Kutchi and Urdu, haven’t had a chance to meet a speaker who spoke only and only Kutchi.
Hope i have done justice in answering your questions, I am a language enthusiast and have done my bit for the Kutchi language.
Thanks, Paras
Hi! Purnima,
Read your questions . I have recieved the following e-mail during our convention.This person is doing resarch on Kutchhi language, it might be of help to you, here is copy of his mail.
sarla chheda
E-mail address: sheokumar_jain@yahoo.co.in
The Kachhchhi Script, based on the Deonagari vowels, consonants and wedded to the principles of supremacy for the spoken sound style, and the subordination of the spellings to preserve the original Kachhchhi dialect, which is storing the original sound of thousands of years, due to the non-dependance on modified sound affected by the incomplete spectrum of the script available.
There is no new shape of vowel or a consonant or the vowel signs prevalent, but there certainly is a reorganisation. Field tests, have been satisfactorily carried out.
Postal Address:
Sheokumaar Ravji Jain (Laaijaa waala)
10, Singhvi Apartments, 110,
16th Road,
Chembur,
Mumbai- 400071,
India.
One interesting thing about Kutchi language – D is never pronounced as D as in Dil – it would be D as in Dad or as Dh.
A kutchi would pronounce “Dil” as “Dhil” or (Door) “Darwajo” as “Dharvajo” and “Dadi-maa” as “Daddy-maa”
If you wish to start a Wikipedia in Kutchi, go to http://incubator.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wp/kfr/Main_Page .
Some good examples are the English (http://en.wikipedia.org) and Gujarati (http://gu.wikipedia.org).
Wikipedia is a free encyclopedia project where all articles are written by anyone who wishes to submit them. At present, there are 265. (http://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/List_of_wikipedias)