Dogri is spoken by 2.6 million people in India (as of the 2011 census).[3] It has been among the country's 22scheduled languages since 2003. It is also one of the five official languages of the union territory of Jammu and Kashmir.
Dogri was originally written in the old Dogra Akkhar script – a modified version ofTakri.[10] A modified version of this script was created by the order ofMaharaja Ranbir Singh of Jammu and Kashmir, which was then calledName Dogra Akkhar.[11] Official documents were written in this new script; however it never caught on among the general Dogri-speaking populace. Currently,Devanagari is the officially recognised script for Dogri in India and virtually all Dogri literature is published in it.
Gemination occurs in all consonants except the consonants /ɾɳɽʃ/.
Retroflex consonants /ɽɳ/ rarely occur in word initial position.
/fzxɣ/ only occur from Perso-Arabic loan words. /f/ is also heard as an allophone of /pʰ/.
/ɾ/ can also marginally be heard as trilled [r] in some speech.
In some words, /s/ can become more weakly pronounced, or even eliminated and replaced by a glottal fricative sound [h].
A palatal nasal sound [ɲ] typically occurs when a dental nasal precedes a post-alveolar affricate consonant, rarely occurring in words word-initially or medially.
A velar nasal sound [ŋ] typically occurs when a dental nasal precedes a velar plosive consonant, and rarely occurs word-initially or medially.[12]
These are rules of writing tones in Dogri usingDevanagari Script. They are as follows:-
Just likePunjabi, Dogri also uses the letters घ (gʱə), झ (d͡ʒʱə), ढ (ɖʱə), ध (d̪ʱə), भ (bʱə) and ढ़ (ɽʱə) for tonal uses. When at the beginning of the word, it has a high-falling tone; i.e.:- घ (kə̂), झ (t͡ʃə̂), ढ (ʈə̂), ध (t̪ə̂), भ (pə̂) and ढ़ (ɽə̂). When in the middle and final position of the word, the preceding vowel has a low-rising tone; i.e.:- अघ (ə̌ɡ), अझ (ə̌d͡ʒ), अढ (ə̌ɖ), अध (ə̌d̪), अभ (ə̌b) and अढ़ (ə̌ɽ). Examples:- घड़ी (kə̂ɽiː)- clock, and बध (bə̌d̪).
UnlikePunjabi, there is no ह (ɦə) sound and it has a high-falling tone in all positions; i.e.:- हत्थ (ə̂t̪ːʰə)- hand.
To indicate a low-rising tone in the middle of words, Dogri uses ह् (ह with ahalant) to indicate it when the preceding vowel is long; i.e.:- आ (aː), ई (iː), ऊ (uː), ए (eː), ऐ (ɛː), ओ (oː) and औ (ɔː). Example:- साह्ब (sǎːb)-sahab. When the preceding vowel is short, i.e., - अ (ə), इ (ɪ) and उ (ʊ); acombining apostrophe (ʼ) is used. Example:- लʼत्त (lə̌tː)- leg.
The characters mentioned in the first point can also be used to indicate high-falling tone in the middle of the words when between a short vowel and a long vowel.
In the year 1317,Amir Khusro, the famousUrdu andPersian poet, referred to Duger (Dogri) while describing the languages and dialects of India as follows:"Sindhi-o-Lahori-o-Kashmiri-o-Duger."[14][15]
The linguistGeorge Grierson connected the termDuggar with theRajasthani wordDoonger which means 'hill', andDogra withDonger.[16] This opinion has lacked support because of the inconsistency of the ostensible changes from Rajasthani to Dogri (essentially the question of howDoonger becameDuggar whileDonger becameDogra), and has been contradicted by some scholars.[17]
Yet another proposal stems from the wordDurgara, the name of a kingdom mentioned in an eleventh century copper-plate inscription in the Bhuri Singh Museum in Chamba, Himachal Pradesh.[citation needed] The wordDurgara means 'invincible' in several Northern Indo-Aryan languages, and could be an allusion to the ruggedness of the terrain of Duggar and the historically militarised and autonomous Dogra societies.[citation needed]
In 1976, the experts attending the Language Session of the All India Oriental Conference held in Dharwad,Karnataka, could not reach consensus on theDwigarta andDurgara hypotheses, but did manage agreement on aDoonger-Duggar connection. In a subsequent All India Oriental Conference held atJaipur in 1982, the linguists agreed that the culture, language and history ofRajasthan and Duggar share some similarities. It was also suggested that the wordsDuggar andDogra are common in some parts of Rajasthan. Specifically, it was asserted that areas with many forts are called Duggar, and their inhabitants are accordingly known as Dogras. The land of Duggar also has many forts, which may support the above opinion.
