Trilingual Signboard atBhubaneswar Airport having text in Odia, Hindi and English
Odia is the sixth Indian language to be designated aclassical language.[16][17][18][19] 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. Recognized as a classical language of India, Odia has an unbroken literary tradition, with inscriptions dating back over a thousand years.[20]
Odia is anEastern Indo-Aryan language belonging to the Indo-Aryan language family. It descends from Odra Prakrit which itself evolved fromMagadhi Prakrit.[20] The latter was spoken in east India over 1,500 years ago, and is the primary language used in earlyJain and Buddhist texts.[21] Odia appears to have had relatively little influence fromPersian andArabic, compared to other major Indo-Aryan languages.[22]
The proto-languages of easternMagadhan; the split and descent of Proto-Odra (Odra Prakrit), the ancestor of the modern Odia language, from Proto-Magadhan (Magadhi Prakrit)[20]Urajam inscription in Old Odia, royal charter of Eastern Ganga dynasty (1051 CE)[23]1890s Linguistic map of India showing Odia speaking region.
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 orOriya Prakrit words used along with Sanskrit. The inscriptions are dated to third quarter of 9th century during the reign of earlyEastern Gangas.[24]
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.[23] Old Odia written in the form of connected lines is found in inscription dated to 1249 CE.[25]
Early Middle Odia (13th century–15th century): The earliest use of prose can be found in theMadala Panji of theJagannath Temple at Puri, which dates back to the 12th century. Such works asSisu Beda,Amarakosa,Gorekha Samhita,Kalasa Chautisa andSaptanga are written in this form of Odia.[26][27][28]
Late Middle Odia (17th century–Early 19th century):Usabhilasa of Sisu Sankara Dasa, theRahasya Manjari of Deba Durlabha Dasa and theRukmini Bibaha of Kartika Dasa were written.Upendra Bhanja took a leading role in this period with his creationsBaidehisa Bilasa,Koti Brahmanda Sundari,Labanyabati which emerged as landmarks in Odia Literature.Dinakrushna Dasa'sRasakallola andAbhimanyu Samanta Singhara'sBidagdha Chintamani were prominent latter kabyas. Of the song poets who spearheadedOdissi 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 manyBengali scholars claimed that Odia was just a dialect of Bengali to exercise of power by cornering government jobs.[32] For instance Pandit Kanti Chandra Bhattacharya, a teacher ofBalasore 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.[33] The first Odia newspaperUtkala Deepika, launched in 1866 under editorsGourishankar 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 andRadhanath Ray as a prominent Odia poet. Other prominent Odia writers who helped promote Odia at this time wereMadhusudan Das,Madhusudan Rao,Gangadhar Meher, Chintamani Mohanty,Nanda Kishore Bal,Reba Ray,Gopabandhu Das andNilakantha Das.
Distribution of Odia language in the state of India[34]
Odisha (92.5%)
Chhattisgarh (2.40%)
Jharkhand (1.40%)
Andhra Pradesh (1.00%)
Assam (0.60%)
Gujarat (0.50%)
West Bengal (0.40%)
Maharashtra (0.40%)
Other states (0.80%)
According to the 2011 census, there are 37.52 millionOdia speakers in India, making up 3.1% of the country's population. Among these, 93% reside in Odisha.[35][36] Odia is also spoken in neighbouring states such asChhattisgarh (913,581),Jharkhand (531,077),Andhra Pradesh (361,471), andWest Bengal (162,142), as of 2011 Census.[34]
Sambalpuri (Western Odia): It is the western dialect/variety of Odia language with the core variant spoken inSambalpur,Jharsuguda,Bargarh,Balangir andSubarnapur districts, along with parts ofNuapada and western parts ofBoudh districts of Odisha. Also spoken in parts ofRaigarh,Mahasamund andRaipur 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.[46][47][48]
Length is not contrastive. The vowel[ɛ] can also be heard as an allophone of/e/, or as an allophone of the coalescence of the sequences/j+a/ or/j+ɔ/.[54] Final vowels are pronounced in the standard language, e.g. Odia[pʰulɔ] contrastsBengali[pʰul] "flower".[55]
Odia retains thevoiced retroflex lateral approximant[ɭ],[52] among the Eastern Indo-Aryan languages. Thevelar nasal[ŋ] is given phonemic status in some analyses, as it also occurs as a terminal sound, e.g. ଏବଂ- ebaṅ /ebɔŋ/[57] Nasals assimilate forplace in nasal–stop clusters./ɖɖʱ/ have the near-allophonic intervocalic[58]flaps[ɽɽʱ] inintervocalic position and in final position (but not atmorpheme boundaries). Stops are sometimesdeaspirated between/s/ and a vowel or anopen syllable/s/+vowel and a vowel. Some speakers distinguish between single andgeminate consonants.[59]
Odia retains most of thecases ofSanskrit, though thenominative andvocative have merged (both without a separate marker), as have the accusative and dative. There are three genders (masculine, feminine and neuter) and twogrammatical numbers (singular and plural). The usage of gender is semantic (a bit like in English), i.e. to differentiate male members of a class from female members.[60] There are three tenses coded via affixes (i.e., present, past and future), others being expressed via auxiliaries.
