silesr2017 013.

A Sociolinguistic Profile of the

Tharu Dialects of the Western

Indo-Nepal Tarai

Western Indo-Nepal Tarai

Compiled by Jeff Webster

Primary Researchers:

Edward Boehm

M. G. D.

A. G.

K. A. J.

M. L.

N. L.

Laura Beth Webster

Jeff Webster

SIL International

®

2017

SIL Electronic Survey Report 2017-013,August 2017 © 2017 SIL International®

Abstract

The purpose of this sociolinguistic survey of the Tharu dialects of the Indo-Nepal Tarai was to investigate three areas: 1) socio-cultural factors: to discover important social, cultural, and geographic information about the Tharu; 2) strategic factors: to determine the best strategy for work among the Tharu; and 3) the need for mother tongue literature and literacy classes: to determine whether or not the Tharu desire written materials and literacy classes in their mother tongue, and if so, where.

Data collection for this survey began in September 1992 and was completed in November of the same year. The survey team, eight others besides myself, did an outstanding job in administering over 400 recorded text tests, 190 sentence repetition tests, and 100 language use and attitude questionnaires, and in collecting fifteen wordlists, all in less than two months! The team covered a huge area—by bus, train, rickshaw, bicycle, and on foot.

Towards fulfilling the first two purposes of this survey, the investigation of socio-cultural and strategic factors, we can claim only partial success. So much more could be learned about the Tharu, but the solid foundation of cultural observation and experience by the team provides a sound basis for achieving the goals that relate to these purposes. Conclusions remain tentative, and the team remains sensitive to their need to continue as learners of the rich and complex Tharu culture.

(This survey report written some time ago deserves to be made available even at this late date. Conditions were such that it was not published when originally written. The reader is cautioned that more recent research may be available. Historical data are quite valuable as a basis for longitudinal analysis and help us understand both the trajectory and pace of change as compared with more recent studies.—Editor)

iii

Contents

1 Introduction

1.1 Geography 1.2 People

1.2.1 Origins 1.2.2 Culture

1.2.3 Subgroups of Tharu 1.2.4 Population

1.3 Language

2 Goals

2.1 Dialect area study 2.1.1 Lexical similarity 2.1.2 Dialect intelligibility 2.2 Bilingualism

2.3 Language use and language attitudes 2.4 Tharu culture

3 Summary of findings

3.1 Tharu speech varieties 3.2 Tharu’s relationship to Hindi 3.3 Bilingualism in Hindi

3.4 Language use and language attitudes 3.5 Tharu culture

4 Study of dialect areas

4.1 Wordlist comparison 4.1.1 Procedures 4.1.2 Results 4.2 Dialect intelligibility

4.2.1 Procedures 4.2.2 Results

5 Bilingualism

5.1 Recorded text testing 5.1.1 Procedures 5.1.2 Results

5.2 Sentence repetition testing 5.2.1 Procedures

5.2.2 Results

6 Language use and attitudes, and language vitality

6.1 Procedures 6.2 Results

6.2.1 Language use 6.2.2 Language attitudes

7 Recommendations

7.1 For literature development and literacy programs 7.2 For further survey

Appendix A: Recorded text test scores Appendix B: Sentence repetition tests Appendix C: A summary of Tharu culture References

1

1 Introduction

1.1 Geography

The Tharu are an aboriginal tribe inhabiting the whole Sub-Himalayan-Tarai from Nainital District of Uttar Pradesh in the west to just beyond the eastern border of Nepal. They live on both sides of the India-Nepal border (Grierson 1916b:311 and Srivastava 1958:v).1

This survey focused only on the western half of the Tharu region: those Tharu groups living from Nainital District in the west, to Gonda District in the east, including both sides of the India-Nepal border. See maps 1, 2, and 3. Other Tharu groups live in the Tarai east of Gonda District, but they must await investigation at a future time. Map 4 shows the distribution of Tharu in the Tarai districts of Nepal.

Map 1. Tharu survey area

Source: © 1993 Ed Boehm. Used by permission.

1 _{Tarai is alternatively spelled Terai; capitalization is inconsistent. It will be spelled Tarai in this report, except}

Map 2. Nainital and Kheri

Source: © 1993 Ed Boehm. Used by permission.

Map 3. Kheri, Bahraich, Gonda, and Basti

Map 4. Tharu population of Nepal

Source: © 1993 Ed Boehm. Used by permission.

The Tarai—the name for the geographic region inhabited by the Tharu—is the strip of tropical, marshy, flatlands that runs along the base of the east-west foothills of the Himalayas. The Tharu are found especially in the heavily forested areas of the Tarai. The malaria and wild animals of the Tarai jungle ensured, for centuries, that only malaria-immune indigenous groups like the Tharu lived in this area. Neville (1905:71) writes that the Tharu “appear to be almost the only race that can stand the deadly climate of that tract.” But as malaria became mostly eradicated by World Health Organization spraying in the late 1950s, other groups from the hills and the plains began to move in. Highways were built, agriculture spread, the timber industry was established, and the Tharus suddenly had fierce competition for their fertile land (Dahal 1992:17).

The various clans of Tharu are found living in different regions, generally separate from one another. These clans will be discussed in §1.2.3. Rana Tharu are located in Khatima, Sitarganj, Kiccha, and Haldwani Tehsils of Nainital District, in Nighasan Tehsil of Kheri District, and in the far

southwestern districts of Nepal.

Buksa, a separate clan from Rana Tharu, are located in southwestern Nainital district, along a diagonal from Ramnagar to Dineshpur. They live in about 130 villages in Kichha and Kashipur Tehsils. There are also small numbers reported in Bijnor and Garhwal Districts.

Dangora Tharu generally live to the east of Rana Tharu. In India they live primarily along the border in Nighasan Tehsil of Kheri District and Tulsipur Tehsil of Gonda District.2 _{In Nepal they live in}

all border districts west of Dang-Deokri District. It appears that they are newcomers to the Indian side of the border.

Dang Tharus live primarily in Dang valley of Dang-Deokri District, east of the Dangoras. The valley is at an elevation of about 600 meters above sea-level (MacDonald 1975:267).

Kathoriya Tharu are found living in approximately the same areas as Dangoras. They are most heavily concentrated in Kailali District of Nepal, but are also in Kheri and Gonda Districts of India.

1.2 People

1.2.1 Origins

Srivastava (1958) provides a good summary of the debate over the origins of the Tharu. Many believe them to be originally a Dravidian race who have become more Mongoloid in appearance as a result of alliances with different hill races. Srivastava concludes, however, that they are the northernmost extension of the “Middle Indian aboriginal races,” since their basic cultural patterns are the same as those farther south. They are predominantly Mongoloid in their physical makeup, yet distinct from other groups in Nepal in that they have assimilated non-Mongoloid physical features as well.

Various authors have searched for the Tharu origins by doing an etymology of their name, generally tracing through Hindi. Nesfield (in Srivastava 1958:186) searched for the meaning in the local language, showing that the word thar in the dialect of the lowest classes means “a man of the forest”—an accurate description of the people. One Tharu legend speaks of their tie to the forest (Müller-Böker 1991:n.p.):

Long ago, God called all people to him in order to give them riches. All the castes, such as the Pahariyas, the Newaris and the Tharus started toward God in order to receive riches from him. After wandering a long way, they passed through a beautiful forest area (kathaban). Everyone continued their journey; only the Tharus remained in the forest, looking around for nice wood, thereby forgetting to continue their journey to God. After some time the other people came back with riches, and the Tharus came back from the forest.

Though their exact origins may be debated, it is fairly certain that the Tharus are the original inhabitants of the Tarai, and have only recently been joined there by other groups.

Most of the Tharus interviewed in this survey claimed to be the descendants of Rajput women who fled Rajastan approximately 800 years ago during a great battle in which their king was defeated. These women intermarried with their servants and settled in the dense forest lands of the north.

The Dangora Tharu in Gonda District trace their ancestry to Dang District in Nepal. They say that many people left Dang a long time ago and settled to the south, when there was a very evil king who was making life difficult for the people.

1.2.2 Culture

The religion of the Tharus is traditionally animistic, but many are now outwardly adopting Hindu beliefs and practices. They are a god-fearing people, with firm faith in deities, demons, and evil spirits, and they attribute the forests as the place where the gods and spirits live. They believe in a supreme being Thakur who is generally too distant and too benevolent to do any harm to mankind (Srivastava 1958:186). Many Tharu houses have a small raised platform in the front yard for household deities, often small images of horses.

Reportedly tracing back to their Rajput ancestry, Tharu women hold a dominant position in the family in many matters, with considerable freedom and great influence. They are the decision makers, though under the influence of Hindu culture the men are dominating the women more today.

Early British reports on its Government of India (1878:502) said that the Tharu “are still the pioneers of civilization, and can never be induced to remain in fully cultivated tracts. The tilled land is distasteful to them, and they retreat with the retreating forest.” Today, however, agriculture is their primary occupation, with some animal husbandry and fishing as well. Because of limited land in some of the Tharu areas, they are increasingly taking up work as laborers. They also rely heavily on gathering various forest products. They are meat eaters, relishing many kinds of wild meat, though today hunting

is much restricted. A distinction between Dangora and Rana Tharu is that the Dangora eat field rat and the Rana do not.

