Mundari language: Difference between revisions

Mundari
Mundari
[𞓞𞓐𞓪𞓐 𞓖𞓕𞓦𞓕𞓣] Error: {{Lang}}: unrecognized script: nagm for code: unr (help), horo jagar
Template:Huge; ମୁଣ୍ଡାରୀ, मुंडारी, মুন্ডারি
	Muṇḍārī in Mundari Bani script
Pronunciation	unr
Native to	India, Bangladesh, Nepal
Region	Chota Nagpur Plateau in Eastern India, and parts of North Eastern India Jharkhand; Odisha (significant minority in the northern districts); West Bengal (minority in the south western districts); Assam (minority); Mainly in Rajshahi Division and pockets in Rangpur and Sylhet Divisions of Bangladesh Naogaon District (around 2,500 speakers); Around 7,700 speakers in Kosi Zone in Nepal Morang District; Sunsari District;
Ethnicity	Munda
Native speakers	1.6 million (2011 census)
Language family	Austroasiatic Munda North Kherwarian Mundaric Mundari; ; ; ; ;
Dialects	Hasada; Naguri; Tamaria; Kera (a creole spoken by Kurukh speakers);
Writing system	Mundari Bani (native); Others: Odia; Devanagari; Bengali; Latin;
Official status
Official language in	India Jharkhand (additional);
Language codes
ISO 639-3	Either:; unr – Mundari; unx – Munda
Glottolog	mund1320
	Areas with a significant concentration of Munda language speakers in red.
	Mundari is classified as Vulnerable by the UNESCO Atlas of the World's Languages in Danger
	This article contains IPA phonetic symbols. Without proper rendering support, you may see question marks, boxes, or other symbols instead of Unicode characters. For an introductory guide on IPA symbols, see Help:IPA.

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Latest revision as of 19:06, 29 March 2026

This article contains Mundari text. Without proper rendering support, you may see question marks, boxes, or other symbols instead of Mundari Bani (script).

Mundari (Mundari Bani: [𞓧𞓟𞓨𞓜𞓕𞓣𞓚] Error: {{Lang}}: unrecognized script: nagm for code: unr (help), romanised: Muṇḍārī, IPA: unr) is a Munda language of the Austroasiatic language family spoken by the Munda tribes native to the Chota Nagpur Plateau region in India with over 1.5 million native speakers.^[4] It is closely related to Ho and Santali,^[5] and along with Bhumij, is one of the four major Munda languages. Mundari is an additional official language in the state of Jharkhand,^[6] and has significant speakers in eastern Indian states of Odisha and West Bengal and northern Rangpur Division of Bangladesh. In India, Mundari is recognised as a significant minority language. However, its speakers are often bilingual in Hindi or the local state language.

Mundari is an agglutinative language characterised by its complex morphology, where multiple affixes are added to roots to convey grammatical relationships.^[7] While historically transmitted through oral tradition, Mundari is now written using several scripts, most notably Mundari Bani, invented by Rohidas Singh Nag specifically to write Mundari.^[8]^[9] It has also been written in the Devanagari, Odia, Bengali, and Latin writing systems.

Mundari has been classified as a vulnerable language according to the UNESCO Atlas of the World's Languages in Danger.^[10] It remains a subject of extensive linguistic study due to its unique grammatical structure and its role in understanding the migration patterns of Austroasiatic speakers in South Asia.

History[edit | edit source]

The term Muɳɖa means "village headman" in Mundari.^[11] Neighboring communities of the Mundas referred to their language as Muɳɖārī, and the Mundas themselves call it hoɽo dʒagar ("human language"; hoɽo–"man", dʒagar–"to speak, speech") or muɳɖa dʒagar ("Munda language").^[11] Studies on Mundari started in the nineteenth century, pioneered by the works of Haldar (1871), Whitley (1873), and Nottrott (1882), though most of them were brief sketches and documentations. Then in 1903, German missionary/linguist John Hoffmann initiated two massive and influential projects on Mundari: Mundari Grammar (1903–1905) and Encyclopaedia Mundarica (1903–1978), the latter was completed long after his death and was published posthumously.^[12]

Geographical distribution[edit | edit source]