A detailed chart depicting evolution of the Odia script as displayed in a museum atRatnagiri, Odisha3AD Baranga grant of Umarabana written in Kalinga script.
The Odia language uses theOdia script (also known as theKalinga script). It is aBrahmic script used to write primarily the Odia language and others like Sanskrit and several minor regional languages. The script has developed over nearly 1000 years, with the earliest trace of the script being dated to 1051 AD.
Odia is a syllabic alphabet, or anabugida, wherein allconsonants have an inherentvowel. Diacritics (which can appear above, below, before, or after the consonant they belong to) are used to change the form of the inherent vowel. When vowels appear at the beginning of a syllable, they are written as independent letters. Also, when certain consonants occur together, special conjunct symbols are used to combine the essential parts of each consonant symbol.
The curved appearance of the Odia script is a result of the practice of writing on palm leaves, which have a tendency to tear if too many straight lines are used.[61]
Karani Script (Odia: କରଣୀ ଲିପି) is a traditional script used primarily in Odisha, India, for administrative and literary purposes during the medieval and early modern periods. Named after the Karana scribes (the traditional writer caste of Odisha), the script was predominantly used in the royal courts and temples, especially for writing on palm leaf manuscripts.[62] It is a cursive form derived from the Odia script, developed to enable faster writing with a stylus or pen. The Karani script is characterized by its flowing, connected style, making it distinct from the formal printed Odia script. Though no longer in widespread use, it remains an important part of Odisha’s manuscript heritage and is preserved in temple records, historical documents, and museum collections.[63]
Sarahapada was one of the 84 Siddhas who has composed Dohas in (couplets) are compiled in Dohakośa, the 'Treasury of Rhyming Couplets'. Padas (verses) 22, 32, 38 and 39 of Caryagītikośa (or Charyapada) are assigned to him. The script used in the dohas shows close resemblance with the Odia script.
The earliest literature in Odia can be traced to the Charyapadas, composed in the 7th to 9th centuries.[64] Before Sarala Das, the most important works in Odia literature are the Shishu Veda, Saptanga, Amara Kosha,Rudrasudhanidhi,Kesaba Koili,Kalasa Chautisa, etc.[26][27][28] In the 14th century, the poetSarala Das wrote the Sarala Mahabharata, Chandi Purana, and Vilanka Ramayana, in praise of the goddessDurga. Rama-Bibaha, written by Arjuna Dasa, was the first long poem written in the Odia language.
The following era is termed thePanchasakha Age and stretches until the year 1700. Notable religious works of the Panchasakha Age include those ofBalarama Dasa,Jagannatha Dasa, Yasovanta, Ananta andAcyutananda. The authors of this period mainly translated, adapted, or imitated Sanskrit literature. Other prominent works of the period include theUsabhilasa of Sisu Sankara Dasa, theRahasya Manjari of Debadurlabha Dasa and theRukmini Bibha of Kartika Dasa. A new form of novels in verse evolved during the beginning of the 17th century when Ramachandra Pattanayaka wroteHarabali. Other poets, like Madhusudana, Bhima Dhibara, Sadasiba and Sisu Iswara Dasa composed another form calledkavyas (long poems) based on themes from Puranas, with an emphasis on plain, simple language.
