Malvi

Malvi is a Western Indo-Aryan language spoken by the Malvi people in the Malwa region of central India, with speakers concentrated in southern Rajasthan and western Madhya Pradesh and smaller communities in nearby states. It is used in daily conversation, traditional folk music and storytelling, and in some local media. The language is often treated as a distinct linguistic variety by its speakers, though in some classifications it is regarded as a dialect of Rajasthani or as part of the Western Rajasthani group.

Classification and writing systems vary by source. Malvi sits within the Western branch of the Rajasthani languages, and its status as a separate language versus a dialect of Rajasthani is debated among linguists. It is commonly written in Devanagari, though historical use of Mahajani and Perso-Arabic scripts has been documented in some communities. The vocabulary shows influences from Hindi and other closely related languages, as well as loanwords from Persian and Arabic through historical trade and cultural contact.

Social and cultural context. Malvi has a rich oral and literary tradition, including poetry and folk songs that preserve regional customs and history. In modern times, formal education and administration in its regions typically rely on Hindi or English, with Malvi primarily used in family, community, and cultural contexts. There is no national-level official status for Malvi, and it faces challenges common to regional languages in India, such as standardization, transmission to younger speakers, and representation in media and education.