silesr2015 012.
Noira Bhils and a Few Other
Groups
A Sociolinguistic Study
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Noira Bhils and a Few Other Groups
A Sociolinguistic Study
Bezily P. Varghese
Sunil Kumar D.
SIL International
®2015
SIL Electronic Survey Report 2015-012, October 2015 ©2015 SIL International®
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The primary purpose of this study is to identify the need for vernacular literature in the Noiri language (noi) in order to facilitate communication with this group. In addition, the study investigates the possibility that Dungra Bhili language development could also serve Noiri speakers. Accordingly, the goals of this ambitious study were: (1) to identify the geographical area of the Noira people; (2) to determine the lexical similarity/difference between Noiri and the surrounding language varieties; (3) to investigate the intelligibility of Dungra Bhili among Noiri speakers; (4) to assess the attitude of Noiri speakers to the Dungra Bhili variety; (5) to evaluate bilingualism of Noiri speakers in the state languages of Marathi (in Maharashtra) and Hindi (in Madhya Pradesh); and (6) to evaluate language use and attitude of Noiri speakers toward their own language variety.
The authors created all the maps in this report.
[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. It has not been peer reviewed. The reader is cautioned that more recent research may be available. Historical data is quite valuable as it provides a basis for a longitudinal analysis and helps us understand both the trajectory and pace of change as compared with more recent studies.—Editor]
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Contents
Preface
1 Introduction
1.1 A walk through the land of the Bhils 1.2 Noiras
1.2.1 Geography 1.2.2 People 1.2.3 Language 1.2.4 Education 1.3 Dungra Bhils
1.4 Bhilori, Mathwadi and Barutiya 1.5 Other groups
1.5.1 Nahali of Toranmal 1.5.2 Nihali
1.5.3 Kotli 1.5.4 Gujari 1.6 Previous research 1.7 Purpose and goals
2 Lexical similarity comparison 2.1 Procedure
2.2 Wordlist sites 2.3 Results and analysis
2.3.1 Among the Noiri varieties 2.3.2 Barutiya and Noiri 2.3.3 Dungra Bhili and Noiri 2.3.4 Nahali/Nihali varieties 2.3.5 Kotli and Gujari
2.3.6 Hindi, Gujarati and Marathi 2.3.7 Vasavi, Noiri and Dungra Bhili 3 Dungra Bhili intelligibility among Noiras
3.1 Lexical similarity comparison versus intelligibility 3.2 Tool for intelligibility testing
3.3 RTT procedure
3.4 Interpretation of RTT data 3.5 Test sites
3.5.1 Chillare 3.5.2 Astambha 3.6 Result and analysis
3.6.1 Dungra Bhili tiger story 3.6.2 Noiri pickpocketing story
4 Bilingualism, language use and language attitude 4.1 Bilingualism
4.1.1 Pilot bilingualism test among Bhils in Northern Dhule district 4.1.2 SRT test among Rathwi speakers of Madhya Pradesh
4.1.3 Bilingualism of Noiras 4.2 Language use and attitude
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5 Conclusion
5.1 Extensibility of Dungra Bhili 5.2 Nahali/Nihali varieties 5.3 Kotli and Gujari varieties Appendix A: Wordlist
Appendix B: Stories References
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Preface
Language has been called the mother of a culture. In the context of exploitation of a minority, language is one of the few things they can claim as their own. The disproportionate privileges given to scheduled languages by underestimating the importance and role of other minority tongues extend to the level of even exploiting these languages. However, the Indian Institute for Cross Cultural Communication (IICCC) is giving new hope to these groups by developing previously-alienated languages in India through mother tongue literature and literacy programs. As a means of accomplishing this, IICCC has been initiating studies among different language varieties, one such being Bhili. This sociolinguistic survey among Noiri speaking people is a follow-up to many other surveys among the different Bhili varieties.
The venture embarked in October 2002 with library research, followed by fieldwork between November 2002 and January 2003. The conclusions herein are based only on what we were able to accomplish and observe in the field, as well as through our prior research. We alone are responsible for any mistakes or errors contained in this report; corrections to this end are welcome. Even so, this report should prove very helpful for those who plan to work for Noiri language development.
Finally, we wish to acknowledge all the people who helped us in so many ways with this research. They are too numerous to mention individually. Of course, we are most thankful to the Noiras, for this work could not have been accomplished without their genuine cooperation. We feel privileged to have been allowed into their lives, and it is our sincere desire that the results of this study will benefit them. Bezily and Sunil
April 2003 Bangalore
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1 1.1 A walk through the land of the Bhils
The Bhils, the second largest tribal group of India, are found in western India, specifically southern Rajasthan, western Madhya Pradesh, eastern Gujarat and northern Maharashtra. The region is forested and includes the Aravali, Vindhya and Satpuda mountain ranges. The Tapti, Narmada and Mahi are the important rivers that water the region. According to the 1991 census, the number of mother tongue speakers of all Bhili language varieties combined was 5.5 million.
There was a time when education was inaccessible for the Bhils, but now there are many educated people from the community in government services. Nonetheless, most interior villages still do not have full access to the benefits of education.
Quoting Gupta and Dutta, Singh (1994:122) describes the physical appearance of Bhils as follows: “Bhils in general are below medium or short-statured in height, tend to have a round head shape and have a round or oblong facial profile with a relatively broad nose form.”
Maggard et al (1998:6) describes the village settlement of Bhils as follows: “Bhils generally live in non-clustered villages, with houses spaced at some distance from one another with fields surrounding them. A typical Bhil village having a few hundred residents can occupy an area of a few square kilometres. The distance between the houses is said to lessen the hostility between neighbours. The family structure among the Bhils is generally nuclear, and when a son marries he begins a new family unit.”
The language of the Bhils is classified in the Indo-Aryan family. The old Bhili language is thought to have a Munda or Dravidian element; Grierson asserts a non-Indo-Aryan element in Bhili languages, though that is not thoroughly established. The Bhili language forms a dialectical network from southern Rajasthan to northwest Maharashtra and from eastern Gujarat to southwest Madhya Pradesh. Other than Bhili, Grierson (1907:5–6) lists twenty-six additional names of separate dialects that have their own individual identity. Maggard et al (1998:11) lists seven major distinct varieties of Bhili.1 However, there are a number of Bhili dialects that are very different in intelligibility. The introductory chapter by Maggard et al. is an essential reader in order to have an overall understanding about the Bhils and their language varieties.
It is not unusual for any homogeneous or especially heterogeneous group that spreads across a large geographical area to have a multiplicity of names. This is true among the Bhils, who have many groups, subgroups and clans. The term Bhil or Bhili is used mainly in two ways in this report. In the restricted sense, Bhil refers to those groups who call themselves Bhils or who claim to be speaking Bhili (e.g., Noiras or Dungra Bhils). In the larger sense, Bhil is a cover term for different tribal groups with enough superficial resemblance in their way of life to cause them to be grouped together. The government follows this broader classification, which includes even those who do not accept themselves as Bhils or claim to be speaking a Bhili variety.2 Unless otherwise specified, the term Bhil or Bhili carries the restricted sense throughout this report.
1Jhabua Bhili variety, Wagdi variety, Bhilodi/Bhili and Patelia of Gujarat together, Bhilali, Rathwi Bareli and Rathwi Pauri together, Rathawi of Gujarat and Dungra Bhili are the seven distinct varieties identified in the research. 2For example, though Pauras are classified as Bhils in government records, they hardly identify themselves as Bhils and always count themselves superior to other Bhils.
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1.2 Noiras
1.2.1 Geography
Our research was focused on one of the Bhili subgroups, which outsiders call Noiras. These people are found in the mountainous region of southwest Madhya Pradesh, northwest Maharashtra, which is very close to the Gujarat border. In contrast to the northern hilly area, the south of the survey area consists of plains. Table 1 lists tahsils, districts and states where Noiras are found.3 Noiras in Shirpur tahsil are found along with Paura settlements and in separate villages. But in Dhadgaon and Akkalkua tahsils, the concentration of people is found in separate villages, and most of these villages are interior as well. Informal conversation during the survey revealed that Noiras in Shirpur tahsil migrated from Dhadgaon and Akkalkua tahsils, when they had come out in search of daily labour.
Table 1. Districts and tahsils where Noiras live
State District Tahsils
Maharashtra
Nandurbar
Dhadgaon Akkalkua Shahada
Dhule Shirpur
Jalgaon Chopdaa
Madhya Pradesh Badwani Pansemal
a It was reported that there are Noiras in Shahada and Chopda tahsils, but the survey team did not collect any language data from these tahsils since the reported population is very small.
