View source for Social:Indo-Aryan languages

{{Short description|Branch of the Indo-Iranian languages}}
{{Use Indian English|date= December 2019}}
{{Infobox language family
| name          = Indo-Aryan
| altname       = Indic
| region        = [[Place:South Asia|South Asia]]
| familycolor   = Indo-European
| protoname     = [[Social:Proto-Indo-Aryan language|Proto-Indo-Aryan]]
| fam2          = [[Social:Indo-Iranian languages|Indo-Iranian]]
| iso2          = inc
| iso5          = inc
| lingua        = 59= (phylozone)
| map           = Indo-Aryan language map.svg
| mapcaption    = Present-day geographical distribution of the major Indo-Aryan language groups. [[Social:Romani language|Romani]], [[Social:Domari language|Domari]], [[Social:Kholosi language|Kholosi]], Luwati, and [[Social:Lomavren language|Lomavren]] are outside the scope of the map.
{{legend|#ffc0ec|Pashai (Dardic)}}
{{legend|#ffa1e6|Khowar (Dardic)}}
{{legend|#FF54DE|Shina (Dardic)}}
{{legend|#ff81e0|Kohistani (Dardic)}}
{{legend|#e03eb9|[[Social:Kashmiri language|Kashmiri]] (Dardic)}}
{{legend|#855ff8|Punjabi (Northwestern)}}
{{legend|#699fd0|[[Social:Sindhi language|Sindhi]] (Northwestern)}}
{{legend|#69d762|Rajasthani (Western)}}
{{legend|#61b97d|[[Social:Gujarati language|Gujarati]] (Western)}}
{{legend|#61b762|Khandeshi (Western)}}
{{legend|#a6e7b9|Bhili (Western)}}
{{legend|#d79662|Western Pahari (Northern)}}
{{legend|#b9845a|Central Pahari (Northern)}}
{{legend|#9b7451|[[Social:Nepali language|Nepali]] (Northern)}}
{{legend|#ff8d36|Western Hindi ([[Social:Central Indo-Aryan languages|Central]])}}
{{legend|#ffb736|Eastern Hindi (Central)}}
{{legend|#fff87c|Bengali-Assamese (Eastern)}}
{{legend|#f8d836|Bihari (Eastern)}}
{{legend|#e0c036|[[Social:Odia language|Odia]] (Eastern)}}
{{legend|#AB8900|Halbi (Eastern)}}
{{legend|#e03e36|Marathi-Konkani (Southern)}}
{{legend|#a13e36|[[Social:Sinhala language|Sinhala]] (Southern)}}
{{legend|#e03e36|Maldivian (Southern)}}
(not shown: Kunar (Dardic), Chinali-Lahuli)
| ancestor      = 
| glottorefname = Indo-Aryan
| glotto        = indo1321
| speakers      = {{c.|800 million}}
| date          = 2018
| ref           = <ref name=EB/>–1.5 billion<ref name="epgp.inflibnet.ac.in">http://epgp.inflibnet.ac.in/epgpdata/uploads/epgp_content/S000022LS/P001756/M023413/ET/1506322131Lings-P7-M21.pdf</ref>
}}
The '''Indo-Aryan languages''' (or sometimes '''Indic languages'''{{efn|name=indic"|In modern and colloquial context, the term "'''Indic'''" also refers more generally to the languages of the [[Earth:Indian subcontinent|Indian subcontinent]], thus also including non-Indo-Aryan languages.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Reynolds |first1=Mike |chapter=Indic languages |date=2007 |chapter-url=https://www.cambridge.org/core/books/language-in-the-british-isles/indic-languages/8343FABC094E91986DBD68A492FFEA1B |title=Language in the British Isles |pages=293–307 |editor-last=Britain |editor-first=David |place=Cambridge |publisher={{wipe|Cambridge University Press}} |isbn=978-0-521-79488-6 |access-date=2021-10-04 |last2=Verma |first2=Mahendra}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Munshi |first=S |year=2009 |chapter=Indo-Aryan languages |editor1=Keith Brown |editor2=Sarah Ogilvie |title=Concise Encyclopedia of Language of the World |location=Amsterdam |publisher=Elsevier |url={{google books|plainurl=y|id=F2SRqDzB50wC}} |page=[https://books.google.com/books?id=F2SRqDzB50wC&pg=PA522 522–528]}}</ref>}}) are a branch of the [[Social:Indo-Iranian languages|Indo-Iranian languages]] in the [[Social:Indo-European languages|Indo-European language family]]. As of the early 21st century, they have more than 800 million speakers, primarily concentrated in {{wipe|India}}, {{wipe|Pakistan}}, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Nepal and [[History:Maldives|Maldives]].<ref name="EB">{{cite encyclopedia |title= Overview of Indo-Aryan languages |url= https://www.britannica.com/topic/Indo-Aryan-languages|encyclopedia= Encyclopædia Britannica |access-date= 8 July 2018}}</ref> Moreover, apart from the [[Earth:Indian subcontinent|Indian subcontinent]], large immigrant and expatriate Indo-Aryan–speaking communities live in [[Place:Northwestern Europe|Northwestern Europe]], [[Place:Western Asia|Western Asia]], [[Earth:North America|North America]], the Caribbean, [[Place:Southeast Africa|Southeast Africa]], [[Place:Polynesia|Polynesia]] and {{wipe|Australia}}, along with several million speakers of [[Social:Romani language|Romani language]]s primarily concentrated in [[Place:Southeast Europe|Southeastern Europe]]. There are over 200 known Indo-Aryan languages.<ref>Various counts depend on where the line is drawn between a "dialect" and a "language".{{citation needed|date= March 2020}} [https://glottolog.org/resource/languoid/id/indo1321 Glottolog 4.1] lists 224 languages.</ref>

Modern Indo-Aryan languages descend from Old Indo-Aryan languages such as early [[Social:Vedic Sanskrit|Vedic Sanskrit]], through [[Social:Middle Indo-Aryan languages|Middle Indo-Aryan languages]] (or [[Social:Prakrit|Prakrit]]s).<ref>{{cite book|last=Burde |first=Jayant |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=xmXclYgJFiIC&pg=PA3 |title=Rituals, Mantras, and Science: An Integral Perspective |date=2004 |publisher=Motilal Banarsidass Publishers |isbn=978-81-208-2053-1 |page=3 |language=en |quote=The Aryans spoke an Indo-European language sometimes called the Vedic language from which have descended Sanskrit and other Indic languages ... Prakrit was a group of variants which developed alongside Sanskrit.}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last1=Jain |first1=Danesh |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=OtCPAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA163 |title=The Indo-Aryan Languages |last2=Cardona |first2=George |date=26 July 2007 |publisher=[[Company:Routledge|Routledge]] |isbn=978-1-135-79711-9 |page=163 |language=en |quote=... a number of their morphophonological and lexical features betray the fact that they are not direct continuations of R̥gvedic Sanskrit, the main base of 'Classical' Sanskrit; rather they descend from dialects which, despite many similarities, were different from R̥gvedic and in some regards even more archaic.}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |title=Chamber's Encyclopaedia, Volume 7 |date=1968 |publisher=International Learnings Systems |language=en |quote=Most Aryan languages of India and Pakistan belong to the Indo-Aryan family, and are descended from Sanskrit through the intermediate stage of Prakrit. The Indo-Aryan languages are by far the most important numerically and the territory occupied by them extends over the whole of northern and central India and reaches as far south as Goa.}}</ref><ref name="Donkin2003">{{cite book |last1=Donkin |first1=R. A. |title=Between East and West: The Moluccas and the Traffic in Spices Up to the Arrival of Europeans |url=https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_B4IFMnssyqgC |date=2003 |publisher=American Philosophical Society |isbn=9780871692481 |language=en |page=60 |quote=The modern, regional Indo-Aryan languages developed from Prakrt, an early 'unrefined' (''prakrta'') form of Sanskrit, around the close of the first millennium A.D.}}</ref> The largest such languages in terms of [[Social:First language|first-speakers]] are [[Social:Hindustani language|Hindi–Urdu]] ({{Circa|330 million}}),<ref name=ethnologue>Standard Hindi first language: 260.3 million (2001), as second language: 120 million (1999). Urdu L1: 68.9 million (2001–2014), L2: 94 million (1999): ''Ethnologue'' 19.</ref> [[Social:Bengali language|Bengali]] (242 million),<ref>Bengali or Bangla-Bhasa, L1: 242.3 million (2011), L2: 19.2 million (2011), ''Ethnologue''</ref> [[Social:Punjabi language|Punjabi]] (about 120 million),<ref name=NE2>{{cite web|title=Världens 100 största språk 2010 |language=sv |trans-title=The world's 100 largest languages in 2010 |url=http://www.ne.se/språk/världens-100-största-språk-2010 |work=Nationalencyclopedin |publisher=Government of Sweden publication |access-date=30 August 2013}}</ref> [[Social:Marathi language|Marathi]] (112 million), [[Social:Gujarati language|Gujarati]] (60 million), Rajasthani (58 million), Bhojpuri (51 million), [[Social:Odia language|Odia]] (35 million), [[Social:Maithili language|Maithili]] (about 34 million), [[Social:Sindhi language|Sindhi]] (25 million), [[Social:Nepali language|Nepali]] (16 million), [[Social:Assamese language|Assamese]] (15 million), Chhattisgarhi (18 million), [[Social:Sinhala language|Sinhala]] (17 million), and [[Social:Romani language|Romani]] ({{Circa|3.5 million}}). A 2005 estimate placed the total number of native speakers of the Indo-Aryan languages at nearly 900 million people.<ref>{{cite book|first1=Edwin Francis |last1=Bryant |first2=Laurie L. |last2=Patton |title=The Indo-Aryan Controversy: Evidence and Inference in Indian History |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=fHYnGde4BS4C |year=2005 |publisher=[[Company:Routledge|Routledge]] |isbn=978-0-7007-1463-6 |pages=246–247}}</ref> Other estimates are higher suggesting a figure of 1.5 billion speakers of Indo-Aryan languages.<ref name="epgp.inflibnet.ac.in">http://epgp.inflibnet.ac.in/epgpdata/uploads/epgp_content/S000022LS/P001756/M023413/ET/1506322131Lings-P7-M21.pdf</ref>

