Kangri language
Language of northern India
title: "Kangri language" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["languages-of-india", "northern-indo-aryan-languages", "languages-of-himachal-pradesh", "kangra,-himachal-pradesh", "endangered-languages-of-india", "tonal-languages-in-non-tonal-families", "languages-written-in-devanagari", "languages-written-in-takri", "languages-listed-as-hindi-dialects-in-latest-census"] description: "Language of northern India" topic_path: "linguistics" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kangri_language" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0
::summary Language of northern India ::
::data[format=table title="Infobox language"]
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| name | Kangri |
| nativename | कांगड़ी |
| states | India |
| region | Himachal Pradesh |
| speakers | million |
| date | 2011 |
| ref | e25 |
| familycolor | Indo-European |
| fam2 | Indo-Iranian |
| fam3 | Indo-Aryan |
| fam4 | North-Western or Northern |
| fam5 | Western Pahari |
| script | Takri, Devanagari |
| iso3 | xnr |
| glotto | kang1280 |
| glottorefname | Kangri |
| notice | Indic |
| image | File:Kangri language.png |
| imagecaption | Kangri written in Takri and Devanagari |
| :: |
| name = Kangri | nativename = कांगड़ी | states = India | region = Himachal Pradesh | speakers = million | date = 2011 | ref = e25 | speakers2 = | familycolor = Indo-European | fam2 = Indo-Iranian | fam3 = Indo-Aryan | fam4 = North-Western or Northern | fam5 = Western Pahari | script = Takri, Devanagari | nation = | iso3 = xnr | glotto = kang1280 | glottorefname = Kangri | notice = Indic | image = File:Kangri language.png | imagecaption = Kangri written in Takri and Devanagari Kangri (Takri: 𑚊𑚭𑚫𑚌𑚪𑚯) is a Western Pahari language, spoken in Himachal Pradesh, predominantly in the Kangra district, Hamirpur district and hilly parts of Una district as well as in some parts of Mandi and Chamba districts of Himachal Pradesh and in hilly parts of Pathankot and Hoshiarpur districts of Punjab. It is also spoken in some areas of Jammu region and in a few villages of Pakistan by the people belonging to the families migrated from Kangra region. It is associated with the people of the Kangra.
Like most of Indo-Aryan languages, Kangri does form a dialect continuum with its neighbouring languages. This includes the Pahari varieties spoken to the east Mandeali, north to Chambeali, Gaddi & Bhateali, south-east to Kahluri and Hinduri, Baghliani, Baghati and Keonthali dialects of Mahasui. Besides it also share continuum north-west to Dogri. It is classified under Western Pahari.
Script
The native script of the language is Takri Script but now people write Kangri Language in Devanagari script.[[File:Kangri.png|thumb|Specimen in Kangri language|alt=|center]]
Phonology
Consonants
::data[format=table] | Labial | Dental/ Alveolar | Retroflex | Post-alv./ Palatal | Velar | Glottal | Nasal | Plosive/ Affricate | voiceless | aspirated | voiced | Fricative | Lateral | Tap | Approximant | |---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---| | | | () | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | , | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | () | | | | | | | | | | | | ::
- It is not clear whether or not [j] is considered as a separate phoneme, but it does occur in various phonetic environments.
- [ɳ] is heard mostly as either an allophone of /ɽ̃/, and as /n/ before a retroflex stop.
Vowels
::data[format=table]
| Front | Central | Back | Close | Near-close | Mid | Open-mid | Open |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| :: |
- /e/ can also become lowered to a nasal [ɛ̃], after /ɽ̃/.
Tone
Kangri is a tonal language like Punjabi and Dogri but the assignment of tones differs in Kangri when compared to them.
Most of the surrounding language varieties (including Kangri) lack voiced, aspirated obstruents (J. C. Sharma 2002, Masica 1993). The cognates of Hindi voiced, aspirated obstruents are voiced but have no aspiration. They are distinct from the cognates of voiced unaspirated obstruents by the tone induced by the loss of aspiration. Another difference to note between Kangri and Punjabi/Dogri is that these forms surface as voiced consonants in Kangri, but voiceless consonants in Punjabi and Dogri. That is, Kangri has lost the aspiration (in gaining tone), but Punjabi and Dogri has lost both aspiration and voicing. It is likely that these are separate innovations which originated in the West (Punjab or Jammu & Kashmir) and have spread outwards. The loss of aspiration (and gaining of tone) has been fully realized in all three languages, but the loss of voicing has not yet reached Kangri.