The survey region is divided into eastern and western areas as far as Noiras are concerned. The western region includes Dhadgaon and Akkalkua tahsil of Nandurbar district. Shahada, Shirpur, Chopda and Pansemal tahsils form the eastern region. See maps 1 and 2, below, for the locations covered in the survey report.
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Map 1. Location of survey area
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1.2.2 People
The name Noira seems to have been attributed to this particular group of Bhils because of the
pronounced nasalisation in the language.4 Noiras live in both scattered and group settlements. Those in Shirpur tahsil are found in group settlements, with their houses adjacent to each other, but those in Dhadgaon and Akkalkua area have a scattered settlement, making their houses in their agricultural fields. They live in houses having principally one room with a separate portion for the kitchen, made of local items from the forest itself. They make the walls with bamboo and sticks, and cover them with mud. The roof is made of tiles.
Noiras are settled agriculturalists. Maize, millet, pulses, onion, chickpeas, wheat, sugarcane and cotton are the main crops in their fields. They eat fish and meat, including beef. Both men and women smoke. The estimated population of the community is more than 100,000.5
The official government listing of Noiras falls under scheduled tribe along with other Bhils (larger sense). Socially and physically they reflect the characteristics mentioned in section 1.1. It was observed that Noiras try to identify themselves with Pauras in the eastern area and with Vasavas in the western region. Accordingly they give their surnames as Padvi, Tadvi, Vasava and Paura, instead of Bhil or Noira. They have marriage relationships with other Bhils (restricted sense) in the area.
1.2.3 Language
The language spoken by the Noira community is called Noiri. Noiri has been reported as a dialect of Pauri in Maharashtra. Other dialects of Pauri are Rathwi Pauri, Bareli Pauri and Palya. The classification of Noiri as a dialect of Pauri may be based more on group identification (see above) than on any
linguistic relationship. Noiri is the language of communication within the community and with other tribals of the area. The respective state language is used for communication with the outside world, although the people are not adequately bilingual in it. Since Noiri is spoken by one of the Bhil subgroups, it could be categorised as an Indo-Aryan language along with other Bhili varieties.
1.2.4 Education
The literacy rate is very low among the community, although the region has good access to schools; all villages in Maharashtra have at least a primary school. A few among the older generation have started climbing up the ladder of education, although even among the younger sections of the population, there are still very few who have completed matriculation. In addition to the government schools, Narmada Bachavan Andolan6 has its own schools in some of the remote villages like Gomon (near the river Narmada in Akkalkua tahsil). It seems that children are interested in going to school because of the provision of foodstuff by the government. Though the present generation goes to school, it was observed that they are not very much concerned to continue their studies. Students dropping out during the course of their education is not uncommon.
4A Bhili man whom the researchers met in Shirpur explained that Noira means “people who speak through their nose.”
5The calculation is based on the relative proportion of Noira, Barutiya and Paura populations of each tahsil where Noiras are found and the total tribal population of respective tahsils based on the 1991 census report.
6This is a social movement led by Meda Patkar to protect the rights of tribals in the context of constructing dams throughout the Narmad river region, which may directly affect their wellbeing.
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1.3 Dungra Bhils
The word dungar means “those who stay in the hills.” Thus the Bhils who live on the slope of the Vindhya Satpuda mountain ranges in Gujarat are called Dungra Bhils by outsiders. This portion of the report is largely taken from the works of Sunil Mathew among Dungra Bhils.
Dungra Bhils live in Kawant and Naswadi tahsils of Vadodara district in Gujarat and Alirajpur tahsil of Jhabua district in Madhya Pradesh. Their estimated population is more than 100,000. Most of them find their livelihood through agriculture. They cultivate the slopes of the hills and depend completely on rain for water. Like Noiras, Dungra Bhils also cultivate maize, cotton, millet and pulses. The produce of the land is often badly affected by the shortage of water.
Women like to adorn themselves with ornaments made of lead and other metals. They tattoo their heads and foreheads, lower lips and cheeks to add to their beauty. They also tattoo their name on their forearms and believe that it will give them heavenly blessing after death. The men wear turbans, a white upper garment and dhoti.
Brewing liquor is very widespread among Dungra Bhils; young and old are equally fond of liquor and tobacco. Child marriage is still common among them. They maintain a nuclear family system where the father is the head of the family. A man never utters his wife’s name because they believe it will cause evil to befall him, possibly even leading to death. Polygamy is considered a mark of higher social and economic status.7 A man is not supposed to choose his mate from his father’s and mother’s clan.
The wedding ceremony consists of traditional elements involving both men and women. The wedding takes place at the bride’s natal house and is officiated by priests. After the wedding the bride is handed over to the bridegroom. After seven days the bride’s parents and relatives come and take her back to her house; then after seven more days the bridegroom takes her back.
Dungra Bhils speak a language very different from the respective state languages, Gujarati8 and
Hindi.9 Based on the dialectical study, Maggard et al grouped Dungra Bhili, Noiri and Bhilori together in
one cluster that ranges from 71 to 87 percent of lexical similarity.10 They go on to say that Dungra Bhili
is distinct from Rathawi of Gujarat, and that one variety of Vasavi is on the periphery of adequate comprehension among the Dungra Bhils.
1.4 Bhilori, Mathwadi and Barutiya
As stated above, the multiplicity of names for the languages spoken by different Bhil groups causes confusion. The situation becomes complex when those names overlap in their scope of usage. Bhilori, Mathwadi and Barutiya are three terms identified in this survey causing such ambiguity. Watters (2013:6) identifies Bhilori as the language variety of a small group who live predominantly around Dhadgaon and which is closely related to Noiri Bhili. During this survey it was observed that Bhilori is used as a general name by Vasavas, Noiras and other Bhils in Dhadgaon, Akkalkua and Nandurbar tahsils (in Nandurbar district of Maharashtra) to refer to their own Bhili varieties. Based on these findings it would seem plausible that Bhilori is principally a cover title for Bhili varieties at least in the western part of the survey area.
Mathwadi Bhil11 is a general term denoting any of the Bhils (larger sense) living in the Satpuda hills,
and is used chiefly by Bhils (larger sense) living on the plains (Watters 2013:5). In Dhadgaon and
7In order to marry a girl, the boy has to pay a bride price, which is currently around Rs. 12,000.
8According to the survey done by Sunil Mathew, Dungra Bhili spoken in Gujarat shows 32 to 33 percent of lexical
similarity with Gujarati.
9The lexical similarity between Hindi and Dungra Bhili is 40 to 41 percent, based on the present survey. 10The cluster includes four wordlists: two Dungra Bhili, one Noiri and one Bhilori.
11The word matha in some of the Bhili varieties denotes head, so those who are staying in the mountains are called
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Akkalkua tahsils, Mathwadi is also used by outsiders as well as insiders in a restricted sense to denote the Barutiya language as a specific name. And it was noticed that Noiras who are staying more towards the top of hills use Mathwadi Bhil in an exclusive sense to refer to the Bhils in and around Dhadgaon and Akkalkua (who may be closer to the plains than the former). Both insiders and outsiders use Mathwadi, but Barutiya is completely an outsider name used by at least Noiras and Vasavas as an alternate name for the variety spoken by a group of Bhils in and around Dhadgaon, a group which may number up to 100,000 people. Considerable cultural difference was not observed between Barutiya and Noiri speaking people in this survey, and no restriction for marriage relationships between these groups was reported. The above information is summarised in table 2.
Table 2. Different language names, nature of use, way of using and its summary Language
name:
Insider and/ or Outsider name:
Nature
of use: Used by: For the language spoken by: Barutiya Outsider Specific name Noiras and Vasavas A group of Bhils in and around Dhadgaon and Akkalkua.
Noiri
Insider and Outsider name
Specific name
Themselves and by Vasavi and Barutiya speakers
Another group of Bhils spread throughout Akkalkua, Dhadgaon and Shirpur tahsils in
Maharashtra and Pansemal tahsil of Madhya Pradesh.
Vasavi
Insider and Outsider name
Specific name
Themselves and by Noiri, Barutiya and others in the area
Another group of Bhils who identify themselves as Vasava in Gujarat and Maharashtra.
Mathwadi
Insider and Outsider name
General name
Bhils living in the plains
Bhils living in Satpuda hills, especially Noiri and Barutiya speakers.
Specific name
Themselves and by those Noiras who stay more towards top of hills
Barutiya speakers in and around Dhadgaon and Akkalkua.
Bhilori
Insider name Outsider name
General name
Themselves and by others in the area
Vasavi, Noiri and Barutiya speakers.
Specific
name Themselves
Barutiya speakers in and around Dhadgaon and Akkalkua.