== Classification ==
=== Theories ===
The Indo-Aryan family as a whole is thought to represent a dialect continuum, where languages are often transitional towards neighboring varieties.{{sfnp|Masica|1991|p=25}} Because of this, the division into languages vs. dialects is in many cases somewhat arbitrary. The classification of the Indo-Aryan languages is controversial, with many transitional areas that are assigned to different branches depending on classification.{{sfnp|Masica|1991|pp=446–463}} There are concerns that a tree model is insufficient for explaining the development of New Indo-Aryan, with some scholars suggesting the [[Social:Wave model|wave model]].<ref name="kogan">{{cite journal |last1=Kogan |first1=Anton I. |title=Genealogical classification of New Indo-Aryan languages and lexicostatistics |journal=Journal of Language Relationship |date=2016 |volume=14 |issue=4 |pages=227–258 |doi=10.31826/jlr-2017-143-411 |s2cid=212688418 |url=https://www.jolr.ru/files/(190)jlr2016-14-3-4(227-258).pdf |doi-access=free}}</ref>

==== Subgroups ====
The following table of proposals is expanded from {{harvtxt|Masica|1991}}. The table lists only some modern Indo-Aryan languages.

{| class="wikitable" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; border: none; text-align: center; font-size: 80%;"
|+ Indo-Aryan subgroups
! Model !! [[Social:Odia language|Odia]]!! [[Social:Bengali–Assamese languages|Bengali–<br />Assamese]]!! Bihari!! E. Hindi!! W. Hindi!! Rajasthani!! Gujarati!! Pahari!! E. Punjabi!! W. Punjabi!! Sindhi!! Dardic!! Marathi–<br />Konkani!! [[Social:Sinhala language|Sinhala]]–<br />Dhivehi!! [[Social:Romani language|Romani]]
|-
| style="text-align: left;" | Hoernlé (1880)
| style="background:#ffcd00;" colspan="3"| E
| style="background:#ff9a54;"| E~W
| style="background:#f60;" colspan="3"| W
| style="background:#c97234;"| N
| style="background:#f60;"| W
| {{dunno}}
| style="background:#f60;"| W
| {{dunno}}
| style="background:#c93434;"| S
| {{dunno}}
| {{dunno}}
|-
| style="text-align: left;" | Grierson (−1927)
| style="background:#ffcd00;" colspan="3"| E
| style="background:#ff9a54;"| C~E 
| style="background:#f60;" colspan="5"| [[Social:Central Indo-Aryan languages|C]]
| style="background:#2525ff;" colspan="2"| NW
| style="background:#ff81e6;"| non-IA
| style="background:#c93434;" colspan="2"| S
| style="background:#ff81e6;"| non-IA
|-
| style="text-align: left;" | Chatterji (1926)
| style="background:#ffcd00;" colspan="4"| E
| style="background:#f60;"| Midland
| style="background:#28a128;" colspan="2"| SW
| style="background:#c97234;"| N
| style="background:#2525ff;" colspan="3"| NW
| style="background:#ff81e6;"| non-IA
| style="background:#c93434;" colspan="2"| S
| style="background:#2525ff;"| NW
|-
| style="text-align: left;" | Grierson (1931)
| style="background:#ffcd00;" colspan="3"| E
| style="background:#ff9a54;"| Inter.
| style="background:#f60;"| Midland
| style="background:#ff9a54;" colspan="4"| Inter.
| style="background:#2525ff;" colspan="2"| NW
| style="background:#ff81e6;"| non-IA
| style="background:#c93434;" colspan="2"| S
| style="background:#ff81e6;"| non-IA
|-
| style="text-align: left;" | Katre (1968)
| style="background:#ffcd00;" colspan="3"| E
| style="background:#f60;" colspan="6"| C
| style="background:#2525ff;" colspan="2"| NW
| style="background:#ff81e6;"| Dardic
| style="background:#c93434;" colspan="2"| S
| {{dunno}}
|-
| style="text-align: left;" | Nigam (1972)
| style="background:#ffcd00;" colspan="3"| E
| style="background:#f60;"| C
| style="background:#f60;"| C (+NW)
| style="background:#f60;" colspan="2"| C
| {{dunno}}
| style="background:#2525ff;" colspan="3"| NW
| style="background:#ff81e6;"| N
| style="background:#c93434;" colspan="2"| S
| {{dunno}}
|-
| style="text-align: left;" | Cardona (1974)
| style="background:#ffcd00;" colspan="2"| E
| style="background:#f60;" colspan="4"| C
| style="background:#c93434;"| (S)W
| style="background:#2525ff;" colspan="5"| NW
| style="background:#c93434;" colspan="2"| (S)W
| {{dunno}}
|-
| style="text-align: left;" | Turner (−1975)
| style="background:#ffcd00;" colspan="2"| E
| style="background:#f60;" colspan="4"| C
| style="background:#c93434;"| SW
| style="background:#c97234;"| C <small>(C.)</small>~NW <small>(W.)</small>
| style="background:#2525ff;" colspan="4"| NW
| style="background:#c93434;" colspan="2"| SW
| style="background:#f60;"| C
|-
| style="text-align: left;" | Kausen (2006)
| style="background:#ffcd00;" colspan="3"| E
| style="background:#f60;" colspan="2"| C
| style="background:#28a128;" colspan="2"| W
| style="background:#c97234;"| N
| style="background:#2525ff;" colspan="3"| NW
| style="background:#ff81e6;"| Dardic
| style="background:#c93434;" colspan="2"| S
| style="background:#35d4ce;"| Romani
|-
| style="text-align: left;" | Kogan (2016)
| style="background:#ffcd00;" colspan="2"| E
| {{dunno}}
| style="background:#f60;"| C
| style="background:#f60;"| C~NW
| style="background:#2525ff;" colspan="2"| NW
| style="background:#c97234;"| C~NW
| style="background:#f60;"| C
| style="background:#2525ff;" colspan="2"| NW
| style="background:#ff81e6;"| non-IA
| style="background:#c93434;"| S
| style="background:#ec4b4b;"| Insular
| style="background:#f60;"| C
|-
| style="text-align: left;" | [[Social:Ethnologue|Ethnologue]] (2020)<ref name="ethnologue23">{{Ethnologue23}}</ref>
| style="background:#ffcd00;" colspan="3"| E
| style="background:#ff9a54;"| EC
| style="background:#f60;"| C
| style="background:#28a128;" colspan="2"| W
| style="background:#c97234;"| EC <small>(E.)</small>~W <small>(C., W.)</small>
| style="background:#28a128;" colspan="2"| W
| style="background:#2525ff;" colspan="2"| NW
| style="background:#c93434;" colspan="2"| S
| style="background:#28a128;"| W
|-
| style="text-align: left;" | [[Social:Glottolog|Glottolog]] (2020)<ref>{{Glottolog|indo1321|Indo-Aryan}}</ref>
| style="background:#ffcd00;" colspan="2"| E
| style="background:#ffde54;"| Bihari
| style="background:#f60;" colspan="4"| C
| style="background:#c97234;"| N
| style="background:#2525ff;" colspan="4"| NW
| style="background:#c93434;"| S
| style="background:#ec4b4b;"| Dhivehi-Sinhala
| style="background:#f60;"| C
|}