Historical speaker of Mundari language variety
Census	Munda (±%)		Mundari (±%)		Total (±%)
1971	309,293		771,253		1,080,546
1981	377,492	(+22)	742,739	(-4)	1,120,231	(+3.6)
1991	413,894	(+9.6)	861,378	(+16)	1,275,272	(+13.8)
2001	469,357	(+13.5)	1,061,352	(+23)	1,530,709	(+20.0)
2011	505,922	(+7.8)	1,128,228	(+6)	1,634,150	(+6.7)

Source: Census of India^[13]

Distribution of Mundari language (incl. Munda) in the state of India (2011)^[2]

Jharkhand (57.62%)

Odisha (29.46%)

Assam (5.7%)

West Bengal (4.73%)

Other (2.49%)

Mundari is spoken in the Khunti, Ranchi, Seraikela Kharsawan and West Singhbhum, East Singhbhum district of Jharkhand, and in the Mayurbhanj, Kendujhar, Sundargarh district of Odisha by at least 1.1 million people.^[14] Another 500,000, mainly in Odisha and Assam, are recorded in the census as speaking "Munda," potentially another name for Mundari.

Status[edit | edit source]

In 2011, Mundari was recognised as an additional official language of Jharkhand under the Jharkhand Official Language (Amendment) Act, 2011. This status allows for the language to be used in administrative and cultural contexts alongside Hindi, the state's primary official language.^[6]

Dialects[edit | edit source]

Mundari has the following dialects which are spoken mostly in Jharkhand state:^[15]

Hasada ([𞓞𞓕𞓛𞓡𞓕𞓙] Error: {{Lang}}: unrecognized script: nagm for code: unr (help), [hasa-daʔ]): east of the Ranchi-Chaibasa Road
Naguri ([𞓨𞓕𞓦𞓟𞓣𞓚] Error: {{Lang}}: unrecognized script: nagm for code: unr (help), [naɡuri]): west of the Ranchi-Chaibasa Road
Tamaria ([𞓝𞓕𞓧𞓕𞓪𞓚𞓕] Error: {{Lang}}: unrecognized script: nagm for code: unr (help), [t̪amaɽ-ia]) or Latar ([𞓒𞓕𞓝𞓕𞓫𞓣] Error: {{Lang}}: unrecognized script: nagm for code: unr (help), [lat̪aɾ]): Panchpargana area (Tamar, Bundu, Rahe, Sonahatu, Silli)
Kera ([𞓢𞓤𞓣𞓕𞓙] Error: {{Lang}}: unrecognized script: nagm for code: unr (help), [keraʔ]): ethnic Oraon who live in the Ranchi city area.

Phonology[edit | edit source]

The phonology of Mundari is similar to the surrounding closely related Austroasiatic languages but considerably different from either Indo-Aryan or Dravidian. Perhaps the most foreign phonological influence has been on the vowels. Whereas the branches of Austroasiatic in Southeast Asia are rich in vowel phonemes, Mundari has only five. The consonant inventory of Mundari is similar to other Austroasiatic languages with the exception of retroflex consonants, which seem to appear only in loanwords. (Osada 2008)

Vowels[edit | edit source]

Mundari has five vowel phonemes. All vowels have long and short as well as nasalized allophones, but neither length nor nasality are contrastive. All vowels in open monosyllables are quantitatively longer than those in closed syllables, and those following nasal consonants or /ɟ/ are nasalized. Vowels preceding or following /ɳ/ are also nasalized.

	Front	Central	Back
Close	i		u
Mid	e		o
Open		a

Consonants[edit | edit source]

Mundari's consonant inventory consists of 23 basic phonemes. The Naguri and Kera dialects include aspirated stops as additional phonemes, here enclosed in parentheses.