An article by Dharam Chand Prashant in the literary magazineShiraza Dogri suggested that "the opinion that the wordDuggar is a form of the wordDuggarh sounds appropriate."[18]
Dogri folk song sung during the interview of a Dhramshala citizen
In modern times, a notable Dogri translation (in the New Dogra script) of theSanskrit classic mathematical opusLilavati, by the noted mathematicianBhaskaracharya (b. 1114 AD), was published by the Vidya Vilas Press, Jammu in 1873.[19] As Sanskrit literacy remained confined to a few, the late Maharaja Ranbir Singh had theLilavati translated into Dogri by Jyotshi Bisheshwar, then principal of Jammu Pathshala.[20]
Dogri has an established tradition of poetry, fiction and dramatic works. Recent poets range from the 18th-century Dogri poet Kavi Dattu (1725–1780) in Raja Ranjit Dev's court to ProfessorRam Nath Shastri and Mrs.Padma Sachdev. Kavi Dattu is highly regarded for hisBarah Massa (Twelve Months),Kamal Netra (Lotus Eyes),Bhup Bijog andBir Bilas.[21]Shiraza Dogri is a Dogri literary periodical issued by the Jammu and Kashmir Academy of Art, Culture and Languages, which is a notable publisher of modern Dogri literary work, another being the Dogri Sanstha. Popular recent songs includePala Shapaiya Dogariya,Manne di Mauj andShhori Deya. The noted Pakistani singerMalika Pukhraj had roots in Duggar,[22] and her renditions of several Dogri songs continue to be popular in the region. Some devotional songs (bhajans) composed byKaran Singh have gained increasing popularity over time, includingKaun Kareyaan Teri Aarti.
Dogri programming features regularly onRadio Kashmir (a division ofAll India Radio), andDoordarshan (Indian state television) broadcasts inJammu and Kashmir. However, Dogri does not have a dedicated state television channel yet, unlike Kashmiri (which has the Doordarshan Koshur channel, available on cable and satellite television throughout India).[citation needed]
Official recognition of the language has been gradual, but progressive. On 2 August 1969, the General Council of theSahitya Academy, Delhi recognized Dogri as an "independent modern literary language" of India, based on the unanimous recommendation of a panel of linguists.[23] Dogri is one of the official languages of the Indian union territory ofJammu and Kashmir. On 22 December 2003, in a major milestone for the official status of the language, Dogri was recognized as a national language of India in theIndian constitution.[24][25]
In 2005, a collection of over 100 works of prose and poetry in Dogri published over the last 50 years was made accessible online at theCentral Institute of Indian Languages (CIIL), Mysore. This included works of eminent writer Dhinu Bhai Panth, Professor Madan Mohan Sharma, B.P. Sathai and Ram Nath Shastri.[26]
सारे मनुक्ख मैह्मा ते अधिकारें दे बिशे च जनमै थमां सुतैंतर ते बरोबर न। उ'नेंगी बुद्धी ते जमीरै दी देन थ्होई ऐ ते उ'नेंगी आपूं-बिच्चें भाईचारे दे भावै कन्नै ब्यहार करना लोड़दा ऐ।
Dogri (Perso-Arabic script)
سارے منکّھ میہما تے ادھکاریں دے بشے چ جنمے تھماں ستیںتر تے بروبر ن۔ ا'نیںگی بُدھِّی تے جمیرے دی دین تھہوئی اے تے ا'نیںگی آپوں-بچّیں بھائیچارے دے بھاوے کنّے بیہار کرنا لوڑدا اے۔
All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood.
^abBahri, Ujjal Singh (2001).Dogri: Phonology and Grammatical Sketch. Series in Indian Languages and Linguistics, 24: New Delhi: Bahri Publications.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location (link)
^"Dogri".lisindia.ciil.org. Retrieved9 December 2021.
^Shastri, Ram Nath (1981).Dogri Prose Writing before Independence (Translated). Dogri Research Centre, Jammu University.
^"Lok Sabha passes bill recognising Dogri, 3 other languages".Daily Excelsior. Jammu and Kashmir. 23 December 2003. Archived fromthe original on 2 December 2008. Retrieved31 October 2008.Dogri among other three languages has been included in the Eighth Schedule of the Constitution when Lok Sabha unanimously approved an amendment in the Constitution