Anton I. Kogan, in 2016, conducted a lexicostatistical study of the New Indo-Aryan languages based on a 100-word Swadesh list, using techniques developed by the glottochronologist and comparative linguist Sergei Starostin.<ref name="kogan"/> That grouping system is notable for Kogan's exclusion of Dardic from Indo-Aryan on the basis of his previous studies showing low lexical similarity to Indo-Aryan (43.5%) and negligible difference with similarity to Iranian (39.3%).<ref>{{cite book |last1=Kogan |first1=Anton I. |title=Dardskie yazyki. Geneticheskaya kharakteristika |trans-title=Dardic language. Genetic characteristic |date=2005 |publisher=Vostochnaya literatura |location=Moskva |language=ru}}</ref> He also calculated Sinhala–Dhivehi to be the most divergent Indo-Aryan branch. Nevertheless, the modern consensus of Indo-Aryan linguists tends towards the inclusion of Dardic based on morphological and grammatical features.{{Citation needed|date=November 2023}}

==== Inner–Outer hypothesis ====
{{Main|Social:Inner–Outer hypothesis}}
The '''Inner–Outer hypothesis''' argues for a core and periphery of Indo-Aryan languages, with Outer Indo-Aryan (generally including Eastern and Southern Indo-Aryan, and sometimes Northwestern Indo-Aryan, Dardic and Pahari) representing an older stratum of Old Indo-Aryan that has been mixed to varying degrees with the newer stratum that is Inner Indo-Aryan. It is a contentious proposal with a long history, with varying degrees of claimed phonological and morphological evidence. Since its proposal by Rudolf Hoernlé in 1880 and refinement by George Grierson it has undergone numerous revisions and a great deal of debate, with the most recent iteration by Franklin Southworth and Claus Peter Zoller based on robust linguistic evidence (particularly an Outer past tense in ''-l-''). Some of the theory's skeptics include Suniti Kumar Chatterji and Colin P. Masica.{{Citation needed|date=November 2023}}

=== Groups ===
The below classification follows {{harvcoltxt|Masica|1991}}, and {{harvcoltxt|Kausen|2006}}.

{{Pie chart
|label1=[[Social:Hindustani language|Hindustani]] (including [[Social:Hindi|Hindi]] and [[Social:Urdu|Urdu]])
|value1=25.4
|label2=[[Social:Bengali language|Bengali]]
|value2=20.7
|label3=[[Social:Punjabi language|Punjabi]]
|value3=9.4
|label4=[[Social:Marathi language|Marathi]]
|value4=5.6
|label5=[[Social:Gujarati language|Gujarati]]
|value5=3.8
|label6=Bhojpuri
|value6=3.1
|label7=[[Social:Maithili language|Maithili]]
|value7=2.6
|label8=[[Social:Odia language|Odia]]
|value8=2.5
|label9=[[Social:Sindhi language|Sindhi]]
|value9=1.9
|caption=Percentage of Indo-Aryan speakers by native language:
|other=yes}}

==== Dardic ====
The '''Dardic languages''' (also Dardu or Pisaca) are a group of Indo-Aryan languages largely spoken in the northwestern extremities of the Indian subcontinent. Dardic was first formulated by George Abraham Grierson in his [[Social:Linguistic Survey of India|Linguistic Survey of India]] but he did not consider it to be a subfamily of Indo-Aryan. The Dardic group as a genetic grouping (rather than areal) has been scrutinised and questioned to a degree by recent scholarship: Southworth, for example, says "the viability of Dardic as a genuine subgroup of Indo-Aryan is doubtful" and "the similarities among [Dardic languages] may result from subsequent convergence".<ref name="southworth">{{cite book |last=Southworth |first=Franklin C. |title=Linguistic archaeology of South Asia |publisher=[[Company:Routledge|Routledge]] |year=2005 |isbn=0-415-33323-7}}</ref>{{rp|149}}

The Dardic languages are thought to be transitional with Punjabi and Pahari (e.g. Zoller describes Kashmiri as "an interlink between Dardic and West Pahāṛī"),<ref name="zoller">{{cite journal |last1=Zoller |first1=Claus Peter |title=Outer and Inner Indo-Aryan, and northern India as an ancient linguistic area |journal=Acta Orientalia |date=2016 |volume=77 |pages=71–132 |url=https://journals.uio.no/actaorientalia/article/download/5355/4695}}</ref>{{rp|83}} as well as non-Indo-Aryan Nuristani; and are renowned for their relatively conservative features in the context of [[Social:Proto-Indo-Aryan language|Proto-Indo-Aryan]].

* '''Kashmiri''': [[Social:Kashmiri language|Kashmiri]], Kishtwari, [[Social:Pogali|Poguli]];
* '''Shina''': Brokskad, Kundal Shahi, Shina, Ushojo, Kalkoti, Palula, Savi;
* '''Chitrali''': Kalasha, Khowar;
* '''Kohistani''': Bateri, Chilisso, Gowro, Indus Kohistani, Kalami, Tirahi, Torwali, Wotapuri-Katarqalai;
* '''Pashayi'''
* '''Kunar''': Dameli, Gawar-Bati, Nangalami, Shumashti.

==== Northern Zone ====

The '''Northern Indo-Aryan languages''', also known as the '''Pahari''' ('hill') languages, are spoken throughout the Himalayan regions of the subcontinent.

* '''Eastern Pahari''': [[Social:Nepali language|Nepali]], [[Social:Jumli language|Jumli]], Doteli;
* '''Central Pahari''': Garhwali, Kumaoni;
* '''Western Pahari''': [[Social:Dogri language|Dogri]], Kangri, Bhadarwahi, Churahi, Bhateali, [[Social:Bilaspuri|Bilaspuri]], Chambeali, Gaddi, Pangwali, Mandeali, [[Social:Mahasu Pahari language|Mahasu Pahari]], Jaunsari, Kullui, [[Social:Pahari Kinnauri language|Pahari Kinnauri]], [[Social:Hinduri language|Hinduri]], [[Social:Sarazi language|Sarazi]], [[Social:Sirmauri language|Sirmauri]].

==== Northwestern Zone ====
'''Northwestern Indo-Aryan languages''' are spoken in the northwestern region of India and eastern region of Pakistan. [[Social:Punjabi language|Punjabi]] is spoken predominantly in the Punjab region and is the official language of the northern Indian state of Punjab; in addition to being the most widely-spoken language in Pakistan. Sindhi and its variants are spoken natively in the Pakistani province of Sindh and neighbouring regions. Northwestern languages are ultimately thought to be descended from [[Social:Shauraseni Prakrit|Shauraseni Prakrit]], with influence from [[Social:Persian language|Persian]] and [[Social:Arabic|Arabic]].<ref>Sigfried J. de Laet. [https://books.google.com/books?id=PvlthkbFU1UC&dq=persian+language+in+anatolia&pg=PA734 ''History of Humanity: From the seventh to the sixteenth century''] UNESCO, 1994. {{ISBN|9231028138}} p 734</ref>

* '''Punjabi'''
** [[Social:Punjabi language#Eastern Punjabi (Charda Punjab)|Eastern Punjabi (Charda Punjab)]]: Doabi, Malwai, Puadhi, Sansi
** Western Punjabi (Lahnda Punjab): Saraiki, Hindko, Pahari-Pothwari, Jhangvi, Dhanni, Thali, [[Social:Inku language|Inku]] †
** Central Punjabi: Majhi
* '''Sindhi''': [[Social:Sindhi language|Sindhi]], [[Social:Jadgali language|Jadgali]], Kutchi, Luwati, [[Social:Memoni language|Memoni]], Khetrani, [[Social:Kholosi language|Kholosi]].

==== Western Zone ====
'''Western Indo-Aryan languages''', are spoken in the central and western areas within India, such as Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan, in addition to contiguous regions in Pakistan. Gujarati is the official language of Gujarat, and is spoken by over 50 million people. In Europe, various Romani languages are spoken by the Romani people, an itinerant community who historically migrated from India. The Western Indo-Aryan languages are thought to have diverged from their northwestern counterparts, although they have a common antecedent in [[Social:Shauraseni Prakrit|Shauraseni Prakrit]].

