Odia (, ISO: , ), or Oriya, is a classical Indo-Aryan language spoken in the Indian state of Odisha. It is the official language in Odisha where native speakers make up 82% of the population, and it is also spoken in parts of West Bengal, Jharkhand, Andhra Pradesh and Chhattisgarh. Odia is one of the official languages of India; it is the official language of Odisha and the second official language of Jharkhand. The Odia language has various varieties, including the Baleswari Odia (Northern variety), Kataki, Dhenkanalia, Anugulia (central variety), Ganjami Odia (Southern variety), Sundargadi Odia (Northwestern variety), Sambalpuri Odia (Western variety), Desia Odia (South-western variety) and Tribal Community dialects spoken by the tribal groups in Odisha who adopted the Odia language.
Odia is the sixth Indian language to be designated a classical language. It traces its linguistic roots to the Eastern Magadhi Prakrit, evolving through stages such as Proto Odia (7th–9th century CE), Old Odia (10th–13th century CE), Middle Odia (14th–17th century CE), and Modern Odia (from the 18th century onward). The language displays a distinct phonological and morphological character shaped by centuries of interaction with tribal and Dravidian tongues. Recognised as a classical language of India, Odia has an unbroken literary tradition, with inscriptions dating back over a thousand years.
History Odia is an Eastern Indo-Aryan language belonging to the Indo-Aryan language family. It descends from Odra Prakrit which itself evolved from Magadhi Prakrit. The latter was spoken in east India over 1,500 years ago, and is the primary language used in early Jain and Buddhist texts.Misra, Bijoy (11 April 2009). Oriya Language and Literature (PDF) (Lecture). Languages and Literature of India. Harvard University. Odia appears to have had relatively little influence from Persian and Arabic, compared to other major Indo-Aryan languages.
The history of the Odia language is divided into eras:
Proto-Odia (Odra Prakrit) (10th century and earlier): Inscriptions from 9th century shows the evolution of proto-Odia, i.e. Odra Prakrit or Oriya Prakrit words used along with Sanskrit. The inscriptions are dated to third quarter of 9th century during the reign of early Eastern Gangas. Old Odia (10th century till 13th century): Inscriptions from the 10th century onwards provide evidence for the existence of the Old Odia language, with the earliest inscription being the Urajam inscription of the Eastern Gangas written in Old Odia in 1051 CE. Old Odia written in the form of connected lines is found in inscription dated to 1249 CE. Early Middle Odia (13th century–15th century): The earliest use of prose can be found in the Madala Panji of the Jagannath Temple at Puri, which dates back to the 12th century. Such works as Sisu Beda, Amarakosa, Gorekha Samhita, Kalasa Chautisa and Saptanga are written in this form of Odia. Middle Odia (15th century–17th century): Sarala Das writes the Mahabharata and Bilanka Ramayana. Towards the 15th century, Panchasakha 'five seer poets' namely Balarama Dasa, Jagannatha Dasa, Achyutananda Dasa, Sisu Ananta Dasa and Jasobanta Dasa wrote a number of popular works, including the Odia Bhagabata, Jagamohana Ramayana, Lakshmi Purana, Haribansa, Gobinda Chandra and more. Balarama Dasa, Ananta Dasa and Achyutananda Dasa of Pancha Sakha group hailed from Karana community. Late Middle Odia (17th century–Early 19th century): Usabhilasa of Sisu Sankara Dasa, the Rahasya Manjari of Deba Durlabha Dasa and the Rukmini Bibaha of Kartika Dasa were written. Upendra Bhanja took a leading role in this period with his creations Baidehisa Bilasa, Koti Brahmanda Sundari, Labanyabati which emerged as landmarks in Odia Literature. Dinakrushna Dasa's Rasakallola and Abhimanyu Samanta Singhara's Bidagdha Chintamani were prominent latter kabyas. Of the song poets who spearheaded Odissi music, classical music of the state – Upendra Bhanja, Banamali, Kabisurjya Baladeba Ratha, Gopalakrusna were prominent. Bhima Bhoi emerged towards the end of the 19th century. Modern Odia (Late 19th century to present): The first Odia