Tharu villages generally are quite independent of one another, not mixed with outside groups, and rarely with more than one clan of Tharu. Households are large with the extended family (all the sons’ families) all living in one house. Average household size is about ten, but households of up to fifty are not unheard of.

Until recently the Tharu had little competition for land, filled as it was with malaria and wild animals, but since 1947 they have had increasing competition. Sikhs fleeing the Punjab arrived and began farming in the once dense jungle. Paharis came from the north seeking more prosperous farm land, and now make up 35–40 percent of the population of Nepal’s Tarai compared to around five percent at the turn of the century (Dahal 1992:18). With their weakness for alcohol, and their

inexperience at dealing with other groups, the Tharu rapidly lost their land and had nothing to show for it. In 1967 the Indian government declared the Tharu a Scheduled Tribe, which has provided some relief for them, but still today they are widely exploited by money-lender landlords.

The exploitation of the Tharu in the western Tarai of Nepal, according to Dahal (1992:17), extends beyond landlessness to a system of bonded labor known as kamaiya, in which a man’s debt passes on to his sons, leading to generations bonded by debt to landlords and money-lenders. These landlords are not only Bahuns Brahmins and Chhetris, but also Tharus themselves.

Dahal (1992:17) suggests that the Tarai is simmering with discontent. Three groups compete for limited resources: the original inhabitants like the Tharu must now learn to coexist with those of “Indian origin” and the Nepali highlanders.

With regard to marriage pattern, the Tharu always marry within their own clan, but generally with someone from outside their own village. The new couple takes up residence in the village of the groom. The average age of marriage is around fifteen (Singh 1988:17).

1.2.3 Subgroups of Tharu

Outsiders generally view the Tharu as one homogeneous group, and refer to them as Tharu, or Tharuwa. The Tharu, however, recognize many different subgroups distinguished by clan, region, cultural

differences, and language. There are at least eight different clans, but the exact number is not known. Most Tharus interviewed in Nainital District knew that there were different clans of Tharu living much farther to the east, but they did not know anything about them. There is little interaction between clans.

The main clans of Tharu are: 1) Rana, mostly in Nainital District; 2) Buksa Bukas, Bhuksa, Buxa, recognized as a separate Scheduled Tribe by the government of India, almost exclusively in Nainital District; 3) Dangora Dangoria, Dangaria, Dangwaria, Dangra, probably the most numerically dominant clan, mostly in southwestern Nepal; 4) Kathoriya Tharu Katharya, Kateria, in the same general area as the Dangora, but much smaller numerically; 5) Dang Tharu, in Dang-Deokri District of Nepal; and 6) Sunha, Kutchia, and Thakur, whose exact location in southwestern Nepal is not known.

Dangora and Kathoriya are closely related clans, reportedly divided on the fact that Dangora eat pork and Kathoriya do not (Government of India 1878:502). Even today the Kathoriya will not allow the Dangora to enter their kitchens.

1.2.4 Population

India

The number of Tharu of all clans living in northern Uttar Pradesh is just over 115,000. Of these, an estimated 20,000 are Buksa in Nainital and Bijnor Districts. Nearly 54,000 mostly Rana Tharu live in

Nainital District; approximately another 10,000 Rana are in Kheri and Pilibhit Districts. The remaining 31,000 Tharu in Uttar Pradesh. are mostly Dangora, but mixed with Kathoriya and possibly other clans.3

Table 1 summarizes Tharu population by district in India. Literacy rates (inclusive of all age groups) are also included (Government of India 1981).

Table 1. Population and literacy among Tharu in India

District Total Male Female Male literacy Female literacy Gonda 11,457 5,871 5,586 12.2% 0.3% Kheri 17,789 9,301 8,488 8.6% 0.7% Nainital 73,998 37,549 36,448 31.6% 6.1% Pilibhit 273 138 135 1.1% 0.7% Bahraich 6,340 3,270 3,070 7.9% 0.6% Gorakhpur 2,303 1,230 1,073 43.3% 7.7% Bijnor 3,647 1,968 1,679 19.5% 1.8%

Nepal

Tharus naming Tharu as their mother tongue are listed in the Census of Nepal for 1981. No subdivisions of Tharu are given. The speaking population in the Western Tarai was 333,755 in 1981. Tharu-speaking populations east of Kapilbastu District most likely speak substantially different varieties of Tharu and are not included in this number. The total Tharu-speaking population in Nepal in 1981 was 545,685, comprising 3.6 percent of the total national population. Because of immigration by other groups, the Tharus are fast becoming a minority in an ethnically diverse Tarai; however, in districts like Kailali (47 percent), Bardiya (37 percent), and Dang (32 percent) Tharus still comprise a significant proportion of the population (Government of Nepal 1984a, and Rajaure 1992:37). Map 4 shows the distribution of Tharu in Nepal according to the 1981 census.

1.3 Language

The most common local term used to refer to the language spoken by the different clans of Tharu is simply “Tharuwa”; however, for consistency with the literature, “Tharu” will be used in this report to refer both to the people and the language. If questioned more specifically, Tharu will describe their language by clan name, recognizing that differences are largely clan-based. The clan names will also be used in this report to refer to the more localized speech varieties, such as Buksa, or Buksa Tharu, spoken by the Buksa clan in Nainital District. The locations of these varieties of Tharu are the same as the location of the clans discussed in §1.1.

Tharu is technically classified as part of either the Western or Eastern Hindi branch, Central Zone, Indo-Aryan, Indo-Iranian, Indo-European (Voegelin and Voegelin 1965:263; Grierson 1916b, 1916c). Grimes (1988:567) lists Dang Tharu as an unclassified member of the Central Zone; four other Tharu varieties listed are classified in the Eastern Zone of Indo-Aryan.

From early descriptions about Tharu it seems clear that there are many different varieties of Tharu, all having many similarities with better-known regional languages, but all having enough differences to make further investigation and classification necessary.

Grierson’s (1916b:311) conclusion about Tharu is that there is “no such thing as a Tharu language. Everywhere the Tharus speak, more or less correctly, the language of the Aryan races with whom they

3 _{Grierson reported the number of ‘Bhuksa’ speakers as 199,521 (1916a:319). This could signify that the Buksa are}

are immediately in contact.” He refers to it mostly as a “broken” or “corrupt” form of some other language; often Tharu is used as an adjective to modify one of the more well-known regional languages: “Tharu Bhojpuri…is spoken along the Nepal frontier from [Gorakhpur] to Bahraich…. [It is] a corrupt form of Bhojpuri, mixed here and there with aboriginal words which will repay the investigations of the ethnologist. It is worth noting that the Tharus of Bahraich and Gonda speak Bhojpuri, while the local Aryan language is not that language, but is Eastern Hindi” (1916b:42–44).

About the Tharus of Kheri District Grierson writes that they are reported to speak a “corrupt Gorkhali” (Nepali), but on closer examination he concludes it to be the local Awadhi language mixed with Kanauji, and calls it “Tharu Awadhi” (1916c:121).

Of all the varieties of Tharu surveyed in this report only a few are listed in the Ethnologue (Grimes 1988). Dang Tharu is recognized as distinct from Chitwan Tharu, with “Dhangura” listed as one of its variant names; Dangora, as used in this report, is probably a variant spelling of this. “Kathariya” is listed as a dialect of Dang Tharu. “Rana Thakur” is listed as a separate language located in the far east of Nepal; it is uncertain if this is related to the Rana Tharu or Thakur Tharu in this survey.

Population figures for the varieties of Tharu in India are essentially the same as for the clans discussed in §1.2.4; however, we have no statistics on the number of Tharu who do not speak Tharu. Interviews with Tharus living in India indicate that only those Tharu living away from Tharu villages, especially in the cities, no longer speak Tharu. Offsetting the number of Tharu no longer speaking their mother tongue is the number of outsiders living among the Tharu who have learned to speak Tharu.

Hindi is undoubtedly an important second language for the Tharus of the Indian Tarai, but its importance diminishes across the border. Dahal (1992:17) writes that Hindi is being pushed as a

unifying language of the Tarai, but that “even in the ‘Hindi-belt’ of Nepal, Hindi is hard to come by other than at political rallies.”

2 Goals

The following goals were formulated for this survey:

• To investigate the differences among the speech varieties spoken by the Tharu population.

• To discover the extent to which these speech varieties differ from Hindi.

• To investigate the extent of community bilingualism in Hindi.

• To investigate language use patterns and language attitudes towards both Tharu and Hindi.

• To discover those key social practices and cultural values that will provide insight into the worldview of the Tharu.

To reach these five goals we directed our survey into four main areas: 1) a study of the dialect areas, 2) a study of bilingualism in Hindi, 3) a study of language use and attitudes, and 4) a study of the Tharu culture.