*'''Rajasthani''': Standard Rajasthani, [[Social:Bagri language|Bagri]], [[Social:Marwari language|Marwari]], [[Social:Mewati language|Mewati]], Dhundari, Harauti, [[Social:Mewari language|Mewari]], Shekhawati, Dhatki, Malvi, [[Social:Nimadi language|Nimadi]], [[Social:Gujari language|Gujari]], Goaria, Loarki, [[Social:Bhoyari|Bhoyari]], [[Social:Kanjari language|Kanjari]], [[Social:Od language|Od]];
* '''Gujarati''': [[Social:Gujarati language|Gujarati]], Jandavra, [[Social:Saurashtra language|Saurashtra]], [[Social:Aer language|Aer]], Vaghri, [[Social:Parkari Koli language|Parkari Koli]], Kachi Koli, Wadiyara Koli;
* '''Bhil''': Kalto, Vasavi, [[Social:Wagdi|Wagdi]], Gamit, Vaagri Booli;
** Northern Bhil: Bauria, Bhilori, Magari;
** Central Bhil: Bhili proper, Bhilali, Chodri, Dhodia, Dhanki, Dubli;
** Bareli: Palya Bareli, Pauri Bareli, Rathwi Bareli, Pardhi;
* '''[[Social:Khandeshi language|Khandeshi]]'''
* '''Lambadi'''
* '''[[Social:Domaaki language|Domaaki]]'''
* '''[[Social:Domari language|Domari]]'''
* '''[[Social:Romani language|Romani]]''': Carpathian Romani, Balkan Romani, Vlax Romani; 
** Northern Romani: Sinte Romani, Finnish Kalo, Baltic Romani.

==== {{vanchor|Central}} Zone (Madhya ''or'' Hindi) ====
{{main|Social:Central Indo-Aryan languages}}
Within India, [[Social:Central Indo-Aryan languages|Central Indo-Aryan languages]] are spoken primarily in the Hindi belt regions and Gangetic plains, including [[Place:Delhi|Delhi]] and the surrounding areas; where they are often transitional with neighbouring lects. Many of these languages, including Braj and Awadhi, have rich literary and poetic traditions. [[Social:Urdu|Urdu]], a Persianized derivative of Khariboli, is the official language of {{wipe|Pakistan}} and also has strong historical connections to {{wipe|India}}, where it also has been designated with official status. [[Social:Hindi|Hindi]], a standardized and Sanskritized register of Khariboli, is the official language of the Government of India (along with [[Social:English language|English]]). [[Social:Hindustani language|Together with Urdu]], it is the third most-spoken language in the world.

* '''Western Hindi''': [[Social:Hindustani language|Hindustani]] (including [[Social:Hindi|Standard Hindi]] and [[Social:Urdu|Standard Urdu]]), Khariboli, Braj, Haryanvi, Bundeli, Kannauji, [[Social:Parya language|Parya]];
* '''Eastern Hindi''': Bagheli, Chhattisgarhi, Surgujia, Awadhi (Fiji Hindi, [[Social:Caribbean Hindustani|Caribbean Hindustani]]).

==== Eastern Zone ====
The '''Eastern Indo-Aryan''' languages, also known as '''Magadhan''' languages, are spoken throughout the eastern subcontinent, including Odisha and Bihar, alongside other regions surrounding the northwestern Himalayan corridor. [[Social:Bengali language|Bengali]] is the seventh most-spoken language in the world, and has a strong literary tradition; the national anthems of {{wipe|India}} and Bangladesh are written in Bengali. [[Social:Assamese language|Assamese]] and [[Social:Odia language|Odia]] are the official languages of Assam and Odisha, respectively. The Eastern Indo-Aryan languages descend from Magadhan [[Social:Apabhraṃśa|Apabhraṃśa]]<ref name=Ray2007 /> and ultimately from [[Social:Magadhi Prakrit|Magadhi Prakrit]].<ref>{{cite book|contribution=The historical context and development of Indo-Aryan |editor1-last=Cardona |editor1-first=George |editor2-last=Jain |editor2-first=Dhanesh |title=The Indo-Aryan Languages |publisher=[[Company:Routledge|Routledge]] |place=London |year=2003 |series=Routledge language family series |isbn=0-7007-1130-9 |pages=46–66}}</ref><ref name=Claus2003>{{cite book|title=South Asian folklore: an encyclopedia |chapter=Afghanistan, Bangladesh, India |first1=Peter J. |last1=Claus |first2=Sarah |last2=Diamond |first3=Margaret Ann |last3=Mills |publisher=[[Company:Routledge|Routledge]] |date=2003 |pages=203}}</ref><ref name=Ray2007>{{cite book|last1=Ray |first1=Tapas S. |date=2007 |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=OtCPAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA444 |chapter=Eleven: "Oriya" |editor1-last=Jain |editor1-first=Danesh |editor2-last=Cardona |editor2-first=George |title=The Indo-Aryan Languages |publisher=[[Company:Routledge|Routledge]] |pages=445 |isbn=978-1-135-79711-9}}</ref>

* '''Bihari''':
** Bhojpuri, [[Social:Caribbean Hindustani|Caribbean Hindustani]], Fiji Hindi;
** [[Social:Magahi language|Magahi]], Khortha;
** [[Social:Maithili language|Maithili]], Angika, Bajjika, Thethi, Dehati;
** Sadanic: [[Social:Nagpuri language|Nagpuri (Sadri)]], Kurmali (Panchpargania);
** Tharu,<ref>{{glottolog|thar1284|Tharuic}}</ref> Kochila Tharu, [[Social:Buksa language|Buksa]], Majhi, Musasa;
** [[Social:Kumhali language|Kumhali]], Kuswaric:<ref>{{glottolog|kusw1234|Kuswaric}}</ref> [[Social:Danwar language|Danwar]], [[Social:Bote-Darai language|Bote-Darai]]; 
* '''Halbic''': Halbi, Kamar, Bhunjia, Nahari;
* '''[[Social:Odia language|Odia]]''': Baleswari, Kataki, Ganjami, Sundargadi, Sambalpuri, Desia;
** Bodo Parja, Bhatri, Reli, Kupia;
* '''[[Social:Bengali–Assamese languages|Bengali–Assamese]]''': [[Social:Bishnupriya Manipuri language|Bishnupriya Manipuri]], [[Social:Hajong language|Hajong]], [[Social:Chittagonian language|Chittagonian]], Chakma, Tanchangya, [[Social:Rohingya language|Rohingya]], Sylheti,;
** Bengali-Gauda: [[Social:Bengali language|Bengali]], Bangali, Rarhi, Varendri, Sundarbani, Noakhailla, Manbhumi, Dhakaiya Kutti, [[Social:Dobhashi|Dobhashi]];
** Assamese-Kamarupic: [[Social:Assamese language|Assamese]], Kamrupi, Goalpariya, Rangpuri, [[Social:Surjapuri language|Surjapuri]], Rajbanshi;

==== Southern Zone ====
Marathi-Konkani languages are ultimately descended from [[Social:Maharashtri Prakrit|Maharashtri Prakrit]], whereas Insular Indo-Aryan languages are descended from Elu Prakrit and possess several characteristics that markedly distinguish them from most of their mainland Indo-Aryan counterparts. Insular Indo-Aryan languages (of Sri Lanka and [[History:Maldives|Maldives]]) started developing independently and diverging from the continental Indo-Aryan languages from around 5th century BCE.<ref name="kogan" />

* '''Marathi-Konkani'''
** Marathic: [[Social:Marathi language|Marathi]], [[Social:Varhadi dialect|Varhadi]], Andh, Agri, Zadi Boli, Thanjavur, Berar-Deccan Marathi, Phudagi, Judeo, Katkari, Varli, Kadodi;
** Konkanic: [[Social:Konkani language|Konkani]], [[Social:Canarese Konkani|Canarese Konkani]], Maharashtrian Konkani.
* '''Insular Indo-Aryan'''
** [[Social:Sinhala language|Sinhala]]
** Maldivian: Dhivehi, Mahl

==== Unclassified ====
The following languages are otherwise unclassified within Indo-Aryan:

* '''Chinali–Lahul Lohar''':<ref>{{glottolog|chin1491|Chinali–Lahul Lohar}}</ref> [[Social:Chinali language|Chinali]], [[Social:Lahul Lohar language|Lahul Lohar]].
* [[Social:Badeshi language|Badeshi]]

