BAGHELI

INTRODUCTION
1. Bagheli language

Bagheli is an Indo-Aryan language spoken in the Baghelkhand region of central India.

It is a language spoken in Rewa, Satna, Sidhi, Singrauli, Shahdol, Umaria, Anuppur and
Jabalpur districts of Madhya Pradesh. The population of Baghelkhandi speakers is 246,000
/ 2694964. The primary religion practiced by the Brahman (Baghelkhandi) is Hinduism,
the predominant religious tradition of the Indian subcontinent.George Abraham Grierson
in his ‘Linguistic Survey of India’ classified Bagheli under Eastern Hindi. According to
Census 2001, the population is 2,860,000. They popularly use Devanagari script. The
extensive research conducted by local specialist Dr.Bhagawati Prasad Shukla is
commensurate with Grierson’s classification. Ethnologuecites Godwani, Kumhari and
Rewa as dialects of Bagheli. According to Shukla, the Bagheli language has three varieties:
1. Pure Bagheli
2. West-Mixed Bagheli
3. Southern-Broken Bagheli
Like many other Indo-Aryan languages, it has often been subject to erroneous,
arbitrary, or politically-motivated designation as a dialect, instead of a language.
Furthermore, as is the case with other Hindi languages, Bagheli speakers have been
conflated with those of Standard Hindi in censuses.

Bagheli Language Alternative Names

An independent language belonging to the Eastern Hindi subgroup, Bagheli is one of

the languages designated as a 'dialect of Hindi' by the Indian Census Report of 2001.
Bagheli is a regional language used for intra-group and inter-group communication.
Some alternative names of Bagheli language are GodwaniKawathi, Bhugelkhud,
Gangai, Mannadi, Bagelkhandi, Kenat, Kevati, KevatBoli, Kewat, Kewati, Kewani,
Kewot, Mandal, Kumhari, Riwai.
Varieties

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 The dialects of Bagheli language are Remahai (spoken by people belonging
to Rewa), Riwai (bagheligondwana), Godwani (spoken by Gonds) and Kumhari (spoken
by Kumhars) and Bashori (Spoken by bashors).
Powari is considered either a dialect group within Bagheli, or a separate branch of
Central zone Hindi. Powari is itself divided into a number of dialects, including
BhoyarPowari (Bhoyari, Bhomiyari, Bhoyaroo, Bhuiyar, Bhuria, Bohoyeri),
VynegangaPowari, Govari of Seoni, Khalari, Koshti, Kumbhari, Lodhi, Marari. Lexical
similarity between Powari dialects is reported as 60%–87% by SIL Ethnologue, and lexical
similarity between Powari and Bagheli i as 49%–65%.

1.1. Sociolinguistic profile and literary tradition

Bagheli language is a Hindi Eastern verbal communication which is orated in the

Baghelkhand district of central India. It is regarded as one of the most important languages
which are categorized as a dialect of Hindi as per 2001 Indian survey Report. The Bagheli
orators are seen chiefly in six areas of Madhya Pradesh (Satna, Rewa, Sidhi, Umaria,
Shahdol and Anuppur). Bagheli speakers are simple but conservative, with strong ties of
respect for the earth they cultivate. There are more than twenty-seven significant
communities, each with their own different traditional rituals and deep divisions along
caste lines. Depending on their social and economic status, they live in simple houses made
of mud and stone. The roofs are usually thatched with grass. Men usually wear dhotis and
women wear saris, but in villages, women may also be found wearing dhotis like their men.
A large number of castes and tribes speak Bagheli, and this holds them together as a larger
community. Social identity is provided by the caste divisions and caste segregation is quite
strong. While Hinduism is the dominant religion, there are a few Muslims and Christians
among the Bagheli. Most Christians in the area were originally from lower castes and
continue to be among the poorest.
There are several radio and TV programmes in Bagheli. All India Radio is
broadcasting Bagheli songs and agricultural programmes
from Shahdol, Rewa and Bhopal. Furthermore, courses pertaining to Bagheli literature are
available to be studied at Awadhesh Pratap Singh University.

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1.2. Official Status

Bhageli has no official status. Like many other Indo-Aryan languages, it has often been
subject to erroneous, arbitrary, or politically-motivated designation as a dialect, instead of
a language. Furthermore, as is the case with other Hindi languages, Bagheli speakers have
been conflated with those of Standard Hindi in censuses.

1.3. Demography

Bagelkhand is a region and also a mountain range in central India that covers the north-
eastern regions of Madhya Pradesh and a small area of south-eastern Uttar Pradesh. It
includes the Madhya Pradesh districts of Rewa, Satna, Shahdol, Sidhi,
and Singrauli and Chitrakoot of Uttar Pradesh.Bagelkhand is surrounded by the Indo-
Gangetic plains in the north and east, Bundelkhand in the west and the Vindhya range in
the south.The Baghelsrajputs, who give their name to the region, are a branch of
the Solanki rajputs who once ruled in Gujarat and migrated eastward in the 13th century.
Vyaghra Dev was the first Solanki ruler who came to this area from Gujarat and established
his rule. Bagh is derived from Vyaghra, which is Sanskrit for tiger. The descendants of
Vyaghra Dev are known as Baghels. The Baghel kshatriyas were peoples who ruled
Baghelkhand from a long time, until democracy like every other king in India. However,
villages of baghelrajputs can still be found in different parts of Baghelkhand. Kshatriyas
or Rajputs are called as "Thakur Sahab" or "Lal Sahab" in region of Baghelkhand.

The Pao, a scheduled tribe also known as the Pabra, speak Bagheli as their first
language. Their language was mistakenly reported to be Tibeto-Burman by Ethnologue,
perhaps due to confusion with the Pao language of Burma. There are several radio and TV
programmes in Bagheli. All India Radio is broadcasting Bagheli songs and agricultural
programmes from Shahdol, Rewa and Bhopal. Furthermore, courses pertaining to Bagheli
literature are available to be studied at Awadhesh Pratap Singh University.

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1.4. Literary Tradition

Literature, songs and art are vital aspects of the Baghelkhand culture. Yet, there is still
no translation of God’s Word in the language of nearly 8 million Bagheli people. Songs of
praise to God are waiting to be sung in Bagheli, the heart language of Baghelkhand.

1.5. Data Collection

The data is collected from Rewanagar Village, Nigam Tehsil, Bida Village, Simariya
Tehsil and Baraun Village, Simariya Tehsil, Rewa district. Here is a sketch of grammar on
Bagheli language after analyzing the available data.

1.6. Review of early works

R.S Pathak has carried out a detailed study of Bagheli Language. he has documented
the Phonetic aspect of this language and published the study in the form of a book titled
The Phonetics of Bagheli: A Phonetic and Phonological Study of a Dialect of Hindi. Hira
Lal Shukla has also worked on the phonology of Bagheli and Published a book titled
Contrastive Distribution of Bagheli Phonemes. Shukla, Bhagvati has worked on the literary
aspect of the language and in association with the Sahitya Bhavan has given the detailed
account of the Lietrary aspect of Bagheli in his book Bagheli Bhasha aursahithya. Here is
a sketch of grammar on Bagheli language after analyzing the available data.

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 PHONOLOGY
2.1. Introduction

Phonology is the study of how sounds are organized and used in natural languages.
Phonology is the study of the patterns of sounds in a language and across languages. The
phonological system of a language includes an inventory of sounds and their features, and
rules which specify how sounds interact with each other. Phonemic analysis consists in
allotting all the indefinite number of sounds occurring in utterances to a definite and
limited set of phonemes contrastive in at least some environments. The phonemic
inventory of Bagheli shows the distinctive sound units occurring in the Bagheli speech.
The Phonological system of Bagheli is presented below based on the data collected from
the informant.

2.2. Phonemic Inventory (Segmental)

According to the available data, the phonological description of Bagheli may be

posited in the following way. The language has 42 segmental phonemes out of which 12
are vowels and 30 are consonantal phonemes.

2.2.1. Segmental vowel phoneme

Phonetically vowels are the sounds articulated without a complete closure in the
mouth or a degree of narrowing which would produce audible friction. The segmental
vowel phonemes of Bagheli are presented below.

VOWEL CHART
Front Central Back
Close i iː ɨ u uː
Close mid e eː
Mid ə o oː
Open a aː

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2.2.2. Phonemic contrasts: vowels

A phoneme is the smallest contrastive unit in the sound system of a language which
causes meaning differences. Minimal pairs in the data exemplify the phonemic contrast
available in the language. Examples of phonemic contrasts in Bagheli are as follows.

1. /i/ ~ /e/
/ɟila:/ ‘district’ /ɟela:/ ‘prison’

2. /i/ ~/u
/mani/ ‘gem’ /manu/ ‘old’

3. /a/ ~ / ɨ /
/ radʒa/ ‘king’ / radʒɨ / ‘kingdom’

4. /a/ ~ /i/
/ka/ ‘what’ /ki/ ‘of’
/naːna/ ‘mother's /naːni/ ‘mother's
father’ mother’
/ ɡʰoɖa/ ‘horse’ / ɡʰoɖi / ‘mare’
/badʒ/ hawk /bidʒ/ seed

5. /a/ ~ /e/
/das/ ‘ten’ / des / ‘country’

6. /a/ ~ /o/
/ka/ ‘what’ / ko / ‘who’

7. /a/ ~ /u/
/mara/ ‘dead’ / mura / ‘curved’
/allu/ ‘Potato’ /ullu/ ‘owl’

8. /ə/ ~ /u/

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 /pʰəl/ ‘fruit’ /pʰul/ ‘flower’

9. /ə/~ /a/
/dʒəɖ/ ‘root’ /dʒaɖ/ ‘tree’

10. /o/ ~/i/

/moti/ ‘fat woman’ /miti/ ‘soil’

11. /o:/ ~/e:/

/go:ɽ/ ‘fair’ /ge:ɽ/ ‘silver’

12. /u/ ~ /a/

/bu:ra:/ ‘flood’ /ba:ra:/ ‘ice’

13. /u/ ~ /o/

/ka:l/ ‘what’ /ko:/ ‘Who’
/sura/ ‘sun’ /sora:/ ‘sixteen’

2.2.3. Distribution of the vowel phonemes

Vowel Initial Medial Final

i /iʃtihaːr/ ‘agreement’ /gilli:/ ‘squirrel’ /agi:/ ‘fire’
/idʰən/ ‘fuel’ /sari:ɽa/ ‘body’ /gʰori:/ ‘mare’
/iskul/ ‘school’ /saːdʒis/ ‘conspiracy’ /hadi/ ‘boundary’
/binɖiː/ ‘lady's finger’ /maʈi/ ‘clay’
/ə̃dijar/ ‘darkness’ / mauti / ‘death’
/prəkitː/ ‘nature’ / palaki/ ‘eyelid’
iː /tiːr/ ‘arrow’ /sipaːhiː/ ‘police’
/dʒiːl/ ‘lake’ /lavkiː/ ‘gourd’
/ dʒiːbhi / ‘tongue’ / bovniː / ‘dwarf ’
/ piːraː / ‘pain’ / ãːkʰiː / ‘eye’
e /eri:/ ‘heel’ /meherija:/ ‘woman’ /ɟi:bʰe/ ‘tongue’
/ŋəlekʰəŋəvat/ ‘mud’ /vahe/ ‘she’

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 /brehmiː/ ‘brahmi’ /tʃavre/ ‘rice’
/metʃʰa/ ‘moustache’ /tʃiːlhe/ ‘Eagle’
/peʈɨ/ ‘stomach’ /bidʒe/ ‘victory’
eː /eːɖiː/ ‘heel’ /deːs/ ‘nation’ /kʰoːheː/ ‘cave’
/ eːk/ ‘one’ /peːɖ/ ‘plant’ / apaɖheː/ ‘illiterate’
/eːɖiː/ ‘heel’ / beːl / ‘bel (sriphal)’ / tʃʰeː / ‘six’
/ eːku / ‘one’ / seːʈʰ / ‘moneylender’ / saveːreː / ‘morning’
a /adʰiɟa:r/ ‘darkness’ /ɟanga:l/ ‘forest’ /bu:ra:/ ‘flood’
/anɖaː/ ‘egg’ /bila:ri:/ /cat/ /ɟua:/ ‘louse’
/ aɖʰaːjiː/ ‘two and a / samdʒaːnaː/ ‘to / raːdʒa / ‘kinɡ’
half’ explain’ /ɖekəna/ ‘lid’
/aɡi/ ‘fire’ /pisan/ ‘flour’
/akas/ ‘sky’ /dʰan/ ‘paddy’
aː /aːdʰiːk/ ‘many’ /baːɖ/ ‘flood’ /kasbaː/ ‘city’
/ aːnaː/ ‘to come’ / paːv/ ‘quarter’ / adʰaː/ ‘half’
/ aːɡiː / ‘fire’ / dʒaːɖiː / ‘cold’ / kandraː / ‘cave’
/ aːkaːs / ‘sky’ / reːɡistaːn / ‘desert’ / buːɖa / ‘flood’
ə /ənpəɖ/ ‘illiterate’ / kaməle / ‘lotus’
/idʰən/ ‘fuel’
/kərtʃʰuli/ ‘ladle’
/ məusi / ‘mother's
sister’
ɨ / tovlɨnaː / ‘balance / / dʰanɖɨ/ ‘penalty’
scale’ /ɡidʰɨ/ ‘Vulture’
/bẽːjɨs/ ‘buffalo (male)’ / natəkɨ/ ‘village
/dupɨhər/ ‘afternoon’ show’
/isɨkər/ ‘its’ /tatɨ/ ’ fresh’
u /uʈ/ ‘camel’ /bʰui/ ‘ground’ /bʰa:lu:/ ‘bear’
/ul/ ‘opposite’ /gʰuʈuja:/ ‘ankle’ /muhu:/ ‘face’
/utaːr/ ‘slope’ /pahunaː/ ‘son-in-law’ /dʒalaːvu/ ‘fuel’
/ulʈiː/ ‘vomit’ /suvar/ ‘pig’ /satru/ ‘enemy’
/ullu/ ‘owl’ /tum/ ‘you’ /baru/ ‘sand’
/kuʈum/ ‘family’

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 /kəkku/ ‘father's
brother’
uː /uːʈ/ ‘camel’ /suːradʒ/ ‘sun’ / baːruː/ ‘sand’
/muːtʃʰ/ ‘moustache’ /ãːsuː/ ‘tears’

o /o:ʈʰa/ ‘lip’ /co:c/ ‘beak’ /ne:o/ ‘foundation’

/o:s/ ‘dew’ /ɟo:r/ ‘joint’ /na:o/ ‘boat’
/oŋuːʈʰiː/ ‘ring’ /kojlʲaː/ ‘coal’
/osərija/ ‘verandah’ /doj/ ‘two’
/kʰor/ ‘cave’
/bũjɖol/ ‘earthquake’
oː /oːdʒaː/ ‘sorcerer’ /koːkur/ ‘dog’ /sarsoː/ ‘mustard’
/oːs/ ‘dew’ /ɡoːliː/ ‘bullet’ /hiːroː/ ‘actor’
ɔ /ɔoɟa:r/ ‘tool’ /cɔuki/ ‘rolling board
(for chapati)’
/ɟɔ:k/ ‘leech’

2.3. Consonants
2.3.1. Segmental consonant phoneme

Phonetically they are sounds made by a closure or narrowing in the vocal tracts so
that the air flow is either completely blocked or so restricted that audible friction is
produce. The segmental consonant phonemes in Bagheli are presented below.