		Labial	Dental	Retroflex	Palatal	Velar	Glottal
Nasal		m	n̪	ɳ	ɲ	ŋ
Plosive	voiceless	p	t̪	ʈ	t͡ɕ	k	ʔ
	aspirated	(pʰ)	(t̪ʰ)	(ʈʰ)	(t͡ɕʰ)	(kʰ)
	voiced	b	d̪	ɖ	d͡ʑ	ɡ
Fricative			s̪				h
Approximant		w	l	ɽ	j
Trill			r

Counting[edit | edit source]

S.No.	Mundari	Transliteration	Translation
1	मियद	Miyad	One
2	बारिया	Baria	Two
3	आपिया	Apia	Three
4	उपनिआ	Upnia	four
5	मोड़ेया	Modea	Five
6	तुरिया	Turia	Six
7	एया	Are	Seven
8	इरलिया	Erlia	Eight
9	आरेया	Area	Nine
10	गेलेया	Galea	Ten
11		Gel Miyad	Eleven
12		Gel Bariya	Twelve
13		Apiya	Thirteen
14		Upuna	Fourteen
15		Modeya	Fifteen
16		Turiya	Sixteen
17		Eya	Seventeen
18		Iriliya	Eighteen
19		Areya	Nineteen
20		Mid Hisi	Twenty
21		Hisi Miyad	Twenty-one
30		Mid hisi Gel	Thirty
31		Hisi Gel Miyad	Thirty-one
40		Bar Hisi	Forty
41		Bar Hisi Miyad	Forty-one
50		Bar Hisi Gel	Fifty
60		Aapi Hisi	Sixty
70		Aapi Hisi Gel	Seventy
80		Upun Hisi	Eighty
90		Upun Hisi Gel	Ninety
100		Mid Saaye	One hundred
200		Bar Saaye	Two hundred
1000		Mid Hazar	One thousand
1,00,000		Mid Lak	One lakh

Relations[edit | edit source]

The table below shows familial relations in Mundari:^[16]

Mundari	Transliteration	Translation	Odia	Devanagari	Bengali
[𞓤𞓔𞓦𞓕] Error: {{Lang}}: unrecognized script: nagm for code: unr (help)	Eṅga	Mother	ଏଙ୍ଗା	एङ्गा	এঙ্গা
[𞓕𞓭𞓑𞓟] Error: {{Lang}}: unrecognized script: nagm for code: unr (help)	Apu	Father	ଆପୁ	आपु	আপু
[𞓞𞓟𞓦𞓕𞓭] Error: {{Lang}}: unrecognized script: nagm for code: unr (help)	Hagā	Brother	ହାଗା	हागा	হাগা
[𞓧𞓚𞓛𞓚] Error: {{Lang}}: unrecognized script: nagm for code: unr (help)	Misi	Sister	ମିସି	मिसि	মিসি
[𞓛𞓕𞓢𞓚𞓔 𞓤𞓔𞓦𞓕] Error: {{Lang}}: unrecognized script: nagm for code: unr (help)	Sakiṅ Eṅga	Paternal Grand Mother	ସାକିଂ ଏଙ୍ଗା	साकिं एङ्गा	সাকিং এঙ্গা
[𞓛𞓕𞓢𞓚𞓔 𞓕𞓭𞓑𞓟] Error: {{Lang}}: unrecognized script: nagm for code: unr (help)	Sakiṅ Apu	Paternal Grand Father	ସାକିଂ ଆପୁ	साकिं आपु	সাকিং আপু
[𞓧𞓕𞓧𞓟 𞓐𞓪𞓕𞓙 𞓛𞓕𞓢𞓚𞓔 𞓤𞓔𞓦𞓕] Error: {{Lang}}: unrecognized script: nagm for code: unr (help)	Mamuolaḥ Sakiṅ Eṅga	Maternal Grand Mother	ମାମୁଅଲାଃ ସାକିଂ ଏଙ୍ଗା	मामुअलाः साकिं एङ्गा	মামুঅলাঃ সাকিং এঙ্গা
[𞓧𞓕𞓧𞓟 𞓐𞓪𞓕𞓙 𞓛𞓕𞓢𞓚𞓔 𞓕𞓭𞓑𞓟] Error: {{Lang}}: unrecognized script: nagm for code: unr (help)	Mamuolaḥ Sakiṅ Apu	Maternal Grand Father	ମାମୁଅଲାଃ ସାକିଂ ଆପୁ	मामुअलाः साकिं आपु	মামুঅলাঃ সাকিং আপু
[𞓞𞓟𞓜𞓚𞓔 𞓤𞓔𞓦𞓕] Error: {{Lang}}: unrecognized script: nagm for code: unr (help)	Huḍiṅ Eṅga	Aunt	ହୁଡିଂ ଏଙ୍ଗା	हुडिं एङ्गा	হুডিং এঙ্গা
[𞓞𞓟𞓜𞓚𞓔 𞓕𞓭𞓑𞓟] Error: {{Lang}}: unrecognized script: nagm for code: unr (help)	Huḍiṅ Apu	Uncle	ହୁଡିଂ ଆପୁ	हुडिं आबा	হুডিং আপু
[𞓧𞓕𞓣𞓕𞓔 𞓤𞓔𞓦𞓕] Error: {{Lang}}: unrecognized script: nagm for code: unr (help)	Maraṅ Eṅga	Elder Mother	ମାରାଂ ଏଙ୍ଗା	मारां एङ्गा	মারাং এঙ্গা
[𞓧𞓕𞓣𞓕𞓔 𞓕𞓭𞓑𞓟] Error: {{Lang}}: unrecognized script: nagm for code: unr (help)	Maraṅ Apu	Elder Father	ମାରାଂ ଆପୁ	मारां आपु	মারাং আপু
[𞓞𞓐𞓨𞓢𞓟𞓪𞓚] Error: {{Lang}}: unrecognized script: nagm for code: unr (help)	Hon Kuṛi	Daughter	ହୋନକୁଲି	होनकुलि	হোনকুলি
[𞓞𞓐𞓨𞓢𞓟𞓪𞓕] Error: {{Lang}}: unrecognized script: nagm for code: unr (help)	Hon koṛa	Son	ହୋନକୁଲ	होनकुल	হোনকুল