In short, Bhilori can mean Vasavi, Noiri and Barutiya/Mathwadi (specific usage) varieties, whereas when Mathwadi is used by Bhils (in a larger sense) in the plains, it includes Noiri and Barutiya.
1.5 Other groups
1.5.1 Nahali of Toranmal
The similarity in pronunciation and the reported high lexical similarity between Nahali and Noiri led the researchers to collect some information about Nahali. The Nahali that is spoken by Nahals of Toranmal is reported as different from many Bhili varieties, but similar to Pauri. Toranmal is located in the
Dhadgaon tahsil of Nandurbar district in northern Maharashtra. The village is situated in the reserved forest, thus isolated from other areas. The inhabitants of the region claim their origin from Nahargarh of Rajasthan, from where they fled to the area (about 600–700 years ago) so as not to be enslaved when their king was defeated in a war. Now the people have started to intermarry with other Bhils of the region, but there are still more than 15,000 Nahali speakers in twelve villages around Toranmal.
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1.5.2 Nihali
Stahl (1986:52) reports a community called Nihals living generally in and around Korku villages. He goes on to say that Nihals in Chikaldara tahsil of Amaravati district and in Akot tahsil of Akola district (Maharashtra) identify themselves with Korkus by speaking their language. The same is true of Nihals living in Khaknar block of Khandwa district in Madhya Pradesh. The Nihals of Chikaldara tahsil are found mostly in the Melghat hills. Stahl also mentions that Nihals in Jamod Jalgaon tahsil of Buldana district of Maharashtra speak a language very different from Korku. Marriage relationships exist between the Nihals who continue to speak Nihali and Nihals who reportedly speak Korku. It is reported that Nihali speaking Nihals can also converse in Korku. These groups were included in our research to see if there is any relationship with Nahals of Tornamal. Though the language is classified under the Munda family, it has some Dravidian based words. People are very backward in education and other amenities. Singh (1994:918) uses Nahali as an alternative name for Nihali.
Watters (2013:7) talks about a group called Nahale, north of Amalwadi in Chopda tahsil of Jalgaon district, reported to speak a language similar to Ahirani. Ahirani, also called Khandeshi, is the regional language of Khandesh, which comprises Nandurbar, Dhule, Jalgaon and Nashik rural districts. Due to time constraints, we could not collect any information from there. Ethnologue (2000) lists a language called Nahari (alternatively called Nahali), spoken by a small group in Chhatisgarh, classified as an Indo-Aryan language under the Bengali-Assamese branch. It is very likely that this language is distinct from the Nahali/Nihali varieties included in our research.
1.5.3 Kotli
Watters (2013:4) talks about a group called Kotlas. Kotlas hardly identify themselves by this name, calling themselves Bhil or Adivasi Bhil, but communities around them call them by this name. They are found in and around Nandurbar and Shahada tahsils of Nandurbar district in Maharashtra. It is reported that Kotli is a dialect of Noiri, and hence this group is included in our research.
1.5.4 Gujari
Gujars in Nandurbar district are principally landlords, and Kotlas are tenants. A widely travelled
individual from the area noted the difference of the Gujari language from Gujarati, though they migrated from Gujarat.12 They have a strong sense of solidarity with each other, but little information was
received about their interest in language development. Gujars accept their origin from Gujarat and claim that they can understand Gujarati. There is another Gujar community found towards the extreme
northern part of India. For more details about these Gujars, refer to Hugoniot et al 1997.
12He explained the difference of Gujari from Gujarati with an example of a Gujar family where a girl was married to Gujarati speaking boy. After the marriage the girl’s parents said informally that she was struggling to follow their language.
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1.6 Previous research
Previous sociolinguistic surveys have been carried out in this area, and the data from these reports were utilised in this survey. This was the runway from where the research has taken off.
Table 3. List of previous surveys carried out in the area
Name of the report Author/Compiler Primary focus Date of Publication A Sociolinguistic
Profile of the Bhils of Northern Dhule District
Stephen Watters
Bhili varieties spoken in northern part of Dhule district of Maharashtra
2013
A Sociolinguistic Survey Report on Dungra Bhils
Abraham G, Sunil Mathew
Identification of standard dialect in which Dungra Bhili mother tongue literature could be developed
1996, January
The Bhil Country of India: A Sociolinguistic Study of Selected Peoples and Languages
Loren W. Maggard, Vinod Wilson Varkey, Kishor Kumar
Vunnamatla
Identification of major language varieties spoken by different Bhil groups
1998, September
1.7 Purpose and goals
Main Purpose: Finding out the need for mother tongue literature in the Noiri language so that communication with the people can be effective.
Additional purpose: Determining whether Dungra Bhili language development could serve the purpose of Noiri speakers.
In order to carry out these tasks, the following goals were set:
• To define the geographical area of the Noiras. Tool: Language information questionnaire.
• To distinguish how Noiri is lexically different from other surrounding varieties. Tools: Wordlists.
• To gauge the intelligibility of Dungra Bhili among Noiri speakers. Tool: Recorded Text Test.
• To assess the attitude of Noiri speakers to the Dungra Bhili variety. Tool: Post RTT questionnaire.
• To evaluate bilingualism of Noiri speakers in Marathi (in Maharashtra) and Hindi (Madhya Pradesh). Tools: Informal interviews and observation.
• To evaluate language use and language attitude of Noiri speakers towards their own language variety.
Tools: Informal interviews and observation.
2 Lexical similarity comparison
Differences among speech varieties happen gradually and slowly over geographical distance. Linguists speak of this change in a language as a dialect chain when it occurs in a linear fashion, and as a dialect
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network when it is multidirectional. The languages spoken by different Bhil groups of western India comprise a dialect network, where the isolation of Noiri from the entire continuum is not so easy to accomplish. Nevertheless, attempts were made during previous research to this end. Maggard et al. (1998) cluster Noiri, Barutiya and Dungra Bhili in one group, and Watters (2013) groups Barutiya13 and Noiri together. These works would at least help us to draw an outline boundary of Noiri in the vast Bhili ocean. The following is a report of the effort by the present researchers to gauge the relationship of Noiri with other varieties.
2.1 Procedure
One method that has been developed for measuring the relationships among speech varieties is to compare the phonetic similarity of their vocabularies. This is referred to as lexical similarity. Speakers of varieties that have a higher degree of lexical similarity are generally more likely to understand one another better than do speakers of varieties that have fewer terms in common. Only elicited words and simple verb constructions are used in this comparison. This procedure cannot directly indicate how well various communities understand one another; it can, however, assist in obtaining a broad perspective of the relationships among the speech varieties and give support for further research.
A standardised 210-item wordlist, arranged in semantic categories, was used in this survey’s lexical similarity study. The wordlists were elicited in Hindi and transcribed using the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA). Lexical similarity analysis was then carried out on each pair of wordlists; those words that were judged similar were grouped together. Once all the wordlists were evaluated, the total number of word pair similarities was tallied, using the procedures outlined by Blair (1990:31–32). Calculations were made using the WordSurv computer program (Wimbish 1989). The results were expressed as a percentage of phonetically similar lexical items.14
2.2 Wordlist sites
According to the information available at the time of background research, the population of Noiri speakers was only five thousand. But a scouting trip prior to the survey made it clear that the estimated population is more than 100,000 spread over different tahsils. The wordlists utilised in the survey are listed in table 4. Three Noiri wordlists were elicited during this survey, each of which is the
representation of one tahsil. Based on the standard procedure, each wordlist needs to be checked with a second mother tongue speaker. Two wordlists from a previous survey,15 a Bhilori and a Noiri (from Dhadgaon tahsil), were checked during the course of the survey. The rest of the wordlists remain unchecked. The Noiri wordlist from Shirpur tahsil was collected during the scouting trip itself and was used to elicit synonyms from other sites. As mentioned in section 1.7, an additional purpose of the survey was to find out the extensibility of Dungra Bhili language development to the Noiri speaking area. Hence, two Dungra Bhili wordlists were also included, one of which was elicited during the present survey and the other was taken from the previous Dungra Bhili survey.
Other wordlists have also been collected to gauge lexical relationship. Two wordlists were elicited from Kotli, a reported dialect of Noiri. It was reported that Kotli has two dialects; one wordlist represents each of these dialects. Due to various reasons, the survey team had to be content with less accurate Kotli wordlists. The wordlist from Nahali of Toranmal, elicited by the Dhule survey team, has gone through
13Both these reports refer to Bhilori rather than Barutiya.
14For example, if a total of 207 items were compared and 151 of these word pairs were deemed phonetically similar, then the lexical similarity percentage would be 151 divided by 207 and multiplied by 100. In this example, the lexical similarity would be 73 percent.