Consonant chart

Bilabial Dental Alveola Retroflex Palatal Velar Glott

r al
Plosive p b t d ʈ ɖ k ɡ
bʰ pʰ tʰ dʰ ʈʰ ɖʰ kʰ gʰ
Nasal m n ŋ
Trill r
Tap

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 Fricative v s z ʃ dʒ h
Affricate tʃ tʃʰ

Approximant j
Lateral l
Approximant

2.3.2. Phonemic contrasts: consonants

1. /p/ ~ /b/
/pe:l/ ‘oil’ /be:l/ ‘sriphal’
/parab/ ‘to escape /barab/ ‘to burn’
/pila/ ‘puppy’ /bila/ ‘cave’
/sap/ ‘snake’ /sab/ ‘all’

2. /b/ ~ /d/
/bahi/ ‘buttermilk’ /dahi/ ‘curd’

3. /b/ ~ /t/
/bapl/ ‘father’ /Tap/ ‘ember’

4. /bʰ/ ~ /gʰ/
/bʰasa/ ‘language’ /gʰasa/ ‘money’

5. /t/ ~ /d/
/taːtɨ/ ‘hot’ /daːtɨ/ ‘tooth’
/taːr/ ‘wire’ /da:r/ ‘pulse’

6. /d/ ~ /dʰ/
/da:n/ ‘rice’ /dʰaːn/ ‘money’

7. /ʈ/ ~ /ɖ/
/baːʈɨ/ ‘weight’ /baːɖɨ/ ‘flood’
/koːʈ/ ‘coat’ /koːɖ/ ‘leprosy’

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8. /ɖ/ ~ /r/
/dʒoːɖ/ ‘joint’ /dʒoːr/ ‘compel’

9. /ɟ/ ~ /g/
/ɟo:r / ‘joint’ /gor/ ‘leg’

10. /cʰ/ ~ /n/

/cʰa:ti:/ ‘chest’ /na:ti:/ ‘daughter’son’

11. /c/ ~ /h/

/ca:ɽ/ ‘four’ /haɽ/ ‘defeat’

12. /cʰ/ ~ /ʈ/

/cʰo:ʈ/ ‘small’ /ʈo:ʈ/ ‘beak’

13. /cʰ/ ~ /ʈʰ/

/cʰi:k/ ‘sneeze’ /ʈʰik/ ‘right’

14. /tʃ/ ~ /tʃʰ/

/tʃiːkʰ/ ‘cry’ /tʃʰiːkʰ/ ‘sneeze’

15. /dʒ/ ~ /ɡ/

/dʒoːɖ/ ‘joint’ /ɡoːɖ ‘mare’

16. /h/ ~ /s/

/ha:r/ ‘ornament’ /sa:r/ ‘cowshed’

17. /h/ ~ /gʰ/

/ha:r/ ‘plough’ /gʰar/ ‘house’

18. /ʈʰ/ ~ /pʰ/

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 /sɔ:uʈʰa/ ‘dry ginger’ /sɔupʰa/ ‘aniseed’

19. /t/ ~ /b/

/te:l/ ‘oli’ /be:l/ ‘sriphal’

20. /ɟ/ ~ /gʰ/

/ɟiu/ ‘health’ /gʰiu/ ‘ghee’

21. /ɟ/ ~ /g/

/ɟo:ɽ ‘joint’ /goɽ/ ‘leg’

22. /ɽ/ ~ /k/

/ca:ɽe/ ‘four’ /ca:ke/ ‘chalk’

23. /bʰ/ ~ /gʰ/

/bʰasa/ ‘language’ /gʰasa/ ‘money’

24. /c/ ~ /l/

/cɔuki / ‘rolling’ /lɔuki/ ‘white gourd’

25. /cʰ/ ~ /n/

/cʰa:ti:/ ‘chest’ /na:ti:/ ‘daughter’son’

26. /ɟʰ/ ~ /pʰ/ ~ /kʰ/

/ɟʰula: / ‘swing /pʰula/ ‘swelling’ /kʰula:/ ‘open’

27. k/ ~ /g/
/sarak:/ ‘road /sarag/ ‘heaven’
/ka:m/ ‘road’ ga:m/ ‘sunshine’
/ka:dʒ/ ‘marriage’ /ɡaːdʒ/ ‘thunder’
/koːɖ/ ‘leprosy’ /ɡoːɖ/ ‘leg’

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28. /k/ ~ /kʰ/
/kula/ ‘gargle’ /kʰula/ ‘open’

29. /kʰ/ ~ /b/

/kʰeːt/ ‘field’ /beːt/ ‘cane’

30. /kʰ/ ~ /r/

/kʰaɟ/ ‘itch’ /raɟ/ ‘state’

31. /g/ ~/k/

/gilli:/ ‘squirrel’ /killi:/ ‘forehead’

32. /gʰ/ ~ /m/

/gʰaʈi/ ‘valley’ /maʈi/ ‘clay’

33. /m/ ~ /b/

/marəb/ ‘to hit’ /barəb/ ‘to burn
(trans)

34. /m/ ~ /ɡ/

/mu:hu/ ‘mother’s /gu:hu/ ‘stool’
brother
/mo:r ‘Peacock’ /go:r/ ‘shit’

35. /ŋ/ ~ /u/

/pataŋ/ ‘kite’ /patau/ ‘daughter in
law’

36. /h/ ~ /s/

/ha:r/ ‘plough’ /sa:r/ ‘cowshed’

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 37. /r/ ~ /k/
/ro:hu/ ‘Rohi’ /ko:hu/ ‘kou’

38. l/ ~ /r/
/mala/ ‘garland’ /mara/ ‘dead’
/sa:r/ ‘cowshed’ /sa:l/ ‘shawl’

2.3.3. Distribution of the consonantal phonemes

CONSONANT INITIAL MEDIAL FINAL

/p/ /paja:l/ ‘anklet’ /papari:/ ‘papad’ /saːp/ ‘nest’
/piʈʰa:je:/ ‘back’ /kapa:r/ ‘skull’ /bap/ ‘father’
/patlaː/ ‘thin’ /bamərupi/ ‘dwarf’ /tap/ ‘ember’
/põːtʃʰnaː/ ‘to wipe /paɡəlpən/ ‘insanity’ /mahtariba:p/
off’ /ruːpe/ ‘silver’ ‘parents’
/paːraː/ /mica/ /bapɨ/ ‘father’ /ɡap/ ‘gossip’
/prətidoni/ ‘echo’ /dẽnɖʰasãp/
‘python’
/pʰ/ /pʰora:/ ‘pimple’ /sapʰedda:g/ /bərəpʰ/ ‘ice’
/pʰasalkaʈa:be/ ‘to ‘leucoderma’ /bara:pʰ/ ‘ice’
reap’ /pʰeːpʰɖaː/ ‘lung’ /barapʰ/ ‘ice’
/pʰoːpʰoː/ ‘father's /piːpar/ ‘pipal’ /saːpʰ/ ‘clean’
sister’ /pʰeːpʰəɽa/ ‘lung’
/pʰaːrnaː/ ‘split
(wood)’
/b/ /baraha:/ ‘birth rituals’ /sabu:n / ‘soap’ /dʒiːb/ ‘tongue’
/bu:ra:/ ‘flood’ /nebra:/ ‘mongoose’ /talaːb/ ‘pond’
/baːt/ ‘cooked rice’ /dabaː/ ‘medicine’ /kʰab/ ‘food’
/ban/ ‘forest’ /pariːbaːr/ ‘family’ /kitab/ ‘book’
/bʰ/ /bʰa:p/ ‘steam’ /tɔulabʰe/ ‘to /taɽiu:bʰ/ ‘to clap the
/bʰu:kʰa/ ‘hunger’ measure’ hands’
/bʰaːluː/ ‘bear’ /ɟi:bʰ/ ‘tongue’

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 /bʰudʒaub/ ‘to /birbʰa/ ‘variety of
extinguish’ tree’
/abʰaraki/ ‘variety of
tree’
/bidʰan səbʰa/
‘assembly’
/t/ /te:l/ ‘oil’ /bʰitarese:/ ‘through’ /mara:t/ ‘death’
/tabtak/ ‘till’ /moːtiː/ ‘pearl’ /laːt/ ‘relatives’
/talaːb/ ‘pond’ /kabuːtar/ ‘Pigeon’ /barsaːt/ ‘rain’
/titaliː/ ‘butterfly’ /patər/ ‘thin’ /nat/ ‘relatives’
/ta:be/ ‘then’ /mota/ ‘thick’ /daba:t/ ‘inkpot’
/taːriːki/ ‘date’ /raːti/ ‘night’ /dʒijət/ ‘alive’
/aːdiraːt/ ‘midnight’
/tʰ/ /tʰũːk/ ‘saliva’ /hatʰauri:/ ‘hammer’ /hatʰ/ ‘hand’
/tʰavnaː/ ‘married /patʰar/ ‘stone’ /satʰ/ ‘with’
related ’ /tʰũːk/ ‘saliva’ /hatʰ/ ‘hand’
/tʰəka huva/ ‘tired’ /tʰavnaː/ ‘married /tiratʰ/ ‘holy place’
/tʰana/ ‘police station’ related ’ /tʃautʰ/ ‘three-
/ tʰaːmba/ ‘pillar’ /hatʰi/ ‘elephant fourth’
(male)’
/d/ /dahi/ ‘curd’ /bʰuindo:l/ /mawa:d/ ‘pus’
/daija:/ ‘sky’ ‘earthquake’ /duːd/ ‘milk’
/ dartiː/ ‘ground’ /hatʰida:t/ ‘tusk’ /nanad/ ‘husband's
/duʃman/ ‘enemy’ /mandɨr/ ‘worship sister’
/ dulha/ ‘bridegroom’ room’ /sãnsəd/
/duːsar/ ‘second’ /nadiː/ ‘river’ ‘parliament’
/sərhəd/ ‘border’
/dʰ/ /dʰekna:/ ‘lid’ /dudʰa:/ ‘milk’ /dudʰ/ ‘milk’
/dʰarti:/ ‘world’ /gidʰa/ ‘vulture’ /ɡidʰ/ ‘Vulture’
/dʰamaː/ ‘asthma’ /madʰimaː/ ‘middle
/dʰartiː/ ‘world’ finger’
/dʰoːdʰur/ ‘dust’
/k/ /koila:/ ‘coal’ /sikari:/ ‘hunter’ /pala:k/ ‘eyelid’

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 /kukura:/ ‘dog’ /kalakar/ ‘actor’ /dinãnk/ ‘date’
/kirbaː/ ‘worm’ /ɖeːkaːr/ ‘belch’ /dʒõːk/ ‘leech’
/kuʈum/ ‘family’ /ləɖika/ ‘baby’ /səɖak / ‘road’

/kʰ/ /kʰaʈija:/ ‘cot’ /pokʰri:/ ‘pond’ /ra:kʰ/ ‘ash’

/kʰaraha:/ ‘rabbit’ /pakʰnaː/ ‘wing’ /bandukʰ/ ‘gan’
/kʰoːheː/ ‘cave’ /loːkʰaɖiː/ ‘fox’ /batakʰ/ ‘Duck’
/kʰoːsaɖ/ ‘Owl’ /kʰənkʰədʒur/ /rukʰ/ ‘sugarcane’
/kʰəʈkirwa/ ‘bug’ ‘centipede’ /dukʰ/ ‘grief’
/dokʰi/ ‘accused’
/ʈ/ /ʈo:pi:/ ‘cap’ /aʈarija/ ‘house’ /kewa:ʈ / ‘boatman’
/pʰalʈorabe/ ‘to pick /tilcʰaʈʈa:/ /cʰoʈchoʈkara:be/ ‘to
fruit’ ‘cockroach’ chop’
/ʈihuniː/ ‘elbow’ /tʃiːʈiː/ ‘ant’ /uːʈ/ ‘camel’
/ʈiːbiː/ ‘tuberculosis’ /tʃʰaːʈiː/ ‘chest’ /siːɡaʈ/ ‘jackal’
/ʈɛks/ ‘tax’ / naʈa / ‘small’ /kəskuʈ/ ‘bronze’
/ ʈəʈi / ‘stool’ /ɡənʈa / ‘hour’
/ʈʰ/ /ʈʰu:ka/ ‘saliva’ /sɔ:uʈʰa/ ‘dry ginger’ /a:ʈʰ / ‘eight’
/ʈʰik/ ‘right’ /aŋuːʈʰaː/ ‘thumb’ /õːʈʰ/ ‘lip’
/ʈʰoːɖiː/ ‘chin’ /puʈʰaː/ ‘hip’ /unsəʈʰ/ ‘fifty nine’
/ʈʰanɖiː/ ‘winter’ /əʈʰara/ ‘eighteen’ /sõʈʰ / ‘dry ginger’

/ɖ/ /ɖa:ɽi:/ ‘beard’ /anɖa:/ ‘egg’ /taipʰoeɖ/ ‘typhoid’

/ɖera:/ ‘property’ /pʰeːpʰɖaː/ ‘lung’ /ɖa:nɖ/
/ɖaknaː/ ‘lid’ /dʒoːɖnaː/ ‘addition’ ‘punishment’
/ɖeːkaːr/ ‘belch’ /ɡəɖərja/ ‘shepherd’ /ɡuɖ/ ‘jaggery’
/ɖolki/ ‘drum’ /ləɖɨka/ ‘student’ /ʈʰanɖ/ ‘cold’
/lãɡəɖ/ ‘cripple ’
/ɖʰ/ /ɖʰaːj/ ‘nurse’ /kaɖʰiː/ ‘curry’ /beːɖʰ/ ‘sheep’
/ɖʰaniː/ ‘widower’ /saːɖʰuː/ ‘wife's /ɖeɖʰ/ ‘one and a
/ɖʰərra/ ‘road’ sister's husband’ half’
/ɖʰera/ ‘cotton carder’ /pəɖʰaji/ ‘education’ /koɖʰ/ leprosy
/ɡəɖʰa/ ‘mine’

16
/g/ /gunga:/ ‘smoke’ /aŋgana:/ /roːɡ/ ‘diseases’
/gadaha:/ ‘donkey’ ‘courtyard’ /dʒãːɡ/ ‘thigh’
/ɡarmiː/ ‘heat’ /cʰingi:/ ‘little /ɡũɡ/ ‘deaf’
/ɡussaː/ ‘anger’ finger’ /sɔrəɡ/ ‘heaven’
/duɡnaː/ ‘twice’
/kaːɡadʒ/ ‘paper’
/gʰ/ /gʰasa/ ‘money’ /gagʰari:/ ‘jar’ /baːɡʰ/ ‘division’
/gʰo:ra:/ ‘horse’ /ba:gʰa/ ‘’lion /baɡʰ/ ‘lion’
/ɡʰaːʈiː/ ‘valley’ /ɡõːɡʰaː/ ‘snail’ /dʒaɡʰ/ thigh
/ɡʰiː/ ‘ghee’ /baɡʰiː/ ‘horse coach’
/m/ /musar/ ‘pestle’ /camrikero:g/ ‘skin /malha:m/
/macʰi/ ‘fly’ disease’ ‘ointment’
/makariː/ ‘spider’ /sumari:/ ‘pig’ /ta:m/ ‘copper’
/madmeː/ ‘between’ /madʰimaː/ ‘middle /sojam/ ‘herself’
finger’ /ɡudam/ ‘button’
/baːdmeː/ ‘after’
/n/ /nu:n/ ‘salt’ /unha/ ‘cloth’ /dʰa:n/ ‘paddy’
/naha:/ ‘claw’ /kʰu:na/ ‘blood’ /ka:n/ ‘ear’
/niːtʃeː/ ‘floor’ /pʰunsiː/ ‘pimple’ /maːkʰan/ ‘butter’
/nadiː/ ‘river’ /ʈʰanɖ/ ‘cold’ /ban/ ‘forest’
/nətʰija/ ‘nose-ring’ /əjina/ ‘mirror’ /sawun/ ‘soap’
/ŋ/ /hiŋga/ ‘asefoetida’ /pataŋ/ ‘kite’
/aŋuːr/ ‘grape’ /lõːŋ/ ‘clove’
/aŋuːʈʰaː/ ‘thumb’ /pataŋ/ ‘moth’
/lãŋəɖ/ ‘lame’ /pətəŋ/ ‘kite’
/sarəŋɡi/ ‘sarangi’ /hiŋ/ ‘asafoetida’
/s/ /sa:r/ ‘cowshed’ /mɔsu:m/ ‘weather’ /pʰars/ ‘floor’
/suri:d/ ‘sun’ /registan/ ‘desert’ /idʰas/ ‘dead body’
/saːl/ ‘ice’ /barsaːt/ ‘rain’ /oːs/ ‘dew’
/sukʰaːn/ ‘faint’ /soːstʰɨ/ ‘health’ /nas/ ‘vein’
/sudʒi/ ‘needle’ /ləsi/ ‘buttermilk’ /mãs/ ‘flesh’
/tʃəsma/ ‘spectacles’ /ənənas/ ‘pineapple’