magazine, Bodha Dayini was published in Balasore in 1861. During this time many Bengali scholars claimed that Odia was just a dialect of Bengali to exercise of power by cornering government jobs.Pritish Acharya, "Nationalistic Politics: Nature, Objectives and Strategy." From Late 19th Century to Formation of UPCC", in Culture, Tribal History and Freedom Movement, ed. P.K. Mishra, Delhi: Agam Kala Prakasham, 1989 For instance Pandit Kanti Chandra Bhattacharya, a teacher of Balasore Zilla School, published a little pamphlet named "Odia Ekti Swatantray Bhasha Noi" (Odia not an independent language) where Bhattacharya claimed that Odia was not a separate and original form of language and was a mere corruption of Bengali. He suggested British Government to abolish all Odia Vernacular Schools from Odisha and to alter into Bengali Vernacular Schools.Sachidananda Mohanty, "Rebati and the Woman Question in Odisha", India International Centre Quarterly, New Delhi, Vol. 21, No. 4, Winter 1994 The first Odia newspaper Utkala Deepika, launched in 1866 under editors Gourishankar Ray and Bichitrananda. In 1869 Bhagavati Charan Das started another newspaper, Utkal Subhakari. More Odia newspapers soon followed like Utkal Patra, Utkal Hiteisini from Cuttack, Utkal Darpan and Sambada Vahika from Balasore and Sambalpur Hiteisini from Deogarh. Fakir Mohan Senapati emerged as a prominent Odia fiction writer of this time and Radhanath Ray as a prominent Odia poet. Other prominent Odia writers who helped promote Odia at this time were Madhusudan Das, Madhusudan Rao, Gangadhar Meher, Chintamani Mohanty, Nanda Kishore Bal, Reba Ray, Gopabandhu Das and Nilakantha Das.
Geographical distribution India
According to the 2011 census, there are 37.52 million Odia speakers in India, making up 3.1% of the country's population. Among these, 93% reside in Odisha. Odia is also spoken in neighbouring states such as Chhattisgarh (913,581), Jharkhand (531,077), Andhra Pradesh (361,471), and West Bengal (162,142), as of 2011 Census.
Due to migration as tea garden workers in colonial British India, northeastern states Assam and Tripura have a sizeable Odia-speaking population, particularly in Sonitpur, Tinsukia, Udalguri, Sivasagar, Golaghat, Dibrugarh, Cachar, Nagaon, Karimganj, Karbi Anglong, Jorhat, Lakhimpur, Baksa, Kamrup Metropolitan, Hailakandi district of Assam and West Tripura, Dhalai, North Tripura district of Tripura. Similarly, due to economic migration in modern India, the western states Gujarat and Maharashtra also have a significant Odia speaking population. Additionally, due to economic pursuits, significant numbers of Odia speakers can be found in Indian cities such as Vishakhapatnam, Hyderabad, Pondicherry, Kolkata, Bangalore, Chennai, Goa, Mumbai, Raipur, Jamshedpur, Vadodara, Ahmedabad, New Delhi, Guwahati, Shillong, Pune, Gurgaon, Jammu and Silvassa.
Foreign countries
The Odia diaspora is sizeable in several countries around the world, bringing the number of Odia speakers worldwide to 50 million. It has a significant presence in eastern countries, such as Thailand and Indonesia, mainly brought by the sadhaba, ancient traders from Odisha who carried the language along with the culture during the old-day trading, and in western countries such as the United States, Canada, Australia and England. The language has also spread to Burma, Malaysia, Fiji, Mauritius, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Middle East countries.
Odia place names Odia place names are present across Odisha, Northern Andhra, South Bengal, South Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh.
Odia street names usually end with -sahi, -pada, -nagar, -vihar/bihar. Examples include Nua-sahi, Madanmohan-pada, Nehru-nagar, Vani-vihar.
Common Odia place names ending with
-pur – Sambalpur, Berhampur, Salepur, Padampur, Bijepur, Jajpur etc.
-eswar – Maneswar, Baleswar, Bhubaneswar etc.
-put – Pokhariput, Bhejiput, Koraput, Lamataput etc.
-giri – Lalitgiri, G. Udayagiri, Ratnagiri etc.
-khol – Chandikhol, Redhakhol, Khaprakhol etc.
-garh/gada – Bargarh, Sarangarh, Nayagarh, Rayagada, Lanjigarh, Titlagarh, Potagada etc.