2.1 Dialect area study

2.1.1 Lexical similarity

The first goal of investigating the differences among the Tharu varieties, and the second goal of discovering their degree of difference from Hindi, required us to study differences in vocabulary, or lexical similarity. Lexical similarity is the percentage of words between speech varieties that resemble each other in sound and meaning. In this study lexical similarity is investigated by means of comparing equivalent words using 210-item wordlists. Results are expressed as a percentage of similar items.

2.1.2 Dialect intelligibility

Another goal of the dialect study is to investigate the degree of inherent intelligibility between the different speech varieties spoken in the Western Indo-Nepal Tarai. Inherent intelligibility is

understanding that is the result of two speech varieties being closely related to one another, as opposed to understanding that is acquired by exposure. Intelligibility testing, used in tandem with lexical similarity, helps determine the most meaningful grouping of speech varieties. Inherent intelligibility is inferred from a sample’s average understanding of a recorded text. The results are expressed as a percentage, based on the average of scores on a recorded text test. Sample size and standard deviation are also given.

2.2 Bilingualism

The third goal, concerning community bilingualism in Hindi, was formulated because of the important role that Hindi plays in education, commerce, media, and religion. Extensive and high-level bilingualism would suggest that local communities can effectively use media in these languages. In this study,

bilingualism is investigated using both recorded text tests and a sentence repetition test. The results for recorded text tests are expressed as in §2.1.2. The results for sentence repetition testing are expressed as the percentage of the population at a particular level of fluency.

2.3 Language use and language attitudes

The fourth goal concerning language attitudes towards Tharu was formulated because of the powerful effect that attitude has on the acceptance and use of literature, and because present language use patterns provide an indication of the future of a language. Strong attitudes against Hindi, or in favor of the development of Tharu, could significantly restrict the understanding and acceptance of written materials in Hindi, even if research suggests it is adequately understood by Tharu speakers. This investigation uses formal and informal questionnaires, in addition to observation. Results are expressed as the percentage of subjects giving a particular response; they are also documented with quotes from individuals interviewed and with observations by the researchers.

2.4 Tharu culture

The final goal, that of investigating the Tharu culture, was formulated because of the need to understand important cultural differences before initiating cross-cultural work. In this study, culture is investigated by observation and informal interviews, using a list of topics and questions to guide the investigation. Results are presented in this report as a summary of general information about the Tharu, included mostly in §1. More specific details are given in “A Summary of Tharu Culture” (Appendix C).

3 Summary of findings

3.1 Tharu speech varieties

There is considerable diversity among the Tharu varieties encountered in this survey. Language

differences seem to result more from clan differences than from geographic separation, though the effect of both is evident.

The different varieties share as little as 58 percent lexical similarity. Among these, there are four subgroups that arise from the study of the wordlists: 1) Buksa, 2) Rana, 3) Kathoriya and Sunha, and 4) Dangora (from west to east). These four subgroups form a dialect chain in which similarity decreases with distance. From the wordlists, Kathoriya Tharu (KkP)4 _{appears to be a potential center point in the}

chain, a variety which even the ends of the chain might understand.

Recorded text testing confirms the suspicion that Kathoriya Tharu is a center point in a dialect chain. Of those varieties tested on their understanding of Kathoriya Tharu (KkP), subjects averaged 90 percent or better. At the ends of the dialect chain, however, Rana Tharu (RNs) understood the Dang Tharu (DDK) text at an average of only 51 percent (DDK understood the RNs text at an average of 68 percent).

Besides Kathoriya (KkP), no other reference point was understood well at all of the other test points. Interestingly, not only is KkP understood well at the other test points, but also subjects in KkP

understood the other reference points better than any other test point.

Only four of six possible test points were tested on the Kathoriya recorded text test (RTT). Neither Rana (RNs) nor Buksa (BNM) (both in Nainital District) were tested on the Kathoriya RTT. Because RNs, BNM, and RKB had such uniformly high scores among themselves, it is expected that results from RKB would be fairly representative of results from RNs and BNM. Final verification of the suspected high intelligibility at these two points needs further testing.

From lexical similarity results, it appears that Chitwan Tharu, to the east of this survey area, is quite different from the varieties studied here, and should be thought of as a separate language.

3.2 Tharu’s relationship to Hindi

Hindi is closely related to the Tharu varieties in this survey. Lexically, it is closest to the Buksa and Rana varieties, and somewhat less similar to Kathoriya and Dangora varieties. Understanding of a simple Hindi text appears to be quite high among Tharu speakers in India; however, it is likely that these results show an overlay of learned ability in Hindi, an ability that is not shared by all segments in Tharu communities. In the one village in Nepal where the Hindi text was tested, understanding was quite low, showing that the results from the test points in India may be showing the effect of learning and not just the result of Tharu’s inherent closeness to Hindi.

3.3 Bilingualism in Hindi

Results of testing Hindi bilingualism among the Tharu show a typical pattern of second-language acquisition: those who are educated score significantly better than those who are uneducated. Among those who have received at least one year of education, there is “very good, general proficiency” in Hindi. This educated group comprises approximately 10–30 percent of the population. Among the 70–90 percent who are uneducated, proficiency in Hindi is only at a basic level. Such results indicate that these people would have great difficulty understanding or communicating any complex subject matter in Hindi.

3.4 Language use and language attitudes

Tharu is nearly always used in the home. There is no indication that Tharu is being replaced by Hindi in the critical domains of home and religion. The use of the Tharu language continues to be important for in-group communication.

4 _{Note that this report uses its own codes rather than standard ISO 639-3 codes. The important ISO codes for this}

report are: Buksa [tkb]; Sonha [soi]; Tharu Chitwania [the]; Tharu Dangaura [thl]; Tharu Kathariya [tkt]; Tharu Rana [thr]; and Tharu Kochila [thq].

Attitudes towards the use of Tharu are consistently strong and positive. All indications are that Tharu will remain in use as a mother tongue for the foreseeable future. Attitudes are tentatively positive towards literature in Tharu; however, attitudes towards literature in Kathoriya Tharu are somewhat negative, though this assessment is very preliminary.

3.5 Tharu culture

Like many tribal groups in India, the Tharu are changing rapidly. In many ways they are maintaining an uncomfortable balance between their traditional culture and the encroaching Hindu culture. Tharu culture today is a blend of both worlds. Among the younger generation, education is providing

opportunity for advancement in the national culture; the other key force of change is immigration into traditional Tharu areas by outside groups. The maintenance of language, a key measure of change in a culture, suggests that the Tharu will continue to maintain a strong sense of cultural identity in the foreseeable future.

4 Study of dialect areas

The purpose of a dialect area study is to define in quantifiable terms the differences existing between speech varieties in a given geographic area. In order to understand the extent of dialect differences throughout the western Indo-Nepal Tarai, a dialect area study was carried out which consisted of 1) wordlist comparison, and 2) dialect intelligibility testing.

4.1 Wordlist comparison

4.1.1 Procedures

Comparing wordlists between two points is one method of measuring the similarity of those two speech varieties. This systematic study of vocabularies is known as a lexical similarity study. Speech varieties that have more words in common (higher lexical similarity), generally understand each other better than those communities that have fewer words in common.

Analysis of the wordlists was by means of grouping similar words together for each English gloss and calculating the percentage of similar words between any two wordlists. Similarity is based on phonological similarity and not strictly on cognate relationship, using similarity counting procedures outlined in Blair (1990:31–32). After the words were grouped according to these counting procedures, an analysis was run using the compass algorithm in Wimbish’s Wordsurv program (1989). Additional phonological regularities were identified in this way, and the groupings readjusted to account for these.

Wordlist similarity, or lexical similarity, below 60 percent typically corresponds with inadequate intelligibility between the compared varieties (reflective of distinct languages). Lexical similarity above 90 percent typically corresponds with high intelligibility between the compared varieties (reflective of very closely related dialects). Dialect intelligibility testing is not usually required for either situation. Lexical similarity between 60 and 90 percent warrants fuller investigation by means of dialect

intelligibility testing to determine the nature of the relationship between the two speech varieties (Blair 1990:23).

A 210-item wordlist was elicited from mother-tongue speakers of each speech variety under investigation, and transcribed using first the Devanagari script and then the International Phonetic Alphabet. In most cases, wordlists were double-checked with other mother-tongue speakers to check for errors and to weed out items which appear to be different but which are really only synonyms. Past experience shows that double-checking wordlists tends to increase lexical similarity percentages. In some cases, elicitation was also done with several mother-tongue speakers present, thus providing a measure of built-in double-checking from the beginning. Specific details for each wordlist are given in Appendix A.

Because Hindi plays such a strong role as an inter-group language there is often the problem of eliciting a Hindi word when a local word is commonly used. For this reason, a strong effort was made at all times to elicit local Tharu words if they were still in use.

4.1.2 Results

A total of sixteen wordlists were compared: Table 2 identifies each list by the three letter code, name, and location it represents. The maps show the location of these wordlist points.