== History ==

=== Indian subcontinent ===
Dates indicate only a rough time frame.
* '''[[Social:Proto-Indo-Aryan language|Proto-Indo-Aryan]]''' (before 1500 BCE, reconstructed)
* '''Old Indo-Aryan''' (ca. 1500–300 BCE)
** early Old Indo-Aryan: includes [[Social:Vedic Sanskrit|Vedic Sanskrit]] (ca. 1500 to 500 BCE)
** late Old Indo-Aryan: Epic Sanskrit, Classical Sanskrit (ca. 200 CE to 1300 CE)
** [[Social:Indo-Aryan superstrate in Mitanni|Mitanni Indo-Aryan]] (ca. 1400 BCE)
* '''[[Social:Middle Indo-Aryan languages|Middle Indo-Aryan]]''' or '''[[Social:Prakrit|Prakrit]]s''' (ca. 300 BCE to 1500 CE) 
** early Buddhist texts (ca. 6th or 5th century BCE)
** early Middle Indo-Aryan: e.g. Ashokan Prakrits, [[Social:Pali|Pali]], [[Social:Gandhari language|Gandhari]], (ca. 300 BCE to 200 BCE)
** middle Middle Indo-Aryan: e.g. [[Social:Dramatic Prakrit|Dramatic Prakrit]]s, Elu (ca. 200 BCE to 700 CE)
** late Middle Indo-Aryan: e.g. Abahattha (ca. 700 CE to 1500 CE)
* '''Early Modern Indo-Aryan''' (Late Medieval India): e.g. early Dakhini and emergence of the Dehlavi dialect
[[File:Indo-European migrations.jpg|thumb|350px|Early [[History:Indo-European migrations|Indo-European migrations]] from the Pontic–Caspian steppe]]

==== Proto-Indo-Aryan ====
{{main|Social:Proto-Indo-Aryan language}}

Proto-Indo-Aryan (or sometimes Proto-Indic{{efn|name=indic"}}) is the reconstructed [[Social:Proto-language|proto-language]] of the Indo-Aryan languages. It is intended to reconstruct the language of the pre-Vedic Indo-Aryans. Proto-Indo-Aryan is meant to be the predecessor of Old Indo-Aryan (1500–300 BCE), which is directly attested as [[Social:Vedic Sanskrit|Vedic]] and [[Social:Indo-Aryan superstrate in Mitanni|Mitanni-Aryan]]. Despite the great archaicity of Vedic, however, the other Indo-Aryan languages preserve a small number of [[Social:Proto-Indo-Aryan language#Differences from Vedic|conservative features lost in Vedic]].

==== Mitanni-Aryan hypothesis ====
{{main|Social:Indo-Aryan superstrate in Mitanni}}

Some theonyms, proper names, and other terminology of the Late [[History:Bronze Age|Bronze Age]] Mitanni civilization of [[Place:Upper Mesopotamia|Upper Mesopotamia]] exhibit an Indo-Aryan superstrate. While what few written records left by the Mittani are either in Hurrian (which appears to have been the predominant language of their kingdom) or [[Social:Akkadian language|Akkadian]] (the main diplomatic language of the Late Bronze Age Near East), these apparently Indo-Aryan names suggest that an Indo-Aryan elite imposed itself over the Hurrians in the course of the [[History:Indo-Aryan migration|Indo-Aryan expansion]]. If these traces are Indo-Aryan, they would be the earliest known direct evidence of Indo-Aryan, and would increase the precision in dating the split between the Indo-Aryan and Iranian languages (as the texts in which the apparent Indicisms occur can be dated with some accuracy).

In a treaty between the [[History:Hittites|Hittites]] and the Mitanni, the deities Mitra, [[Astronomy:Varuna|Varuna]], [[Religion:Indra|Indra]], and the Ashvins (Nasatya) are invoked. Kikkuli's horse training text includes technical terms such as ''aika'' (cf. Sanskrit ''eka'', "one"), ''tera'' (''tri'', "three"), ''panza'' (''panca'', "five"), ''satta'' (''sapta'', seven), ''na'' (''nava'', "nine"), ''vartana'' (''vartana'', "turn", round in the horse race). The numeral ''aika'' "one" is of particular importance because it places the superstrate in the vicinity of Indo-Aryan proper as opposed to Indo-Iranian in general or early Iranian (which has ''aiva'').<ref>Paul Thieme, The 'Aryan' Gods of the Mitanni Treaties. JAOS 80, 1960, 301–17</ref> Another text has ''babru'' (''babhru'', "brown"), ''parita'' (''palita'', "grey"), and {{transliteration|mis|pinkara}} (''pingala'', "red"). Their chief festival was the celebration of the [[Astronomy:Solstice|solstice]] (''vishuva'') which was common in most cultures in the ancient world. The Mitanni warriors were called ''marya'', the term for "warrior" in [[Social:Sanskrit|Sanskrit]] as well; note ''mišta-nnu'' (= ''miẓḍha'', ≈ Sanskrit ''mīḍha'') "payment (for catching a fugitive)" (M. Mayrhofer, ''Etymologisches Wörterbuch des Altindoarischen'', Heidelberg, 1986–2000; Vol. II:358).

Sanskritic interpretations of Mitanni royal names render Artashumara (''artaššumara'') as ''Ṛtasmara'' "who thinks of [[Philosophy:Ṛta|Ṛta]]" (Mayrhofer II 780), Biridashva (''biridašṷa, biriiašṷ''a) as ''Prītāśva'' "whose horse is dear" (Mayrhofer II 182), Priyamazda (''priiamazda'') as ''Priyamedha'' "whose wisdom is dear" (Mayrhofer II 189, II378), Citrarata as ''Citraratha'' "whose chariot is shining" (Mayrhofer I 553), Indaruda/Endaruta as ''Indrota'' "helped by [[Religion:Indra|Indra]]" (Mayrhofer I 134), Shativaza (''šattiṷaza'') as ''Sātivāja'' "winning the race price" (Mayrhofer II 540, 696), Šubandhu as ''Subandhu'' "having good relatives" (a name in [[Place:Palestine (region)|Palestine]], Mayrhofer II 209, 735), Tushratta (''tṷišeratta, tušratta'', etc.) as *tṷaiašaratha, Vedic Tvastar "whose chariot is vehement" (Mayrhofer, Etym. Wb., I 686, I 736).

==== {{Anchor|Old Indo-Aryan}}Old Indo-Aryan ====
The earliest evidence of the group is from [[Social:Vedic Sanskrit|Vedic Sanskrit]], that is used in the ancient preserved texts of the [[Earth:Indian subcontinent|Indian subcontinent]], the foundational canon of the Hindu synthesis known as the Vedas. The [[Social:Indo-Aryan superstrate in Mitanni|Indo-Aryan superstrate in Mitanni]] is of similar age to the language of the [[Religion:Rigveda|Rigveda]], but the only evidence of it is a few proper names and specialized loanwords.<ref name=":0">{{cite book|title=The Roots of Hinduism: The Early Aryans and The Indus Civilization |last=Parpola |first=Asko |publisher=[[Organization:Oxford University Press|Oxford University Press]] |year=2015}}</ref>

While Old Indo-Aryan is the earliest stage of the Indo-Aryan branch, from which all known languages of the later stages Middle and New Indo-Aryan are derived, some documented Middle Indo-Aryan variants cannot fully be derived from the documented form of Old Indo-Aryan (on which Vedic and Classical Sanskrit are based), but betray features that must go back to other undocumented dialects of Old Indo-Aryan.<ref>{{cite book|last=Oberlies |first=Thomas |year=2007 |chapter=Chapter Five: Aśokan Prakrit and Pāli |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=OtCPAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA161 |editor1-last=Cardona |editor1-first=George |editor2-last=Jain |editor2-first=Danesh |title=The Indo-Aryan Languages |publisher=Routledge |page=179 |isbn=9781135797119}}</ref>

From Vedic Sanskrit, "[[Social:Sanskrit|Sanskrit]]" (literally 'put together, perfected, elaborated') developed as the prestige language of culture, science and religion, as well as the court, theatre, etc. Sanskrit of the later Vedic texts is comparable to Classical Sanskrit, but is largely mutually unintelligible with Vedic Sanskrit.<ref>{{cite book|last=Gombrich |first=Richard |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=jZyJAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA24 |title=Theravada Buddhism: A Social History from Ancient Benares to Modern Colombo |date=14 April 2006 |publisher=[[Company:Routledge|Routledge]] |isbn=978-1-134-90352-8 |page=24 |language=en}}</ref>

==== Middle Indo-Aryan (Prakrits) ====
Outside the learned sphere of Sanskrit, vernacular dialects ([[Social:Prakrit|Prakrit]]s) continued to evolve. The oldest attested Prakrits are the [[Religion:Buddhism|Buddhist]] and [[Philosophy:Jainism|Jain]] canonical languages [[Social:Pali|Pali]] and Ardhamagadhi Prakrit, respectively. Inscriptions in [[Social:Ashokan Prakrit|Ashokan Prakrit]] were also part of this early Middle Indo-Aryan stage.

By medieval times, the Prakrits had diversified into various [[Social:Middle Indo-Aryan languages|Middle Indo-Aryan languages]]. ''[[Social:Apabhraṃśa|Apabhraṃśa]]'' is the conventional cover term for transitional dialects connecting late Middle Indo-Aryan with early Modern Indo-Aryan, spanning roughly the 6th to 13th centuries. Some of these dialects showed considerable literary production; the ''Śravakacāra'' of Devasena (dated to the 930s) is now considered to be the first Hindi book.