15Both of the wordlists are from Dhadgaon tahsil of present Nandurbar district and were elicited during the survey conducted in the northern Dhule district of Maharashtra in 1988.
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the checking process. Three more wordlists, two Nihali and one Korku, were collected from the eastern part of the survey area.
Table 4. Source of wordlists utilised in this survey
Language Village Tahsil/Block District State Elicitation team
Noiri Chillare Shirpur Dhule Maharashtra Noiri team
Noiri Pannali Pansemal Badwani Madhya Pradesh Noiri team
Noiri Astambha Dhadgaon Nandurbar Maharashtra Dhule team
Noiri Gomon Akkalkua Nandurbar Maharashtra Noiri team
Bhilori
(Barutiya) Mundalwad Dhadgaon Nandurbar Maharashtra Dhule team Dhungra
Bhili Mathwad Jhabua Alirajpur
Madhya
Pradesh Noiri team Dhungra
Bhili Ambadungar Kawant Vadodara Gujarat
Dungra Bhili team Kotli Papiner Narayanpur Nandurbar Nandurbar Maharashtra Noiri team Kotli (Adivasi
Bhili) Taradi Shahada Nandurbar Maharashtra Noiri team
Gujari Taradi Shahada Nandurbar Maharashtra Noiri team
Nahali Toranmal Dhadgaon Nandurbar Maharashtra Dhule team
Nihali Jamod Jamod-Jalgaon Buldana Maharashtra Noiri team
Nihali Tembhi* Khaknar Khandwa Madhya
Pradesh Noiri team
Korku Tukaithad Khaknar Khandwa Madhya Pradesh Noiri team
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2.3 Results and analysis
The lexical similarity for the wordlists under consideration is shown in table 5. Varieties having the same name are listed together in the chart. All but three wordlists are named according to what the person from whom it was elicited called his/her language. The village name is also attached to the language name. The numbers represent the similarity percentages among the wordlists. For example, the lexical similarity between the wordlists elicited in Chillare and Mathwad is 87 percent.
Table 5. Lexical similarity percentage matrix Noiri-Chillare
94 Noiri-Pannali
88 86 Noiri-Astambha 81 83 87 Noiri-Gomon
91 88 97 88 Barutiya (Bhilori)-Mundalwad 87 86 83 83 85 Dungra Bhili-Mathwad
78 78 77 77 81 84 Dungra Bhili-Ambadungar 64 68 62 58 64 61 60 Nahali-Toranmal
50 52 54 50 57 48 45 52 Kotli-Papiner Narayanpur 47 51 53 50 55 47 47 55 75 Kotli (Adivasi Bhili)-Taradi 49 52 48 45 51 48 46 54 60 68 Gujari-Taradi
50 53 51 47 54 50 53 54 52 56 73 Gujarati 50 52 52 48 53 48 49 55 57 65 64 64 Marathi 41 44 41 40 45 40 41 48 50 53 55 69 67 Hindi
15 18 18 17 19 17 16 19 18 19 17 18 19 21 Nihali (Korku)-Tembhi 15 18 19 17 19 17 16 18 17 19 16 18 21 21 94 Tukaithad-Korku 18 21 20 20 20 19 19 20 19 21 20 19 22 20 31 30 Nihali-Jamod
2.3.1 Among the Noiri varieties
Noiri-Chillare (southeast), Noiri-Pannali (northeast) and Noiri-Gomon (northwest) stand for the
geographical extremes of the language. The lexical similarity among Noiri varieties ranges from 81 to 94 percent. Among Noiri varieties, Chillare, Pannali and Astambha form a relatively tight cluster (86–94 percent). A similar relationship is seen between Astambha and Gomon (87 percent). The wordlist from Chillare demonstrates the highest lexical similarity with Pannali (94 percent) and the lowest with Gomon (81 percent). However the lexical similarity of Astambha shows an equidistant relationship with other Noiri varieties (86–88 percent).
2.3.2 Barutiya and Noiri
The Barutiya wordlist shows a close relationship with all Noiri wordlists (88–97 percent).16 Though there is only one Barutiya wordlist, the percentage of this wordlist with other Noiri wordlists is higher than the percentages within Noiri wordlists. It is clear from the informal interview that they have only minute differences in the language.17 Nevertheless, they are well aware of these differences. Even then they are able to identify themselves as belonging to one community.
16The previous survey’s matrix contains lexical similarity percentages that are slightly different from those in table 5. This is due to the word sets for each lexical item being grouped slightly differently in the two surveys. 17Noiras substitute n where Barutiya speakers use l, e.g., ka goinu (Noiri)and ka goilu (Barutiya) meaning ‘Where did you eat?’
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2.3.3 Dungra Bhili and Noiri
The range of lexical similarity relationship between Dungra Bhili and Noiri wordlist is 77 to 87 percent. The range is widened due to the unchecked Dungra Bhili Ambadungar wordlist. If this wordlist is not included, the range of lexical similarity between Dungra Bhili and Noiri is 83 to 87 percent. Noiri Chillare and Pannali wordlists have closer relationship to Dungra Bhili wordlist than Astambha and Gomon wordlists do. But geographically Astambha and Gomon are closer to Dungra Bhili, though the area is separated by the river Narmada. For a better understanding about the linguistic relationship between Dungra Bhili and Noiri, intelligibility testing was done in two wordlist sites, Chillare and Astambha, which is discussed in the next chapter.
2.3.4 Nahali/Nihali varieties
Three varieties of Nahali/Nihali are covered in lexical comparison. The Nahali found in the western part of the survey area is called Nahali of Toranmal. Those from the eastern part are called Nihali of Jamod and Nihali (Korku) of Tembhi respectively. It is obvious from the comparison that Nahali of Toranmal is very different from Nihali of Jamod and Nihali (Korku) of Tembhi.
A comparison of Nahali of Toranmal with Noiri, Barutiya and Dungra Bhili wordlists in the matrix shows a range of 58 to 68 percent lexical similarity. This lexical relationship is relatively low and reinforces other pieces of evidence about a separate linguistic identity. However, according to Watters (2013:19), Nahali of Toranmal compares at 69 to 73 percent with Bareli Pauri wordlists. It also shows 65 to 67 percent of lexical similarity with Rathwi Bareli wordlists.18 The Bareli Pauri story scored 96 percent
when tested among Nahals of Toranmal. Based on the intelligibility test, Watters recommended that the Nahals of Toranmal could benefit from a Pauri language development program. But because of the skewed sample and other sociolinguistic complexities, he himself was not strong in this opinion. For a detailed description of the test, refer to Watters 2013:19, 31. It was reported during the course of this survey that there is an increasing migration of Bareli speaking Pauras to Nahali speaking villages. So the intelligibility of Nahals of Toranmal in Bareli Pauri may not be inherent, but rather an acquired
intelligibility through contact.
As stated in section 1.5.2, a group of Nihals in the eastern part of the survey area claim to speak Korku as their mother tongue (the wordlist of Tembi is a representation of Nihali Korku) and that they cannot handle Nihali of Jamod. This is supported from the wordlist comparison of Nahali of Tembi with Korku, which shows a 94 percent relationship. But these communities (both Korku and Nihali speaking Nihals) have intermarriage, and the latter is reportedly bilingual in Korku as well. Nihali of Jamod is very different from any of the wordlists compared. It shows only 30 to 31 percent lexical similarity with Nihali of Tembhi and Korku. It compares at only 18 to 22 percent lexical similarity with other wordlists in the matrix.
2.3.5 Kotli and Gujari
Kotli shows a 45 to 57 percent relationship with Noiri, Barutiya and Dungra Bhili wordlists. The lexical relationship between two Kotli wordlists (Kotli from Papiner Narayanpur and Adivasi Bhil from Taradi) is only 75 percent. This may complement the information about the existence of two Kotli dialects. The Gujari wordlist and one Kotli wordlist are from the same village (Taradi), which shows only a nominal relationship (68 percent) between them.
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2.3.6 Hindi, Gujarati and Marathi
Neither Noiri nor Dungra Bhili shows a significant relationship with Hindi, Gujarati and Marathi, the respective state languages of Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat and Maharashtra.
2.3.7 Vasavi, Noiri and Dungra Bhili
Vasavas are found in the northern part of Maharashtra (in Nadurbar district) and the eastern part of Gujarat (Bharuch and Surat districts). Watters attempted to compare different Vasavi varieties with different Bhili varieties. They had compared Noiri Astambha wordlist with different Vasavi varieties, which ranges from 60 to 71 percent19 (Watters 2013:19). According to the present survey the lexical similarity between Dungra Bhili and Noiri is 77 to 87 percent. Hence it would be plausible to think that Noiri is closer to Dungra Bhili than different Vasavi varieties.