Table 2. Wordlists, source locations, and identity codes

Code Speech variety Location: Village, Tehsil, District, Country

BNM Bhuksa Tharu Madnapur, Gandepur, Nainital, India BNT Bhuksa Tharu Thari, Ramnagar, Nainital, India RNK Rana Tharu Sugia, Khatima, Nainital, India RNS Rana Tharu Sisaikera, Sitarganj, Nainital, India RNs Rana Tharu Sisana, Sitarganj, Nainital, India

RkM Rana Tharu Majhgam, Kanchanpur, Kanchanpur, Nepal RKB Rana Tharu Bangama, Nighasan, Kheri, India

TkN Thakur Tharu Naibasti, Mahendranagar, Kanchanpur, Nepal KkP Kathoriya Tharu Pavera, Pavera, Kailali, Nepal

SkP Sunha Tharu Piparia, Mahendranagar, Kanchanpur, Nepal DKS Dangora Tharu Sivratnapur, Asuliya, Kelali, Nepal

DDK Dang Tharu Kotani, Dang, Dangdeokuri, Nepal DGC Dangora Tharu Chandanpur, Tulsipur, Gonda, India DkR Dangora Tharu Rajipur, Kanchanpur, Kanchanpur, Nepal CCC Chitwan Tharu Chitwan, Chitwan, Chitwan, Nepal HIN Hindi Standard, Uttar Pradesh, Hindi, India

The matrix in table 3 presents the results of all comparisons, expressed as a percentage of lexical similarity.

Table 3. Lexical similarity for all wordlist points BNM—Buksa

93 BNT—Buksa BUKSA 77 76 RNK—Rana

79 76 97 RNS—Rana

79 77 97 97 RNs—Rana RANA 77 73 91 89 93 RkM—Rana

77 75 90 91 89 88 RKB—Rana 76 75 84 83 87 85 83 TkN—Thakur

69 66 74 74 76 74 79 74 KkP—Kathoriya LINK DIALECTS 67 65 71 71 74 70 70 71 73 SkP—Sunha

65 63 67 67 68 66 72 68 79 74 DKS—Dangora

59 58 64 63 64 63 66 63 76 73 92 DDK—Dang DANGORA 64 61 68 68 69 69 71 66 79 72 89 88 DGC—Dangora

60 58 63 63 66 66 65 67 74 72 85 86 82 DkR—Dangora

58 56 56 57 57 57 58 60 63 63 65 63 61 67 CCC—Chitwan OTHERS 83 80 70 70 71 68 70 72 68 66 64 59 58 65 60 HIN—Hindi

As much as possible in this table, varieties that are more similar are placed next to one another, and spaces are inserted to draw attention to dialect groupings. Several observations can be made about this display of lexical similarity. Percentages vary from a high of 97 to a low of 56. It is also clear that the speech varieties cluster into several groups. Excluding Chitwan (CCC) and Hindi (HIN), there are four main subgroups: Buksa, Rana, Dangora, and a “link” group. Figure 1 graphically shows groupings and the similarity percentage at which any two groups can be linked. These percentages are from table 3. For example, the Rana and Buksa groups are linked and become one group which shares lexical similarity of 73 percent or greater.

Subgroups of Tharu based on lexical similarity

Two Buksa points (BNM, BNT) form the Buksa subgroup that unites at 93 percent lexical similarity. The Buksa and Rana subgroups share at least 73 percent lexical similarity with each other.

The Dangora group shares a lexical similarity of 82 percent or greater among four points (DKS, DDK, DGC, and DkR). This group spans considerable distance geographically, yet maintains a high degree of similarity.

Sunha (SkP) and Kathoriya (KkP) do not fit easily in any of the other subgroups. Sunha shares 70 percent or greater lexical similarity with the Rana group and 72 percent or greater with the Dangora group. Kathoriya shares 74 percent or greater similarity with both the Rana and Dangora groups. Both Sunha and Kathoriya seem to form bridges between the Rana and Dangora groups: Rana and Dangora only share 63 percent or greater lexical similarity with each other.

Other neighboring languages

The geographically nearest Tharu variety examined in this survey is Chitwan Tharu (CCC), using a partial wordlist from Leal (1978). It is clearly quite different from the other varieties, sharing from a low of 56 percent lexical similarity with one of the Rana varieties to a high of 67 percent with one of the Dangora varieties.

The lexical similarity results show that the Buksa subgroup is most closely related to Hindi (80 percent or greater); the Rana subgroup shares 68 percent or greater similarity with Hindi; the Dangora subgroup is least similar of all the subgroups with Hindi (58–65 percent).

Comparing lexical similarity with Hindi is particularly troublesome: it is very difficult to distinguish between Hindi words that have become part of the local vocabulary, and those that have been given because the researchers were using Hindi. The Buksa wordlists may be especially affected by this problem: Buksa is lexically closer to Hindi than to any of the other Tharu varieties, results which are a bit suspicious. In regard to this, see §4.2.2 for a discussion of the relationship between lexical similarity and understanding of a recorded text.

4.2 Dialect intelligibility

4.2.1 Procedures

The procedures for testing dialect intelligibility are those described by Casad (1974) and Blair (1990). These procedures will be described briefly here.

For each speech variety under investigation a short two to four minute narrative story is recorded from a mother-tongue speaker. Each story is transcribed phonetically (often in Devanagri first) and translated into English, thus facilitating the development of a list of simple questions about the story. Questions for each story are translated and recorded into each of the other speech varieties under investigation. An RTT is then developed which consists of a story played one time through, followed by that same story interspersed with questions about that story. Questions are always in the mother-tongue of the subject, and are only played one time each.

The places from which tests are developed are called reference points. The places in which tests are administered are called test points. A test developed and administered in the same place is known as a hometown test. Each RTT must first be screened by a panel of ten mother-tongue speakers who validate the test by scoring nearly perfectly on the test in its final form of ten questions. Questions missed by more than one mother-tongue speaker are usually eliminated. Likewise, each subject must score at least 80 percent on an RTT in their own mother-tongue before they qualify to take an RTT in another speech variety. In this way the validity of each test and the suitability of each subject is ensured.

Generally speaking, if a sample of ten people from a test point averages 80 percent or higher on a recorded text test, then that community is said to adequately understand the dialect of the reference point—the test point and the reference point are varieties of the same language.

These procedures were followed as closely as possible, but were altered in a few instances. Casad (1974) calls for screening potential questions with a panel of local speakers. In this survey, that generally meant only one speaker at first; if an initial screening of the RTT revealed mistakes in the translation of the questions, we attempted to correct the mistaken questions before proceeding. The initial form of the hometown test generally had between fifteen and thirty questions, which helped ensure ten good questions in the final test. In several instances subjects were allowed to continue even though they scored less than 80 percent on a hometown test that was constructed from their own village. If they scored 90 percent or higher on the next test, we accepted them as suitable subjects, and assumed that they had just needed a bit more time to adjust to the researchers and the testing method. In another instance, several subjects were tested on a series of tests without first taking a hometown test. These were accepted only because they all scored 100 percent on the next test, proving their suitability as subjects.

The result of intelligibility testing is expressed as a percentage (based on the mean average) score of a sample of usually ten people. In order to ensure that what is being tested is inherent intelligibility and not acquired intelligibility, standard deviation is calculated. A high standard deviation (above 12 or 13) indicates relatively wide variation in subjects’ test performance. A common cause for such wide variation is that some subjects have acquired intelligibility through contact with people from other speech

varieties. Figure 2 shows the relationship between standard deviation and average score on a dialect intelligibility test (Blair 1990:25).

Standard Deviation

High Low

A ver ag e S co re High Situation 1

Many people understand the story on the test tape well, but some have difficulty.

Situation 2

Most people understand the story on the test tape.

Low

Situation 3

Many people cannot

understand the story, but a few are able to answer correctly.

Situation 4

Few people are able to

understand the story on the test tape.

Figure 2. Relationship between standard deviation and average score on an inteulligibility test.

4.2.2 Results

Seven recorded text tests were developed and tested in this survey. The texts and their questions are included in Appendix A. Results from testing among these different Tharu varieties are shown in table 4. The tests reference points are listed horizontally across the top; the places where each test was

administered are listed vertically down the left side. The top number is the average for the sample; the middle number is the standard deviation; the bottom number is the sample size. For example, ten subjects from DKS scored 91 percent on the test developed in RNs, with a standard deviation of 9.9.