Verb[edit | edit source]

Mundari	Transliteration	Translation
रिकाएआ	Rikā'ē'ā	Does
ओलेआ	Ol'ē'ā	Write
जगरेआ	Jagor'ē'ā	Talk
पढ़वएआ	Padv'ē'ā	Read
लेलेआ	Lel'ē'ā	Look / see
सेनेआ	Sen'ē'ā	Come along with
नमेआ	Nem'ē'ā	Found
निरेआ	Nir'ē'ā	Run
सबेआ	Sab'ē'ā	Hold
लेका एआ	Leka'ē'ā	Count
मुकाएआ	Muka'ē'ā	Measure
रिका एआ	Rika'ē'ā	Cut
হেড়েম	Hedem	Sweet
	Kete-e	Hard
	Lebe-e	Soft
	Singi	Sun
	Chandu-u	Moon
	Ipil	Stars
	Sirma	Sky
	Ote Dishum	Earth
	Rimil	cloud
	Hoyo	Air/Wind
	Gitil	Sands
	Dhudi	Dust
	Losod	Muddy
	Hodomo	Body
	Tasad	Grass
	Daru	Tree
	Sakam	Leaf
	Dayir	Branches of Tree

Grammar[edit | edit source]

In 1903, Hoffmann noted something abnormal with the Mundari lexicon: the lack of discrete lexical distinction. Mundari lexemes are not inherently specified for lexical categories. He made several following impressions:^[17]

Mundari words have such a great vagueness or functional elasticity that there can be no question of distinct parts of speech in that language
— Hoffmann (1903), repeated in Encyclopaedia Mundarica (1928)

[...]Thus the same unchanged form is at the same time a Conjunction, an Adjective, a Pronoun, an Adverb, a Verb, and a Noun, or, to speak more precisely, it may become a Conjunction, an Adjective, and so on, but by itself alone it is none of them. It is simply a vague elastic word, capable of signifying, in a vague manner, several distinct concepts, that is of assuming a variety of functions.
— Hoffmann (1903, p. xxi)

Similar issues with word class distinction have been also reported in other Munda languages, especially North Munda (Santali (Bodding 1929, Ghosh 1994, Neukom 2001), Ho (Deeney 1978), Korku (Drake 1903, Zide (undated)), Kharia (Pinnow 1960, Peterson 2003), Juang. Grierson (1906) summarized the issue in his Linguistic Survey of India:

[...]The various classes of words are not clearly distinguished. The same base can often be used as a noun, an adjective, or a verb. Spoken language, of course, is not composed of words but of sentences, and the meaning of each individual word is only apparent from the context. The Munda words simply denote some being, object, action, or the like, but they do not tell us how they are conceived. It is for instance only after inspection of the context that we can decide whether a word denoting the idea "to give" means "giving" or "given."
— Grierson (1906, p. 28)

