| Karkhandari | |
|---|---|
| Old Delhi Urdu dialect | |
| Native to | India |
| Region | Delhi |
| Ethnicity | Delhiite |
Native speakers | 50,000 (1961)[1] |
| Perso-Arabic script (Urdu alphabet) | |
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-3 | – |
Karkhandāri Urdu is a dialect of Urdu historically spoken inOld Delhi (Shahjahanabad, Delhi-6). It is considered a traditional form of Delhi Urdu, though today it is rarely spoken and survives only among a few remaining speakers.[2]
The word 'Karkhandāri' is derived from the Urdu word 'kārkhānā' which means factory or workshop. The suffix 'dār' denotes worker or owner. The language label thereby stands for a colloquial language spoken by occupational groups. However, a wider group of people used it.[3]
According to literary scholarGopi Chand Narang,Karkhandari was asociolect used in the daily speech of artisans, craftsmen, small traders, and labourers living in the old city of Delhi. Despite demographic and cultural changes in the capital, speakers of this dialect remain concentrated in specific parts of the historical city. The areas traditionally inhabited by Karkhandari speakers were geographically bounded byChāndni Chowk to the north,Faiz Bazaar to the east, Asaf Ali Road to the south, andLahori Gate to the west. The core population of speakers resided in the southwestern lanes nearJama Masjid and Lāl Kuan Bazaar, including neighborhoods such as Chitli Qabar, Kucha Chailān, Kalān Mahal, Matiya Mahal, Bhojla Pahāri, Pahari Imli, Churi wālān, Tokri wālān, Soi wālān, Phātak Teliyan, Bulbuli Khāna, Mohalla Qabaristan, Gali Shāh Tāra, Kucha Pandit, Mohalla Rod garān, Farrāsh Khāna, and Gali Batāshān. Additional clusters were found northeast of Lal Kuan inGali Qāsim Jān, Ballimārān Bazaar, Haveli Hissām-uddin Haider, Bāra Dari Sher Afgan Khan, and Ahāta Kalē Sāhib. A few families nearKhāri bāoli, in Phātak Habash Khān, continue to preserve the dialect. Beyond the old city walls, Karkhandari speakers have also been identified in areas like Kishanganj,Shīsh Mahal, Qassāb pura, Beri Wāla Bāgh, and parts of Bāra Hindu Rao.[4]
Karkhandāri as well asold Deccani show several phonological and grammatical similarities now absent in modern Urdu and Hindi.[5]