Bundeli

Bundeli is an Indo-Aryan language spoken in the Bundelkhand region of central India. It has a substantial speaker base in parts of Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh, with communities concentrated in districts such as Jhansi, Hamirpur, Banda, Lalitpur and Mahoba in Uttar Pradesh, and Tikamgarh, Sagar, Damoh and Panna in Madhya Pradesh. Estimates place the number of speakers in the millions. Bundeli sits within the Hindi language continuum and shares much vocabulary and grammar with standard Hindi and other Western Hindi varieties, while retaining distinctive phonological and lexical features.

Linguistic classification and relation to Hindi: Bundeli is generally considered part of the Western Hindi group within the Indo-Aryan family. Some linguists treat it as a distinct language, while others view it as a regional variety or dialect of Hindi. It exhibits regional variation across Bundelkhand, influencing pronunciation and vocabulary.

Script and standardization: In contemporary use, Bundeli is typically written in the Devanagari script. Historical texts and inscriptions in Kaithi have been noted in some contexts. There is no single universally formal standard, and writing often reflects local speech patterns.

Dialects and variation: Bundeli encompasses several regional varieties corresponding to different areas within Bundelkhand. These varieties differ in sound patterns and lexicon, resulting in partial mutual intelligibility across the region.

Culture, literature, and usage: Bundeli has a rich oral tradition of folk songs, proverbs, and stories. Modern Bundeli literature includes poetry and prose, and linguistic research—such as grammars and dictionaries—has been conducted by scholars. The language appears in local media and cultural events and is used in everyday communication within Bundelkhand to varying extents.