17
/ʃ/ /ʃaraːbbanaːnaː/ ‘to /kuʃʈɨ/ ‘leprosy’ /kʰarɡoːʃ/ ‘rabbit’
brew’ /ɡoʃtɨ/ ‘meat’ /badmaːʃ/ ‘naughty’
/ʃikaːkaːjiː/ ‘shikakai’ /duʃman/ ‘enemy’ /nirdoʃ/ ‘innocent’
/ʃauda/ ‘bargain’ /peʃab/ ‘urine’ /bəriʃ/ ‘rain’
/ʃantəra/ ‘orange’ /naʃʈi/ ‘destroyed’
/ʃabdi/ ‘words’
/tʃ/ /tʃiːʈiː / ‘ant’ /keːtʃuːhaː/ /tʃoːtʃ/ ‘beak’
/tʃandɨrmaː/ ‘moon’ ‘earthworm’ /tʃamatʃ/ ‘spoon’
/tʃehera / ‘face’ /katʃaː/ ‘raw’ /bitʃ/ ‘middle’
/tʃɔwhɨ/ ‘jaw’ /ketʃuhi/ ‘tortoise’
/murtʃi/ ‘epilepsy’
/tʃʰ/ /tʃʰaːjaː / ‘shade’ /batʃʰɖaː/ ‘calf’ /põːtʃʰ/ ‘tail’
/tʃʰoːʈaː/ ‘short’ /datʃʰin/ ‘south’ /muːtʃʰ/
/tʃʰatiː/ ‘chest’ /mətʃʰər/ ‘moustache’
/tʃʰiŋi/ ‘little finger’ ‘mosquito’ /natʃʰ/ ‘dance’
/biːtʃʰiː/ ‘scorpion’ /kali miritʃʰ/ ‘black
pepper’
/c/ /candrama:/ ‘moon’ /maccʰar/ ‘mosquito’ /co:c/ ‘beak’
/cʰ/ /cʰekka:/ ‘eunuch’ /bicʰi/ ‘scorpion’
/cʰa:ti:/ ‘chest’ /macʰari/ ‘fish’
/ɟ/ /ɟitabe/ ‘to win’ /kʰaɟanci:/ ‘cashier’ /biɟ/ ‘seed’
/ɟa:r/ ‘cold’ /kareɟa:/ ‘heart’ /ra:ɟ/ ‘state’
/ɟʰ/ /ɟʰarija:/ ‘sorcerer’ /bardankeɟuɟʰa/
/ɟʰura:/ ‘faint’ ‘bullfight’
/murɟʰabe/ ‘to
shrink’
/h/ /ha:r/ ‘plough’ /ɡohu:/ ‘wheat’ /ɡrəh/ planet
/hira:n/ ‘deer’ /macʰehe:/
/haːr/ ‘necklace’ ‘honeybee’
/hətkəɖi/ ‘handcuffs’ /bãːheː/ ‘arm’
/hira/ ‘diamond’ /ɡẽːhuː/ ‘wheat’
/l/ /lahsu:n/ ‘garlic’ /muleʈʰi:/ ‘liquorice’ /ɟanga:l/ ‘forest’
/lagʰe/ ‘near’ /gilli:/ ‘squirrel’ /ɟa:he:l/ ‘venom’

18
 /lakaɖiː/ ‘wood’ /talaːb/ ‘pond’ /dʒiːl/ ‘lake’
/ləhas / ‘dead body’ /kareːlaː/‘bitter /beːl/ ‘bel’
/lar / ‘saliva’ gourd’
/r/ /raŋgurɟaji/ ‘to fade’ /kursi/ ‘chair’ /gʰar/ ‘building’
/ra:kʰ/ ‘ash’ /na:ri:/ ‘vein’ /gu:la:r/ ‘toad’
/roːɖɨ/ ‘road’ /dartiː/ ‘ground’ /aːtʰijaːr/ ‘darkness’
/roːkʰi/ ‘sugarcane’ /keːraː/ ‘banana’ /sənsar/ ‘world’
/ləhər/ ‘wave’
/ɽ/ /ɽabʰe/ ‘to lose /piɽwa:/ ‘metal or /gu:ɽ/ ‘jaggery’,
(mislay)’ wooden seat’ /paha:ɽ/ ‘hill’
/suɽa:/ ‘trunk’
/z/ /zamiːn seː leːnaː/ ‘to /dərzi/ ‘tailor’ /kaːbɨz/ ‘hinge’
pick up’ /saziʃ/ ‘pirate’
/j/ /jaːdkajleː/ ‘to /daji:/ ‘midwife’ /tʃaːj/ ‘tea’
remember’ /haija:/ ‘cholera’ /ɖʰaːj/ ‘nurse’
/jaːdi/ ‘memory’ /ɡaʈʰjaːnaː/ ‘to tie /səməj / ‘time’
/jədi / ‘if’ (knot)’
/baɡjaː/ ‘garden’
/dʒ/ /dʒõːk/ ‘leech’ /tardʒaniː/ ‘pointing /baːdʒ/ ‘Cock’
/dʒilaː/ ‘district’ finger’ /laːdʒ/ ‘shame’
/dʒaɖɨ/ ‘cold’ /idʒati/ ‘respect’ /awadʒ / ‘voice’
dʒəŋəl forest /məhadʒən / /kaledʒ / ‘colleɡe’
‘moneylender’
/mədʒur / ‘labour’
/dʒʰ/ /dʒʰora/ ‘school bag’ /odʒʰa/ ‘sorcerer’ /bodʒʰ/ ‘heavy’
/dʒʰənɖa/ ‘flag’ /udʒʰar/ ‘white’
/w/ /nauwa:/ ‘barber’
/kirwa/ ‘worm’
/v/ /vidjaːrtʰiː/ ‘student’ /havaː/ ‘air’ /nav/ ‘nine’
/vakiːl/ ‘advocate’ /tovlɨnaː/ ‘balance / /sov/ ‘hundred’
/vəha / ‘his’ scale’ /təlav/ ‘pond’
/va / ‘she’ /sərsəva / s
‘mustard’

19
 / devi / ‘goddess’

2.4. Diphthongs

A diphthong also known as a gliding vowel is a phonetic sequence, consisting of

a vowel and a glide that is interpreted as a single vowel. It refers to two adjacent vowel
sounds occurring within the same syllable. Technically the tongue moves from one point
of articulation to other during the pronunciation of the vowel.

Diphthongs Initial Medial Final

iu /maɟiu:ri/ ‘labour’ /ɡʰiu:/ ‘ghee’
/ciuʈikata:be/ ‘to pinch’
ia /piar/ ‘yellow’ /barkia/ ‘praise’
/bʰikʰia:r/ ‘beggar’
au /aũʈʰa/ /lauja/ ‘gourd’ /kãːdau/ ‘mud’
‘thumb’ /ʃauda/ ‘bargain’ /bənsi bədʒau/‘to
/samɟʰauta/ blow’
‘agreement’
/miʈau:be/ ‘to erase’
ai /talaija:/ ‘lake’ /ɟeʈʰbʰai/ ‘brother’
/ukurubaiʈʰabe/ ‘to /karahai/ ‘pan’
kneel down’ /pʰupʰerabʰai/ ‘father's
/baineː/ ‘sister's son’ sister's son’
au /au:be/ ‘to /bʰauɟi:/ ‘brother’s /sau/ ‘hundred’
come’ wife’ /ɡaũ/ ‘village’
/laukiː/ ‘pumpkin’
/paudʰa/ ‘plant’
ao /tin sao:/ ‘three / sao:/ ‘hundred’
hundred’
ui /uĩ/ ‘they’ /bʰuindo:l/ ‘earthquake’ /bʰui/ ‘ground’
/ɡuikumaːr/ ‘aloevera’ /dui/ ‘two’
/hui/ ‘will

20
 ua /dakuankeɟʰu:nd/ ‘gang /ɽaɽua:/ ‘widower’
of robbers’ /ɟua:/ ‘louse’
/cʰuabe/ ‘touch’ /tʃʰuab/ ‘to touch’
eo deotahagʰaɽ ‘worship
room’
eu /deurani/ ‘husband’s /cau:/ ‘jaw’
elder sister’
/neura:/ ‘mongoose’
ei /meidaːn/ ‘ground’
oi /koila/ ‘coal’
/rosoijaː/ ‘cook’
oe /taipʰoeɖ/ ‘typhoid’
ou /bou:be/ ‘saw’
/nicou:bʰe / ‘to squeeze’
/ɖoub/ ‘to wash’
ɔu /cɔuki/ ‘bed’ /nɔu/ ‘nine’
/tɔulabʰe/ ‘to measure’
əi /pəisa/ ‘coin’ /bĩːʈʰkarəi/ ‘to visit’
/rusəijaː/ ‘kitchen /ukəi/ ‘there’
/ɡəija/ ‘cow’

2.5. Allophonic distributions

An allophone is a phonetic variant of a phoneme in a particular language. Although
a phoneme’s allophones are all alternative pronunciations for a phoneme, the specific
allophone selected in a given situation is often predictable. From the analysis of data it was
observed various plosives both voiced and unvoiced have aspirated variants which in many
cases exist as separate phonological segments, however in certain situations the aspirated
variant of the stop sound/t/ i.e /th/ complement each other viz-a viz their distribution and
therefore can be categorized as the allophones in bagheli language. Some extant the data
shows the following allophonic variation /ʋ/ has [v) and [w) as allophones. Initially [v) is
found and medially [w)

/ viʃvaːs karab / ‘to trust’’ : /hitwaː / ‘friend’

21
2.6. Consonant clusters
A consonant cluster is a group of consonants which have no intervening vowel.
The consonant clusters can be a combination of two identical as well as two non-identical
consonants that generally occurs in the medial position of a word. The former is called
homogenous clusters and the latter is called heterogeneous consonant clusters. The
occurrence of the consonant clusters is most frequently in the medial position.

Consonant Initial Medial Final

Cluster
nɖ /kaːnɖiː/ ‘mortar’ /ʈʰanɖ/ ‘cold’
/rənɖi/ ‘prostitute’ /ranɖ/ ‘widow’
/ʈʰanɖiː/ ‘autumn’ /dʒunɖ/
‘ɡroup’
nd /tʃandɨrmaː/ ‘moon’ /suɡand/ ‘scent
/bãndər/ ‘monkey’ (odour)’
/baːndhab/ ‘to bind’ /dund/ ‘fog’
/band/ ‘close’
gr /ɡrehe/ ‘planet’
/ɡram pəntʃajit/
‘village council’
/ɡrəh/ ‘planet’
nʈ /ʈõnʈ/ ‘beak’
nt /santaraː/ ‘orange’ /daːnt/ ‘tooth’
/untiːs/ ‘twenty nine’
/səntuʃtɨ karət / ‘to
satisfy’
pr /prekaːs/ ‘light’ /nirapraːd/ ‘innocent’ /prosaːhit
/prem/ ‘love’ /apradi/ ‘accused’ karab/ ‘to
/prəkiti/ ‘nature’ encourage’
br /brehmiː/ ‘brahmi’ /koːbraː saːp/ ‘cobra
snake’
/abrəkʰ/ ‘mica’
/dʒabraj karab/ ‘to
compel’
tr /saːstriː/ ‘astrologer’ / namənətr/ ‘to
/məntrɨ pəɖʰəb/ ‘to refuse’
chant’

22
 /patroːjiː/ ‘leaf’
dr /drisse/ ‘scene’ /pandra/ ‘fifteen’

2.6.1. Homogenous consonant sequences

Consonant sequence Medial Gloss

-jj- bajjaː father's sister's

daughter

rasojjaː kitchen

kakajjiː karnaː to comb (hair)

-ll- billiː cat

ballaː bat

ɡilliː squirrel

-ɖɖ- haɖɖiː bone

nn ɡonniː key

annaːs m. pineapple

pannaː emerald

binnaː to weave (cloth)

2.6.2. Tri-Consonantal Clusters

-ntr- mantriː minister

-str- raːdʒ mistriː mason
saːstriː astrologer

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2.7. Syllable

A syllable is a unit of organization for a sequence of speech sounds. It is a unit of

spoken languages consisting of a single uninterrupted sound formed by a vowel, diphthong
or syllabic consonant alone or any of these sounds preceded followed or surrounded by
one or more consonants. The syllabic classification of Bagheli words are as follows.

• Monosyllabic
• Disyllabic
• Trisyllabic
• Tetrasyllabic

2.7.1. Monosyllabic pattern

Words which have only one syllable are called monosyllabic words. Some
examples of monosyllabic words are as follows.

Words Syllable Structure Gloss

/oːs/ vc Dew
/a:d/ vc Ginger
/õːʈʰ/ vc Lip
/uʈ/ vc Camel
/ɡʰiː/ cv Ghee
/ɡʰiː/ cv Butter
/tʃʰeː/ cv Six
/baːp/ cvc Father
/ra:ɟ/ cvc Kingdom
/ban/ cvc Forest
/ʈʰanɖ/ cvcc Cold
/hiŋg/ cvcc Asafoetida
/daːnt/ cvcc Tooth

24
 /ɡrəh / ccvc Planet

2.7.2. Disyllabic pattern

Those words which have two syllables are called disyllabic words. Some examples
of disyllabic words are as follows.

Words Syllable Structure Gloss

/aː.ɡiː/ v-cv Ember
/a.dʰa/ v-cv Half
/i:.ʈi/ v-cv Brick
/u.ʈi:/ v-vc Camel
/u.taːr/ v-cvc Slope
/i.dʰən / v-cvc Fuel
/a.kas / v-cvc Sky
/i.laɟ/ v-cvc Treatment
/ɡʰi.u:/ cv-v Ghee
/ba:le/ cv-cv Strength
/maː.ʈiː/ cv-cv Clay
/hə.wa / cv-cv Air
/gu:.ni/ cv-cv Virtue
/ul.ʈi:/ cv-vc Vomit
/gu.dam/ cv-cvc Button
/pa.haːɖ/ cv-cvc Hill
/kãː.dau/ cv-cvv Mud
/su.ridʒ / cv-cvc Sun
/dʒuɖ.baː/ cvc-cv Twin
/biɽ.wa/ cvc-cv Tree
/gan.ɟi:/ cvc-cv Cooking utensil
/dʒaʈ.kaː/ cvc-cv Earthquake
/bai.neː/ cvv-cv Sister's son
/man.triː/ cvc-ccv Minister

25
 /ɡre.he/ ccv-cv Planet
/bar.saːt/ cvc-cvc Rain
/mis.tri/ cvc-ccv Mason
/rən.ɖi / cvc-cv Prostitute
/sən.sar / cvc-cvc World
/baɖʰ.ai/ cvc-vv Carpenter
/brah.mi ccvc-cv Brahmi
(hydrocotyle
asiatica)

2.7.3. Trisyllabic pattern

Those words which have three syllables are called trisyllabic words. Some
examples of trisyllabic words in Bagheli are as follows.

Words Syllable structure Gloss

/a.ma.ba:s/ v-cv-cvc New moon
/aː.tʰi.jaːr/ v-cv-cvc Darkness
/i.mi.li:/ v-cv-cv Tamarind
/a.dʰi.ra:t/ v-cv-cvc Midnight
/əs.pə.tal/ vc-cv-cvc Hospital
/aŋ.uː.ʈʰaː/ vc-v-cv Thumb
/bi.ʈi.ja:/ cv-cv-cv Daughter
/ma.hi.pa:r/ cv-cv-cvc Honey
/la.ka.ɖiː/ cv-cv-cv Wood
/tə.rə.ja/ cv-cv-cv Star
/ŋə.luŋ.kʰul/ cv-cvc-cvc Cave
/du.la.hin/ cv-cv-cvc Bride
/me.hɨr.jaː/ cv-cvc-cv Female
/tʃi.rai.jiː/ cv-cvv-cv Bird
/ɡə.ɖər.ja/ cv-cvc-cv Shephered
/ɟan.ha.ri:/ cvc-cv-cv Barley
/tʃan.dɨr.maː/ cvc-cvc-cv Moon
26
 /məu.si.jaː/ cvv-cv-cv Mother's sister's
husband
/nan.doː.jiː/ cvc-cv-cv Dew
/tʃam.ɡaː.daɖ/ cvc-cv-cvc Bat
/saŋ.mar.mar/ cvc-cvc-cvc Marble
/kʰəʈ.kir.wa/ cvc-cvc-cv Bug
/nən.do.ji/ cvc-cv-cv Husband's sister's
husband
/kar.cʰu.li:/ cvc-cv-cv Ladle

2.7.4. Tetrasyllabic pattern

Words which have four syllables are called tetrasyllabic words. Some examples of
tetrasyllabic words are as follows.