3 Dungra Bhili intelligibility among Noiras
Noiras live principally on the southern side of the river Narmada, whereas Dungra Bhils live on the northern side of it. Efforts to develop the Dungra Bhili language were initiated in 1995 and have been going forward with responses from the people. Pre-primers and primers were produced, and post literacy materials are ready to be printed in the Gujarat script. The lexical similarity study of Dungra Bhili and Noiri necessitates intelligibility20 testing to find out whether Dungra Bhili materials could be used among Noiri speaking people. This portion of the report deals with the attempt of the researchers to evaluate Dungra Bhili intelligibility among Noiras.
3.1 Lexical similarity comparison versus intelligibility
In lexical similarity comparison, the researcher is investigating the possibility of a relationship among varieties by comparing the number of similar words. When lexical similarity is low, lower
comprehension is the possibility. But the increase of lexical similarity may not result in a proportionate increase in intelligibility, hence predicting adequate intelligibility based on a relatively high lexical similarity is not sufficient. Nevertheless, it gives a working knowledge of the relationship among the varieties, but which may be inadequate to make a decision of a language program. Intelligibility testing helps linguists locate variety boundaries and centres and accordingly make decisions about similar languages and dialects, where a number of languages or dialects are spoken (Grimes 1996). 3.2 Tool for intelligibility testing
In this study intelligibility was evaluated using the Recorded Text Test (RTT) developed by members of SIL in Mexico. It is based on the methods set forth in Eugene Casad’s Dialect Intelligibility Testing (1974).
19The lexical similarity, compared during northern Dhule district survey, between Bhilori (Barutiya) of Mutalwad and different Vasavi varieties is 58 to 70 percent.
20The intelligibility can be inherent—the degree of understanding of a variety because of the inherent or genetic similarity—or acquired/learned understanding a speaker obtained because of previous exposure to the variety. The community would be homogeneous with regard to inherent intelligibility whereas heterogeneous to acquired intelligibility (Blair 1990:24). Here we are concerned with inherent intelligibility of Dungra Bhili among Noiras. Throughout this chapter, intelligibility refers to inherent intelligibility because the genetic relationship between Dungra Bhili and Noiri is substantiated through lexical similarity study and other background research.
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The glossary of sociolinguistic terms in Lingua Links Library defines the Recorded Text Test as “a tool used to evaluate comprehension of a language or dialect consisting of a short text spoken by a mother tongue speaker of the language variety being tested. Subjects listen to the text twice, and during the second audition answer questions about the meaning of the text in home language or dialect, which have been interspersed in the texts at appropriate places.” For a fuller description of RTT, refer to Blair
(1990).
3.3 RTT procedure
The basic procedure of RTT involves taking a text from variety X and testing it in variety Y. A text of three to five minutes in duration is recorded from a mother tongue speaker of the language. Then, simple content questions, formulated with the help of a mother tongue speaker, are interspersed in the
appropriate places throughout the text. Before taking to test point, the text is validated as the representation of the variety by getting at least ten people from the same village to listen to the text. This gate test is called the Hometown Test (HTT).
Once the Hometown Test is completed with an expected average score, the text is ready to be used as a representation of that particular variety in other areas. Before conducting the test, a story from the test point is played as a passing story to ensure that people are familiar with the procedure. This story also has to go through the same procedure of making questions and placing them at proper places in the text. After the native story, the test story is then played. The answers to the questions are written down for further evaluation.
The test tape in each site starts with an introduction and practice text in the native variety followed with HTT and RTT(s). The subjects are screened before taking the RTT test in order to avoid the
influence of non-familiarity with testing procedures. If the subject fails to understand the procedure after the HTT, he is not a right candidate to conduct the RTT test. The Hometown text is helpful to check the reliability of each question involved in the intelligibility test and eliminate questions which are not appropriate. There are post HTT and RTT questions after the respective texts to further investigate about variety. This is expected to reflect the attitude of the subject toward the test variety, perceptional difference of the test variety from the native variety and the level of contact that exists between the communities. The results of the test are interpreted based on these responses as well.
3.4 Interpretation of RTT data
Once the test is finished, the score is calculated to project the intelligibility of the community. Each person’s average score is considered as the degree of personal understanding of the variety, and the average score of the total subjects is taken as an indicator of intelligibility of the test variety. To have a better understanding of the inherent intelligibility, the standard deviation is calculated. The relationship between the RTT score and standard deviation is explained in table 6.
Table 6. Relationship between test averages and standard deviation Standard Deviation
High Low
Average Score
High
Situation 1:
Many people understand the story well, but some have difficulty.
Situation 2:
Most people understand the story.
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.
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16
Standard deviation is interpreted based on the sample and test situation. A standard deviation of less than ten is interpreted as low and twelve to fifteen as high. It may be impossible and inappropriate to set a boundary line when we interpret the average score, because it is not a test conducted in a classroom or laboratory but rather is field-administered. The rule of thumb for interpreting RTT result is that above 80 percent is adequate intelligibility and less than 60 percent is inadequate intelligibility. 3.5 Test sites
The main objective of this study was to investigate the intelligibility of Dungra Bhili among Noiri speaking people of Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh. The Dungra Bhili survey team had developed a Dungra Bhili tiger story from Ambadungar village and had tested it among Barutiyas (called Bhiloris by Dungra Bhili team) in two locations: one in Akkalkua tahsil (Sari village) and the other in Dhadgaon tahsil (Asali village) of Maharashtra. The same Dungra Bhili story was used in the present survey. Two RTTs, one in Chillare and one in Astambha, were administrated in this survey. Only one story had been developed as HTT and used in both sites as a passing story. In Astambha the Dungra Bhili story was played without developing an HTT from the village. But here the story from Chillare village was used as a passing story by translating the questions into Astambha variety.
Chillare village in Shirpur tahsil represents the southeast extreme of Noiri and hence this was chosen as the farthest test point among Noiras from the Dungra Bhili area. Based on lexical similarity comparison, a second proposed site for the test was Gomon in Akkalkua tahsil, because it shows the least relationship to other Noiri wordlists. The survey team had developed a test tape in Gomon (without developing an HTT) to do a Rapid RTT,21 but it could not be conducted because of some procedural reasons. Astambha in Dhadgaon tahsil was selected as the next test site because it shows an equidistant relationship with other Noiri varieties, including Gomon (based on lexical study).
Table 7. Tahsil, district and state of test and reference sites
Language Story name and/or village name Tahsil District State Dungra Bhili Tiger story, Ambadungar Kawant Vadodara Gujarat
Noiri Pick pocketing story, Chillare Shirpur Dhule Maharashtra
Noiri Astambha Dhadgaon Nandurbar Maharashtra
3.5.1 Chillare
This village is in Shirpur tahsil of Dhule district. It is located three kilometres from the Agra-Mumbai national highway. There is bus service to the village. Almost all the people in the village belong to the Noiri community, and the language is widely spoken in the village. Researchers could not communicate to a good portion of the community without an interpreter. This is one of the Noiri villages where we can see some educated people compared to many other Noiri villages.
3.5.2 Astambha
The village is situated about 40 kilometres from Dhadgaon, and the area is connected by road. State transport’s buses reach Asali, the nearest village, and from there people have to walk seven kilometres through hilly roads to reach Astambha. The only other alternative is to rely on a private Jeep, which plies between Dhadgaon and Astambha once a day. This village is much behind in education and other
21Rapid RTT is a test conducted in a village without developing an HTT because of various reasons by using a text tape already developed for another village.
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facilities. Out of fifteen people who volunteered to take the test, only ten were qualified. The rest of them could not follow the procedure. There is a primary school in the village, but children are not interested in education.
3.6 Result and analysis
Table 8 shows the results of the Recorded Text Test. Columns list the villages where each story was tested, with story names and the villages from which it was developed shown in rows. The Hometown Test results are italicised and bolded in the table.
Table 8. Results of Recorded Text Testing Test Points
Reference Points Ambadungar Chillare Astambha
Ambadungar (Dungra Bhili tiger story)
Avg Sd No
96 7 10
95 5 13
88 7 10 Chillare (Noiri
pickpocketing story)
Avg Sd No
96 5 13
88 12.5
10
3.6.1 Dungra Bhili tiger story
The average score of Noiri speaking subjects on the Dungra Bhili story was 88 percent in Astambha and 95 percent in Chillare, which is comparatively high, with low standard deviation (7 and 5, respectively), pointing to adequate comprehension of the Dungra Bhili text. The results are in line with situation 2 in table 6: most people understood the story. However the result cannot be interpreted only in terms of a numerical threshold, but rather must be evaluated in light of other indicators of intelligibility, such as lexical similarity, dialect opinions and reported patterns of contact and communication.