-pali- Saraipali, Dunguripali, Barpali etc
-palli – Kamapalli, Jamapalli, Barapalli, kanteipalli, Lanjipalli etc
-pada – Amalapada, Kendrapada, Bhatpada, Baripada etc.
-padar – Ballipadar, Bahadapadar, Jahadapadar etc.
-guda – Khariaguda, Kosamaguda, Semiliguda, Muniguda, Jharsuguda etc.
-patna – Bhawanipatna, Manikapatna, Madhupatna, Mugupatna etc.
-munda – Bangomunda, Bondamunda, Baramunda, Kuarmunda etc.
-kela – Rourkela, Seraikela etc.
-bira – Kolabira, Attabira etc.
-prasad – Durgaprasad, Jagannathprasad, Kalikaprasad etc.
-pani – Kanjipani, Bansapani, Taptapani etc.
-jang – Derjang, Parjang, Kujang etc.
-pentha – Chikitipentha, Mahadeipentha etc.
-bandha – Tumudibandha, Garabandha etc.
-khemundi – Paralakhemundi, Badakhemundi, Sanakhemundi etc.
-bali – Tikabali, Chandbali etc.
-kote – Khallikote, Umerkote, Mardakote, Purunakote etc.
-mal – Paikamal, Kandhamal, Reamal etc
-singha – Jarasingha, Loisingha etc
-handi – Papadahandi, Chandahandi, Kalahandi etc.
Standardisation and Varieties
Major varieties
Baleswari (Northern Odia): Spoken in Baleswar, Bhadrak, Mayurbhanj and Kendujhar districts of Odisha. The variant spoken in Baleswar is called Baleswaria. Kataki (Central Odia): Spoken in the coastal and central regions consisting of Cuttack, Khordha, Puri, Nayagarh, Jajpur, Jagatsinghpur, Kendrapara, Dhenkanal, Angul and Eastern part of Boudh districts of Odisha with regional variations. The Cuttack variant is known as Katakia. Khurda Odia : Spoken in Khordha, Puri and Nayagarh districts of Odisha. Ganjami (Southern Odia): Spoken in Ganjam, Gajapati and parts of Kandhamal districts of Odisha, Srikakulam district of Andhra Pradesh. The variant spoken in Berhampur is also known as "Berhampuria". Sundargadi (Northwestern Odia): Spoken in Sundergarh and parts of adjoining districts of Odisha and the districts of Jashpur of Chhattisgarh and Simdega of Jharkhand. Sambalpuri (Western Odia): It is the western variety of Odia language with the core variant spoken in Sambalpur, Jharsuguda, Bargarh, Balangir and Subarnapur districts, along with parts of Nuapada and western parts of Boudh districts of Odisha. Also spoken in parts of Raigarh, Mahasamund and Raipur districts of Chhattisgarh. A 2006 survey of the varieties spoken in four villages in Western Odisha found out that Sambalpuri share three-quarters of their basic vocabulary with Standard Odia and has 75%–76% lexical similarity with Standard Odia. Desia (Southwestern Odia/Koraputi): Spoken in southwestern districts of Nabarangpur, Rayagada, Koraput, Malkangiri and southern parts of Kalahandi districts of Odisha and in the hilly regions of Vishakhapatnam and, Vizianagaram districts of Andhra Pradesh. A variant spoken in Koraput is also known as Koraputia.
Minor regional varieties
Singhbhumi Odia: Spoken in parts of East Singhbhum, West Singhbhum and Saraikela-Kharsawan district of Jharkhand. Phulbani Odia: spoken in Kandhamal and in parts of Boudh district. Kalahandia Odia: Variant of Odia spoken in Kalahandi and Nuapada districts and neighbouring districts of Chhattisgarh. Debagadia Odia: It is a variant of Odia spoken in Debagarh District, Redhakhol sub-division of Sambalpur District, Athmallik sub-division of Angul District and Bonai sub-division of Sundargarh District area.
Major tribal and community dialects/sociolects
Bodo Parja (Jharia): spoken by the Parang Proja tribe of Koraput and neighbouring districts of Odisha. Bhatri: language variety spoken by the Bhottada tribe in Odisha and Chhattisgarh.Masica (1991:16)