Words Syllable Structure Gloss

/o.sə.ri.ja/ v-cv-cv-cv Verandah
/a.ma.ba:.se/ v-cv-cv-cv New moon
/a.naː.mi.kaː/ v-cv-cv-cv Ring finger
/aŋ.a.vi.tʃʰiː/ vc-v-cv-cv Towel
/al.muː.ni.jem/ vc-cv-cv-cvc Alluminium
/bi.ca.ra:.be/ cv-cv-cv-cv To trial
/ma.leː.ri.jaː/ cv-cv-cv-vc Malaria
/mə.heː.ri.ja/ cv-cv-cv-cv Female
/ɟa.bar.ɟas.ti/ cv-cvc-cvc-cv Compel
/lə.ɖi.kə̃i.ja/ cv-cv-cvv-vc Childhood
/man.su.ri.ja/ cvc-cv-cv-cv Husband
/pan.tʃaː.na.veː/ cvc-cv-cv-vc Ninety five
/lə.ɖi.kə̃i.ja/ cv-cv-cvv-vc Childhood
/min.se.ru.wa/ cvc-cv-cv-cv Husband

27
2.7.5. Polysyllabic pattern
Some of the examples of polysyllabic words in Baghelikhandi language are as
follows.

Words Syllable Structure Gloss

/mo-ti-ja-bin-dɨ/ CV-CV-CV-CVC̩-CV Cataract

/ra-dʒi-ni-ɡan-da/ CV-CV-CV-CVC̩-CV Tube rose

/ɡa-ri-bu-raː-daː/ CV-CV-CV-CV-CV Coconut scraper

/di-jaː-si-raː-jiː/ CV-CV-CV-CV-CV Matchstick

/sa-haːn-wuː-ti/ CV-CVC-CV-CV Sympathy

2.8. Length
The other suprasegmental feature observed from the data analysis is the vowel
length. Bagheli vowels have long counterparts that means vowel length is a common
phenomenon present in Bagheli. Almost all vowels posses a longer counterpart, but the
vowel length is not phonemic in nature and therefore doesn’t affect the perceptible meaning
of the words. Examples
/i:/ hiːraː ‘diamond’ siːsaː ‘glass’
biːtʃʰiː ‘scorpion’ tʃʰatiː ‘chest’
/e:/ eːku ‘one’ meːdaːn ‘ground’
peːʈ ‘belly’ te:l ‘oil’
/a:/ kãːsaː ‘brass’ raːɡi ‘tune’
ra:t ‘night’ a:g ‘fire’
/o:/ soːn ‘stone’ kato: ‘mud’
pʰo:pʰoː ‘fathers sister’ o:s ‘dew’
/u:/ baːruː ‘sand’ suːrudʒ ‘sun’
pʰu:la ‘swellinɡ’ du:ɽ ‘dust’
/ ɔ:/ ɟɔ:ke ‘leech’ sɔ:uʈʰ ‘ginger’
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2.9. Nasalization
Nasalization is a common phenomenon of Bagheli. All most all the vowels have a
nasal counterpart.

/ ãːɡaraː/ ‘ember’
/ ãvʈʰaː/ ‘thumb’
/ bẽjsaː dʒudʒi/ ‘bull-fight’
/ sẽːhuvaː/ ‘leucoderma’
/ tʃĩvʈiː/ ‘bat’
/ dʒĩːɡur / ‘cockroach’
/ dʒõːki/ ‘leech’
/ rasõjaː/ ‘kitchen’
/ bũj / ‘land’
/ mũːɡaː/ ‘coral’
/ bũjɖol / ‘earthquake’
/ kãkaɖ / ‘pebble’
/ aŋõʈʰi / ‘ring’
/sãnsəd/ ‘parliament’
/pʰĩka/ ‘pale’
/sãdʒ / ‘eveninɡ’
/pərõ/ ‘day after tomorrow’

2.10. Assimilation
/rãŋab/ ‘to paint’ vowel /a/ becomes nasalized due to the influence of
nasal sound /ŋ/
/tumka/ ‘to you’ /t̆/ becomes rounded due to the rounded vowel /u/
/ũːntʃe/ ‘over’ /uː/ becomes nasalized due to the influence of
followinɡ
sound /n/
2.11. Elision

29
 /kitaːbi/ ‘book’ /okʰəi ek ʈʰeː kitab likʰəi tʃahiː/ ‘He should
write a
book’
Vowel /i/ is omitted from /kitaːbi/ when used in a
sentence.
/duːdɨ/ milk /ɡəija dud deti heː/ ‘The cows give milk’
Vowel /uː/ is shortened and /ɨ/ vowel is omitted at the
final position used in a sentence.

30
 Morphology
It is the identification, analysis and description of the structure of a given language’s
morphemes and other linguistic units.

3.1. Word Formation

Word formation is the creation of a new word. There are a number of methods of
word formation. The words in Bagheli are form by a single morpheme or more than one
free morpheme or a combination of free and bound morpheme.
One free morpheme
/naːti/ ‘grand son’

One free and a bound morpheme

/naːtin/ ‘grand daughter’.

Here / naːtin/ is made up of one free morpheme / naːti / ‘grandson’’ and a bound
morpheme /n-/ which is a bound morpheme.
Four types of word formation are found in Bagheli such as Affixation, Derivation,
Compounding and Reduplication.

3.2. Affixation
3.2.1. Prefixation

It is a morphological process whereby a bound morpheme is attached to the front

of a root or stem. The kind of affix involved in this process is called prefix. The examples
of prefixation are as follows.

• /ulʈa/ ‘prefix’ + /hatʰ/ ‘hand’ > /ulʈa hatʰ/ ‘left hand’

• /dahina/ ‘prefix’ + /hatʰ/ ‘hand’ > /dahina hatʰ/ ‘right hand’
• /kam/ ‘prefix’ + / dʒoːr/ ‘loud’ > / kamdʒoːr/ ‘weak’
• /api/ ‘prefix’ + / maːn/ ‘respect’ > / apimaːn / ‘insult’
• /a/ ‘prefix’ + /paɖʰa/ literate > /apadɨ/ illiterate

31
3.2.2. Suffixation
It is the morphological process whereby a bound morpheme is attached to the end
of a root or stem. The kind of affix involved in this process is called suffix. The examples
of suffixation are given below

• /dui:/ ‘two’ + /guna:/ ‘suffix’ > /dui:guna:/ ‘twice’

• /tina/ ‘three’ + /guna:/ ‘suffix’ > /tinguna:/ ‘thrice’
• /dui/ ‘two’+ /sar/ ‘suffix’ > /dusar/ ‘second’
• /saːr/ ‘wife's brother’ + /hadʒ/ ‘suffix’ > / sarhadʒ / ‘wife's brother's wife’
• /saːt/ ‘seven’ + /raː/ ‘suffix’ > /satraː/ ‘seventeen’
• /meː/ ‘i’ + /raː/ ‘suffix’ > /meːraː/ ‘my’
• /naːti/ ‘grand son’ + /n/ ‘suffix’ > /naːtin/ ‘grand daughter’
• / dʒeːʈʰ/ ‘husband's brother’ + / aːniː / ‘suffix’ > / dʒeːʈʰaːniː / ‘husband's brother's
wife’
• / məusi/ ‘mother's sister’ + /ja:/ ‘suffix’ > /məusijaː/ ‘mother's sister's husband’
• / behan/ ‘sister’ + / oːjiː/ ‘suffix’ > / behanoːjiː/ ‘sister's husband’

3.2.3. Compounding

It is the process of word formation that creates compound lexemes. It occurs when
two or more words joint together to make one word. The meaning of the compound may
be very different from the meaning of its components in isolation. The examples of
compounding in Bagheli are as follows.

/paraiha/ ‘read’ + /laɽka:/ ‘boy’ > /paraiha laɽka:/ ‘student’

/pʰul/ ‘flower’ + /gobʰi:/ ‘cabbage’ > /pʰul gobʰi:/ ‘cauliflower’
/ aːdʰaː/ ‘prefix’ + /tʃandɨrmaː/ ‘moon’ > / aːdʰaːtʃandɨrmaː/ ‘half
moon’
/bajaː/ ‘left’ + /haːtʰ/ ‘hand’ > /bajaː haːtʰ/ ‘left hand’
/ poːriː / ‘full’ + / tʃandɨrmaː/ ‘moon’ > /poːriːtʃandɨrmaː/ ‘full moon’
/mom/ wax + /batti/ ‘candle > mom batti
‘waxcandle’
/kəm/ ‘work’ + / dʒor/ ‘loud’ > / kəmdʒor / ‘weak’

32
 /raɟa/ ‘king’ + /ke/ ‘of’ + /mukuʈ/ ‘crown’ > /raɟa ke mukuʈ/ ‘crown’

3.2.4. Derivation
It is the process of forming a new word on the basis of an existing word. A
derivational suffix usually applies to words of one syntactic category and changes them
into word of another syntactic category. The examples of derivation are as follows.

/cor/ ‘theif’ + /i/ ‘suffix’ > /cori/ ‘theft’

/sikar/ ‘hunt’ + /i/ ‘suffix’ > /sikari/ ‘hunter’
/bʰikʰ/ ‘beg’ + /a:ri:/ ‘suffix’ > /bʰikʰa:ri:/ ‘begger’
/dʰiːm/ ‘slow’ + /e/ ‘suffix’ > /dʰiːme/ ‘slowly’
/naːtʃu/ ‘dancer’+ /ija/ ‘suffix’ > /naːtʃaija/ ‘dancer’
/kamdʒoːr / ‘weak’ + / naː/ ‘suffix’ > /kamdʒoːriː/ ‘weakness’
/madʒuːr/ ‘labourer’ + /i/ suffix > /madʒuːri/ ‘labour’

3.3. Allomorphs

When a unit of meaning is represented in diffent phonological forms and these

forms do not change the meaning, these variants are called allomorphs. Following are the
examples of allomorphs in Bagheli language.

Morpheme Allomorphs
/eːku/ ‘one’ /ikajiːs/ ‘twenty one’
/ektis/ ‘thirty one’
/inkijawan/ ‘fifty one’
/ika/, /ek/, /inki/ are the allomorphs of /e:ku/
/pãːtʃʰ/ ‘five’ /patʃiːs/ ‘twenty five’
/pẽtis/ ‘thirty five’
/patʃ/, /pẽ/ are the allomorphs of /pãːtʃʰ/

3.4. Noun Morphology

Noun morphology deals with the forms and classifications of nouns, pronouns and
their declension/inflectional pattern in association with gender-number-adjective etc.
33
 Bagheli have following word classes
i) nouns
ii) pronoun
iii) adjectives
iv) post-position
v) conjunction
vi) verbs
vii) adverbs

Out of these seven-word classes the nouns, pronouns, adjectives and verbs are based
on morphological ground where as rest are based on syntactic ground. The above
mentioned seven-word classes are broadly grouped into two categories,

i) Declinable
ii) Indeclinable.

Declinable are those which are declined for number, gender, person, for example
nouns, pronouns, adjectives and verbs. And the post-positions, conjunctions, adverbs
belong to the indeclinable.

3.4.1. Nouns
The nouns in the language are marked by two numbers (singular and plural). Nouns
thus realized in Bagheli can be categorized in the following manner.

Simple noun: The simple noun in Bagheli language are as follows.

/reːɡistaːn/ desert
/aːɡi/ fire
/lapʰaː / flame
/dʒəŋəl/ forest
/məjdaːn/ ground
/pəhaːɖ/ mountain
/kãːdəv/ mud
/kãnkər/ pebble
34
 /saɖaki/ road
/tʃəʈan/ rock

Derived noun: The example of derived noun are given below.

/pʰul/ ‘flower’ > /pʰul ɡobi/ ‘cauliflower’

/ nədi / ‘river’ > /tʃoːʈ nədi / ‘brook’

Animate and Human

/ ləɖika/ ‘boy’
/ ləɖika / ‘baby’
/satʰi/ ‘friend’
/biʈijaː/ ‘girl’
/ duləhin / ‘bride’
/ meherija/ ‘woman’
/bəhni/ ‘sister’
/biʈija/ ‘daughter’
/ məhtaːri/ ‘mother’
/bapɨ/ ‘father’
/ɡidromaː/ ‘child’
/meherija/ ‘wife’

Animate and Non-human

/ tʃihũʈi/ ‘ant’
/balu/ ‘bear’
/ bilari / ‘cat’
/kəwwaː/ ‘crow’
/tʃihũʈi/ ‘ant’
/ ɡedur / ‘bat’
/ barda / ‘bull’
/mətʃʰəri / ‘fish’
35
 /bilari/ ‘cat’
/pəreːwa/ ‘pigeon’
/ũːʈi/ ‘camel’
/ɡəija/ ‘cow’

Inanimate

/ surədʒ / ‘sun’
/ ta:ra/ ‘star’
/ pani / ‘water’
/akaːs/ ‘sky’
/badri/ ‘cloud’

3.4.2. Gender

A grammatical gender is a system of noun classification. The nouns in Bagheli are

inflected by two genders as male and female. Gender differentiation is determined by
adding suffixes to the stem or by using two completely separate lexemes. In Bagheli, the
suffix /-in/ is used to indicate female gender in case of human nouns and the suffix and /-i/
/-ni/ in case of non-human nouns, the suffix /-a/ is used to indicate male gender in case of
human and the suffix /-a/ and /-i/ in case of non-human nouns.

The Bagheli nouns are inflected for Gender, Number, and Case. This language has
two genders (i.e., masculine, feminine), two numbers (i.e. Singular and plural) and seven
cases (nominative, accusative, dative, ablative, genitive, locative and instrumental). The
following description gives the details of Bagheli gender-number-case system. Example
of male and female gender by using different suffixes are as follows.

Male Female
/ rakəra / ‘calf’ / rakəra / ‘calf ’
/dulha/ ‘bridegroom’ / duləhin / ‘bride’
/hatʰi/ ‘elephant’ /hatʰni/ ‘elephant’
/bokari/ ‘goat’ /bokarni/ ‘goat’

36
 / səmdʰin / ‘daughter-in-laws- / səmdʰan / ‘daughter-in-laws-
father’ mother’
/ ranɖ / ‘widow’ / ranɖwã / ‘widower’
/murɡaː/ ‘cock’ /murɡiː/ ‘hen’
/naːnaː/ ‘mother's father’ /naːniː/ ‘mother's mother’
/mowsi/ ‘mother's sister’ /mowsija/ ‘mother's sister's husband’
/bətiːdʒ/ ‘brother's son’ /bətiːdʒiː/ ‘brother's daughter’

3.4.3. Suppletion

Example of male and female by using different lexemes are as follows.

Male Female
/ minseruwa / ‘husband’ / meherija / ‘wife’
/ admi / ‘man’ / meherija / ‘woman’
/ mənus / ‘male’ / məhraru / ‘female’
/səsur/ ‘fatherin law’ /sas/ ‘mother in law’
/juvradʒ/ ‘prince’ /radʒ kumari/ ‘princess’
/bap/ ‘father’ /məhətari/ ‘mother’
/ləɖika/ ‘boy’ /biʈija/ ‘girl’
/baɖdaː/ ‘bull’ /ɡəija/ ‘cow’
/ɖʰani/ ‘widower’ /bidʰva/ ‘widow’

3.4.4. Number

Number is the grammatical category of nouns, pronouns and adjectives and verb
agreement that express count distinctions (such as one, two or three or more). The nouns
in Bagheli are marked by two numbers as singular and plural. The singular is unmarked.
The plural is marked by adding the suffixes /-e/ to the nouns. Example of plural marker
affixed to the noun are as follows.

37
 Singular Plural
/o-kar gʰar/ ‘His house’ /o- kar ɡʰar-ẽ/ ‘His houses’
he-GEN house he-GEN house-PL
/tu-har ɡʰar/ ‘Your(sg) house’ /tum-hare ɡʰar/ ‘Your(sg) houses’
you-GEN house you-GEN house-
PL
/ o-kar leɖika/ ‘Their son’ / o-kar leɖik-e/ ‘Their sons’
they-GEN son they-GEN son-
PL
/ o-kar ɡʰar/ ‘Their house’ / un-kar ɡʰar-ai/ ‘Their houses’
they-GEN house they-GEN house-
PL
/ tʃʰoʈku ləɖika/ ‘The small child’ / tʃʰoʈ batʃa/ ‘The small
small child small child- children’
PL
/ sapʰed ɡʰoɖ/ ‘The white horse’ /sapʰed ɡʰoɖ-e/ ‘The white horses’
white horse white horse-PL
/ baɖa pẽɖ/ ‘The large tree’ / baɖe pẽɖ/ ‘The large trees’
large tree large tree-PL
/ nikahi biʈija/ ‘The good girl’ / nikahi biʈija/ ‘The good girls’
good girl good girl-PL
/ nikiha ləɖika/ ‘The good boy’ /atʃʰa ləɖike/ ‘The good boys’
good boy good boy-PL
/bəɖi kitab/ ‘The big book’ / bəɖi kitabe/ ‘The big books’
big book big book-PL

3.4.5. Person
Bagheli language also have a dual person. There are three persons in Bagheli as
first person, second person and third person. The following are the persons in Bagheli.