However, during theBhanja Age (also known as the Age of Riti Yuga) beginning with turn of the 18th century, verbally tricky Odia became the order of the day. Verbal jugglery and eroticism characterise the period between 1700 and 1850, particularly in the works of the era's eponymous poetUpendra Bhanja (1670–1720). Bhanja's work inspired many imitators, of which the most notable is Arakshita Das. Family chronicles in prose relating religious festivals and rituals are also characteristic of the period.
The first Odia printing typeset was cast in 1836 by Christian missionaries. Although the handwritten Odia script of the time closely resembled theBengali andAssamese scripts, the one adopted for the printed typesets was significantly different.Amos Sutton produced an Oriya Bible (1840), Oriya Dictionary (1841–43) and[65]An Introductory Grammar of Oriya (1844).[66]
Odia has a rich literary heritage dating back to the thirteenth century.Sarala Dasa who lived in the fourteenth century is known as theVyasa of Odisha. He wrote theMahabharata into Odia. In fact, the language was initially standardised through a process of translating or transcreating classical Sanskrit texts such as the Mahabharata,Ramayana and theBhagavad Gita. The translation of theBhagavatam byAtibadi Jagannatha Dasa was particularly influential on the written form of the language. Another of the Panchasakha,Matta Balarama Dasa transcreated the Ramayana in Odia, titledJagamohana Ramayana. Odia has had a strong tradition of poetry, especiallydevotional poetry.
Three great poets and prose writers,Kabibar Radhanath Ray (1849–1908),Fakir Mohan Senapati (1843–1918) andMadhusudan Rao (1853–1912) made Odia their own. They brought in a modern outlook and spirit into Odia literature. Around the same time the modern drama took birth in the works of Rama Sankara Ray beginning with Kanci-Kaveri (1880).
Among the contemporaries of Fakir Mohan, four novelists deserve special mention: Aparna Panda, Mrutyunjay Rath, Ram Chandra Acharya and Brajabandhu Mishra. Aparna Panda's Kalavati and Brajabandhu Mishra's Basanta Malati were both published in 1902, the year in which Chha Mana Atha Guntha came out in the book form.
One of the great writers in the 20th century was PanditKrushna Chandra Kar (1907–1995) from Cuttack, who wrote many books for children likePari Raija, Kuhuka Raija, Panchatantra, Adi Jugara Galpa Mala, etc. He was last felicitated by the Sahitya Academy in 1971–72 for his contributions to Odia literature, development of children's fiction, and biographies.
One of the prominent writers of the 20th and 21st centuries was Muralidhar Mallick (1927–2002). His contribution to Historical novels is beyond words. He was last felicitated by the Sahitya Academy in the year 1998 for his contributions to Odia literature. His son Khagendranath Mallick (born 1951) is also a writer. His contribution towards poetry, criticism, essays, story and novels is commendable. He was the former President of Utkal Kala Parishad and also former President of Odisha Geeti Kabi Samaj. Presently he is a member of the Executive Committee of Utkal Sahitya Samaj. Another illustrious writer of the 20th century was Chintamani Das. A noted academician, he was written more than 40 books including fiction, short stories, biographies and storybooks for children. Born in 1903 in Sriramachandrapur village under Satyabadi block, Chintamani Das is the only writer who has written biographies on all the five 'Pancha Sakhas' of Satyabadi namely Pandit Gopabandhu Das, Acharya Harihara, Nilakantha Das, Krupasindhu Mishra and Pandit Godabarisha. Having served as the Head of the Odia department of Khallikote College, Berhampur, Chintamani Das was felicitated with the Sahitya Akademi Samman in 1970 for his outstanding contribution to Odia literature in general and Satyabadi Yuga literature in particular. Some of his well-known literary creations are 'Bhala Manisha Hua', 'Manishi Nilakantha', 'Kabi Godabarisha', 'Byasakabi Fakiramohan', 'Usha', 'Barabati'.