As explained in the section 3.3, post RTT/HTT questions were asked to investigate the attitude of Noiri speakers towards the Dungra Bhili variety. All subjects in Astambha and eight out of thirteen subjects in Chillare, when asked in what language they thought the story was told, reported that the Dungra Bhili story is in Noiri. But many of them felt the variety was different in terms of words, pronunciation or style. People in Chillare seemed to have more contact with the outside world than people in Astambha do. When answering the second post RTT question (“Where do you think the story teller is from?”), more than half of the Chillare subjects said that the story was told in the dialect of Lakadiya Hanuman (the nearest village, about three kilometres away).22 More than half of the Astambha subjects were non-responsive to this question. Others responded that the story was from the bank of the Narmada or from Taloda.23 One educated man in the village, after going through the Dungra Bhili written material, reported the language as pure, but very different from their variety. According to him they can understand Vasavi materials better than Dungra Bhili.
22They explained it by saying that the word ono is used in the text, which is present in language of Lakadiya Hanuman. It is reported that Noiri is spoken in Lakadiya Hanuman too.
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3.6.2 Noiri pickpocketing story
The Chillare pickpocketing story, used in Astambha as a passing story instead of HTT, scored an average of 88 percent. The story got a standard deviation of 12.5, which is on the threshold of high standard deviation. The result almost resembles situation 1 explained in table 6: many people understood the story, but some had difficulty. Among the ten subjects, only six responded to the last of the post RTT questions (“Which story was easier to understand?”). All six of them said they understood the Noiri pickpocketing story better than the Dungra Bhili tiger story. Even two subjects who scored less on the Chillare story reported in the same way. Three subjects scored an average of 70–75 percent; among these three two of them were females. These three subjects did not score well for the first question because they did not understand the procedure well.24 The same subjects failed in the seventh question also,
which contains a small dialectical difference.25 These things might have caused the high standard
deviation. Excluding the two subjects who scored 70 percent, the score would be 92.5 percent, with a standard deviation of 9.
4 Bilingualism, language use and language attitude
4.1 BilingualismIt is appropriate and inevitable to evaluate the bilingualism level of a community before we attempt to make any decision about a language program. The focus of this research on bilingualism was minimal because of the overall emphasis on studying Dungra Bhili intelligibility. But the researchers felt the need to make reasonable assumptions about the bilingualism of Noiras in Hindi and Marathi. We used
bilingualism data from previous research among different Bhili subgroups to encourage the mother tongue advocates to accelerate their language promotion among Noiras. We supplemented this information with the field observation of researchers.
4.1.1 Pilot bilingualism test among Bhils in Northern Dhule district
This data of research is obtained from Watters 2013. Though the study was completed in 1988, its results could still be valid for making assumptions about Noira bilingualism. The Marathi Ramkissan story (RTT) was the tool used for pilot bilingualism testing. The test was administered to sixty-nine subjects from seven villages. The results of the test are given in table 9.
Table 9. Results of Bilingualism test among Bhils of Dhule district Educated* Uneducated
Average/Mean 86% 62%
Standard Deviation 9.56 24.06
Sample Size 40 29
*Those who have achieved to standard five and above in school or who are literate in the Devanagari script are considered educated. Those who have not achieved beyond standard four, or who have not been to school, are considered uneducated.
24The first question was repeated more than one time during the test to help them understand the procedure. Even
after going through the practice story, some of the subjects could not follow the procedure.
25The seventh question is ‘Where did the riot happen?’ For ‘riot’ different words are used in the test point and
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The result is interpreted as follows: “Those outside of the educational domain are seen to have a competence of a most basic nature in Marathi, a result of frequent contact. Those who received some education have gone beyond the level of competence that exists as a result of contact to attain to higher levels of bilingualism” (Watters 2013:39–40). It should be noted that the bilingualism test using a narrative text measures bilingual ability up to a maximum of 2 or 2+ on the Foreign Service Institute (FSI) scale. A subgroup analysis of the results reveals that the Vasava community scored the highest. Compared to Vasavas, Noiras are far behind in education and development.
4.1.2 SRT test among Rathwi speakers of Madhya Pradesh
Rathwas who speak Rathwi are the largest subgroup of Barelas notified as a Scheduled Tribe along with Bhils in the state of Madhya Pradesh. A Sociolinguistic Study of Bareli/Pauri and Related Languages (2000) is the source of this data. The research was carried out in 1998. Sentence repetition test was used to assess the bilingual ability. One of the SRT sites was Upla village in Rajpur tahsil of Badwani district (Madhya Pradesh). The overall literacy rate of Upla is nine percent. The SRT result of Upla village is summarised in table 10.
Table 10. Hindi SRT results among Rathwi speakers of Upla village Total Uneducated Primary Higher
Average 16 9 12 26
RPE level 2 1+ 1+ 3
Sample 28 11 7 10
Standard deviation 10 5 4 8
Uneducated and primary educated scored only level 1+ on RPE scale, much lower than the required level 3+ for the effective use of any materials in a second language. More than 90 percent of the Rathwa Barelas in Upla fall under this category. Hence it was concluded that Rathwa Barelas are not adequately bilingual to use anything beyond basic materials in the second language. The Rathwa Barelas in Madhya Pradesh are the same as Rathwa Pauras in Maharashtra. Noiras are very behind in education, have less contact with other people and live in more remote areas than Pauras.
4.1.3 Bilingualism of Noiras
From the above discussion, the following facts can be gleaned:
1. Most of the Noiri villages are too interior when compared to Paura villages to back up with considerable contact and motivation for notable bilingualism.
2. Noiras are neither in a level of education nor commendably interested for it to expect and anticipate adequate bilingualism. (Had we felt the need of a bilingualism test, the priority would have gone to Astambha, one of the good Noiri sample villages. The overall literacy rate of the village is less than one percent or 0.85 percent.26)
3. Earlier bilingualism studies give a picture of an inadequate degree of bilingualism even among those groups who are more exposed to education and contact.
Hence, it may be reasonable to assume that the majority of Noiras are not adequately bilingual in Hindi or Marathi.
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4.2 Language use and attitude
Language use refers to the choice of language(s) in different social situations, whereas language attitude deals with how people view their language. The study about language use and attitude is subjective and is inter-related with many other social characteristics, such as bilingualism, contact, education and so forth. A detailed study of language use and attitude was not carried out in this survey. The study of these among Noiras was carried out through informal interviews and observation.
It was observed that the vernacular is used in the important domains of daily life. People are not adequately bilingual in any other varieties. It was found out during our stay in the village that even people who can manage a second language try to use their own variety among themselves even in the presence of an outsider. It was reported that social workers and non-tribals in the area learn the language to keep their contact with Noiras.
With regard to language attitude, two differing attitudes are found among Noiras based on their settlements. Noiras in the western part of the survey area have a positive attitude about the variety whereas people in the eastern area, who stay around Pauras, attribute a lesser status to their own variety and do not feel the need to develop it as a written language. More than one fourth of the Noiras are concentrated in this eastern area. A man from Shirpur tahsil (eastern part) reported that they are not interested in language development. However, the vernacular is being used in the important domains of daily life even by them.
Based on observation and informal interviews, the following comments would be reasonable about language use and attitude of Noiras:
1. The use of language is strong in important domains, such as home and village.
2. Inadequate bilingualism prevents the vast majority of them from using any language other than Noiri.
3. Even those Noiras who hold comparatively less prestige about their own variety continue to speak their language in their traditional domain.
Therefore it may be assumed that Noiri would continue to be used in the foreseeable future.
5 Conclusion
5.1 Extensibility of Dungra Bhili
The close linguistic relationship between Dungra Bhili and Noiri is beyond doubt. The intelligibility of Dungra Bhili among Noiras was substantiated through the Recorded Text Test. Though the river Narmada separates the regions, it appears likely that one language development program would serve the purposes of the people. Nevertheless the ideal acceptability of Dungra Bhili literature in the Noiri speaking area is not absolutely certain. In order to investigate this social situation, participant
observation would be the best method, after widely distributing Dungra Bhili materials. Should there be any uncertainty even after participant observation, dialect adaptation could be done from Dungra Bhili to Noiri.
Whether it is extensibility or adaptation, Noiras are badly in need of literacy materials in their vernacular. Underprivileged Noiras, who are illiterate, can only be helped through mother tongue literacy materials.