The next major milestone occurred with the Muslim conquests in the Indian subcontinent in the 13th–16th centuries. Under the flourishing [[Social:Turco-Mongol tradition|Turco-Mongol]] Mughal Empire, Persian became very influential as the language of prestige of the Islamic courts due to adoption of the foreign language by the Mughal emperors.

The two largest languages that formed from Apabhraṃśa were [[Social:Bengali language|Bengali]] and [[Social:Hindustani language|Hindustani]]; others include [[Social:Assamese language|Assamese]], [[Social:Sindhi language|Sindhi]], [[Social:Gujarati language|Gujarati]], [[Social:Odia language|Odia]], [[Social:Marathi language|Marathi]], and [[Social:Punjabi language|Punjabi]].

==== New Indo-Aryan ====
===== Medieval Hindustani =====
{{Main|Social:Hindustani language}}
In the Central Zone Hindi-speaking areas, for a long time the prestige dialect was Braj Bhasha, but this was replaced in the 19th century by Dehlavi-based [[Social:Hindustani language|Hindustani]]. Hindustani was strongly influenced by [[Social:Persian language|Persian]], with these and later Sanskrit influence leading to the emergence of Modern Standard Hindi and Modern Standard [[Social:Urdu|Urdu]] as [[Social:Register (sociolinguistics)|register]]s of the Hindustani language.<ref name="KulshreshthaMathur2012">{{cite book|last1=Kulshreshtha |first1=Manisha |last2=Mathur |first2=Ramkumar |title=Dialect Accent Features for Establishing Speaker Identity: A Case Study |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=xHmARyhRoNYC&pg=PA16|date=24 March 2012 |publisher=Springer Science & Business Media |isbn=978-1-4614-1137-6 |page=16}}</ref><ref name="nunley1999">{{cite book|title=The Cultural Landscape an Introduction to Human Geography |first1=Robert E. |last1=Nunley |first2=Severin M. |last2=Roberts |first3=George W. |last3=Wubrick |first4=Daniel L. |last4=Roy |year=1999 |isbn=978-0-13-080180-7 |publisher=Prentice Hall |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7wQAOGMJOqIC |quote=... Hindustani is the basis for both languages ...}}</ref> This state of affairs continued until the division of the British Indian Empire in 1947, when Hindi became the official language in India and [[Social:Urdu|Urdu]] became official in Pakistan. Despite the different script the fundamental grammar remains identical, the difference is more [[Social:Sociolinguistics|sociolinguistic]] than purely linguistic.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://india_resource.tripod.com/Urdu.html |title=Urdu and its Contribution to Secular Values |publisher=South Asian Voice |access-date=26 February 2008 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071111145027/http://india_resource.tripod.com/Urdu.html |archive-date=11 November 2007 |df=dmy-all}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://mesa.ucdavis.edu/academics/languages-1/hindu-urdu |title=Hindi/Urdu Language Instruction |publisher=[[Organization:University of California|University of California]], Davis |access-date=3 January 2015 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150103095430/http://mesa.ucdavis.edu/academics/languages-1/hindu-urdu |archive-date=3 January 2015 |df=dmy-all}}</ref><ref name="Ethnologue Report for Hindi">{{cite web|url=http://www.ethnologue.org/show_language.asp?code=hin |title=Ethnologue Report for Hindi |publisher=[[Social:Ethnologue|Ethnologue]] |access-date=26 February 2008}}</ref> Today it is widely understood/spoken as a second or third language throughout South Asia<ref>{{cite book|first=Otto |last=Zwartjes |title=Portuguese Missionary Grammars in Asia, Africa and Brazil, 1550–1800 |publisher=John Benjamins Publishing |date=2011 |isbn=978-9027283252}}</ref> and one of the most widely known languages in the world in terms of number of speakers.

=== Outside the Indian subcontinent ===
==== Domari ====
{{main|Social:Domari language}}

[[Social:Domari language|Domari]] is an Indo-Aryan language spoken by older Dom people scattered across the Middle East. The language is reported to be spoken as far north as [[Place:Azerbaijan|Azerbaijan]] and as far south as central Sudan.<ref name=Matras>*Matras, Y. (2012). ''A grammar of Domari''. Berlin: De Gruyter Mouton (Mouton Grammar Library).</ref>{{rp|1}} Based on the systematicity of sound changes, linguists have concluded that the ethnonyms ''Domari'' and ''Romani'' derive from the Indo-Aryan word ''ḍom''.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://romani.humanities.manchester.ac.uk/whatis/language/origins.shtml|title=History of the Romani language}}</ref>

==== Lomavren ====
{{main|Social:Lomavren language}}

Lomavren is a nearly extinct mixed language, spoken by the Lom people, that arose from language contact between a language related to [[Social:Romani language|Romani]] and [[Social:Domari language|Domari]]<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.iranica.com/articles/gypsy-ii |title=GYPSY ii. Gypsy Dialects – Encyclopaedia Iranica |access-date=25 March 2015 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150402100935/https://www.iranica.com/articles/gypsy-ii |archive-date=2 April 2015 }} Encyclopædia Iranica</ref> and the [[Social:Armenian language|Armenian language]].

==== Parya ====
{{main|Social:Parya language}}

[[Social:Parya language|Parya]] is spoken in Tajikistan and Uzbekistan by the descendants of migrants from the Indian subcontinent. The language retains many features similar to Punjabi and the Western Hindi dialects, while also bearing some influence from Tajik Persian.<ref name="tiwari">{{cite book|title=Tajuzbeki|last=Tiwari|first=Bholanath|publisher=National Publishing House|url=https://archive.org/details/Tajuzbeki-Dr.BholanathTiwari|year=1970}}</ref>

==== Romani ====
{{main|Social:Romani language}}

The Romani language is usually included in the Western Indo-Aryan languages.<ref>{{cite web |title=Romani (subgroup) |publisher=[[Organization:SIL International|SIL International]] |date=n.d. |url=http://www.ethnologue.com/subgroups/romani |access-date=15 September 2013}}</ref> Romani varieties, which are mainly spoken throughout Europe, are noted for their relatively conservative nature; maintaining the Middle Indo-Aryan present-tense person concord markers, alongside consonantal endings for nominal case. Indeed, these features are no longer evident in most other modern Central Indo-Aryan languages. Moreover, Romani shares an innovative pattern of past-tense person, which corresponds to Dardic languages, such as Kashmiri and Shina. This is believed to be further indication that proto-Romani speakers were originally situated in central regions of the subcontinent, before migrating to northwestern regions. However, there are no known historical sources regarding the development of the Romani language specifically within India.

Research conducted by nineteenth-century scholars Pott (1845) and Miklosich (1882–1888) demonstrated that the Romani language is most aptly designated as a New Indo-Aryan language (NIA), as opposed to Middle Indo-Aryan (MIA); establishing that proto-Romani speakers could not have left India significantly earlier than AD 1000.

The principal argument favouring a migration during or after the transition period to NIA is the loss of the old system of nominal case, coupled with its reduction to a two-way nominative-oblique case system. A secondary argument concerns the system of gender differentiation, due to the fact that Romani has only two genders (masculine and feminine). Middle Indo-Aryan languages (named MIA) generally employed three genders (masculine, feminine and neuter), and some modern Indo-Aryan languages retain this aspect today.

It is suggested that loss of the neuter gender did not occur until the transition to NIA. During this process, most of the neuter nouns became masculine, while several became feminine. For example, the neuter ''aggi'' "fire" in Prakrit morphed into the feminine ''āg'' in Hindi, and ''jag'' in Romani. The parallels in grammatical gender evolution between Romani and other NIA languages have additionally been cited as indications that the forerunner of Romani remained on the Indian subcontinent until a later period, possibly as late as the tenth century.

==== Sindhic migrations ====
Kholosi, Jadgali, and Luwati represent offshoots of the Sindhic subfamily of Indo-Aryan that have established themselves in the Persian gulf region, perhaps through sea-based migrations. These are of a later origin than the Rom and Dom migrations which represent a different part of Indo-Aryan as well.

==== Indentured labourer migrations ====
The use by the British East India Company of indentured labourers led to the transplanting of Indo-Aryan languages around the world, leading to locally influenced lects that diverged from the source language, such as Fiji Hindi and [[Social:Caribbean Hindustani|Caribbean Hindustani]].