38
 Singular Dual Plural
First person / həm / ‘I’ / həm do / ‘we two’ / həm loɡ / ‘we’
Second person / tũ / ‘you’ / ap sab/ ‘you (PL)’
Third person / wəha / ‘he’ / oj dudʒan / ‘they / we loɡ / ‘they’
/ wa / ‘she’ two’
/ mã / ‘it’

3.5. Pronoun
Pronoun is a small set of words in a language that are used as substitutes for nouns
or noun phrases and whose referents are named or understood in the context. The personal
pronouns are:

Singular Dual Plural

First person / meː/ / ham / ‘I’ /hamdonoɟane/ /hampace/ / həm
/hamdonoɟane/ ‘we pəntʃe/ / həm
two’ pəntʃe/ ‘we two’
‘we’
Second person / tume/ / tũː / ‘you’ /apandonoɟane / /apnapace/ /tupace/
/tudonoɟane/ ‘you ‘you (PL)’
two’
Third person /vahe/ /wa/ ‘he’ /udonoɟane/ /udono/ /upace/ , /ũ mənəji/
/vahe/ /wa/ ‘she’ ‘they two’ ‘they’
/ vahe/ /ija/ ‘it’

3.5.1. Demonstrative pronoun

There is a two-way distinction between demonstratives, typically one set of

demonstratives is proximal indicating objects close to the speaker and the other series is
distal indicating objects further moved from the speaker. The demonstrative pronouns in
Bagheli are realized in two numbers as singular and plural as in the following examples.
Pronouns Proximate Remote
Singular /jehi/ /ija:/ ‘this’ /vahe/ /oa/ /wa/
‘that’

39
 Plural /ija/ /jəhə/ /isab/ /uisab/ /wa
/eːsab/ /ũj səb/ /upace/ / ‘those’
‘these’ /oj loːɡ/, /ũ mənəji/
‘they’

3.5.2. Interrogative pronoun

An interrogative pronoun or question word is a function word used to ask a
question. The interrogative pronoun found in the Bagheli language are as follows.

Interrogative Gloss
Pronoun
/ka/ ‘what’
/kətider/, ‘when’
/kəb/ / kabaj
/
/kekə̃ji/ ‘where’
/kaha/ /
koːneː kajtiː /
/kau/, /kaun/ ‘which’
/ keːkʰar /
/kua/, ‘who’
/kauno/ /koː/
/kʰipali/, ‘whom’
/kehi/
/ keːkʰar /
/kahe/ ‘why’

3.5.3. Indefinite pronouns

An indefinite pronoun is a pronoun that refers to one or more unspecified beings,
objects or places. The indefinite pronoun found in the language are as follows.

40
 Indefinite Gloss
Pronoun
/sab/ ‘everything’
/səb kutʃ /
/kohu/ ‘anybody’
/koːjiː /
/kowu kəi /
/kohu nehi/ ‘nobody’
/koːjiː naː/
/sab logjane/ ‘everybody’
/sabkeː/
/koi nahiː/ ‘no one’
/ kehuː nahiː /

3.5.4. Reflexive pronoun

A reflexive pronoun is a pronoun preceded by the noun, adjective, adverb or
pronoun to which it refers within the same clause or sentence. The reflexive pronoun
found in Bagheli language are given below.

Reflexive Pronoun Gloss

/kʰudai/ ‘myself’
/meː kʰud/
/wə kʰud/
/ ham veh kʰud /
/kʰudaje/ ‘ourselves’
/ham sab kʰud/
/ũəi ɡɛn/
/ pantʃiː kʰujdaj /
/tum kʰudai/ ‘yourself’

41
 /sojam tum/ /onha
sojəm/
/sojam tum loːɡ/ /əpne ‘yourselves’
ap/
/oa kʰudai / ‘herself’
/sojam/ /kʰude/ /wa
kʰudai /
/ oa kʰudai / ‘himself’
/kʰod/ /kʰud/ /wa
kʰudai /
/ oa kʰudai / ‘itself’
/sojam kʰud/
/apanap/ ‘themselves’

3.5.5. Relative pronoun

A relative pronoun is used to connect a clause or phrase to a noun or pronoun. You
see them used every day with the most common relative pronouns. The relative pronoun
found in Baghel khandi language are given below.

Relative Pronoun Gloss

/kauno/ /koːn/ /ɟo/ ‘who’
/kekə̃ji/ /kidar/ ‘where’
/kehi/ /kiseː/ / ɟaune/ ‘whom’
/kauno/ /veh/ /ɟisan/ ‘whose’
/va/ /vahe/ /ɟon/ ‘that’
/kaun/ /kis/ ‘which’

• /ɟo manai kal mara gɜ: wo ek gajaija tʰa/

who man yesterday die be that one singer SFP-PST
The man who died yesterday was a singer

• /ija wa manai hɜ: ɟaune se kal ham mile rahen/

42
 this that man be who yesterday I meet SFP
This is the man whom i met yesterday

• /ija wa kukur hɜ: ɟon laɽka ka kaʈe raha/

this that dog be who boy-DAT cut-PST
This is the dog that bit the boy

3.6. Case
Case is an inflected form of a noun, pronoun or adjective indicating its grammatical
relation to other words. Some case are marked while others are unmarked. The
following are the different case in Bagheli.

3.6.1. Nominative case

It is the case marking typically the subject of the verb. The nominative case in
Bagheli is unmarked

/ ham cirai dekʰan hɜ: /

I-NOM bird see SFP
‘I see the bird’

/ ram sɜm ka putʰi dihi-se/

ram-NOM shyam DAT book give-SFP
‘Ram gave the book to Shyam’

/ mahes ama kʰaise /

mahesh-NOM mango eat-PERF.ASP
‘Mahesh ate the mango’
/ ham ɡaj-a maritʰ hɛ /
we-NOM cow-ACC beat-SFP
‘We beat the cows’

/ ũ tʃəɖija ka baɡitʃe-me marin /

he-NOM bird garden-LOC that kill-SFP
‘He killed the bird in the garden’

/ ham sab pani ubalit hɛ /

43
 we-NOM water boil-SFP
‘We boil water’

/ sita mehmanan-ka kʰana parsis /

sita-NOM guest-PL-DAT food serve-PROG.ASP
‘Sita served the food to the guests’

/ ləɖika mətʃʰri pakaɖitʰ hɛ /

bird-PL-NOM fish that catch-SFP
‘The children caught the fish’

/ ram hamare pen-se tʃitʰi likʰin /

ram-NOM I-GEN pen-INST letter write-SFP
‘Ram wrote the letter with my pen’

/ ʃikari mirɡi pakaɖitʰ hɛ /

hunter-NOM deer catch-SFP
‘The hunter caught the deer’

3.6.2. Accusative case

It is the grammatical case that marks the direct object of a verb. In Bagheli the
accusative case is marked with lexeme /ka/ as in the following examples.

/ ham ɡaj-a maritʰ hɛ /

cow-PL cow-ACC beat-SFP
‘We beat the cows’

/ ləɖika ham-hi dekhat hɛ /

child-PL I-ACC see-SFP
‘The children see me’

/ ham admin-ko hesa-jit hɛ /

I-NOM people-ACC laugh-CAUS-SFP
‘I make the people laugh’

44
 / ham ləɖikən-ko kʰila-jit /
I baby-ACC feed-PROG.ASP
‘I feed the baby’

/ ham ɡoɖ-a doɖa-jit hɛ /

I-NOM horse-ACC run-CAUS-SFP
‘I am making the horse run’

/ ham nokar-se kʰeit-me kam karvajit hɛ /

I-NOM servant-ACC field-LOC work-CAUS-SFP
‘I make the servant work in the field’

Some examples without any accusative case marker are as follows

ham nɔkar kʰet ma kam karaitʰe

I servant-ACC field LOC work SFP
I make the servant work in the field

/laɽkeheri macʰri pakari rahi hɜ:/

Children-NOM fish-ACC catch-SFP
‘The children caught the fish’

/ ham ɡoɖ dovɖajit hɛ /

I-NOM horse run-SFP
‘I run the horse’

/ vo kitab padit hɛ /
he one book read-PROG.ASP
‘He reads a book’

/ ham ɡoda me tʃajit hɛ /

we horse-pl on ride-SFP
‘We ride the horses’

/ ʃikari mirɡi pakaɖitʰ hɛ /

hunter-NOM deer catch-SFP
45
 ‘The hunter caught the deer’

/ maheʃ am kʰajitʰ hɛ /
mahesh-NOM fruit eat-PERF.ASP
‘Mahesh aet the mango’

/ ləɖika mətʃʰri pakaɖitʰ hɛ /

children-PL-NOM fish that catch-SFP
‘The children caught the fish’

3.6.3. Dative case

It is the grammatical case that marks typically the indirect object of a verb, the
object of some adpositions or a prossessor. In Bagheli the dative case is marked by /ka/
as in the following examples.

/ram sɜm ka putʰi dihi-se/

ram-NOM shyam DAT book give-SFP
‘Ram gave the book to Shyam’

/sarkar gariban ka paisa detʰi/

government-NOM poor people DAT money give-SFP
‘The government gives money to the poor’

/ tu apni beiti ko bulava /

he-NOM I-DAT five rupees give-SFP
‘He gives me 5 rupees’

3.6.4. Instrumental case

The primary function of this marker is to indicate the instrument that the agent uses
while carrying out an activity. The instrumental case is marked by the marker /se/ as in the
following examples.
/hamare kalam se likʰije/
I-GEN pen INST write-IMP
‘Write with my pen’

/ʈagi se birwa ka kaʈise/

46
 Axe INST tree ACC cut-SFP
‘The tree is cut with axe’

/ keĩtʃi-se bal kaʈi dihi /

scissors-INST hair cut-SFP
‘The hair is cut with scissors’

/ aɡi-se dʒaŋal naʃʈɨ hoɡaja /

fire-INST forest destroy-PERF.ASP
‘The forest is destroyed by fire’

/ ləɖika laɡi-se matʃʰli pakaɖin /

child-PL-NOM fishing rods-INST fish catch-SFP
‘The children caught the fish with the fishing rods’

/ ram hamare pen-se tʃitʰi likʰin /

ram-NOM I-GEN pen-INST letter write-SFP
‘Ram wrote the letter with my pen’

/ u admi ne baɖ̠a pẽɖka ari-se katin /

DET man -NOM big tree DETI axe-INST cut-SFP
‘The big man cut the big tree with the axe’

3.6.5. Ablative case

It is a grammatical case expressing typically the relations of separation and source

and also frequently such relations as cause or instrument. The ablative case is marked by
/se/. The examples are given below.

/oa hamare ɟʰakija se gir gaja/

he I-GEN window ABL fall-SFP
‘He fell down from my window’
/kal se gari na cali/
Tomorrow ABL bus NEG run
‘Tomorrow onwards the buses will not run’

47
 / dʒulaji-me pani barsat hɛ /
july month-ABL rain start-SFP
‘Rain starts from the month of july’

/ ləɖika peiɖ-se pʰal toɖis /

child-NOM tree-ABL fruit pluck-SFP
‘The child plucked the fruit from the tree’

/ vo ɡʰar k tʃʰat-se kudi ɡa /

he (house of top)-ABL jump-SFP
‘He jumped from the top of the house’

/ mohan badʒar-se teibil kʰeridis /

mohan-NOM market-ABL table buy-SFP
‘Mohan bought the table from the market’

/ peiɖẽ-se pata ɡirat hɛ /

tree-ABL leaves fall-SFP
‘The leaves fall from the tree’

3.6.6. Locative case

It is a grammatical case that denotes place or the place where or wherein. It is the
special orientation of an action or state. It is use to indicate the location of an object or
event. The locative case marker is marked by /ma/in Bagheli as in the following examples.

/ham hamare gʰara-je ma haiare/

I my house-in LOC remain
‘I am in the house’

/gorua kʰet ma hɜ:/

Cattle field LOC SFP
‘The animals are in the field
/ vo ɡar-ke vitare hɛ /
he house-LOC remain
‘He is in the house’
48
/ ham ɡʰar dʒɑjit hɛ /
I house-LOC go-SFP
‘I go to the house’

/ hmar ləɖika iskul-me hɛ /

I-GEN child-PL school-LOC remain
‘My children are in the school’

/teibil-mẽ kheɖei hodʒav /

table-on-LOC stand-IMP
‘Stand on the table’

/ vo pẽɖ-ke nitʃe sovat hɛ /

he tree-LOC-under sleep-PROG.ASP
‘He sleeps under the tree’

/ vo badʒar-mei kal tʃor ko pakɖit hɛ /

he-NOM market-LOC thief catch-PERF.ASP
‘he caught the thief in the market’

/ hamre ɡarɨ dʒa /

I-GEN house-LOC go-IMP
‘Go to my house’

/ hamre ɡari a-ba /

I-GEN house-LOC come-IMP
‘Come to my house’

/ hmar ləɖika iskul tʃale ɡa /

I-GEN son school-LOC go-PERF.ASP
‘My son has gone to the school’

/ hmar ləɖika iskul-me hɛ /

I-GEN child-PL school-LOC remain
49
 ‘My children are in the school’

/ ɡoru kʰeit-me hɛ /
animal-PL field-LOC remain
‘The animals are in the field’

/ ham loɡ ɡaij-an ka sari-ma leiɡen /

we-NOM cow-PL DET shed-LOC led-PERF.ASP
‘We led the cows to the shed’

3.6.7. Genitive case

It is a grammatical case marking typically a relationship of possessor or source.

The genitive case in Bagheli is marked by the suffix /-r/ as in the following examples.

/hama:r beʈwa:/
I-GEN son
‘My son’

/ o-kar gʰar /
he-GEN house
‘His house’

/ tuhar ɡʰar/
you-GEN house
‘Your(sg) house’

/ o-kar leɖika /
they-GEN son
‘Their son’

/hamar hatʰ/
I-GEN 1PP-hand-PL
‘My hands’

/ hamarai hatʰ/

50
we-GEN 1PP-hand-PL
‘Our hands’

/ o kar ãkʰi/
she-GEN 3PP-eyes
‘Her eyes

/ tumhar du kitab/
you-GEN two book
‘Two books of yours’

51
 Verb Morphology
5.1. Introduction
A verb is a member of the syntactic class of words that signals events and actions
constitute, singly or in a phrase, a minimal predicate in a clause, govern the number and
types of other constituents which may occur in the clause. Verb is a form class that marks
tense – aspect – modal – personal markers distinguished by number and gender. In
inflectional languages, verbs may be inflected for tense, aspect, and voice, and modality,
agreement with other constituents in terms of person, number and grammatical gender.
Verb Morphology deals with the forms and classification of verbs, and their pattern in
association etc.