Modern typologist interest in Mundari lexical categories was revitalized by Cook (1965), Langendoen (1967), Sinha (1975), Osada (1992), Bhat (1994), and most famously Evans & Osada (2005). Evans & Osada challenged the flexible analysis, contending instead that Mundari exhibits distinct yet exceptionally fluid grammatical categories (nouns, verbs, and adjectives). Their argument rests upon three specific criteria for assessing flexibility: (i) explicit semantic compositionality across both argument and predicate functions, (ii) bidirectionality, and (iii) exhaustiveness. This research prompted an extensive series of peer reviews and criticism within the same volume of Linguistic Typology.^[18] Notwithstanding these debates, Osada (1992), Badenoch & Osada (2019), and Badenoch et al. (2019) identify expressives as a further open lexical class in Mundari, encompassing a minimum of 1,500 lemmas. Mark Dingemanse comments: "yet the status of this considerable lexical stratum in the language has not featured in any word-class debates."^[19]

This section will leave out the discussions on Mundari & North Munda flexibility and focus on the morphological differences between two main dialects, Hasadaʔ and Keraʔ, specifically in relation to their respective approaches to lexical flexibility.

In Hasadaʔ Mundari, entity-denoting lexemes and structures or "noun"-like, "noun phrase"-like, and "adjective"-like all can be used as semantic bases of predicates (i.e. "verbs") without derivation. The "verbal" constructions' semantic results are often compositional (predictable), but sometimes they can be idiosyncratic.

Template:Interlinear

In contrast, Keraʔ Mundari does not allow such blatant uses of "zero-derivation" (i.e. conversion) like in Hasadaʔ and other dialects. Nouns can only used as verbs with the sense of performing the semantical action with the presence of verbalizing suffix -o/-u.^[20] For examples:

1. aɽandi "wedding" Template:Interlinear

1. sindri "vermillion" Template:Interlinear

Regarding the limit of flexibility, there is an infix -n- that can be inserted into certain Mundari lexemes, which "transforms the verb root into an abstract inanimate noun stem, which is no longer capable of verb inflection". Per Hengeveld & Rijkhoff (2005), citing Cook (1965)'s data:^[21]

dal "strike" → da-n-al "a blow"

dub "sit" → du-n-ub "a meeting"

ol "to write" → o-n-ol "the writing"

Writing system[edit | edit source]

A Primer for Mundari Bani (Mundari Script)

Mandari is written in native Mundari Bani (Script error: The function "langx" does not exist.), invented in the 1980s by Rohidas Singh Nag, which has since seen limited but increasing use in literature, education, and computing. It is a true alphabet that consists of 27 distinct letters and 5 diacritical marks, the forms of which are intended to evoke natural shapes. The script is unicameral, written from left to right, and consonants do not possess an inherent vowel. They are organised into five clusters, each led by a primary vowel. The first letter of the consonant's name matches the primary vowel. Their names follow traditional naming schemes.^[22]

Mundari consonants^[23]
(𞓗𞓐𞓖𞓕 𞓗𞓕𞓨𞓚 *Boja Bani*)
Template:Letter	Template:Letter	Template:Letter	Template:Letter	Template:Letter
Template:Letter	Template:Letter	Template:Letter	Template:Letter	Template:Letter
Template:Letter	Template:Letter	Template:Letter	Template:Letter	Template:Letter
Template:Letter	Template:Letter	Template:Letter	Template:Letter	Template:Letter
Template:Letter	Template:Letter	Template:Letter	Template:Letter	Template:Letter	Template:Letter	Template:Letter

Mundari Diacritics
( 𞓝𞓐𞓔 *Toṅ/Tong* )
Template:Letter	Template:Letter	Template:Letter	Template:Letter	Template:Letter

Mundari is also written in Odia, Devanagari and Bengali scripts.