Grammar
Pronouns
The pronouns of Kangri for different persons and numbers are as follows:
::data[format=table]
| Person | Number | Kangri | IPA |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | Singular | मैं | mæ̃ |
| Plural | असाँ / अहाँ | əsãː / əhãː | |
| 2nd | Singular | तू | t̪u |
| Plural | तुसाँ / त्वहाँ | t̪usãː / t̪vəhãː | |
| 3rd | Singular & Plural | सै | sæ |
| :: |
Noun Cases
Using the noun घर (/kʰər/, "home") as an example, the cases in Kangri are:
::data[format=table]
| Case | Kangri | Hindi Equivalent | English Equivalent |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nominative | घर | घर | home |
| Accusative | घरे यो/जो | घर को | to home |
| Ergative | घरैँ | घर ने | (by) home |
| Comitative | घरेने | घर के साथ | with home |
| Instrumental | घरेते | घर से | through home |
| Dative | घरेताँइ | घर के लिए | for home |
| Ablative | घरेते | घर से | from home |
| Genitive | घरे दा / दे / दि / दियाँ | घर का / की / के | of home |
| :: |
Locatives
::data[format=table]
| Case | Kangri | Hindi Equivalent | English Equivalent |
|---|---|---|---|
| Inessive | घरेच | घर में | in home |
| Adessive | घरे पर | घर पर | on home |
| :: |
Others
::data[format=table]
| Case | Kangri | Hindi Equivalent | English Equivalent |
|---|---|---|---|
| Vocative | घर॑ | ओ घर | O home |
| Semblative | घर देआ / दए / दइ / दीयाँ | घर सा / सी / से | like home |
| Similative | घरे साइ | घर जैसा | similar to home |
| Terminative | घरे तिक्कर | घर तक | up to home |
| :: |
Postpositional / Oblique forms
::data[format=table]
| Noun | Singular | Plural |
|---|---|---|
| घर | घरे | घरेयाँ |
| घड़ा | घड़े | घड़ेयाँ |
| नदी | नदिया | नदियाँ |
| घ्यो | घ्यो | घ्योआँ |
| :: |
Status
::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/ef/Interview_of_sahil_in_kangri_language.webm" caption="Interview of Sahil in Kangri language at Dharamshala, [[India"] ::
The language is commonly clubbed as Pahari or Himachali. Some Dogri linguists have referred Kangri as part of their language due to similarities and decent mutual intelligibility between them. This is generally observed only in bordering lects due to dialect continuum present among many Indo-Aryan languages. Kangri writers & poets have been making submissions to Pahari language's cause under Himachal Pradesh Academy of Arts, Culture & Languages (HPAACL). The language has no official status. According to the United Nations Education, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO), the language is of definitely endangered category, i.e. many Kangri children are not learning Kangri as their mother tongue any longer.
The demand for the inclusion of 'Western Pahari' under the Eight Schedule of the Constitution, which is supposed to represent multiple Pahari languages of Himachal Pradesh, had been made in the year 2010 by the state's Vidhan Sabha. There has been no positive progress on this matter since then, even after several small organisations demand for the preservation of the language.
Gautam Sharma Vyathit and Chandrarekha Dhadwal are noted for their contributions to the preservation of Kangri folk songs as well as their novel contributions to Kangri literature.
References
References
- "Kangri - The Language Of Himachal Pradesh".
- Eaton, Robert D. (2008)
- (8 August 2008). "Kangri in Context: An Areal Perspective". Linguistics & TESOL Dissertations.
- Guptā, Vīṇā. (1986). "Ḍogarī bhāshā, udbhava aura vikāsa". Je. eṇḍa Ke. Akādamī āpha Ārṭa, Kalcara, eṇḍa Laiṅgvejiza.
- Nirmohī, Śiva. (1992). "Ḍuggara kā bhāshāyī paricaya Jammū prānta ke sandarbha meṃ". Narendra Pabliśiṅga Hāusa.
- (1977). "Katha Sarvari II".
- "Pahari Inclusion". Zee News.
- "Pahari Inclusion". The Statesman.
::callout[type=info title="Wikipedia Source"] This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page. ::