5.2. Classification of Verbs

Verbs in Bagheli may be classified in two ways,
(1) Structural Classification
(2) Semantic Classification

5.2.1. Structural Classification

Three classes of verbs can be classified structurally as Transitive, Intransitive and
Ditransitive

5.2.1.1. Transitive verb

/ deːkʰileː/ ‘see’, / deːnaː/ ‘give’, / tʃaɖat / ‘ride’, / paɖʰileː/ ‘read’, / kʰaːnaː/
‘eat’, / piʈaːjiː/ ‘beat’, / maːrnaː/ ‘kill’, / pakaɖ /’catch’ / likʰdʲaːraː/ ‘write’ as in

• /ua ekʈʰe potʰi parat hɜ:/

he book read-PERF.ASP
‘He reads a book’

• / mahes ama kʰaise /

mahesh-NOM mango eat-PERF.ASP
‘Mahesh ate the mango’

• /hampace gaija ka marit tʰai ja:ne/

We-NOM cows ACC beat SFP

52
 ‘We beat the cows’

• / ham tʃiraj dekʰteː-hẽː/

we-NOM bird see-SFP
‘We see the bird’

• /veh mudʒeː pãːtʃ rupeː deːt-hẽː/

he-NOM I-DAT five rupees give-SFP
‘He gives me 5 rupees’

• / am ɡoːɖeː par tʃaɖat hẽː /

we horse ride-SFP
‘We ride the horses’

• / veh baɡjaː-meː tʃiɖjaː kaː maːris /

he-NOM garden-LOC bird kill-SFP
‘He killed the bird in the garden’

• / batʃeː -neː matʃariː kaː pakɖin /

children-PL-NOM fish that catch-PL
‘The children caught the fish’

• / ham roːʈiː kʰajat hẽː /

I bread eat-SFP
‘I eat bread’

• / raːm neː hamaːreː kalam-seː tʃiʈʰiː likʰin /

ram-NOM I-NOM pen-INST letter write-SFP
‘Ram wrote the letter with my pen’

5.2.1.2. Intransitive verb

/ aː/ ‘come’, / dʒaː / ‘go’, / bʰõːk/ ‘barks’, / soːj / ‘sleep’, / baɡʰ / ‘run’, / has /
‘smile’ and / uɖ / ‘fly’, / kʰaɖeː / ‘stand’ / boːl / ‘speak’ as in
• /upace ikai: abat hɜ:/
they here come be
53
 ‘They come here’

• /ham baɟar-e ɟai tʰane/

I market-LOC go SFP
‘I go to the market’

• /kukur bʰɔkat hɜ:/

dog-NOM bark be
‘The dog barks’

• /ram-nə tʰaklakəinə ŋəsəmməjoŋ-ŋə/

ram-NOM quickly run-SFP
‘Rama runs quickly’

• /laɖkaː muskuraːhat hẽː /

baby smile-SFP
‘The baby smiles’

• /voh moːɖkeː uːpar seː uɖtaː hẽː /

it head -LOC-over fly-SFP
‘It flies over the head’

• /veh udʰar kʰaɖiː hẽː/

she there stand-PERF.ASP
‘She stands there’

• /diːreː seː baːt-kar /

slowly speak-IMP
‘Speak slowly’

5.2.1.3. Ditransitive verb

• /oa hamahi pac rupija det-hɜ:/
he-NOM I-DAT five rupee give-SFP
‘He gives me 5 rupees’

54
 • / raːm-neː ʃaːm-kaː kitaːb dih-in/
ram-NOM shyam-DAT book give-SFP
‘Ram gave the book to Shyam’

• / siːtaː-neː naːtũː-kaː kʰaːnaː paroːs-in /

sita-NOM guest-PL-DAT food serve-PROG.ASP
‘Sita served the food to the guests’

• / ham sab loːɡ ɡaj-in kaː saːr-kiː oːr leːɡ-in /

we-NOM cow-PL DET shed-LOC led-PERF.ASP
‘We led the cows to the shed’

5.2.1.4. Causative verb

Causative verbs are those which have two agents of which one causes the other to
do.

• / ham loːɡan kaː hasaːjitʰ habeː /

I-NOM people-ACC laugh-CAUS-SFP
‘I make the people laugh’

• / ham ɡoːɖaː kaː doːɖaːjitʰ habeː /

I-NOM horse-ACC run-CAUS-SFP
‘I am making the horse run’

• / veh ɡoːɖaː doːɖaːvatiː habeː /

she-NOM horse run-CAUS-SFP
‘She runs the horse’

5.3. Semantic Classification

Semantically the verbs of Bagheli can be classified into fifteen categories. The
examples are given below.

Physical Activity Verbs

/kam kara:be/ ‘to work’
/baʈo:ra:be/ ‘to sweep’
55
 / kaːm karnaː / ‘to work’
/ puːtʃaː maːrnaː / ‘to sweep’
/ ɖakeːl deːnaː / ‘to push’

Instrument verbs
/pʰara:be/ ‘split’
/sika:r kara:be/ ‘hunt’
/ ɡəɖʰa kʰodəb / ‘dig’

Verbs of fighting
/daba:ube/ ‘to grab’
/gʰuser dea:be/ ‘to pierce’
/ marəb / ‘to kill’
/ dʒitəb / ‘to win’

Music Verbs
/gana gau:be/ ‘to sing’
/naca:bʰe/ ‘to dance’
/ bənsi bədʒau / ‘to blow’

Motion verbs
/cara:bʰe/ ‘to ascend’
/gʰusabe/ ‘to enter’
/ kɔno dʒəɡah pə aub / ‘to arrive’
/ bʰəi dʒab / ‘to float’

Occupational verbs
/rouda:be/ ‘to crush oil seeds’
/kʰet ɟota:be/ ‘to cultivate’
/ sərab bənaub / ‘to brew’
/ kʰet kətaji kərəb / ‘to harvest’

Culinary verbs
/kʰaje kau:be/ ‘to cook’
/kʰa:be/ ‘to eat’
56
 / pijəb / ‘to drink’
/ tərəb / ‘to fry’

Cosmetic verbs
/paʈi para:be/ ‘to comb(hair)’
/ɟiŋgar badʰa:be/ ‘to tie (hair)’

Communicative verbs
/jawab dea:be/ ‘to answer’
/neuta kara:be/ ‘to invite’
/ bulaub / ‘to call’

Non motion verbs

/agga dena:/ ‘to approve’
/marɟa:be/ ‘to die’
/ ʈəkrab / ‘to collide’

Inchoative verbs
/badla:be/ ‘to bloom’
/bʰinɟabe/ ‘to soak’
/ bəiʈʰərəb / ‘to freeze’

Sensory verbs
/kʰukʰiu:be/ ‘to cough’
/roju:be/ ‘to cry’
/ ɖera dʒab / ‘to fear’

Emotive verbs
/napasand hara:te/ ‘to dislike’
/ presən kərəb / ‘to like’
/prem karabʰe/ ‘to love’

Cognitive verbs
/ɟana:be/ ‘to know’
/bisarɟa:te/ ‘to forget’
57
 / bʰərosa kərəb / ‘to beleive’
(o) Other verbs
/upase rahabe/ ‘to fast’
/neuta dea:be/ ‘to offer’
/ ber ber boləb / ‘to repeat’

5.4. Inflection of Verbs

5.4.1. Transitivity
The formation of the transitive verb roots from the intransitive ones is realized by
addition of the transitivity suffixes with the intransitive verb base and the transitivity
process is completed when that transitive verb root is inflected according to number-
gender-person-tense in finite formation of the verb. Examples-

Intransitive Transitive
/ ɖovɖab/ ‘to run’ /hunsab/ ‘kill’,
/ pejrab/ ‘to swim’ /maːrab/ ‘beat’,
/ haʈaːjdeːb/ ‘to remove’ / tʃaɖat / ‘ride’,

5.5. Finite verb

The structure of finite verb shows a stem followed by tense, aspect and mood
markers. In Bagheli the finite verbs are form by adding different suffixes to the verb
according to the aspect and mood. By analysing the available data of Bagheli, there is no
tense marker. As Bagheli is a Indo-Aryan Language, aspect is more prominent than tense.
In Bagheli the simple aspect is expressed by different markers. They occur under
phonological condition The markers can be an aspect and they are also used as sentence
final particle (SFP). The different aspects found in the language are as follows

5.6. Tense
Tense is a grammatical category showing different location of an event in time.
According to Lyon ‘the essential characteristics of the category of tense is that it relates
the time of action, event or state of affairs referred to in the sentence to the time of
utterance. Three types of tenses are seen in Bagheli . These are Present, Past and
Future.
58
5.6.1. Present tense

It indicated the action that takes place when the utterance is uttered. Accordingly,
the present tense is formed in the following way.

Rule Person Number Example

verb stem - + - it + First person Singular 1. /həm bədʒɑr dʒəjit hɛ/ ‘I go to
hɛ the market’
verb stem - + - i + 2. / həm tʃirəji dekʰit hɛ / ‘I see the
tʰe bird’
Verb stem - + - ə+ First person Plural 1. /həm bədʒar dʒəjit hɛn/ ‘We go
hən to the market’
verb stem - + -an + 2. /həm tʃirəjin kə dekʰit hɛ/ ‘We
hɛ see the bird’
verb stem - + - Second Singular 1. /u bədʒar dʒata hɛ/ ‘You go to
a+hɛ person the market’
verb stem - + - 2. /wə tʃirəji dekʰət hɛ/ ‘You see
a+hɛ the bird’

verb stem - + - Second Plural 1. / tum loɡ bədʒar dʒat hɛ / ‘You

a+hɛ person go to the market’
2. / tum loɡ tʃirəji dekʰət hɛ / ‘You
see the bird’
verb stem - + - Third person Singular 1. /wə tʃirəji dekʰət hɛ/ ‘he sees
a+hɛ the bird’

Verb stem - _ + hɛ Third person Plural 1. / uĩ bədʒar dʒat hɛ / ‘They go to

the market’
2. / uĩ tʃirəji dekət hɛ / ‘They see
the bird’

59
5.6.2. Past tense
Past tense refers to an event which happened before the time of utterance. The
formation of past tense in different persons is the following.

Rule Person Number Example

verb stem - + /- nt+ First person Singular / həm bədʒar ɡəjin tɛ / ‘I went to the
hɛ/an market’
/ həm tʃirəji dekʰen tɛ / ‘I saw the bird’
verb stem - + /- at First person Plural /həm dədʒar ɡəjin tɛ/ ‘We went to the
/Ø +an/hɛ market’
/ həm tʃirəji dekʰen tɛ̃/ ‘We saw the
bird’
verb stem - + /- ita + Second Singular / uĩ bədʒar ɡe rəha hɛ/ ‘You went to the
hɛ person market’
/uĩ tʃirəji dekʰin tɛ / ‘You saw the bird’
verb stem- Ø/at+ Second Plural /tum pəntʃe bədʒar ɡəjin tɛ/ ‘You went’
hɛ/ tʰe person /uĩ səb dʒən tʃirəji dekʰin tɛ/ ‘You saw’
verb stem - + - Ø/it Third person Singular / wə həməre satʰ awa hɛ / ‘He came
+ hɛ along with me.’
/ wə bədʒar ɡə rəhi hɛ / ‘She went to the
market.’
verb stem - + -it- + Third person Plural They saw the bird. uĩ səb dʒən tʃirəji
hɛ/an dekʰin tɛ /
They went to the market. / uĩ bədʒar
ɡerəha hɛ /

5.6.3. Future tense

Future tense indicates the time preceding the time of utterance.

Rule Person Number Example

verb stem - + Ø+ - First person Singular /həm bədʒar dʒab/ ‘I (male) will go
dʒa to the market’

60
 / həm bədʒar dʒab / ‘I (female) will go
to the market’
Verb stem - + -Ø-/- First person Plural / həm bədʒar dʒab ‘We will go to the
I -Ø- + dʒa/ hɛ market’
/ həm tʃireji kə dekʰe tʃahit hɛ/ ‘We
will see the bird’

Verb stem - + dʒa/ Second Singular / tum iskul dʒəji ha/ ‘You will go to the
Ø- +ve / le person school
/ tumka tʃirəji dekʰi ha / ‘You will see
the bird’
Verb stem - + -e+ Second Plural / tum pəntʃe iskul dʒəji ha/ ‘You will
hɛ/ve person go to the school’
/ tum pəntʃe tʃirəji dekʰi ha / ‘You will
see the bird’
Verb stem- + -i/at-+ Third person Singular /wə tʃirəji dekʰi/ ‘He will see the bird.’
hɛ /wə tʃirəji dekʰi/ ‘She will see the bird.’
Verb stem- + -at/i - Third person Plural /uĩ səb dʒən tʃirəji dekʰi hɛ/ ‘They will
+ hi/hɛ see the bird.’
/uĩ dʒəŋəl dʒəji hɛ/ ‘They will go to the
jungle.’

The verb construction makes a twofold distinction viz. Finite and Non-finite. Another way
of classifying verbs is on the basis of finiteness.

5.7. Finite verb information

The structure of finite verb shows a stem followed by tense, aspect and mood
markers. In Bagheli, the finite verbs are formed by adding different suffixes to the verb
according to the aspect and mood. The different aspects found in the language are as
follows.

61
5.7.1. Simple aspect
The simple aspect is expressed by different markers. They occur under
phonological condition. The simple aspect marker /- t, teː / occurs after vowel. The
following are the examples,

• /hum cirai dekʰi tʰe/

I bird see be
‘I see the bird’

• /ham ija: aji tʰe:/

I here come be
‘I come here’

• / həm tʃirəjin-kə dekʰ-it hɛ /

we-NOM bird see-SIM.ASP
‘We see the bird’

• /u bədʒar dʒat hɛ /
you market-LOC go-SIM.ASP
‘You(sg) go to the market’

• / uĩ bədʒar dʒat hɛ /

he market-LOC go-SIM.ASP
‘He goes to the market’

• / həm hĩja aji tʰe /

we here come-SIM.ASP
‘We come here’

• / jə mude-ke upər-se uɖət hɛ /

it head-over-LOC fly-SFP
‘It flies over the head’

• / ləɖika ɡir-dʒat hɛ /
child fall-SIM.ASP

62
 ‘The child falls down’

• / həm ɡoɖe-ke səwari-kərit hɛ /

we horse ride-SFP
‘We ride the horses’

• /veh udʰar kʰaɖiː hẽː/

she there stand-PERF.ASP
‘She stands there’

• / wə həməhi pãtʃʰ rupja det hɛ /

he-NOM I-DAT five rupees give-SFP
‘He gives me 5 rupees’

• /u pəntʃe pəkəw-ət hɛ /
they-NOM water boil-SIM.ASP
‘They boil water’

• / wə ɡoɖ dəuɖawət hi /
she-NOM horse run-SIM.ASP
‘She runs the horse’

• / həm roʈi kʰəjit hɛ /

I bread eat-SIM.ASP
‘I eat bread’

• / ram bəhut dəuɖat hɛ /

ram-NOM quickly run-SIM.ASP
‘Ram runs quickly’

63
5.7.2. Present Progressive aspect

The present progressive aspect is mark by adding the suffix /- rəhe / or /- ət / to

the verb as in the following examples.
• / həm tʃirəji dekʰit laɡ hɛ /
I bird DET see-PROG.ASP
‘I am seeing the bird’

• / həm tʃirəji dekʰ-it laɡ hɛn /

we bird see-PROG.ASP
‘We are seeing the bird’

• / wə tʃirəji dekʰ-ət laɡ hɛ /

he bird see-PROG.ASP
‘He is seeing the bird’

• / tu pəntʃe tʃirəji dekʰ -rəhe hɛ /

you bird see-SIM.ASP
‘You(sg) are seeing the bird’

• / ukur õkəi kʰəɖa hɛ /

dog there stand-PROG.ASP
‘The dog is standing there’

• / həm ẽkəi eila hɛ /

I here come-PROG.ASP
‘I am coming here’

• / wə ekəi aw-ət hɛ /
he here come-SIM.ASP
‘He is coming here’

• / wə ekəi aw-ət hi /
she here come-PROG.ASP
‘She is coming here’
64
 • / uĩ pəntʃe ekəi aw-ət hɛ /
they here come-PROG.ASP
‘They are coming here’

5.7.3. Perfective aspect

The perfective aspect is mark by the suffix /- tʃukən / or / tʃuke/ to the verb as in
the following examples

• / həm tʃirəji dekʰ-tʃukən tɛ /

I bird see-PERF.ASP
‘I had seen the bird’

• / təm tʃirəji dekʰ-tʃuke tɛ /

you bird see-PERF.ASP
‘You(sg) had seen the bird’

• / tu pəntʃe tʃirəji dekʰ-tʃuke tɛ /

you(pl) bird see-PERF.ASP
‘You(pl) had seen the bird’

• / həm bədʒar ɡen-rəha hɛ /

I market-LOC go-PERF.ASP
‘I had gone to the market’

• / həm tʃirəji dekʰ-tʃukən tɛ /

we bird see-PERF.ASP
‘We had seen the bird’

• / həm bədʒar ɡen-rəha hɛ /

we market-LOC go-PERF.ASP
‘We had gone to the market’

• / həm dunu dʒən bədʒar ɡəjen tɛ /

We (two) market-LOC go-PERF.ASP
65
 ‘We(two) had gone to the market’

• / tu bədʒar ɡəje-rəhe hɛ /
you market-LOC go-PERF.ASP
‘You(sg) had gone to the market’

• / tu pəntʃe bədʒar ɡe-rəha hɛ /

you(pl) market-LOC go-PERF.ASP
‘You(pl) had gone to the market’

• / wə bədʒar ɡərəha hɛ /
he market-LOC go-PERF.ASP
‘He had gone to the market’

• / wə bədʒar ɡerəhi hɛ /
she market-LOC go-PERF.ASP
‘She had gone to the market’