From the survey done in the Northern Dhule district, it is recommended that a separate language program for Barutiya speakers (Bhilori) is needed. On the other hand, the adequate intelligibility and acceptability of Dungra Bhili among Barutiya speakers is not authenticated. Based on a comparison of post RTT results among Barutiya speakers and Noiras, it could be assumed that the acceptability of Dungra Bhili may become more of a problem to Barutiya speakers than Noiras. Even then, testing Dungra Bhili materials among Barutiya speakers would be wise. However, since there is no known effort underway for Barutiya language development, it would be healthy to think of a dialect adaptation to include Barutiya speakers also under the umbrella. In short, it would be wise to have a wider perspective of a language program including Barutiya, Noira and Dungra Bhils together.
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Since some people reported that Vasavi is more understandable to them than Dungra Bhili, it would be good to see if Barutiya speakers and Noiras could make use of Vasavi materials before launching a full fledged mother tongue program for Barutiya speakers and Noiras. This contradicts the lexical similarity study and hence it may be an opinion of a few.
5.2 Nahali/Nihali varieties
Nahali of Toranmal does not require further research to conclude its separate identity from Noiri and Dungra Bhili. The possibility of Bareli Pauri being extended to the area needs to be checked after distributing Bareli Pauri materials among Nahals of Toranmal. If the Bareli Pauri materials are not accepted among them, and they are interested in their own language development, then there may need to be a separate language program for Nahals of Toranmal. It goes without saying that there is no relationship between Nahali of Toranmal and eastern Nihali varieties.
It is evident that a group of Nihals, in the eastern part of the survey area, have completely shifted to Korku and ceased to use their own variety. The other group (in and around Jamod) maintain their own language, which is very different from Korku, but still is reportedly bilingual in Korku. Korku speaking Nihals can use Korku materials whereas Nihali speaking Nihals need to be tested for Korku bilingualism before making any decision about language development.
5.3 Kotli and Gujari varieties
Kotli shows distinctive identity from other varieties and requires further research to clarify some of the sociolinguistic issues. The research has to determine whether any other ongoing language development among Bhils, especially the language development program of the Bhili variety spoken in Sakri tahsil of Dhule district of Maharashtra, can serve the purposes of Kotlas. As of now, bilingual studies among Kotlas have less priority, but language use, attitude and vitality study are essential.
It appears likely that Gujari of Maharashtra also needs further research. Its relationship to Gujarati, their bilingualism in Marathi and the interest of Gujars for the development of their language could be included in the research. It is also recommended to see if there is any relationship between Gujari of Maharashtra and Gujari spoken in extreme northern part of India.
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Appendix A: Wordlist
A1. Lexical similarity counting procedures27
A standardised list of 210 vocabulary items was collected from speakers at key locations for each of the language varieties studied in this survey. In standard procedure, the 210 words are elicited from a person who has grown up in the target locality. Ideally, the list is then collected a second time from another speaker at the same site. Any differences in responses are examined in order to identify (1) inaccurate responses due to misunderstanding of the elicitation cue, (2) loan words offered in response to the language of elicitation when indigenous terms are actually still in use, and (3) terms which are at different places along the generic-specific lexical scale. Normally, a single term is recorded for each item of the wordlist. However, more than one term is recorded for a single item when more than one specific term occupies the semantic area of a more generic item on the wordlist.
The wordlists are compared to determine the extent to which the vocabulary of each pair of speech forms is similar. No attempt is made to identify genuine cognates based on a network of sound
correspondences. Rather, two items are judged to be phonetically similar if at least half of the segments compared are the same (category 1), and of the remaining segments at least half are rather similar (category 2). For example, if two items of eight segments in length are compared, these words are judged to be similar if at least four segments are virtually the same and at least two more are rather similar. The criteria applied are as follows:
Category 1
Contoid (consonant-like) segments which match exactly
Vocoid (vowel-like) segments which match exactly or differ by only one articulatory feature
Phonetically similar segments (of the sort which frequently are found as allophones) which are seen to correspond in at least three pairs of words
Category 2
All other phonetically similar non-vocalic pairs of segments which are not supported by at least three pairs of words
Vowels which differ by two or more articulatory features
Category 3
Pairs of segments which are not phonetically similar
A segment which is matched by no segment in the corresponding item and position
Blair (1990:32) writes, “In contextualizing these rules to specific surveys in South Asia, the following differences between two items are ignored: (a) interconsonantal [ə], (b) word initial, word final, or intervocalic [h, ɦ], (c) any deletion which is shown to be the result of a regularly occurring process in a specific environment.”
27This description of lexical similarity counting procedures is partially adapted from that found in appendix A of O’Leary (ed. 1992).
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The following table summarises lower threshold limits for considering words as phonetically similar with a specified length (number of segments or phones):
Table 11. Lower threshold limits for considering words as phonetically similar Word
Length Category One Category Two Category Three
2 2 0 0
3 2 1 0
4 2 1 1
5 3 1 1
6 3 2 1
7 4 2 1
8 4 2 2
9 5 2 2
10 5 3 2
11 6 3 2
12 6 3 3
Some modifications to the lexical similarity grouping procedures summarised in Blair were also applied to the wordlists compared in this study. The need for this came about for several reasons. First, the wordlists were often not checked with a second mother tongue speaker of each speech variety. Second, the wordlists could not always be consistently elicited. In addition, the field workers’ phonetic transcription ability varied with skill, experience and their own language background. Since the Hindi standard wordlists are not perfect some words were selected from the dictionary also.
1. Root-based groupings: Wordlists were not always consistently elicited. In some cases, generic terms appear to have been given, while in other cases, more specific terms have been given. Also, verb forms were not elicited consistently with regard to person or tense. Because of these factors, it was often necessary to group words based on what appears to be a common root morpheme, rather than based on words as a whole.
2. Loose consonantal groupings: The field workers eliciting the words may hear and transcribe the sounds slightly differently, and probably with increasing ability to distinguish similar sounds as they gain experience. Thus, some consonant correspondences have been liberally grouped as similar. Those considered category 1 include:
[ɖ, ɽ] [s, ʂ] [ɸ, f] [ph, ɸ] [b, β, v] [v, ʋ, w]
3. Metathesis: In the case of metathesis, the words were grouped as similar. 4. Other exceptional rule
If two vowels are coming together at the word end, the last vowel will be considered as a consonant
After pairs of items on two wordlists had been determined to be phonetically similar or dissimilar according to the criteria stated above, the percentage of items judged similar was calculated. This procedure was repeated for all linguistic varieties under consideration in the survey. The pair by pair counting procedure was greatly facilitated by use of the Wordsurv computer program. It should be noted that the wordlist data as well as transcribed texts included in subsequent appendices are field
(30)
24
A2. Wordlist information and respondent biodata Nahali-Toranmal
Date 25-01-2002 Name PDC Sex Male Age 82 Education 5th
Birthplace Toranmal-Dhadgaon-Nandurbar Place brought up Toranmal
Current residence Toranmal How long N.A.
Mother tongue Nahali Language at home Nahali Father’s MT Nahali Mother’s MT Nahali Spouse’s MT Nahali
Lived in other place Nagpur, Afganistan Nihali-Jamod
Date 16-01-03 Name DJK Sex Male Age 23
Education 10th
Birthplace Jamod-Jalgain-Kaple Place brought up Jamod Current residence Jamod How long N.A.
Mother tongue Nihal Language at home Nihal Father’s MT Nihal Mother’s MT Nihal Spouse’s MT Nihal
Lived or stayed Akola,Khandwa,Dharni Korku-Tukaithad
Date 15-01-03 Name GBS Sex Male Age 22 Education 5th
Birthplace Thukaidhad-Baranpur-Khandwa Place brought up Thukaidhad
Current residence Thukaidhad How long N.A.
Mother tongue Korku Language at home Korku Father’s MT Korku Mother’s MT Korku Spouse’s MT Korku
Lived in other place Khandwa,Chikaldara
Noiri-Chillare Date 10-11-02 Name BRP, MBP Sex Male , Male Age 48 , 24
Education 0 , T.T.C
Birthplace Chillare-Shirpur-Shirpur Place brought up Chillare
Current residence Chillare How long N.A.
Mother tongue Noiri Language at home Noiri Father’s MT Noiri Mother’s MT Noiri Spouse’s MT Noiri
Lived in other place Widely travelled Dungra Bhili-Mathwad
Date 13-11-02 Name RTB Sex Male Age 25
Education 10th
Birthplace Mathwad-Allirajapur-Jabua Place brought up Mathwad
Current residence Mathwad How long N.A.