Sample text[edit | edit source]

The following text is Article 1 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, written in Mundari:^[24]

Mundari Script[edit | edit source]

[𞓝𞓐𞓨𞓐𞓗-𞓱: 𞓛𞓐𞓗𞓤𞓨 𞓞𞓐𞓪𞓐 𞓢𞓐𞓢𞓤𞓮 𞓧𞓕𞓨𞓕𞓣𞓔 𞓐𞓜𞓐𞓙 𞓐𞓢𞓝𞓚𞓓𞓕𞓣 𞓢𞓐𞓣𞓤𞓓𞓕𞓦 𞓑𞓕𞓚𞓝𞓚 𞓗𞓕𞓗𞓐𞓝 𞓣𞓤 𞓖𞓐𞓨𞓐𞓧 𞓖𞓐𞓣𞓐𞓔𞓤𞓝𞓤 𞓕𞓡𞓕𞓨𞓕𞓡 𞓐𞓜𞓐𞓦 𞓗𞓐𞓣𞓕𞓗𞓐𞓣𞓚 𞓨𞓕𞓧𞓕𞓢𞓕𞓨𞓕. 𞓚𞓨𞓢𞓟𞓦𞓢𞓤 𞓛𞓤𞓥𞓕 𞓐𞓜𞓐𞓦 𞓖𞓚𞓮𞓭 𞓑𞓤𞓪𞓤𞓦 𞓖𞓚𞓭𞓟𞓣𞓤𞓓𞓕𞓙 𞓤𞓨𞓤𞓧𞓢𞓐 𞓨𞓕𞓧𞓕𞓢𞓕𞓨𞓕 𞓐𞓜𞓐𞓙 𞓚𞓨𞓢𞓟𞓙 𞓒𞓐𞓙𞓝𞓤 𞓞𞓕𞓦𞓤𞓓𞓕 𞓗𞓐𞓓𞓕 𞓒𞓤𞓢𞓕 𞓖𞓕𞓦𞓕𞓣 𞓗𞓕𞓢𞓕𞓝𞓚𞓘𞓕𞓙.] Error: {{Lang}}: unrecognized script: nagm for code: unr (help)

Odia Script[edit | edit source]

ତୋନୋବ୍ ୧. - ସୋବେନ ହୋଡ଼ୋକୋ କେ ମନରଂଗ ଓଡ଼ୋଃ ଅକ୍ତିୟାର କୋ ରେଅଃ ତଇତି-ବାବତ ରେ ଜନମ ଜୋରୋଂଗ୍ଏତେ ଅହ୍ଡାନଡ ଓଡ଼ୋଃ ବରା ବରୀ ନମା କନା। ଇନକୁ କେ ସେଂଡ଼ାଁ ଓଡ଼ୋଃ-ଜୀ ପେଡେଃ, ଜୀଉ ରେଅଃ ଏନେମକୋ ନମା କନା ଓଡ଼ୋଃ ଇନକୁ ଲୋଓଃତେ ହଗେଆ-ୱୋଆ ଲେକା ଜଗର ବକଡ଼ ଲଗାତିଂଗ୍ଅଃ।

Devanagari Script[edit | edit source]

तोनोब् १. - सोबेन होड़ोको के मनरंग ओडोओ अक्तियार को रेअः पइति-बाबत रे जनम जोरोंग्एते अह्डानड ओड़ोओ बराबरी नमा कना। इनकु के सेंड़ॉ ओड़ोओ-जी पेडेः, जीउ रेअः एनेमको नमा कना ओड़ोओ इनकु लोओःते हगेया-वोया लेका जगर बकर लगातिंग्अः॥

Bengali Script[edit | edit source]

তোনোব্ ১. - সোবেন হোড়োকো কে মনরংগ ওড়োও অক্তিয়ার কো রেঅঃ পইতি-বাবত রে জনম জোরোংগ্এতে অহ্ডানড ওড়োও বরাবরী নমা কনা। ইনকু কে সেংড়াঁ ওড়োও-জী পেডেঃ, জীউ রেঅঃ এনেমকো নমা কনা ওড়োও ইনকু লোওঃতে হগেয়া-ওয়োয়া লেকা জগর বকড় লগাতিংগ্অঃ।

Romanisation[edit | edit source]

Tonob'-Mod: Soben hoḷo kokew manarng oḍoḥ oktiyar koreyag paiti babot re jonom jorongete adanad oḍog borabori namakana. Inkugke seṇa oḍog jīw peḷeg jī ureyaḥ enemko namakana oḍoḥ inkuḥ loḥte hageya boya leka jagar bakatiñaḥ.