• / wə bədʒar ɡərəha hɛ /
it market-LOC go-PERF.ASP
‘It had gone to the market’

• /u bədʒar ɡerəha hɛ /
they market-LOC go-PERF.ASP
‘They had gone to the market’

• / uĩ dunu dʒən bədʒar ɡerəha hɛ /

they (two) market-LOC go-PERF.ASP
‘They (two) had gone to the market’

Unrealized aspect: The unrealized or realis aspect is mark by the suffix /- dʒab / as in the
following examples
• /ham baɟar ei ɟa/
I market LOC go.FUT
‘I will go to the market’
66
• / həm bədʒar dʒab /
we market-LOC go-UNR.ASP
‘We will go to the market’

• / həm donu dʒən bədʒar dʒab /

we (two) market-LOC go-UNR.ASP
‘We (two) will go to the market’

• / tum iskul dʒəji ha /

you school-LOC go-UNR.ASP
‘You(sg) will go to the school’

• / tum pəntʃe iskul dʒəji ha /

you(pl) school-LOC go-UNR.ASP
‘You(pl) will go to the school’

• / wə kʰete dʒəji /
he field-LOC go-UNR.ASP
‘He will go to the field’
• / wə kʰet-mə dʒəji /
she field-LOC go-UNR.ASP
‘She will go to the field’
• / wə bədʒar dʒəji /
I market-LOC go-UNR.ASP
‘It will go to the market’

• / həm tʃirəji dekʰəb /

I bird see-UNR.ASP
‘I will see the bird’

• / həm tʃireji-kə dekʰe tʃahit hɛ /

we bird see-UNR.ASP
‘We will see the bird’

67
 • /aːp tʃiraj deːkʰeː-ɡeː/
you bird see-UNR.ASP
‘You (pl) will see the bird’

• / wə tʃirəji dekʰi /
he bird see-UNR.ASP
‘He will see the bird’

• / wə tʃirəji dekʰi /
she bird see-UNR.ASP
‘She will see the bird’

• / wə jə tʃirəji dekʰi /
it bird see-UNR.ASP
‘It will see the bird’

• / uĩ səb dʒən tʃirəji dekʰi hɛ /

they bird see-UNR.ASP-PL
‘They will see the bird’

• / uĩ dʒəŋəl dʒə-ji hɛ /

they jungle-LOC go-UNR.ASP
‘They will go to the jungle’

• / uĩ donu dʒən dʒəŋəl dʒə-ji hɛ /

they (two) jungle-LOC go-UNR.ASP
‘They (two) will go to the jungle’

5.8. Mood
Mood is a distinction of form or a particular set of inflectional forms of a verb to
express whether the action or state it denotes is conceived as fact or in some other manner.
The following are the different mood in Bagheli.

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5.8.1. Indicative Mood

In Bagheli language, indicative mood is marked by the suffix /-ma:/ as in the

following examples.

• /i səb həmar ɡʰər hɛ/

these I-GEN house-IND
‘These are my houses’

• /wa ukʰər tʃaku hɛ/

that he-GEN knife-IND
‘That is his knife’

• / u səb həmar kitab hɛ/

those I-GEN book-PL-IND
‘Those are my books’

• /jə həmar rodʒ ke kʰawa hɛ /

this I-GEN garden-IND
‘This is my usual food’

• /wə ekʈʰe ɡoɖa hɛ /

that one horse-IND
‘That is a horse’

• /jə nikəhi kəhani hɛ /

this one good-IND story
‘This is a good story’
• /ua biʈija bahir hɜ:/
this girl deaf be
‘This girl is deaf

• /oa ekʈʰe gʰora aje/

that one horse be
‘That is a horse’

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5.8.2. Imperative Mood

The imperative mood is marked by the suffix /-a/ or /kar/ as in the following
examples.

• / həməre ɡʰər dʒa /

I-GEN house-LOC go-IMP
‘Go to my house’

• / həməre ɡʰər ab-a /

I-GEN house-LOC come-IMP
‘Come to my house’

• /ʈebəl-mə kʰəɖe hodʒa/

table-on-LOC stand-IMP
‘Stand on the table’

• / bəhut dire bət-a/

slowly speak-IMP
‘Speak slowly’

• / nikʰa ətʃʰər mə likʰ-a/

neatly words write-IMP
‘Write the words neatly’

• / jəh kitab pəɖʰ-a /

this book read-IMP
‘Read this book’

• / tʃara həʈa-de/
grass remove-IMP
‘Remove the grass’

• / keməra bənd kəide/

door close-IMP
‘Close the door’
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 • / bəjiʈʰ dʒa/
sit-IMP
‘Sit down’

• / tʃar bədʒe ke awa/

four time after come-IMP
‘Come after 4 o’clock’

• /tʰoɖka pani le awa /

some water bring-IMP
‘Bring some water’

• / kitab ləuʈa dɛ/

book back bring-IMP
‘Bring the book back’

• /hamare kalam se likʰije/

I-GEN pen INST write-IMP
‘Write with my pen’

5.8.3. Subjunctive mood

It is a grammatical mood that represents a denoted act or state not as fact but as
contingent or possible or viewed emotionally (as with doubt or desire). The subjunctive
mood in Bagheli is express by adding the suffix /-te/ or / tə / to the verb as in the following
example

• /aɡər tum ʈaim mə aje-te ekʰər həm pəritʃʰa kəre/

you (in time) come-SUBJ we (will examine this)
‘If you come in time, we will examine this’
• /əɡər pulis adʒaje-tə tʃor pəkəɖ dʒaje/
if polise come-SUBJ thief catch-?
‘If the police comes than the thief will be caught’

• / əɡər tum dəwaji leha-tə tuhã bemari ʈʰik hədʒaje /

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 if you-NOM medicine eat-?-SUBJ disease cure-?
‘If you take the medicine then the disease will be cured’

• / aɡər hũwa həm rəhit-tə kutʃʰu səhara dejit /

if we there stay-SUBJ you (will have some support)
‘If I (we) am (are) there, you will have (some) support)’

• / agar gʰoro ke pakʰan hot, ta uɽ ɟate/

if horse-PPL wing had then they (would have flown)
‘If the horses had wings they would have flown’

5.8.4. Dubitative Mood

The dubitative mood in this language is express by adding the lexeme /sakit/, /-
səkət /. The following are the examples.

• / ham ai sakit hɜ:/

I come DUBIT be
‘I may come’

• / wa tʃirəji kə mar-səkət hɛ /
he-NOM bird kill-DUBIT
‘He may kill the bird’

• / wa əbəhu ai-səkət hɛ /
he still come-DUBIT
‘He may still come’

5.8.5. Obligatory mood

The Obligatory mood is express by the lexeme /- tʃahe / which follows the verb as
in the following examples
• / tuhəĩ dui ʈʰekera kʰəĩ-tʃahe /
you two banana eat-OBLIG
‘You should eat two bananas’

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 • / okʰəi ek kitab likʰəi-tʃahi /
he one book write-OBLIG
‘He should write a book’

• / həməhi ame kəhoji /

I come-OBLIG
‘I should come’

5.9. Negation

The negation in Bagheli language is done by adding the prefixing or suffixing /-

nə / or / nəhi / to the verb as in the following sentence.

• / ramu kal nə aji /

ramu tomorrow NEG-come-UNR.ASP
‘Ramu will not come tomorrow’

• / jə kʰaĩ lajik-nəhi hɛ /
this edible-NEG-IND
‘This is not edible’

• / tũhkʰa hijã nə rəhi tʃahi /

you here NEG-remain-IMP
‘You must not remain here’

• / aɡi-ke ləɡe nə-dʒa /

fire-LOC near NEG-go-IMP
‘Do not go near the fire’

• / wə kam nəhi kihis /

he work NEG-do-SFP
‘She has not done the work’

• / uĩ wə kam nəhi keh-səke /

they work NEG-do-NEG-UNR.ASP
‘They cannot do it’
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 • / tu pəntʃe nəhi pəɖte hɛ /
you(pl) NEG-read-SFP
‘You(pl) are not reading’

• / həm kal nə aw-ub /

I tomorrow NEG-come--UNR.ASP
‘I shall not come tomorrow’

• / jə nikəha bolab nə ho /
these good words NEG-SFP
‘These are not good words’

• /həməre-pas kutʃʰu nəhi hã /

I-GEN-LOC nothing NEG-have-NEG-SFP
‘I have nothing with me’

• / həm tuhaĩ-kə bəhu nəhi dikʰən /

we you-ACC before NEG-see-never
‘We have never seen you before’

• / wə mənəji abe tək nəhi awa /

that man yet NEG-come
‘That man has not come yet’

5.10. Non-finite verb

The verbal forms which do not express the finiteness of a verbal action is a non-
finite verb. In Bagheli the non-finite verbal forms are the following.

5.10.1. Verbal noun

In Bagheli verbal nouns are derived by the addition of the different noun forming
suffixes with the verb root. Example
/dumripaːn + karab/ ‘smoking’
/paɖhaːjiː+ karab/ ‘studying’
/likʰaːjiː-+ karab/ ‘writing’

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 /maːr ː+ -pari/ ‘beating’

5.10.2. Infinitive: The infinitive in Bagheli is formed by adding /-ab/. Example,

/ miʈab/ ‘to rub’

/ beːtʃab/ ‘to sell’
/ toːrab/ ‘to break’
/ikaʈʰaːkarab/ ‘to collect’
/ɖaːkajtiː ɖaːrab/ ‘to rob’
/latjab/ ‘to kick’

5.10.3. Gerund

The gerundial form in the same way as the verbal noun is formed.

5.10.4. Participle
The participial in Bagheli are formed in following ways.
/tʃaːraːdʒaːt/ ‘grazing/having graze’
/dʒaːt/ ‘going/having gone’
/deːkʰat/ ‘seeing/having seen’
/kʰaːjidʒaːt / ‘being eaten’

5.10.5. Causation

The causative is a term used in grammatical description to refer to the causal

relation between alternative versions of a sentence. Some affix has a causative role. This
is a relationship which is clearly established in the morphological structure of language
where an affix can systematically distinguish between non-causative and causative uses of
a verb. Causative indicates that a subject cause someone or something else to do or be
something or cause a change in state of non-volitional event. The causative sentence is
formed by suffixing causative marker to the verb. Example of causativisation in Bagheli is
form by adding the suffix /-ai/ or /- jit -/ or / wajit / to the verb as in the sentence below.
• /ham logon ko has- ai tʰajane kə /
I-NOM people ACC laugh- CAUS SFP
‘I make the people laugh’

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• /ham gʰor ka daur-ai tʰajane/
I-NOM horse ACC run-CAUS SFP
‘I am making the horse run’

• / həm nərəs se ləɖika-kə kʰil-wajit hɛ /

I-NOM nurse baby-ACC feed-CAUS-SFP
‘I make the nurse feed the baby’

• / həm mədʒur se kʰet-mə kam kəra-jit hɛ /

I-NOM servant field-LOC work do-CAUS-SFP
‘I make the servant work in the field’

• / həm mənajin-kə həsã-jit hɛ

I-NOM people-ACC laugh-CAUS-SFP
‘I make the people laugh’

• / həm ɡoɖ-kə dəuɖa-jit hɛ /

I-NOM horse-ACC run-CAUS-SFP
‘I am making the horse run’

• / həm ɡoɖ dəuɖa-jit hɛ

I-NOM horse run-CAUS-SFP
‘ I run the horse’

• / wə ɡoɖ dəuɖa-wət hi /
she-NOM horse run-CAUS-SFP
‘She runs the horse’

• / həm aŋur uɡʰa-jit hɛ /

we-NOM grapes grow-CAUS-SFP
‘We grow grapes’

• /u aŋur uɡʰa-wat hɛ /
they-NOM grapes grow-CAUS-SFP
‘They grow grapes’
• / wə aŋur uɡʰ-wat hi /
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 she-NOM grapes grow-CAUS-SFP
‘’She grows grapes

5.11. Adjectives

The different types of adjectives found in Bagheli are as follows.

Types Example Gloss

Quantitative /tʰorka:/ ‘Little’
Adjectives / tʃʰoʈ /
/kʰali:/ ‘Empty’
/ri:t/
/ bʰəra hob / ‘Full’
Qualitative /kaʈʰin/ ‘Hard’
Adjectives
/barkawa:/ ‘Big’
/ bəɖa /
Descriptive /himmati:/ ‘Brave’
Adjectives /moʈkareɟi/
/husiare/ ‘Clever’
/ siukʰan / ‘Dry’

5.12. Numerals
The Cardinals, Ordinals, Fractional and multiplicative/enumerative Numerals in
Bagheli are as follows.

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5.12.1. Cardinal Numerals
The following are the cardinal numerals in Bagheli.

Cardinals Gloss
/e:ka/ ‘one’
/dui:/ ‘two
/tina/ ‘three’
/ca:ɽe/ ‘four’
/pa:ca/ ‘five’
/cʰaje:/ ‘six’
/sa:t/ ‘seven’
/a:ʈʰ/ ‘eight’
/nɔu/ ‘nine’
/da:sa/ ‘ten’

From eleven onwards the numerals from eleven to nineteen is as follows.

/ ɡʲara / ‘eleven’
/ bara/ ‘twelve’
/ tera / ‘thirteen’
/ tʃowda / ‘fourteen’
/ pəndra / ‘fifteen’
/ sola / ‘sixteen’
/ sətra / ‘seventeen’
/ əʈʰara / ‘eighteen’
/ unəjis / ‘nineteen’

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From twenty-one onwards the numerals are as-

/ ekəjis / ‘twentyone’
/ bajis / ‘twentytwo’
/ pətʃis / ‘twentyfive’
/ untis / ‘twentynine’

From thirty onwards the numerals are form by adding /tis/ ‘thirty’/ to ‘one’, ‘two’, ‘three’
etc as-

/ ektis / ‘thirtyone’
/ pẽtis / ‘thirtyfive’
/ untalis / ‘thirtynine’

From forty-one onwards the numerals are form by adding /lis/ to ‘one’, ‘two’, ‘three’ etc
as-

/ iktalis / ‘fortyone’
/ pẽtalis / ‘fortyfive’
/ untʃas / ‘fortynine’

From fiftyone onwards the numerals are form by adding /ən/ to ‘one’, ‘two’, ‘three’ etc
as-

/ inkʲamən / ‘fiftyone’
/ pətʃpən / ‘fiftyfive’
/ unsəʈʰ / ‘fiftynine’

From sixtyone onwards the numerals are form by adding /səʈʰ/ to ‘one’, ‘two’, ‘three’ etc
as-

/ eksəʈʰ / ‘sixtyone’
/ pẽsəʈʰ / ‘sixtyfive’
/ unhətər / ‘sixtynine’

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From seventy one onwards the numerals are form by adding /tər/ to ‘one’, ‘two’, ‘three’
etc as

/ ekhətər / ‘seventyone’
/ pətʃhətər / ‘seventyfive’
/ unʲasi / ‘seventynine’

From eighty - one onwards the numerals are form by adding / asi/ to ‘one, ‘two’, ‘three’
etc as-

/ ekʲasi / ‘eightyone’
/ patʃasi / ‘eightyfive’
/ nawasi / ‘eightynine’

From ninetyone onwards the numerals are form by adding /nəwe/ to ‘one’, ‘two’, ‘three’
etc as-
/ inkʲanəwe / ‘ninetyone’
/ pəntʃanəje / ‘ninetyfive’
/ ninʲanəje / ‘ninetynine’

The numerals two hundred, three hundred, four hundred etc., are form by adding /sao/
‘hundred’ as suffix to ‘two’, ‘three’, ‘four’ respectively as

/ sao / ‘hundred’
/ tin / + / sao / ‘hundred’ > / tin sao/ ‘three hundred’
/ pãtʃʰ / + / sao / ‘hundred’ > / pãtʃʰ sao / ‘five hundred’

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5.12.2. Ordinals Numerals

first pahi:l
second dusa:r
third tisa:r

5.12.3. Fractions
The fractional of Bagheli language are as follows.

/adʰa:/ ‘half’
/ɖeɽa:/ ‘one and a half’
/dʰai:/ ‘two and a half’
/pau:na/ ‘three fourth’

5.12.4. Multiplicative/ Enumerative

The concept of ‘twice’, ‘thrice’ are conveyed by

/duiguna:/ ‘twice’
/tinguna:/ ‘thrice’

5.13. Adverbs

The three types of adverbs in Bagheli are as follows:

Adverbs of Manner Adverbs of Adverbs of time

Direction
/teɟ se:/ ‘loudly’ /puruka:/ ‘east’ /dusrau:be/ ‘again’
/harbi se:/ ‘fast’ /paccʰim ka:/ ‘west’ /pʰe:r/ ‘afterwards’
/ dəja ban / ‘kindly’ / purub / ‘east’ /dubara / ‘again’
/ nidʰurta se/ ‘cruely’ / pətʃtʃʰim / ‘west’ / bad me / ‘afterwards’

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/ bəɖe takət se / ‘loudly’ / bama hatʰ/ ‘left / adʒ tək / ‘already’
hand’
/ bahot dire / ‘slowly’ /duri / ‘far’ / rodʒana / ‘daily’
/ bahot dʒəldi/ ‘fast (quick)’ /bahər/ ‘out’ / sãdʒ / ‘evening’
/ ɡinha tərike se / ‘badly’ /upər ke tərəpʰ / /səməj / ‘time’
‘upward’
/ bahot səpʰaji se / ‘neatly’ / ar par / ‘across’ / adʒ/ ‘today’
/ bəɖe hosijari se / ‘smartly’ / ləɡʰe / ‘near’ /rat/ ‘night’
/bəɖe bekupʰi se / ‘bluntly’ / uttər / ‘north’ / kəbəhũ kəbəhũ /
‘sometimes’

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 SYNTAX
Syntax is the study of the rules and principles and processes by which sentences are
constructed in a particular language. Bagheli has SOV sentence structure. The syntax of
Bagheli is discussed below.