Table 4. Summary results of recorded text test (RTT) BNM RNs RKB KkP DKS DGC DDK BNM 98 95 — — — — —

4.4 10.1 — — — — — 13 10 — — — — — RNs — 97 99 — — 52 51

— 8.1 3.2 — — 18.1 14.5 — 19 10 — — 10 10

BNM RNs RKB KkP DKS DGC DDK RKB 100 96 98 90 88 78 69

0 7.0 4.6 12.5 9.8 8.6 16.3 10 10 23 10 10 10 10 KkP — 96 95 94 93 91 84

— 6.0 7.1 10.7 8.3 8.8 17.1 — 10 10 19 10 10 10 DKS — 91 — 97 95 83 87

— 9.9 — 4.8 8.3 11.6 15.7 — 10 — 10 20 10 10 DGC — 73 75 95 79 96 72

— 18.5 18.6 7.0 15.1 7.3 14.8 — 11 11 10 11 23 10 DDK — 68 — 95 — 71 93

— 15.5 — 5.3 — 12.9 8.5 — 10 — 10 — 10 18

The scores on the downward diagonal from left to right (in bold) are the hometown test scores. These scores ranged from a low of 93 (on a sample of 18 in Dang District DDK), to a high of 98 (on a sample of 23 in Bangama RKB). Subjects missed questions on a hometown test because, in our opinion, a hometown test is so easy that their attention wandered. Other tests required, and received, greater attention. It is interesting to note that in several instances subjects performed better on a test tape from another village than they did on a test from their own village.

Analyzing the scores in each vertical column reveals how well different test points understand the speech variety of that reference point. In general the Rana Tharu reference points (RNs and RKB) were not understood well at the Dangora Tharu test points (DDK and DGC). DDK only scored 68 percent on the RTT from RNs, with wide variation in understanding among the subjects as seen by the standard deviation of 15.5. Likewise, the Dangora reference points were not understood well at the Rana test points: RNs only scored 51 on the test from DDK. RNs and DDK represent the geographic extremes in this survey.

Intermediate geographically, and also according to lexical similarity, is Kathoriya Tharu (KkP). All test points tested (on KkP, RKB, DKS, DGC, and DDK) averaged at least 90 percent. Test points RNs and BNM were not tested on KkP; however, we can extrapolate from the results we do have. Average RTT scores among RNs, RKB, and BNM are uniformly high—all above 95 percent. Based on these high scores, we could have chosen any one of these points as representative of the other two. This suggests that RNs and BNM should not score significantly different from RKB (90 percent) on the KkP test. Therefore, there is one point, KkP, that seems to be adequately understood by all test points in this survey.

Comparison of lexical similarity scores with RTT scores raises some questions. Lexical similarity scores are surprisingly low between the Rana and Buksa groups in light of the fact that RTT scores between RNs and BNM are at least 95 percent. One reason for this, and there are several possible, is that the Buksa wordlists show a bias towards Hindi in their similarity: Buksa appears to be more lexically similar with Hindi, which makes it appear less similar with the other Tharu varieties.

5 Bilingualism

Bilingualism is ability in a second language that is the result of learning, either formally (as in school) or informally (as in the bazaar). A recorded text test (RTT) and a sentence repetition test (SRT) were used in this survey to evaluate bilingual ability in Hindi. Bilingualism was only tested at the test points in India. It was not possible to test Nepali ability at any of the test points in Nepal.

5.1 Recorded text testing

5.1.1 Procedures

A recorded text test can be used to provide a preliminary assessment of a community’s learned ability in a second language. The procedures for evaluating bilingual ability using this method have been adapted from dialect intelligibility testing as discussed in §4.2.1. Since this method only evaluates comprehension ability, it is not adequate for evaluating higher levels of bilingual proficiency (Blair 1990:74). Used in conjunction with sentence repetition testing we have a double check on our results, obtaining a more accurate understanding of bilingualism than if only one method were used.

When using recorded text tests in bilingualism testing, care must be taken to test a sample that is representative of the demographic characteristics in the community. A sample of subjects should therefore include men and women, young and old, educated and uneducated, and traveled and untraveled, in the same proportion as the population as a whole.

5.1.2 Results

A Hindi recorded text test was developed in Bareilly, Uttar Pradesh. This was then tested at five test points as a preliminary, or pilot test, of bilingualism in Hindi. The two test points not tested are in Nepal and are more influenced by Nepali. Subjects in DKS (in Nepal on the border) did relatively poorly on the Hindi RTT. On the basis of these results no further testing of Hindi was done in Nepal. All of the test points in India did quite well, showing good understanding of a simple narrative text. These results are summarized in table 5.

Table 5. Hindi RTT Results (HinRTT)

Results from this pilot test show that further bilingualism testing is needed. Simple narrative material is understood well by the small samples tested; further testing was needed (using the sentence repetition test) to more thoroughly investigate Hindi proficiency.

5.2 Sentence repetition testing

5.2.1 Procedures

A sentence repetition test (SRT) consists of a set of 15 carefully selected sentences recorded on a cassette tape. Each sentence is played once for each subject. Subjects are evaluated, according to a four point scale 0–3), on their ability to accurately repeat each sentence. Essentially any deviation from the

recorded sentences is counted as an error. A subject’s ability to accurately repeat sentences of increasing difficulty is directly correlated with the overall ability to speak and understand the language. The higher the score, the greater the bilingual ability. Though an SRT is quite time consuming and difficult to develop, once developed it is very quick and easy to administer, making it possible to evaluate a large sample in a community in a very short time. This procedure provides a more complete and accurate evaluation of a community’s bilingual ability than recorded text testing. Radloff (1991) provides complete procedures for constructing and administering a sentence repetition test.

In a community different levels of bilingual ability frequently pattern with such demographic factors as sex, age, education, and amount of travel. These factors, therefore, must be adequately

TEST POINTS

RNs RKB BNM DKS DGC DDK KkP HIN HINDI 91 92 91 74.5 93.5 — — 100 RTT 9.4 7.9 11.0 12.1 6.7 — — 0

accounted for in the sample tested using the SRT. A small sample of at least five to ten people must be tested for each different combination of demographic factors that the researchers expect to have a significant effect on bilingual ability. The specific demographic factors are determined by observation, by informal interviewing, and from census data. Our samples were chosen keeping in mind the factors of sex, education, and age, with the greatest importance placed on education.

SRT results are expressed as a point total out of 45 possible points. They are interpreted according to a corresponding bilingualism proficiency level, or reported proficiency evaluation (RPE) level. These RPE levels range from 0+ (very minimal proficiency) to 4+ (approaching the proficiency of a native speaker). Probably at least a level 3 proficiency is required to adequately understand most philosophical or religious material (Kindell 1991:28).5 _{A phonetic transcription of the SRT is included in Appendix B,}

along with a more detailed and practical description of the RPE levels than is presented here. Table 6 relates Hindi SRT score with the equivalent RPE level (Varenkamp 1991:9 and Radloff 1991:242).

Table 6. Score ranges on Hindi SRT corresponding to RPE levels

SRT (Score = out of 45) RPE level Proficiency descriptions

44–45 = 4+ [Near-native-speaker proficiency] 38–43 = 4 [Excellent proficiency]

32–37 = 3+ [Very good, general proficiency] 26–31 = 3 [Good, general proficiency] 20–25 = 2+ [Good, basic proficiency] 14–19 = 2 [Adequate, basic proficiency]

8–13 = 1+ [Limited, basic proficiency] 4–7 = 1 [Minimal, limited proficiency] 0–3 = 0+ [Very minimal proficiency]

5.2.2 Results

A demographic profile of a community provides the basis for interpreting the results of bilingualism testing. The percentage of the community with certain social characteristics (e.g., younger, uneducated, female) should be compared with that social group’s average proficiency. Table 7 gives a demographic profile for Tharu populations in this survey. This profile is based on detailed census figures for Kailali District in Nepal (Government of Nepal 1984a) and a Tharu village in Gonda District (Singh 1988:16), in addition to general literacy statistics for districts in Uttar Pradesh (Bose 1991). The range of percentages in each social category reflects the approximate spread among the various Tharu areas.

A total of 190 subjects in five Tharu villages were tested on the Hindi sentence repetition test. In each village a stratified sample was selected that was as representative as possible of the overall village population, based on demographic profiles developed for each village.

5 _{This assumes that RPE levels can be equated with the FSI (foreign service institute) proficiency levels (referred to in}

Table 7 Demographic profile of Tharu villages UNEDUCATED PRIMARY ED HIGHER ED.

SEX AGE (0 YEARS) (1–5 YEARS) (6+ YEARS) TOTAL MALE YOUNGER

(15–34) 17–22% 4–7% 4–5% 29% MALE OLDER 19–22% 1–3% 0–1% 23%

(35+) MALE TOTALS

36–44% 5–10% 4–6% 52%

FEMALE YOUNGER

(15–30) 26–28% 1–3% 0–1% 30% FEMALE OLDER 16–18% 0–2% 0% 18%

(35+) FEMALE TOTALS

42–46% 1–5% 0–1% 48% TOTALS 78–90% 6–15% 4–7% 100%

Overall results for each village are compared in table 8, along with results for just the uneducated part of the sample: x= mean average, s= standard deviation, N= sample size, L= equivalent RPE level of the average.

Table 8. Hindi SRT results by village

VILLAGE OVERALL UNEDUCATED x s N L x s N L Sisana

(RNs)

27.7 12.5 42 3 19.9 11.3 21 2+ Mathpuri

(BNM)

28.5 9.0 47 3 24.7 9.1 26 2+ Bangama

(RKB)

21.8 11.8 42 2+ 16.1 9.5 27 2 Bhusahar

Hunchawa

19.3 9.4 39 2 14.7 7.3 23 2 Chandenpur

(DGC)*

19.4 13.1 20 2 10.1 6.2 10 1+

*Chandenpur was used as a pilot test point. A larger and more representative sample was tested in the nearby village of Bhusahar Hunchawa.