20th century writers in Odia include PallikabiNanda Kishore Bal,Gangadhar Meher, Chintamani Mahanti andKuntala Kumari Sabat, besides Niladri Dasa andGopabandhu Das. The most notable novelists were Umesa Sarakara, Divyasimha Panigrahi,Gopala Chandra Praharaj andKalindi Charan Panigrahi. Sachi Kanta Rauta Ray is the great introducer of the ultra-modern style in modern Odia poetry. Others who took up this form were Godabarisha Mohapatra,Mayadhar Mansingh,Nityananda Mahapatra and Kunjabihari Dasa. Prabhasa Chandra Satpathi is known for his translations of some western classics apart from Udayanatha Shadangi, Sunanda Kara and Surendranatha Dwivedi. Criticism, essays and history also became major lines of writing in the Odia language. Esteemed writers in this field were Professor Girija Shankar Ray, Pandit Vinayaka Misra, Professor Gauri Kumara Brahma, Jagabandhu Simha andHarekrushna Mahatab. Odia literature mirrors the industrious, peaceful and artistic image of theOdia people who have offered and gifted much to the Indian civilisation in the field of art and literature. Now WritersManoj Das's creations motivated and inspired people towards a positive lifestyle. Distinguished prose writers of the modern period includeBaidyanath Misra,Fakir Mohan Senapati,Madhusudan Das, Godabarisha Mohapatra, Kalindi Charan Panigrahi,Surendra Mohanty,Manoj Das,Kishori Charan Das, Gopinath Mohanty, Rabi Patnaik, Chandrasekhar Rath, Binapani Mohanty, Bhikari Rath,Jagadish Mohanty,Sarojini Sahoo,Yashodhara Mishra, Ramchandra Behera, Padmaja Pal. But it is poetry that makes modern Odia literature a force to reckon with. Poets likeKabibar Radhanath Ray, Sachidananda Routray, Guruprasad Mohanty, Soubhagya Misra,Ramakanta Rath, Sitakanta Mohapatra, Rajendra Kishore Panda, Pratibha Satpathy have made significant contributions towards Indian poetry.
Anita Desai's novella,Translator Translated, from her collectionThe Art of Disappearance, features a translator of a fictive Odia short story writer. The novella contains a discussion of the perils of translating works composed in regional Indian languages into English.
Article 1: All human beings from birth are free and dignity and rights are equal. Their reason and intelligence endowed with and they towards one another in a brotherhood spirit behaviour to do should.
Translation
Article 1: 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.
^Mahapatra, B. P. (2002).Linguistic Survey of India: Orissa(PDF). Kolkata, India: Language Division, Office of the Registrar General. p. 14. Retrieved20 February 2014.[dead link]
^B. P. Mahapatra (1989).Constitutional languages. Presses Université Laval. p. 389.ISBN978-2-7637-7186-1.Evidence of Old Oriya is found from early inscriptions dating from the 10th century onwards, while the language in the form of connected lines is found only in the inscription dated 1249 A.D.
^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
^Sachidananda Mohanty, "Rebati and the Woman Question in Odisha", India International Centre Quarterly, New Delhi, Vol. 21, No. 4, Winter 1994
^"Oriya language".Encyclopedia Britannica. Retrieved2 July 2020.Oriya language, also spelled Odia, Indo-Aryan language with some 50 million speakers.
^abInstitute of Social Research and Applied Anthropology (2003).Man and Life. Vol. 29. Institute of Social Research and Applied Anthropology. Retrieved31 July 2012.
^Biswamoy Pati Situating social history: Orissa, 1800–1997 p30
^The Encyclopaedia of Indian Literature (Volume Two) (Devraj To Jyoti): 2 p1030 ed. Amaresh Datta – 2006 "Amos Sutton also prepared a dictionary named Sadhu bhasharthabhidhan, a vocabulary of current Sanskrit terms with Odia definitions which was also printed in Odisha Mission Press in 1844."
Ghosh, Arun (2003).An ethnolinguistic profile of Eastern India: a case of South Orissa. Burdwan: Dept. of Bengali (D.S.A.), University of Burdwan.
Masica, Colin (1991).The Indo-Aryan Languages. Cambridge Language Surveys. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.ISBN978-0-521-29944-2.
Mohanty, Prasanna Kumar (2007).The History of: History of Oriya Literature (Oriya Sahityara Adya Aitihasika Gana).
Neukom, Lukas; Patnaik, Manideepa (2003).A Grammar of Oriya. Arbeiten des Seminars für Allgemeine Sprachwissenschaft der Universität Zürich. Vol. 17. Zurich: University of Zurich.ISBN978-3-9521010-9-4.
Rabindra Nath Pati; Jagannatha Dash (2002).Tribal and Indigenous People of India: Problems and Prospects. India: APH PUBLISHING CORPORATION. pp. 51–59.ISBN81-7648-322-2.
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