== Phonology ==

=== Consonants ===

==== Stop positions ====
The normative system of New Indo-Aryan stops consists of five places of articulation: labial, dental, "retroflex", palatal, and velar, which is the same as that of Sanskrit. The "retroflex" position may involve retroflexion, or curling the tongue to make the contact with the underside of the tip, or merely retraction. The point of contact may be alveolar or postalveolar, and the distinctive quality may arise more from the shaping than from the position of the tongue. Palatal stops have affricated release and are traditionally included as involving a distinctive tongue position (blade in contact with hard palate). Widely transcribed as {{IPA|[tʃ]}}, {{Harvcoltxt|Masica|1991|p=94}} claims {{IPA|[cʃ]}} to be a more accurate rendering.

Moving away from the normative system, some languages and dialects have alveolar affricates {{IPA|[ts]}} instead of palatal, though some among them retain {{IPA|[tʃ]}} in certain positions: before front vowels (esp. {{IPA|/i/}}), before {{IPA|/j/}}, or when geminated. Alveolar as an ''additional'' point of articulation occurs in [[Social:Marathi language|Marathi]] and Konkani where dialect mixture and others factors upset the aforementioned complementation to produce minimal environments, in some West Pahari dialects through internal developments ({{IPA|*t̪ɾ}}, {{IPA|t̪}} > {{IPA|/tʃ/}}), and in [[Social:Kashmiri language|Kashmiri]]. The addition of a retroflex affricate to this in some Dardic languages maxes out the number of stop positions at seven (barring borrowed {{IPA|/q/}}), while a reduction to the inventory involves *ts > {{IPA|/s/}}, which has happened in [[Social:Assamese language|Assamese]], [[Social:Chittagonian language|Chittagonian]], [[Social:Sinhala language|Sinhala]] (though there have been other sources of a secondary {{IPA|/ts/}}), and Southern Mewari.

Further reductions in the number of stop articulations are in Assamese and [[Social:Romani language|Romani]], which have lost the characteristic dental/retroflex contrast, and in Chittagonian, which may lose its labial and velar articulations through spirantisation in many positions (> {{IPA|[f, x]}}).
<ref>{{Harvcoltxt|Masica|1991|pp=94–95}}</ref> /q x ɣ f/ are restricted to Perso-Arabic loanwords in most IA languages but they occur natively in Khowar.{{sfnp|Cardona|Jain|2003|p=932}} According to Masica (1991) some dialects of Pashayi have a /θ/ which is unusual for IA languages. Domari which is spoken in the Middle East and had high contact with Middle Eastern languages has /q ħ ʕ ʔ/ and emphatic consonants from loanwords.

{| class="wikitable"
|-
! colspan=8 | Stops
! rowspan=2 | Languages
|-
! {{IPAslink|p}} !! {{IPAslink|t̪}} !! {{IPAslink|ʈ}} ~ {{IPAslink|t}} !! {{IPAslink|ʈ͡ʂ}} !! {{IPAslink|t͡ʃ}} ~ {{IPAslink|t͡ɕ}} !! {{IPAslink|t͡s}} !! {{IPAslink|k}} !! {{IPAslink|q}}
|-
| {{ya}} || {{ya}} || {{ya}} || {{ya}} || {{ya}} || {{ya}} || {{ya}} || {{ya}} || <small>Khowar, Shina, Bashkarik, Kalasha</small>
|-
| {{ya}} || {{ya}} || {{ya}} || {{ya}} || {{ya}} || {{ya}} || {{ya}} || {{na}} || <small>Gawarbati, Phalura, Shumashti, Kanyawali, Pashai</small>
|-
| {{ya}} || {{ya}} || {{ya}} || {{na}} || {{ya}} || {{ya}} || {{ya}} || {{na}} || <small>Marathi, Konkani, certain W. Pahari dialects (Bhadrawahi, Bhalesi, Mandeali, Padari, Simla, Satlej, maybe Kulu), Kashmiri, E. and N. dialects of Bengali (parts of Dhaka, Mymensingh, Rajshahi)</small>
|-
| {{ya}} || {{ya}} || {{ya}} || {{na}} || {{ya}} || {{na}} || {{ya}} || {{na}} || <small>Hindustani, Punjabi, Dogri, Sindhi, Gujarati, Sinhala, Odia, Standard Bengali, dialects of Rajasthani (except Lamani, NW. Marwari, S. Mewari), Sanskrit,<ref>In Sanskrit, probably /cɕ/ is a more correct representation. Sometimes, only for representation, /c/ is also used.</ref> Prakrit, Pali, Maithili, Magahi, Bhojpuri</small>
|-
| {{ya}} || {{na}} || {{ya}} || {{na}} || {{ya}} || {{na}} || {{ya}} || {{na}} || <small>Romani, Domari, Kholosi</small>
|-
| {{ya}} || {{ya}} || {{ya}} || {{na}} || {{na}} || {{ya}} || {{ya}} || {{na}} || <small>Nepali, dialects of Rajasthani (Lamani and NW. Marwari), Northern Lahnda's Kagani, Kumauni, many West Pahari dialects (not Chamba Mandeali, Jaunsari, or Sirmauri)</small>
|-
| {{ya}} || {{ya}} || {{ya}} || {{na}} || {{na}} || {{na}} || {{ya}} || {{na}} || <small>Rajasthani's S. Mewari</small>
|-
| {{ya}} || {{na}} || {{ya}} || {{na}} || {{na}} || {{na}} || {{ya}} || {{na}} || <small>Assamese</small>
|-
| {{na}} || {{ya}} || {{ya}} || {{na}} || {{na}} || {{na}} || {{ya}} || {{na}} || <small>Chittagonian</small>
|-
| {{na}} || {{ya}} || {{ya}} || {{na}} || {{na}} || {{na}} || {{na}} || {{na}} || <small>Sylheti</small>
|}

==== Nasals ====
Sanskrit was noted as having five nasal-stop articulations corresponding to its oral stops, and among modern languages and dialects Dogri, Kacchi, Kalasha, Rudhari, Shina, Saurashtri, and Sindhi have been analysed as having this full complement of phonemic nasals {{IPAslink|m}} {{IPAslink|n}} {{IPAslink|ɳ}} {{IPAslink|ɲ}} {{IPAslink|ŋ}}, with the last two generally as the result of the loss of the stop from a homorganic nasal + stop cluster ({{IPA|[ɲj]}} > {{IPA|[ɲ]}} and {{IPA|[ŋɡ]}} > {{IPA|[ŋ]}}), though there are other sources as well.<ref>{{Harvcoltxt|Masica|1991|pp=95–96}}</ref>

In languages that lack phonemic nasals at some places of articulation, they can still occur allophonically from place assimilation in a nasal + stop culture, e.g. Hindi {{IPA|/nɡ/}} > {{IPA|[ŋɡ]}}.

{| class="wikitable"
|-
! colspan=5 | Nasals
! rowspan=2 | Languages
|-
! {{IPAslink|m}} !! {{IPAslink|n}} !! {{IPAslink|ɳ}} !! {{IPAslink|ɲ}} !! {{IPAslink|ŋ}}
|-
| {{ya}} || {{ya}} || {{ya}} || {{ya}} || {{ya}} || <small>Dogri, Kacchi, Kalasha, Rudhari, Shina, Saurashtri, Sindhi, Saraiki</small>
|-
| {{ya}} || {{ya}} || {{na}} || {{ya}} || {{ya}} || <small>Sinhala</small>
|-
| {{ya}} || {{ya}} || {{ya}} || {{na}} || {{ya}} || <small>Sanskrit, Nepali,{{efn|Only some speakers have a /ɳ/}} Kalami, Odia, Dhundhari, Pashayi, Marwari</small>
|-
| {{ya}} || {{ya}} || {{ya}} || {{ya}} || {{na}} || <small>Dhivehi{{efn|Unclear status of /ɲ/}}</small>
|-
| {{ya}} || {{ya}} || {{ya}} || {{na}} || {{na}} || <small>Gujarati, Hindi, Kashmiri, Marathi, Punjabi, Rajasthani (Marwari)</small>
|-
| {{ya}} || {{ya}} || {{na}} || {{na}} || {{ya}} || <small>Nepali, Sylheti, Assamese, Bengali</small>
|-
| {{ya}} || {{ya}} || {{na}} || {{na}} || {{na}} || <small>Urdu, Romani, Domari</small>
|}

==== Aspiration and breathy-voice ====
Most Indo-Aryan languages have contrastive aspiration ({{IPA|/ʈ/ ~ /ʈʰ/}}), and some retain historical breathy voice on voiced consonants ({{IPA|/ɖ/ ~ /ɖʱ/}}). Sometimes both phenomena are analysed as a single aspiration contrast. The places and manners of articulation which allow contrastive aspiration vary by language; e.g. Sindhi permits phonemic {{IPA|/mʱ/}}, but the phonemic status of this sound in Hindi is uncertain, and many "Dardic" languages lack aspirated retroflex sibilants despite having unaspirated equivalents.<ref>{{Harvcoltxt|Masica|1991|pp=101–102}}</ref>

In languages that have lost breathy-voice, the contrast has often been replaced with tone.