A few comments can be made about this general display of data. There is a slight decline in average score from west to east: Sisana and Mathpuri are in Nainital District and have the highest scores;

Bhusahar Hunchawa and Chandenpur are in Gonda District and have the lowest scores. There are several reasons for this. Standard Hindi is spoken in Nainital District, but in Gonda District a non-standard

variety of Hindi is spoken. Also, the Tharu villages in Gonda District are more remote (with less opportunities for learning Hindi) than in Nainital District.

The difference in average score between most pairs of villages is not statistically significant.

However, SRT results from Mathpuri are significantly different from Bangama, Bhusahar Hunchawa, and Chandenpur, but not from Sisana.7 _{Figure 3 shows the distribution of bilingual proficiency levels for both}

Mathpuri and Bhusahar Hunchawa. This figure shows that ability in Hindi is quite varied within a village, and also between villages.

Figure 3. Distribution of Hindi proficiency in two Tharu villages with percentage of sample at each level. Keeping in mind that there is wide variation in Hindi ability among the villages, detailed results by social category are presented together in table 9.

Table 9. Summary of SRT results UNEDUCATED

(0 YEARS)

EDUCATED

(1 YEAR OR MORE)

AGE GROUP: YOUNGER OLDER YOUNGER OLDER TOTAL (15–34) (35+) (15–34) (35+)

MALE x= 25.4 x= 18.7 x= 32.4 x= 27.3 x= 27.2 s= 9.8 s= 11.2 s= 7.8 s= 10.6 s= 10.9 N= 17 N= 30 N= 52 N= 13 N= 113 L= 2+ L= 2 L= 3+ L= 3 L= 3

UNEDUCATED (0 YEARS)

EDUCATED

(1 YEAR OR MORE)

FEMALE x= 17.1 x= 13.7 x= 35.6 x= 17.3 x= 19.3 s= 8.4 s= 8.2 s= 6.6 s= 5.5 s= 11.1

N= 34 N= 26 N= 14 N= 3 N= 77 L= 2 L= 2 L= 3+ L= 2 L= 2 TOTAL x= 18.1 x= 31.7 x= 24.0

s= 10.0 s= 8.7 s=11.6 N= 107 N= 83 N= 190 L= 2 L= 3+ L= 2+ These results show a typical pattern of second-language acquisition: the educated have a significantly better Hindi ability than the uneducated; for those who are uneducated, men have significantly better Hindi ability than women; and younger people have better Hindi ability than older people. In every social category average Hindi ability is RPE level 2 or higher, characteristic of at least “adequate, basic proficiency.” Those who have completed at least one year of formal education average RPE level 3+, characteristic of “very good, general proficiency.” Those who are educated can probably use Hindi satisfactorily in most situations, though they may have some difficulty using Hindi for communication of philosophical or religious subjects.

However, interpretation of these results must consider the extent of education in the Tharu

communities. A vast majority of the population, perhaps as much as 90 percent, still falls in the category of uneducated; this segment of the population will not be able to adequately use Hindi for

communication of complex subject matter.

6 Language use and attitudes, and language vitality

6.1 Procedures

A study of language use patterns attempts to describe which speech varieties a community uses in different social situations. These situations, called domains, are contexts in which the use of one language variety is considered more appropriate than another (Fasold 1984:183).

A study of language attitudes attempts to describe people’s attitude towards the different speech varieties that are known to them, and about the choices people should make with regard to language use. The primary method for studying both language use and language attitudes among the Tharu was the use of orally administered questionnaires. Observation was also used.

During initial wordlist collection and recorded text testing, a preliminary form of the language use and attitude questionnaire was used, mostly informally, to see which questions were most appropriate and useful. Some questions that were useful to guide the researchers in the early stages of the survey were not included in the final form of the questionnaire. This final form was administered at two test points in conjunction with bilingualism testing.

The questions were asked in Hindi, adding a potential bias from use of the prestige language by the researchers. Some inconsistency in how questions were asked, especially those probing language

attitudes, has led to results that are less reliable than they ought to be.

The following questions comprised the preliminary form of the questionnaire. Those marked with an asterisk were asked on the final form of the questionnaire; there are missing numbers for questions discussed in §1.2.2.

1. What do you call your language? 2. What other languages do you speak?

4. What language do you speak to merchants in the bazaar? 5. *What language is spoken in your home?

6 *What language do the children use when playing? 10. Are there Tharus who speak differently from you? 11. …Where?

12. *Do you understand the Tharu spoken in Kheri District? 13. *…In Gonda District? [In Nainital District?]

14. *Where is the sweetest Tharu spoken?

15. *What language do you use in private worship?

16. *In what language should a mother speak to her young child? 17. Should Tharu children learn to speak Hindi?

18.a *Would it be a good thing for books to be written in Rana Tharu? 18.b *…In Kathoriya Tharu?

19. Would you want your child (or you) to marry someone who spoke only Hindi? 20. …Only Tharu?

24. *Do you think children here will still be speaking Tharu in 50 years?

6.2 Results

6.2.1 Language use

A total of 47 subjects responded to the preliminary form of the questionnaire; an additional 47 subjects responded to the final form.

Tharu is spoken as mother tongue by 100 percent of the subjects questioned. About 89 percent of the sample speak a second language (55 percent Hindi, 34 percent Hindi and Nepali). The results of the language use questionnaire are summarized in table 10. In general, these results show that Tharu is still actively spoken in the home, among Tharus, among children, and for private worship.

Table 10. Language use patterns

LANGUAGE USED

Q# DOMAIN OF USE THARU HINDI/NEPALI BOTH 3. With other Tharus 31 8 8 4. With merchants 7 31 9 5. In the home 92 1 1 6. Children playing 90 1 3 15. In private worship 84 7 1 7. Non-Tharus learn Tharu? 22—Yes 25—No

8. Tharus who don’t speak Tharu? 30—Yes 16—No 10. Tharus who speak differently? 31—Yes 13—No

These results show that Tharu is strongly used in the crucial domains of home and religion. Tharu is the language of in-group identification, the one with emotive appeal. The fact that Tharu is used almost exclusively by children at play suggests that Tharu will remain a vital language for the youngest generation.

With outsiders such as merchants, Hindi is most commonly used because most merchants do not speak Tharu. With other Tharus, Tharu is used by most people, but 34 percent (16 of 47) responded that they sometimes used Hindi or Nepali.

Testifying to the vitality of the Tharu language, nearly half of the respondents knew of outsiders who had learned to speak Tharu. Counterbalancing this, however, about two-thirds of the respondents knew of Tharus who did not speak Tharu, primarily those who had moved to towns in Nainital District.

6.2.2 Language attitudes

Questions dealing with language attitudes revealed that, in general, attitudes are very positive towards the Tharu language (each person liking the local variety best). Likewise, attitudes towards the use of Hindi are positive.

It proved difficult to probe attitudes towards different varieties of Tharu, or of the perceived understanding of different varieties of Tharu, because in most cases people were not familiar with them.

Results from some of the individual language attitude questions are presented below. 14. Where is the sweetest Tharu spoken?

Own village Don’t know Other places 68 10 14

The majority, 74 percent, thought the Tharu that they spoke was the sweetest; no other specific place or area was mentioned by more than four people. Clearly, there is no recognized standard or prestigious variety of Tharu.

16. In what language should a mother speak to her young child? Tharu Hindi Both Don’t know

83 5 1 1

In question 16, 92 percent of respondents said that a mother should use Tharu when speaking to her child. This shows a very positive attitude toward the use of the mother tongue.

17. Should a child learn to speak Hindi? Yes No

41 3

Speaking Hindi is seen as a very valuable asset; it is part of identification with the broader political unit and necessary for advancement.

18a. Would it be a good thing for books to be written in Tharu? Yes No Don’t know

88 3 1

18b. Would it be a good thing for books to be written in Kathoriya Tharu? Yes No Other

5 27 1

In question 18a, “Tharu” was equated with Rana Tharu. This is the variety that is assumed if clarification is not made. Attitudes are consistently positive towards the prospect of vernacular literature in Tharu. Towards the prospect of literature in Kathoriya Tharu, however, attitudes are largely negative. It seems probable that much of this negative attitude is rooted in the fact that most people think

Kathoriya Tharu is a variety unknown to them, when in fact they have just understood a text from Kathoriya. Kathoriya Tharu is largely unfamiliar to other Tharus, and so people have no basis from which to answer the question. There is no other evidence of negative attitudes towards Kathoriya Tharu or its speakers. Further study needs to be done to determine if negative attitudes exist which would likely be a hindrance to the acceptance of vernacular literature in Kathoriya Tharu.