6.1. Word order

Bagheli has SOV sentence structure. The example is given below

• / mahes ama kʰaise /

mahesh-NOM mango eat-PERF.ASP
‘Mahesh ate the mango’

• / həm tʃirəjin kə dekʰit hɛ/

we-NOM bird see-SFP
‘We see the bird’

The position of the qualifying adjective in relation to noun is that it preceeds the noun as
in the following example

• /nikaha laɽka/
good boy
‘The good boy’

• / jə nikəhi kissa /
this good story-IND
‘This good story’

The numerals precede the noun as in following example

• /ukai duiʈʰe bilari hɜ:/

there two cat be
‘There are two cats’

• / õkəi duiʈʰe baɖe baɖe ɡa hɛ /

there two big village remain
‘There are two big villages’
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Demonstrative follows the noun as in the following example

• / wə mənəji abe tək nəhi awa /

that man yet NEG-come
‘That man has not come yet’

• / wə mənəji moʈan hɛ /
that man fat-IND
‘That man is fat’

Adverb precedes the verb as in following example

• /ram teɟ daurat hɜ :/

ram-NOM quickly run SFP
‘Rama runs quickly’

6.2. Structure of phrase

A phrase refers to any group of word or sometimes a single word that form a
constituent and so function as a single unit in the syntax of a sentence. It lacks the subject-
predicate organization of a clause. The phrasal sub-division in Bagheli are as follows.

6.2.1. Noun phrase

A noun phrase is any syntactic element with a noun’s function. A noun phrase is a
noun and all its modifiers and determiners. Examples of noun phrase in Bagheli are-

• / ukai duiʈʰe bilari hɜ:/

there two cat be
‘There are two cats’

• / okʰər dui kitab /

you-GEN two book
‘Two books of yours’

• / tuːmhaːr dui ʈʰeː kitab/

you-GEN two book
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 ‘Two books of yours’
• okʰər maɖaj
its-GEN shed
Its shed

6.3. Verb phrase

A verb phrase is a phrase that has the syntactic role of a simple verb and which
together function as a single verb. In addition to the verb, it includes auxiliaries, objects,
object complement and other constituent apart from the subject. They are inflected for
person, number and gender. Example of verbal phrase in Bagheli are-

• / ham pani balkait hɜ/

I-NOM water boil be
‘I boil water’

• / tuː pani bakəwte heː /

You-NOM water boil-SFP
‘You boil water’

• /hampace gaija ka marit tʰai ja:ne/

We-NOM cows ACC beat SFP
‘We beat the cows’

• /wə pani balkəwət heː /

He-NOM water boil-SFP
‘He boils water’

• / u pəntʃe pani pəkəwət hɛ /

they-NOM water boil-SFP
‘They boil water’

• / həm roʈi kʰəjit hɛ /

I bread 1PP-eat
‘I eat bread’

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 • / həm ɡəija-ka mari tʰɛ /
we-NOM cow-ACC beat-SFP
‘We beat the cows’

6.3.1. Postpositional phrase

Examples of postpositional phrase in Bagheli are as follows

• /sua birwa ma hɜ:/

parrot tree LOC be
‘The parrot is on the tree’
Here /ma/ is the postpositional phrase

• /ham baɟar-e ɟai tʰane/

I market-LOC go-SFP
‘I go to the market’
Here /-e/ is the postpositional marker

• / həm ɡʰər dʒəjit hɛ /

I house-LOC go-SFP
‘I go to the house’
Here / ɡʰər / is the postpositional phrase

• / wə peɖ-ke- nitʃe sowət hɛ /

he tree-LOC-under sleep-PROG.ASP
‘He sleeps under the tree’
Here / peɖ-ke- nitʃe / is the postpositional phrase

• / həm birwa-se-dur hɛ /
I tree-ABL-far remain
‘I am far from the tree’
Here / peːɖ-seː-duːriː/ is the postpositional phrase

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6.3.2. Adjectival phrase

The examples of adjective phrase in Bagheli are given below.

• /barkia kita:b/
big book
‘The big book’

• /nikaha laɽka/
good boy
‘The good boy’

• / bəhut bəɖa birwa /

large tree
‘The large tree’

• / udʒdʒər ɡoɖ /
white horse
‘The white horse’

• / tʃʰoʈ ləɖika /
small child
‘The small child’

• / lədʒãj bali biʈija /

shy girl
‘The shy girl’

6.3.3. Adverbial phrase

An adverbial phrase is a linguistics term for a group of two or more words operating
adverbially when viewed in terms of their syntactic function. An adverb phrase has an
adverb that complements the verb. Example of adverbial phrase in Bagheli are as follows.

• / din ke kam kar-o, rat ke sowa:

day time work do-IMP night time sleep-IMP

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 ‘Work in a day and sleep at night’

• / hum nɔ baɟ- e opʰis ɟat rahe:ne/

I 9 o’clock at office go SFP
‘I used to go to the office at 9 o’clock’

• / sapʰa likʰ- a/
neatly write-IMP
‘Write the words neatly’

• / wə nəw bədʒe bədʒar dʒat rəha hɛ /

he (at 9 o’clock) market-LOC go-?-SFP
‘He used to go to the market at 9 o’clock’

• / tʃar bədʒe ke awa /

four time after come-IMP
‘Come after 4 o’clock’

• / ram bəhut dəuɖat hɛ /

ram-NOM quickly run-SFP
‘Rama runs quickly’

• / ləɖika ɡir dʒat hɛ /

child fall-SFP
‘The child falls down’

• / bəhut dire bəta /

slowly speak-IMP
‘Speak slowly’

• / nikʰa ətʃʰər mə likʰa /

words neatly write-IMP
‘Write the words neatly’

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6.3.4. Passivisation

The transformation of a sentence from its active to its passive is known as

passivisation. It indicates that the subject is the patient or recipient of the action denoted
by the verb. Example of passivisation in Bagheli language is given below.

Active: / ua ekʈʰe potʰi parat hɜ: /

He-NOM one book read-PROG.ASP
‘He reads a book’
Passive: / use kitab pari ɟat hɜ: /
He-INS book read-SFP
‘The book is being read by him’

Active: / həm roʈi kʰəjit hɛ /

I bread eat-SFP
‘I eat bread’

Passive: / roʈ̟ həməre duara kʰaji dʒa rəhi hɛ /

bread DET he-NOM eat-SFP
‘Bread is being eaten by me’

Active: /wa ek kitab parat hɜ: /

He-NOM one book read SFP
‘He reads a book’

Passive: / use kitab pari ɟat rahi/

He-INS book read-SFP
‘The book was being read by him’

Thus, to form passive from active we see that (subject + object + verb) becomes
(object + subject + verb)

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6.4. Types of sentence

Structurally a sentence can be divided into three categories. They are (1) Simple
sentence (2) Complex sentence and (3) Compound sentence. The different types of
sentence in Bagheli are given below:

6.4.1. Simple sentence

A simple sentence is a sentence structure that contains one independent clause and
no dependent clause. The simple sentence in Bagheli are as follows:

• / ɡəija dud detʰi /

cow-NOM milk give
‘The cow gives milk’

• / həm ɡoɖe ke səwari kərit hɛ /

we horse ride-SFP
‘We ride the horses’
• / wə ek kitab pəɖʰət hɛ /
he one book read-PROG.ASP
‘He reads a book’

• / wau kəi kʰəɖi hɛ /

she there stand-PERF.ASP
‘She stands there’

• / həm ɡəija-ka mari tʰɛ /

we-NOM cow-ACC beat-SFP
‘We beat the cows’

• / məhes ama kʰa-jis /

mahesh-NOM mango eat-PERF.ASP
‘Mahesh ate the mango’

• / həm roʈi kʰə-jit hɛ /

I bread eat-SFP

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 ‘I eat bread’

• / ləɖika həs-ə̃t hɛ /
baby smile-SFP
‘The baby smiles’

6.4.2. Complex sentence

A complex sentence is a sentence with one independent clause and at least one
dependent clause. The complex sentence in Bagheli are as follows:

• / okʰe ame kebad həm dʒa-b /

he come ? after I go-UNR.ASP
‘I shall go after he comes’

• / əɡər pulis adʒaje-tə tʃor pəkəɖ dʒa-je /

police come-SUBJ thief-acc catch-?
‘If the police comes than the thief will be caught’

• / adʒ həm mətʃʰeri pəkeɖe bala dʒal nəhi ɖũɖ paje ise nədi nəhi ɡəjen /
today I-GEN fishing net NEG-find so today I river NEG-
go ?
‘I could not find my fishing net so I did not go to the river’

• / əɡər tum dəwaji leha tə tuhã bemari ʈʰik hədʒaje /

if you-NOM medicine eat-?-SUBJ disease cure-?
‘If you take the medicine then the disease will be cured’

• / wə wə kam tore kəre ke pəhle kəi dis /

you-NOM he-NOM work do-PERF.ASP before do-PERF.ASP-?
‘He did the work before you did’

• / wə bũkʰa nəhi rəha tau kʰai kə kʰailis /

he meal hungry-NEG although he meal eat
‘Although he was not hungry he ate the meal’

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6.4.3. Compound sentence

A compound sentence is composed of atleast two independent clause and they are
joint by a connective. The compound sentence in Bagheli are as follows:

• / din mə kam kəra rat ke sowa /

day work do-IMP CON night sleep-IMP
‘Work in the day and sleep at night’

• / kutʃʰ mətʃʰəri bəɖkiba hɛ kutʃʰ tʃoʈki bɑ /

some fish big CON some small
‘Some fish are big and some are small’

• / həmar ɡoɖ tʃəʈil ɡə həm ɡir ɡen /

I foot slip CON I fall-SFP
‘My foot slipped and I fell down’

• / aʈʰ bədʒe pipihiri tə səb loɡ kam kərət soru kəidihẽ /

time (at 8 o’clock) blow-SIM.ASP CON people-NOM work do start-SFP
‘The siren blew at 8 o’clock and people started working’

• / ram krisnə kə ame kə bolin lekin krisnə ke pas ʈəime nəhi rəha /
rama-NOM krishna-ACC come-IMP ? ask-SIM.ASP but krishna
time NEG-have ?-SFP
‘Rama asked Krishna to come but Krishna had no time’

6.5. Sentence Patterns in Bagheli language

The patterns of a language is determined by the presence and positioning of Subject,

object and Verb in a sentence. The basic word order of Khash language is SOV (Subject +
Object + Verb). Some of the examples of different sentence patterns in Baghelikhandi are
as follows:

• S+O+ V wə ekʈʰeː kitab pəɖʰət heː

3PS a book read - PRS
‘He reads a book’
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 həm tʃirəj dekʰeː reheːn
1PP bird see-PST
‘I saw a bird’

wə tʃirəj dekʰ tʃuki hiː

3PS bird see-PST-AUX
‘She has seen a bird’

• S+ V kukur bõkət heː

Dog bark- PRS
‘The dog barks’

pani ubəlat habaː

Water boil-PRS
‘Water boils’

• O+V tʃara həʈa baː

Grass remove-PRS
‘Remove the grass’

iskul ke laɡʰeː awaː

School near-PP come-PRS
‘Come near the school’

6.5.1. Clauses
A clause is group of words that include a subject and a verb and forms a sentence
or a part of sentence. There are two types of clauses: Main clause and subordinate clause.

6.5.1.1. Main clause

A clause that form a complete sentence standing alone, hiving a subject and
predicate. Examples are given below:

• / wə ekʈʰeː kitab pəɖʰət heː /

‘He reads a book’
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 • / həm pantʃin ɡəija ka marit heːn /
‘We beat the cows’

6.5.1.2. Subordinate clause

A clause which forms a part of a sentence and is dependent on a main clause.

• /je wəh kukur dʒo kəl ləɖika kə kʰajiː heː/

‘This is the dog that bite the boy’
• /wə wəh manajaː jinhe se kəl həm milə he/
‘This is the man whom I met yesterday

6.5.1.3. Relative clause

Relative clauses are clauses starting with the relative pronouns who, that, which,
whose, where, when. They are most often used to define or identify the noun that precedes
them. For examples:

wə admi dʒəu kəl mər ɡəja ɡajək rəha

DET man yesterday die.PST REL.SG PST singer be.AUX
‘The man who died yesterday was a singer’

wə məherija se dʒonese kəl bat kijɑ və həmər bəhinja hɛ

DET woman with 2SG yesterday talk do-PST REL.SG 1SG.GEN sister
be.AUX
The woman who talked to you is my sister.

6.5.1.4. Interjections

An interjection is a word or expression that occurs as an utterance on its own and

expresses a spontaneous feeling or reaction. Bagheli expresses sentences with interjections
by scrambling its word order. For instance:

• /kitani nikaha manɖil hɜ:/

very beautiful temple SFP

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 What a beautiful temple it is!

• /akas ma kitani nikaha indradʰanus hɜ:/

sky LOC very beautiful rainbow SFP
What a beautiful rainbow in the sky!

6.5.1.5. Negation

The negation in Bagheli language is done by adding lexeme /na/ or /nehi/ as in the
following sentence.

• / ramu kal nai aji/

ramu tomorrow NEG come
‘Ramu will not come tomorrow’

• / ija kʰa lajek nehi hɜ:/

this edible NEG be
‘This is not edible’

6.5.1.6. Causation

The causative is a term used in grammatical description to refer to the causal

relation between alternative versions of a sentence. Some affix has a causative role. This
is a relationship which is clearly established in the morphological structure of language
where an affix can systematically distinguish between non-causative and causative uses of
a verb. Causative indicates that a subject cause someone or something else to do or be
something or cause a change in state of non-volitional event. The causative sentence is
formed by suffixing causative marker to the verb. Example of causativisation in Bagheli is
form by adding the suffix /-ai/ to the verb as in the sentence below.

• / ham logon ko has -ai tʰɜ:/

I-NOM people ACC laugh- CAUS SFP
‘I make the people laugh’

• / ham gʰor ka daur-ai tʰɜ:/

I-NOM horse ACC run-CAUS SFP
‘I am making the horse run’

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7. Conclusion

Phonologically, the Bagheli language has 42 segmental phonemes out of which 12

are vowels and 30 are consonantal phonemes. Bagheli has cluster formations i.e.,
heterogeneous and homogeneous are found. Morphologically, Bagheli has the word-order
of SOV. The word classes setup with Noun, Verb, Adverb, Adjectives, Post position,
Particles, and Function words. There are tense and aspect of simple, progressive, durative
and perfective. As Bagheli an agglutinating language, it has seven case system adding with
different markers. Verbs are analysed into three classes viz., Transitive, Intransitive and
Ditransitive. Further it has tenses, viz., Past, Present and Future. Aspects is concerned with
temporal distribution of an event. There are three aspects are there in Bagheli. They are
Perfective, Imperfective and Habitual. Adjective is used attributively.

Bibliography

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2011". www.censusindia.gov.in. Office of the Registrar General & Census
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3. Hammarström, Harald; Forkel, Robert; Haspelmath, Martin, eds.
(2017). "Bagheli". Glottolog 3.0. Jena, Germany: Max Planck Institute for the
Science of Human History.
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