Bhili

Bhili, also known as Bhil, is an Indo-Aryan language spoken by the Bhil people of western and central India. It forms part of the Bhili language group within the Western branch of the Indo-Aryan family and is closely related to other Rajasthani and Gujarati varieties. The language is spoken across several Indian states, especially Rajasthan, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, and Maharashtra, with smaller communities in adjacent areas. Estimates of the number of speakers range in the millions, though precise counts vary by source; many Bhili speakers are bilingual in state or national languages such as Gujarati, Marathi, Hindi, or Rajasthani.

Bhili consists of several dialects or closely related varieties, including Bhili proper and Wagdi; some sources treat these as distinct languages. There is no single standardized script for Bhili; in Gujarat and parts of Rajasthan it is commonly written in the Gujarati script, while in other areas Devanagari is used. The language is mostly used in daily communication within communities, with varying presence in education and media; most speakers also use the dominant regional language for formal domains.

Linguistically, Bhili is SOV and exhibits features typical of Indo-Aryan languages, with a vocabulary influenced by surrounding languages such as Gujarati, Marathi, and Hindi. It has rich oral literature, including folk songs, stories, and oral history, which are important in Bhil cultural identity.