IPA transcription[edit | edit source]

t̪onob-mod̪: soben hoɽoko ke manaraŋɡa oɽoo akt̪iaːra ko reʔ pait̪i-baːbat̪a re d͡ʑanama d͡ʑoroŋɡʔet̪e ahɖaːnaɖa oɽoo baraːbariː namaː kanaː. inku ke seŋɽãː oɽoo-d͡ʑiː peɽeː, d͡ʑiːu reʔ enemako namaː kanaː oɽoo inku looːt̪e haɡeaː-woaː lekaː d͡ʑaɡara bakara laɡaːt̪ŋɡʔ.

English[edit | edit source]

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.

Notes[edit | edit source]

↑ According to the 2011 Census, 1,128,228 people in India reported Mundari, 505,922 reported Munda as their mother tongue, totalling 1,634,150 individuals, or approximately 1.6 million.^[2]

References[edit | edit source]

↑ জনশুমারি ও গৃহগণনা ২০২২: প্রাথসিক প্রতিবেদন [Census and Housing Census 2022: Preliminary Report] (PDF). Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (in Bengali). p. 32.
↑ ^2.0 ^2.1 "C-16: Population by mother tongue, India - 2011". Office of the Registrar General & Census Commissioner, India.
↑ "Statement 1: Abstract of speakers' strength of languages and mother tongues – 2011" (PDF). www.censusindia.gov.in. Office of the Registrar General & Census Commissioner, India. Archived from the original on 6 March 2021. Retrieved 7 July 2018.
↑ "Mundari alphabet, pronunciation and description".
↑ "Mundari Bani".
↑ ^6.0 ^6.1 Pramanik, S. (31 August 2011). "Jharkhand notifies 11 languages as second official languages". The Hindu. Retrieved 22 February 2026.
↑ Andersen, Gregory D. S. (2008). "Mundari". The Munda Languages. Routledge. pp. 121–150. ISBN 978-0415328906.
↑ "BMS to intensify agitation on Mundari language". oneindia.com. Retrieved 4 April 2018.
↑ "Adivasi. Volume 52. Number 1&2. June&December 2012". Page 22
↑ Moseley, Christopher (2010). Moseley, Christopher (ed.). Atlas of the World's Languages in Danger (PDF) (3rd ed.). Paris: UNESCO Publishing. p. 205. ISBN 978-92-3-104096-2. Retrieved 22 February 2025.
↑ ^11.0 ^11.1 Osada 2008, p. 99.
↑ Osada 2008, p. 100.
↑ "Statement 8 : Growth of Non-Scheduled Languages - 1971, 1981, 1991, 2001 and 2011" (PDF). censusindia.gov.in. Archived from the original (PDF) on 14 June 2021.
↑ "Mundari". ethnologue.
↑ Osada 2008, p. 6.
↑ Singh, Birbal; Singh, Pahan Basanta Kumar (2017). Mundari Bhasa Shiskha: A Multilingual Education (Mundari-Odia-English-Hindi) (in English, Hindi, Mundari, and Odia). Academy of Tribal Languages and Culture. pp. 18–23. Retrieved 20 February 2025.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: unrecognized language (link)
↑ Osada 2008, p. 106.
↑ Osada 2008, p. 107.
↑ Lier 2023, p. 469.
↑ Kobayashi & Murmu 2008, p. 182.
↑ Hengeveld & Rijkhoff 2005, p. 14.
↑ Wolf-Sonkin, Lawrence; Mandal, Biswajit (8 January 2021). "L2/21-031: Proposal to Encode the Mundari Bani Script in the Universal Character Set" (PDF). Retrieved 19 February 2026.
↑ Wolf-Sonkin, Lawrence; Mandal, Biswajit (8 January 2021). "L2/21-031: Proposal to Encode the Mundari Bani Script in the Universal Character Set" (PDF). Retrieved 10 May 2021.
↑ "Mundari Alphabet and Language". Omniglot.com. Retrieved 15 February 2026.

Sources[edit | edit source]

Anderson, Gregory D.S, ed. (2008). The Munda languages. Routledge Language Family Series 3. New York: Routledge. ISBN 0-415-32890-X.