19. Would you want your child (or you) to marry someone who spoke only Hindi? Yes No Other

25 16 5

20. Would you want your child (or you) to marry someone who spoke only Tharu? Yes No Other

35 7 2

Responses to questions 19 and 20 appear inconsistent and may be the result of mistakes in questioning. A majority responded that it is alright to marry someone who spoke only Hindi; a more substantial majority responded that it is also alright to marry someone who spoke only Tharu. Perhaps more significant is the fact that 35 percent responded that it would not be alright to marry someone who spoke only Hindi. This reflects a large segment of the population for whom maintenance of the mother tongue is still very important. Interestingly, one person who answered “yes” to question 19 said, “If they want to [marry a Hindi-speaking girl] we will teach her our language.”

24. Do you think children here will still be speaking Tharu in 50 years? Yes No Maybe Don’t know

62 17 4 9

People’s perception of the future vitality of the language is largely positive: 67 percent think that Tharu will still be spoken by children in 50 years. That nearly 20 percent of respondents answered negatively shows that many people are feeling that the Tharu language is threatened.

7 Recommendations

7.1 For literature development and literacy programs

This language survey has shown that: 1) a vast majority of the population is not likely to be adequately bilingual in Hindi; 2) the Tharu language is widely used in nearly every domain, and attitudes are very positive towards it; 3) Kathoriya Tharu appears to be widely understood among all Tharu speech

varieties tested in the Western Indo-Nepal Tarai; and 4) lexically, Kathoriya Tharu is at the midpoint of a dialect chain, between the more divergent Rana and Dangora varieties.

In light of these findings, we recommend that any literature development be done in Kathoriya Tharu. Indications are that written materials done in Pavera village of Kailali District, Nepal (or a village that speaks this same dialect) would likely be adequately understood by all the Tharu varieties covered in this survey.

Literacy programs will also be needed in this same variety of Tharu. Reception of written Tharu materials should be tested among speakers of Rana Tharu and Dangora Tharu to determine their

acceptance before extensive literature development is done. Tharus easily recognize the other varieties of Tharu and may initially reject material in other varieties; promotion of the written form would play an important part in a literacy program.

7.2 For further survey

The biggest need for further survey lies east of Gonda District (Dang District in Nepal). The Kathoriya Tharu (KkP) RTT should be tested at selected points to determine how far this language variety reaches. The different Tharu varieties along the Nepal-India border east to the eastern border of Nepal need to be surveyed, and dialect centers determined.

In addition, it remains to be shown conclusively that Kathoriya Tharu is understood well among the Buksa and Rana of Nainital District. Testing of the KkP RTT should be done in BNM and RNs.

It will also be informative to test bilingualism in Nepali at representative points in Tharu

communities in West Nepal. In addition to this, it is recommended that Tharu varieties in north Kailali District and in Bardiya and Banke Districts of Nepal be compared with those found in this survey. The same holds true for the Tharu spoken in Basti District of India.

Before extensive literature development is begun, further language attitude studies are necessary to probe attitudes towards oral and written Kathoriya Tharu. If literature in this variety proves

unacceptable, because of negative attitudes or because of poor understanding of Kathoriya literature, then further survey will be needed to determine alternate centers for literature development. The data suggests that a Rana-Tharu point in Nainital District (like Sisana, RNs) would be a good choice to reach the Rana and Buksa groups; the Kathoriya village of Pavera appears to be the best point to reach the Dangora group.

25

26

Appendix B: Sentence repetition tests

Bilingual proficiency descriptions

The following bilingualism proficiency descriptions are adapted from Radloff (1991:152–153), and Brewster and Brewster (1976:370–376). They apply to the RPE levels used in sentence repetition testing.

Level 0+ (Very minimal proficiency)

Memorized proficiency. Able to satisfy immediate needs using rehearsed utterances. Able to use at least 50 words in appropriate contexts.

Level 1 (Minimal, limited proficiency)

Able to satisfy minimum courtesy requirements and maintain very simple face-to-face conversations on familiar topics. Understands only very simple speech, and needs frequent repetition. A person at this level has a very heavy accent which makes understanding difficult.

Examples: Could understand and correctly respond to questions about marital status, nationality, occupation, age, and place of birth; could buy a bus ticket, and get off where intended.

Level 1+ (Limited, basic proficiency)

Can initiate and maintain predictable face-to-face conversations and satisfy limited social demands. Vocabulary is limited to basic personal and survival areas. Can do anything a Level One can do, and a few of Level Two.

Examples: Might be able to give one’s life story and talk about one’s plans and hopes.

Level 2 (Adequate, basic proficiency)

Able to satisfy routine social demands and limited requirements in other domains. Can talk about and understand everyday topics, but has difficulty with some topics. A person at this level has great difficulty dealing with complications or conflicts if they arise. Pronunciation is almost always understandable. Has a heavy accent that forces people to concentrate when listening, and sometimes causes

misunderstanding.

Examples: Can engage in superficial discussions on current events, about oneself, and about family and work; can also understand native speakers talking about simple topics. Can describe a recent job or activity in some detail, and can describe the local political structure.

Level 2+ (Good, basic proficiency)

Able to satisfy most requirements with language usage that is often, but not always, acceptable and effective. A person at this level can do all the things a Level Two person can do and a few things of Level Three.

Examples: Might be able to cope with a social blunder, or discuss alternative views on a controversial topic.

Level 3 (Good, general proficiency)

Able to speak the language with sufficient structural accuracy and vocabulary to participate effectively in most formal and informal conversations on practical, social, and occupational topics. Has a marked

“foreign” accent, but this does not impede understanding. Normal educated speech is understood quite well.

Examples: Can successfully defend a position and understand an opposing point of view. Can understand native speakers talking with each other on a variety of topics. If unjustly accused of

something, could successfully explain the misunderstanding; language skills are adequate for coping with emergency situations. At this level, the formation of close friendships is not hindered by language ability.

Level 3+ (Very good, general proficiency)

Is often able to use the language to satisfy needs in a wide range of sophisticated and demanding tasks. Is usually able to understand idiomatic speech that native speakers use when talking with each other. Can do all the things a Level 3 person can do, and some of the things of a person at Level 4.

Examples: Could usually convey exact meaning in a technical or professional discussion.

Level 4 (Excellent proficiency)

Able to use the language fluently and accurately on all levels normally pertinent to needs. Grammatical errors are only rarely made, and these are corrected automatically and unconsciously. Vocabulary is adequate for all technical, social, and practical situations.

Examples: Could naturally alter speech style for talking intimately with a friend, or respectfully to a high government official. Can understand humor and puns, and can actively use the language to

participate in fun and humorous situations.

Level 4+ (Approaching native speaker proficiency)

Speaking proficiency is regularly superior in all respects, usually equivalent to that of a “well-educated,” highly articulate native speaker.

28

Appendix C: A summary of Tharu culture

The intent of this summary is to document some of the observations of the survey team for the benefit of those who want to know more about the Tharu than is found in the introduction to this report. Some of the information here is redundant with the report, but is presented here in a slightly different format. This summary is in a question-answer format.

1. In which Districts and Tehsils are they located? What is the population in each? What is the percentage of urban and rural?

The Tharu are almost entirely rural, i.e. living in towns and villages with less than 2,000 people. Less than 1 percent live and work outside in urban areas.

Location, population, and literacy among Tharu in India District Total Male Female Male

Literacy

Female Literacy Gonda 11,457 5,871 5,586 12.2% 0.3% Kheri 17,789 9,301 8,488 8.6% 0.7% Nainital 73,998 37,549 36,448 31.6% 6.1% Pilibhit 273 138 135 1.1% 0.7% Bahraich 6,340 3,270 3,070 7.9% 0.6% Gorakhpur 2,303 1,230 1,073 43.3% 7.7% Bijnor 3,647 1,968 1,679 19.5% 1.8%

Nepal

The Tharu-speaking population in the Western Tarai was 333,755 in 1981. This is comprised mostly of Dangora and Kathoriya. The total Tharu-speaking population in Nepal in 1981 was 545,685, comprising 3.6 percent of the total national population. Tharus make up a significant proportion of the population in districts like Kailali (47 percent), Bardiya (37 percent), and Dang (32 percent).

2. Are there geographic features common to all of the places where Tharus live?

All Tharu villages are located in the Tarai, the low marshy land that stretches all along the base of the Himalayan foothills. They are especially known for inhabiting the dense jungle. Previously other ethnic groups avoided this area because of malaria and wild animals.

3. Where do they come from? What are their origins?

Most Tharus west of Gonda District claim to be the descendants of Rajput women from Rajasthan who fled there many hundreds of years ago. As a result of this many of the women hold

themselves to be of higher caste and treat the men with some disdain.

The Dangora Tharu of Gonda District claim to be descended from the Dang Tharu farther north. No information is available about the origin of the Dang Tharu.

4. What is their primary occupation?

Their primary occupation is agriculture, with rice being the main crop. They also grow wheat, mustard, chilies, dal, and some vegetables. Recently some have begun to grow sugar cane as a cash crop. The sale of some of their crops provides the sole income for most families. They also

hunt and fish almost year round, and gather forest products. They are mostly self-sufficient except for simple commodities such as cloth, kerosene, sugar, salt, etc.

