Malvi or Malwi (माळवी भाषा) is an Indo-Aryan language spoken primarily in the Malwa region of India, particularly in Madhya Pradesh and parts of Rajasthan. It is a dialect of the Rajasthani language. About 75% of the Malvi population can converse in Hindi, which is the official language of Madhya Pradesh. The literacy rate in Hindi is approximately 40% among Malvi speakers. Many unpublished works of Malvi literature have been created over the years, with limited mainstream recognition.
Writing system
In India, Malvi is written in the Devanagari script, an abugida which is written from left to right. Earlier, the Mahajani script, or Modiya, was used to write Rajasthani. The script is also called Maru Gurjari in a few records.
Dialects
- Malvi
- Ujjani (Ujjain, Dhar, Indore, Dewas, Shajapur, Sehore, and Agar Malwa districts): Ujjani is a prestige dialect of the Malvi language.
- Dashori (Mandsaur, Neemuch, and parts of Ratlam and Pratapgarh districts): Dashori is a dialect of Malvi influenced by Mewari and Marwari.
- Rajawadi parts of (Ratlam, Dhar, and Ujjain districts):
- Umathwadi (Rajgarh district): Umathwadi is a variety of Malvi with some features of Hadauti.
- Sondhwadi (Jhalawar district, Ujjain, and Agar Malwa): Sondhwadi is spoken in these areas.
- Rangri: Rangri is spoken by the Rajputs of Malwa and is similar in sound to the Dashori dialect.
- Bhoyari/Pawari (Betul, Chhindwara, Pandhurna, and Wardha districts): Bhoyari/Pawari is spoken exclusively by the people of the Bhoyar-Pawar caste. Their original home was Malwa before they migrated to the Betul, Chhindwara, Pandhurna, and Wardha regions.
Some sample translations
| Standard Rajasthani (Marwari) | Ujjani | Dashori | Rajwadi | Sondhwadi | Umathwadi | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| अठै (atthai) | अंई (aeen) | अटे (atte) | यां (yaan) | अंई (aeen) | इनंग (inang) | Here |
| वठै/उठै (vatthai/utthai) | वंई (vaeen) | वटे (vatte) | वां (vaan) | वंई (vaeen) | उनंग (unang) | There |
| कोनी (koni) | नी(nee) | कोनी(koni) | कोनी (koni) | कोनी (koni) | नी (नी) | No |
| आवैलो/आवैली (availo/availi) | आवेगो/आवेगी (avego/avegi) | आवेगा/आवेगा (avega/avega) neutral in this
condition |
आवेगा/आवेगा (avega/avega) | आवेगा/आवेगा (avega/avega) | आवेगो/आवेगी (avego/avegi) | Will come |