| Sarnámi Hindustáni | |
|---|---|
| Surinamese Hindustani Surinaams Hindoestaans | |
| सरनामी हिन्दुस्तानी(Devanagari script) سرنامی ہندوستانی(Perso-Arabic script) | |
| Native to | Suriname |
| Ethnicity | Indo-Surinamese people |
Native speakers | 150,000 in Suriname (2018)[1] |
Early forms | |
| Dialects | |
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-3 | – |
Sarnámi Hindustáni (Sarnami Hindustani,Sarnami Hindoestani,Sarnami)[4] is anIndo-Aryankoiné language and theSurinamesevariety ofCaribbean Hindustani. The language originated from a mixture of the various languages and dialects spoken byBritish Indianindentured labourers. The Indo-Aryan languages that formed the basis for the development of Sarnami consist ofBhojpuri,Awadhi andHindustani (Hindi-Urdu),[5] and to a lesser degree from otherBihari andHindi languages, such asMagahi,Maithili andBraj.[6][7] It also contains Influence and vocabulary taken fromDutch,English, and to a lesser extentPortuguese andloanwords from other Surinamese languages such asSranan Tongo.
Sarnami is considered to be themother tongue of theIndo-Surinamese people and is mainly spoken in theNickerie andSaramacca districts of Suriname, and due to migration in theNetherlands,Netherlands Antilles,Guyana,United States,Canada, andFrench Guiana.
The word Sarnami literally meansSurinamese. The name Sarnami Hindustani was first used in 1961 by Jnan Hansdev Adhin.[citation needed]
The language emerged mainly through the mixing of different dialects or language variants fromNorthern India and southernNepal, the areas from which the approximately 34,000indentured labourers were brought to Suriname between 1873 and 1916 by theDutch colonial government via the British, to replace theAfrican slaves who had been freed.[8]
Sarnami is the third-most spoken language in Suriname afterDutch andSranan Tongo and the mother tongue of approximately 500,000 of theSurinamese diaspora. Sarnami is also spoken by many immigrants in the Netherlands. Outside Suriname, other variants of Caribbean Hindustani are also spoken byIndo-Caribbean people in other Caribbean countries. Compared to other varieties of Caribbean Hindustani, Sarnami is still widely spoken, especially in Suriname and the Netherlands.
Hindustani (Standard Hindi-Standard Urdu) which has also influenced the language is separately considered aprestige language within Suriname, Sarnami is generally seen as avernacular, and sometimes also considered to be aheritage language.[9]
The difference with Standard Hindustani is mainly in the grammar. Sarnami, does not have the two cases ofHindi. Sarnami is also for example grammatically closer, toBengali than it is to Hindi.[10]An influence from Dutch on Sarnami grammar is, that the stem of the verb and theimperative mood are the same, meaning the syntax of the two languages is almost the same.
The first major Indo-Surinameseintellectual was Munshi Rahman Khan, with other major ones including Jit Narain, Rabin Baldewsingh,Chitra Gajadin,Cándani,Bhai,Raj Mohan and more.
Baithak Gana is the primary form of music where Sarnami is used.[11] It is also used for other forms of music includingfolk music,classical music,bhajans andqawwali's.