The women are skilled at basket weaving, though this is almost entirely for household use. It has potential as a cottage industry.

5. What common foods do they eat?

Rice, vegetables and chapattis are the most common foods. It is generally very spicy, and little dal is used in comparison to elsewhere in north India. They eat two meals per day, around 8 a.m. and again around 4 p.m.

They are meat eaters, enjoying most kinds of meat (but not beef). The Dangora are said to relish field rat, a difference which sets them apart from the other Tharus. A further difference for the Dangora (at least at the turn of the century) is that they eat pork while their neighbors do not. 6. What is the average family size? What is the basic family unit?

In most Tharu areas the average family size, or average number per household, is about ten. Joint families are common. After marriage it is common for a man to remain in his parents’ home with his new wife. Thus, several nuclear families would share the same house. In Buksa households, each nuclear family has a separate kitchen fire, but in other Tharu households there is a joint kitchen. When a household gets too large (sometimes up to fifty people), then a new household will be started.

7. What use are the clans? How are they divided? Are they ranked? Where is each located? Among the Tharu there is little awareness of the different clans, and no consensus on their number or ranking. There are subdivisions of at least some of the clans. The primary clans are Rana, Buksa, Dangora, Dang, and Kathoriya. Others include Sunha, Thakur, Rajiya, Molaria, Kunka, Jhogi, and Songsa.

Rana Tharu: Khatima, Sitarganj, Kichha, and Haldwani Tehsils of Nainital District; in Nighasan Tehsil of Kheri District; and in the far southwestern districts of Nepal.

Buksa: In about 130 villages in Kichha and Kashipur Tehsils of southwestern Nainital district, along a diagonal from Ramnagar to Dineshpur. Small numbers reported in Bijnor and Garhwal Districts. They are officially recognized as a separate Scheduled Tribe by the Indian government. Dangora Tharu: Primarily in the southwestern districts of Nepal: Kanchanpur, Kailali, Bardia, and Banke; in Nighasan Tehsil of Kheri District; and in Tulsipur Tehsil of Gonda District.

Dang Tharu: Primarily in Dang District, Nepal.

Kathoriya Tharu: Kailali District, Nepal; some in Nighasan Tehsil of Kheri District; reportedly some in Tulsipur Tehsil of Gonda District.

8. What is the preferred marital pattern?

All marriage is within the clan, but generally not within the same village, as everyone in a village is considered to be related. In the past people married in their early teens, but this is slowly changing, though the average age at first-marriage is still quite young (about 15). All marriages are arranged by the families concerned, except for the rare love marriage.

30 9. How are the Tharu villages structured?

Tharu villages are generally very neat and well kept. Courtyards are swept clean and fresh mud and dung applied regularly to the porch area surrounding a house. Most houses have their own courtyard, generally with a tube-well. In one Kathoriya village the courtyards were fenced and flowers were planted for decoration.

Kathoriya Tharus appear unique in the colorful decoration of the outside of their houses. Different images, like a sun or animals, are carved in relief on the outer walls of the houses, and then colored.

Different clans do not generally live in the same village, though a few Dangora families will often live among other clans working as household servants. Only a small number of outsiders (Sikhs, Paharis, Bengalis, caste Nepalis) live in Tharu villages.

10. Who are the leaders? How are they chosen?

Local leadership of a village consists of a village leader, with a five year term, who is promoted by family members as a potential leader and “run for office.” Election is apparently by

consensus.

In at least some places there is a community council with authority for such things as appointing school teachers if there is a vacancy that cannot be filled by the government. At the turn of the century there were tribal councils who settled disputes in the villages.

11. What is the status of women?

Women appear to have more freedom than in many north Indian communities. They can be quite bold and uninhibited. They are busy from dawn to dusk in household chores and

fieldwork, generally being much more hard working than the men. In some Tharu communities the women view themselves as higher caste than the men and will not allow the men into the kitchen; likewise, they do not eat with the men.

12. What are the educational patterns today? How have they changed in the past 10 years? What is the attitude towards education by different segments of the community?

Education has made substantial inroads among Tharu children in the past 10 years.

Approximately 50 percent of children begin school (this figure varies widely). The percentage going beyond fifth class is still quite small, and the dropout rate in the first few years is over 50 percent. There are hostels for Tharu students in Palia and Chandan Chouki in Kheri District, and in Pachpedwa and Tulsipur in Gonda District (also in several towns in Nainital District). The number of girls beginning school is approximately one-third the number of boys, and the number who continue school beyond fifth class is negligible.

Attitudes are becoming increasingly positive towards education among the Tharu as they see the benefits coming to those who are educated. More people are becoming more willing to forego the short-term benefit of their child’s labor for the potential long-term benefit of education. Generally, the younger generation is more positive towards education than the older generation. Among the older generation, and also among some young people, there is the fear that education will contribute to the demise of the Tharu language and culture.

13. Are they an ambitious people? Complacent (vs. change-oriented)? Do children today follow customs of the elders?

In general the Tharu are very resistant to change. The very strict adherence to only intra-clan marriage is an example of this, as is the continued very strong use of the mother tongue in most domains of life.

Whether it’s complacency or just naïveté, the Tharu have suffered greatly at the hands of

unscrupulous immigrants to their areas. They have lost much of their land to immigrants. Recent laws and a bit more worldly wisdom seems to have stemmed the tide of this now.

Government services and programs such as development banks and nutrition programs, promoted in a few areas to “develop” the Tharu, have met very limited success. There is widespread willingness to accept different benefits (electricity, loans, nutrition), but little interest in paying for these benefits.

When asked on a questionnaire if young people today should continue to follow Tharu customs, 86 percent said that they should and only 2 percent said they should not (n=47). Eighty-three percent said that indeed they still were practicing these customs. This provides good evidence that Tharus today are showing little tendency to abandon their traditional culture.

14. What have been the significant changes in the last ten years?

The increase in education has probably been the greatest change in the past ten years. There have also been changes in agriculture: the increased use of fertilizers has significantly improved crop yields, and the use of farm tractors in some places has dramatically changed the nature of agricultural work.

15. What are their religious practices?

Tharus are a god-fearing people, with firm faith in deities, demons and evil spirits. In many household courtyards a small raised and covered platform houses the house god, often an image of a small horse. They believe in a supreme being Thakur who is generally too distant and too benevolent to do any harm to mankind. The Tharus place great importance on the forest, but always go into the forest with a group of people, for fear of the wild animals, and especially, the presence of gods and spirits. As the inhabitants of the high mountains in Nepal attribute the mountains as the seat of the gods, the Tharus attribute the forests as the place where the gods and spirits live.

Hindu holidays are celebrated with vigor among the Tharu, and Hindu nationalist groups are quick to say that Tharus are Hindus, but they are still essentially animist in practice.

16. What is their attitude towards outsiders? Towards being Tharu?

Tharus are quite closed to outsiders with regard to long term influence, though they are open and hospitable at first. There are very few opportunities for outsiders to settle among them. Indeed, it has only been in the last forty years that a few outsiders have settled among them as teachers and businessmen.

Those who are Tharu but from a different clan than one’s own clan, fall somewhere between being outsiders and insiders. There is a sense of common ethnic identity with all Tharus, but their strongest allegiance is to their own clan.

In recent decades the use of Hindi and Nepali (in Nepal) has increased, and women have begun wearing the saree, but by and large Tharu cultural identity is still strongly intact. The traditional

32 women’s dress is still used by the majority of women, the language is still spoken to children and used in all local domains, marriage and living patterns have changed very little, and local customs and traditions are still followed. There is a sharp contrast between the majority who remain in village areas and the few who live in outside towns and cities. Those outside tend to have a negative view of being Tharu and want to hide their ethnicity; those in the villages maintain a strong and positive sense of ethnic identity.

17. To which neighboring group are they most similar? What kind of relationship do they have with neighboring groups?

The Tharus have the distinction of being the original inhabitants of the Tarai, having

successfully adapted to the dense jungle and malarial climate. They are unique in this respect, and recent immigrants to their lands can hardly be called similar.

The most characteristic relationship the Tharus have had with neighboring groups and

immigrants has been the one of exploiter and exploited. Originally their ignorance of outsiders and their weakness for alcohol made them easy prey to be swindled of their land.

This exploitation quickly resulted in a second kind of relationship, that of landlord and tenant. Today landlessness has in some cases extended to bonded labor—known as the kamaiya system. A Tharu man’s debt passes on to his sons and, before long, generations are bonded to the landlord or money-lender’s estate. There are also cases of Tharu landlords.

A third kind of relationship is the merchant-client relationship that they have with bazaar shopkeepers and grain merchants. In the border town of Chandan Chouki in Kheri District the Marwari merchants charge excessive prices, give an unfair rate for crops purchased, and oppose with force any threat to their monopoly.

A final relationship is perhaps the most common today, that of mutually disinterested and independent neighbors. Living in mostly homogeneous Tharu villages, they have little contact with neighboring groups.

33

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