External links[edit | edit source]

Mundari Bibliography at Department of Linguistics, University of Osnabrueck, Germany
Detailed language map of eastern Nepal, see language #68 in green along eastern border
http://projekt.ht.lu.se/rwaai RWAAI (Repository and Workspace for Austroasiatic Intangible Heritage)
http://hdl.handle.net/10050/00-0000-0000-0003-A6AA-C@view Mundari language in RWAAI Digital Archive
https://www.unicode.org/L2/L2021/21031r-mundari.pdf
https://omniglot.com/writing/mundaribani.htm
https://omniglot.com/writing/mundari.htm

Template:Languages of Bangladesh

Template:Languages of Nepal

Template:Munda languages

[3] According to the 2011 Census, 1,128,228 people in India reported Mundari, 505,922 reported Munda as their mother tongue, totalling 1,634,150 individuals, or approximately 1.6 million.^[2]

[1] জনশুমারি ও গৃহগণনা ২০২২: প্রাথসিক প্রতিবেদন [Census and Housing Census 2022: Preliminary Report] (PDF). Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (in Bengali). p. 32.

[MTCensus2011-2] 2.0 ^2.1 "C-16: Population by mother tongue, India - 2011". Office of the Registrar General & Census Commissioner, India.

[4] "Statement 1: Abstract of speakers' strength of languages and mother tongues – 2011" (PDF). www.censusindia.gov.in. Office of the Registrar General & Census Commissioner, India. Archived from the original on 6 March 2021. Retrieved 7 July 2018.

[5] "Mundari alphabet, pronunciation and description".

[6] "Mundari Bani".

[JharkhandOfficialLang2011-7] 6.0 ^6.1 Pramanik, S. (31 August 2011). "Jharkhand notifies 11 languages as second official languages". The Hindu. Retrieved 22 February 2026.

[Andersen2008-8] Andersen, Gregory D. S. (2008). "Mundari". The Munda Languages. Routledge. pp. 121–150. ISBN 978-0415328906.

[9] "BMS to intensify agitation on Mundari language". oneindia.com. Retrieved 4 April 2018.

[10] "Adivasi. Volume 52. Number 1&2. June&December 2012". Page 22

[11] Moseley, Christopher (2010). Moseley, Christopher (ed.). Atlas of the World's Languages in Danger (PDF) (3rd ed.). Paris: UNESCO Publishing. p. 205. ISBN 978-92-3-104096-2. Retrieved 22 February 2025.

[FOOTNOTEOsada200899-12] 11.0 ^11.1 Osada 2008, p. 99.

[FOOTNOTEOsada2008100-13] Osada 2008, p. 100.

[Speakers-14] "Statement 8 : Growth of Non-Scheduled Languages - 1971, 1981, 1991, 2001 and 2011" (PDF). censusindia.gov.in. Archived from the original (PDF) on 14 June 2021.

[15] "Mundari". ethnologue.

[FOOTNOTEOsada20086-16] Osada 2008, p. 6.

[17] Singh, Birbal; Singh, Pahan Basanta Kumar (2017). Mundari Bhasa Shiskha: A Multilingual Education (Mundari-Odia-English-Hindi) (in English, Hindi, Mundari, and Odia). Academy of Tribal Languages and Culture. pp. 18–23. Retrieved 20 February 2025.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: unrecognized language (link)

[FOOTNOTEOsada2008106-18] Osada 2008, p. 106.

[FOOTNOTEOsada2008107-19] Osada 2008, p. 107.

[FOOTNOTELier2023469-20] Lier 2023, p. 469.

[FOOTNOTEKobayashiMurmu2008182-21] Kobayashi & Murmu 2008, p. 182.

[FOOTNOTEHengeveldRijkhoff200514-22] Hengeveld & Rijkhoff 2005, p. 14.

[23] Wolf-Sonkin, Lawrence; Mandal, Biswajit (8 January 2021). "L2/21-031: Proposal to Encode the Mundari Bani Script in the Universal Character Set" (PDF). Retrieved 19 February 2026.

[unicode_2021-24] Wolf-Sonkin, Lawrence; Mandal, Biswajit (8 January 2021). "L2/21-031: Proposal to Encode the Mundari Bani Script in the Universal Character Set" (PDF). Retrieved 10 May 2021.

[25] "Mundari Alphabet and Language". Omniglot.com. Retrieved 15 February 2026.

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