Mother tongue Noiri Language at home Noiri Father’s MT Noiri Mother’s MT Noiri Spouse’s MT Noiri
Lived in other place Widely travelled Gujari-Taradi
Date 5-12-02 Name DGP, SS Sex Male , Male Age 57 , 35 Education 0 , 10th
Birthplace Tharadi-Shahada-Nandurbar Place brought up Tharadi
Current residence Tharadi How long N.A.
Mother tongue Gujar Language at home Gujar Father’s MT Gujar Mother’s MT Gujar Spouse’s MT Gujar
(1)
\p काम वेगयोओज ओतो। \g work morning TM \f Work was in the morning \n 4
\p कोत आमु राती ई गाडी मेहेजजाता रोया। \g for we night itself vehicle in go TM \f So we went by night bus itself.
\n 5
\p �तह� जात आमु राती पुग्या \g there go we night reach-past \f We reached there (bus stand) at night. \n 6
\p ताटरो ओमे का रोअनो \g but now where stay \f But, where do we stay now? \n 7
\p इसटाणोपेए मुकाम कोईत लेता \g bus stand night stay do think
\f Thinking to stay in the bus stand, we lay down there \n 8
\p थूडा टाईमो मेह आमा हा �नंद जेह आवी वोल ्यी। \g little time-in itself we sleep like come started \f With in some time sleep started to catch us.
\n 9
\p ताहा हु�वत गोया \g so sleep go-PAST \f So we slept.
\n 10
\p तेहना मेह एक टाय�हो माअहो, िजया ५५, ६० वरहो वय ओये \g this in-itself one old-like man his 55, 60 year age \p ऐहनोह माअहो आ�वत कोईतना माआर� नु�टत गोयो
\g man like come-PAST me laydown go-PAST
\f By this time an old man, who seemed to be 55-60 years old, came and lay down along with me. QUESTION 12
\q What is the age of the old man who came and lay down with him? \a 55-60 years old
\n 11
\p ताहरो राती १२, १ वाजता तोओ माअहो माआ �खसा मेहरोत \g this night 12, 1 time that man mine pocket in from \p पैसा का�टनोओं कोअताआ मापेए आथ टाक्यो।
\g money take for that upon me hand put
(2)
\n 12
\p आथ टा�फत कोईतना स ्खसा ऐहे आथ लेत जातनो \g hand put after pocket in-from hand take-after go \f Having kept his hand over me, he was moving it towards my pocket QUESTION 13
\q What did the old man do, who seems to be 55-60 years old, after lying down along with him? \a kept his hand on him to pick his pocket
\n 13
\p तेहना, मेह माआ �नद जागीत गोयी ि◌◌ंनद जाग ्यी \g this in my sleep awake go-PAST sleep go-PAST \f At this time, I got up from sleep.
\n 14
\p आय उ�ठत बोहयू।
\g I get up-PAST sat \f I got up and sat down. \n 15
\p ताहरो तो माअहो ठावकोज ओत गोयो
\g then that man without movement become go-PAST \f That time, that man was lying down without any movement \n 16
\p ठावकोज ओत गोयो, आय ताहूउ माआ �तया हाथ्थ� हो उठाणय
\g without movement become go-past I then mine that friend also wake-past \f Then I went and woke my friend.
\n 17
\p �तया कोयू के भोव ओ माअहो ऐहन ऐहे कोअहो \g that tell-PAST that brother this man like this do \f I told him that this man is doing like this.
\n 18
\p ताहू तोबी उठ�त कोईत बोहयू \g then he-also getup-PAST do sit-past \f Then he also got up and sat down there. \n 19
\p �तया वोल पाल ्या आमू \g tohim side see-PAST we \f We looked at him.
\n 20
\p ताहरोओ ठावकोज हूवत्नो कोवडूहू नु�टत गोय� तौओ
\g then without movement sleep pretending lay down go-PAST \f He was lying down pretending that he was sleeping.
\n 21
\p ताहूअ माआ हात्यो कोयू के भोव, सा पाई �पत आवता
\g then my friend tell-past that brother walk-IMP. water drink-after come \f Then I told my friend, brother we will drink water and come
(3)
\q What did he say to his friend? \a We will drink water and come. \n 22
\p पाई �पना गोया \g water drink go-PAST \f We went to drink water. \n 23
\p पाई �पत कोईत आवया ताहू तो माअहो उठ�त कोईत ना, \g water drink do come-PAST then that man getup-PAST do �दहर� जागे जातो रोयो
another place go-after go-PAST
\f When we came back after drinking water, that man got up and went to another place. \n 24
\p �दहर� जागे जात ऐका माअहोर� नु�टत रोयो \g another place go-after one man-with laydown go-PAST \f He went to another place and slept along with another man. \n 25
\p आमू आ�वत कोईत ना पल ्या आमाआ औागा पेए कायनी \g we come do-after see-PAST our place in no-one \f We came back and saw that man was not in our place.
\n 26
\p �दहर� जागे नु�टत रोयनो \g another place laydown go-PAST \f He lay down in another place QUESTION 15
\q What did they see, when they came back after drinking water? \a old man has gone from the place
\a2 old man was lying down with another person \n 27
\p ताहरा आमू आमाआ औागे आ�वत कोईत बो�हत गोया \g then we our place some do sit go-PAST \f Then we came to our place and sat down.
\n 28
\p बोहया तेहनामे् तोओमाअहो �तद� रोत उ�ठत कोईत आवयो \g sit-past this-within that man there from getup-PAST do come-PAST \f After sitting there (we saw) that man is coming from leaving the second place. \n 29
\p ऐहे तेहे �फरयो माअहे हूवत्ने �नजा जागे �फर�त पाल�त लेदो \g here there turn around people sleep do place turn around see-PAST take-PAST \f Then, (we saw) he is walking here and there; but other people were sleeping.
(4)
QUESTION 16
\q What was the old man doing after getting up from there? \a Walking here and there
\a2 Walking around that place
\a3 Sat down in the bus and went away \n 30
\p ताहरे आखे माअहे हूवत्ने तोहना मेह, ऐक गाडी आवयी \g then all people sleep then itself one bus come-PAST \p �तयी गाडी मेह तो माअहो बो�हत कोईत औातो रोयो \g that bus in-itself that man sit-PAST do go go-PAST
\f While everyone was sleeping, he got into a bus, which came there immediately, and went away. \n 31
\p ताहरा आमू ओमे हूवता म� कोत नुटया
\g then we now sleep for that lay down-past \f Then we lay down for sleeping.
\n 32
\p नुटया, ऐताज तरहना म� पु�लसवालो आवयो \g laydown this with in policemen come-PAST \f Within this time policemen came to us.
\n 33
\p ताहरोओं आमाहा उठाणीत कोईते कोहे, के भोव आर� \g then us awake-PAST do-after say-PAST that brother near \p गादोमेह दोगू ओत गोयू
\g in-village riot become go-PAST
\f They made us to get up and informed us us that a riot is going on in nearby village QUESTION 17
\q Where did the riot happen? \a Nearby village
\a2 Village \n 34
\p तूमू इह� रोत नाह�त जावा, मामरे
\g you here from flee go immediately \f Immediately go from here.
\n 35
\p नेते इह� बी जर दोगू ओत जाय ताहा तुमा पेए कायनी हाजो टेम आवे \g if-not here also if riot become come then you in on good time come \f If not, the riot may spread over here and it may not be good for you.
\n 36
\p ताहा तूमू ओमेत जाता रोवा ऐहे कोनो वोल ्यो \g then you now go go-IMP like tell started
(5)
\p पन आमू �तयी राती का जातना१२, १ वाजीत गोयोतो काबी \g but we this night where go 12, 1 to-sound go-PAST here-also
\p जाहू दोगू जर ओवे
\g become riot if could-be
\f But in this night when 12, 1 is past, wherever we go, we may get into the riot QUESTION 18
\q What was the time the policeman came and tried to send them away from that place? \a About twelve to one o’clock.
\n 38
\p ताहा आमा कायनी हाजोत ओवे \g then for-us not good could-be \f That may not be good for us. \n 39
\p कोत आमू रातईत सतह�न इसटाणोपेए बोह�त काटया \g therefore we whole-night there-itself stand-in sit spend \f So we spent whole night sitting there in the bus stand.
QUESTION 19
\q How did they spend the whole night? \a Sitting there in the bus stand.
\n 40
\p जेमतेम �दह उगाडया आना तारहा वेगी उठ�त कोईत \g like-that day come-PAST and then morning get-up do-after \p आमू आमा-अमाआ कामे जाता रोया
\g we our work go go-past
\f Then, morning came and we got up to go to our work. QUESTION 20
\q When did they go for their work? \a In the morning.
(6)
90
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