==== Regional developments ====
Some of these are mentioned in {{Harvcoltxt|Masica|1991|pp=104–105}}.

* '''Implosives''': Languages in the Sindhic subfamily, as well as Saraiki, western [[Social:Marwari language|Marwari]] dialects, and some dialects of Gujarati have developed implosive consonants from historical intervocalic geminates and word-initial stops. Sindhi has a full implosive series except for the dental implosive: {{IPA|/ɠ ʄ ᶑ ɓ/}}. It has been claimed that Wadiyari Koli has the dental implosive too. Other languages have less complete implosive series, e.g. Kacchi has just {{IPA|/ᶑ ɓ/}}.
* '''Prenasalized stops''': Sinhala and Maldivian (Dhivehi) have a series of prenasalized stops covering all places except for palatal: {{IPA|/ᵐb ⁿd ᶯɖ ᵑɡ/}}.
* '''Palatalization''': Kashmiri (natively) and some Romani dialects (from contact with Slavic languages) have contrastive palatalisation.
* '''Voiceless lateral''' In Gawarbati, some Pashai dialects, partly Bashkarik and some Shina dialects have /ɬ/ from clusters of tr kr or sometimes pr; dr gr and br merged with /l/ in these languages.
* '''Lateral affricates''': Bhadarwahi has an unusual series of lateral retroflex affricates ({{IPA|/ʈ͡ꞎ ɖ͡ɭ ɖ͡ɭʱ/}} derived from historical {{IPA|/Cɾ/}} clusters.

=== Vowels ===
Vowel typologies are varied across Indo-Aryan due to diachronic mergers and (in some cases) splits, as well as different accounts by linguists for even the widely-spoken languages. Vowel systems per {{Harvcoltxt|Masica|1991|pp=108–113}} are listed below. Many languages also have phonemic nasal vowels.

{| class="wikitable"
|-
! 
! Vowels
! Languages
|-
| 16 || {{IPA|/iː i eː e ɨː ɨ əː ə aː a ɔː ɔ oː o uː u/}} || Kashmiri
|-
| 14 || {{IPA|/ɪ iː ʊ uː e eː ə~ɐ əː o oː æ~ɛ a aː ɔ/}} || Maithili
|-
| 13 || {{IPA|/iː i eː e æː æ aː a ə oː o uː u/}} || Sinhala
|-
| 10 || {{IPA|/i ɪ e ɛ &middot; a ə &middot; ɔ o ʊ u/}} || Hindustani, Punjabi, Sindhi, Kacchi, Hindko, Rajasthani (most varieties)
|-
| rowspan=3 | 9 || {{IPA|/i ɪ e æ~ɛ &middot; a ə &middot; o ʊ u/}} || W. Pahari (Dogri, Rudhari, Mandeali, Pangwali, Khashali, Churahi), Saraiki
|-
| {{IPA|/i ɪ e &middot; a ə &middot; ɔ o ʊ u/}} || W. Pahari (Shodochi, Surkhuli)
|-
| {{IPA|/i ɪ e ɛ &middot; a &middot; ɔ o ʊ u/}} || W. Pahari (Jaunsari, Shoracholi, Kullui)
|-
| rowspan=3 | 8 || {{IPA|/i e ɛ &middot; a ə &middot; ɔ o u/}} || Gujarati
|-
| {{IPA|/i e ɛ a &middot; ɒ ɔ o u/}} || Assamese
|-
| {{IPA|/i ɪ e &middot; a ə &middot; o ʊ u/}} || Halbi, Bhatri, W. Pahari (Garhwali, Chameali, Gaddi)
|-
| 7 || {{IPA|/i e æ &middot; a &middot; ɔ o u/}} || Bengali
|-
| rowspan=2 | 6 || {{IPA|/i e a &middot; ɔ o u/}} || Odia, Bishnupriya Manipuri
|-
| {{IPA|/i e &middot; a ə &middot; o u/}} || Marathi, Nepali, Lambadi, Sadri/Sadani
|-
| 5 || {{IPA|/i e &middot; a &middot; o u/}} || Romani (European dialects)
|}

Sylheti language is one of the few [[Social:Tone (linguistics)|tonal]] Indo-Aryan languages, others being Punjabi and a few Dardic languages. The vowels of Sylheti language listed below.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Mahanta |first1=Shakuntala |last2=Gope |first2=Amalesh |date=2018-09-01 |title=Tonal polarity in Sylheti in the context of noun faithfulness |url=https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0388000117302851 |journal=Language Sciences |language=en |volume=69 |pages=81 |doi=10.1016/j.langsci.2018.06.010 |s2cid=149759441 |issn=0388-0001}}</ref>
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! 
! Vowels
! Languages
|-
| 5 || {{IPA|/i e &middot; a &middot; ɔ u/}} || Sylheti
|}

=== Charts ===
The following are consonant systems of major and representative New Indo-Aryan languages, mostly following {{Harvcoltxt|Masica|1991|pp=106–107}}, though here they are in [[International Phonetic Alphabet|IPA]]. Parentheses indicate those consonants found only in loanwords: square brackets indicate those with "very low functional load". The arrangement is roughly geographical.

{|
|- style="vertical-align:top; text-align:center;" 
|
{| style="text-align:center; border:1px solid black"
|+ Romani
|-
| {{IPA|p}} || {{IPA|t}} || {{IPA|(ts)}} || {{IPA|tʃ}} || {{IPA|k}} || {{IPA|pʲ}} || {{IPA|tʲ}} || {{IPA|kʲ}}
|-
| {{IPA|b}} || {{IPA|d}} || {{IPA|(dz)}} || {{IPA|dʒ}} || {{IPA|ɡ}} || {{IPA|bʲ}} || {{IPA|dʲ}} || {{IPA|ɡʲ}}
|-
| {{IPA|pʰ}} || {{IPA|tʰ}} || || {{IPA|tʃʰ}} || {{IPA|kʰ}}
|-
| {{IPA|m}} || {{IPA|n}} || || || || || {{IPA|nʲ}}
|-
| {{IPA|(f)}} || {{IPA|s}} || || {{IPA|ʃ}} || {{IPA|x}} || {{IPA|(fʲ)}} || {{IPA|sʲ}}
|-
| {{IPA|v}} || {{IPA|(z)}} || || {{IPA|ʒ}} || {{IPA|ɦ}} || {{IPA|vʲ}} || {{IPA|zʲ}}
|-
| || {{IPA|ɾ}} || {{IPA|l}} || || || || {{IPA|lʲ}}
|-
| || || || {{IPA|j}}
|}
|
{| style="text-align:center; border:1px solid black"
|+ Shina
|-
| {{IPA|p}} || {{IPA|t̪}} || {{IPA|ʈ}} || {{IPA|ts}} || {{IPA|tʃ}} || {{IPA|tʂ}} || {{IPA|k}}
|-
| {{IPA|b}} || {{IPA|d̪}} || {{IPA|ɖ}} || || {{IPA|dʒ}} || {{IPA|ɖʐ}} || {{IPA|ɡ}}
|-
| {{IPA|pʰ}} || {{IPA|t̪ʰ}} || {{IPA|ʈʰ}} || {{IPA|tsʰ}} || {{IPA|tʃʰ}} || {{IPA|tʂʰ}} || {{IPA|kʰ}}
|-
| {{IPA|m}} || {{IPA|n}} || {{IPA|ɳ}} || || {{IPA|ɲ}} || || {{IPA|ŋ}}
|-
| {{IPA|(f)}} || {{IPA|s}} || {{IPA|ʂ}} || || {{IPA|ɕ}}
|-
| || {{IPA|z}} || {{IPA|ʐ}} || || {{IPA|ʑ}} || || {{IPA|ɦ}}
|-
| || {{IPA|ɾ l}} || {{IPA|ɽ}}
|-
| {{IPA|w}} || || || || {{IPA|j}}
|}
| colspan="2"|
{| style="text-align:center; border:1px solid black"
|+ Kashmiri
|-
| {{IPA|p}} || {{IPA|t̪}} || {{IPA|ʈ}} || {{IPA|ts}} || {{IPA|tʃ}} || {{IPA|k}} || {{IPA|pʲ}} || {{IPA|t̪ʲ}} || {{IPA|ʈʲ}} || {{IPA|tsʲ}} || {{IPA|kʲ}}
|-
| {{IPA|b}} || {{IPA|d̪}} || {{IPA|ɖ}} || || {{IPA|dʒ}} || {{IPA|ɡ}} || {{IPA|bʲ}} || {{IPA|d̪ʲ}} || {{IPA|ɖʲ}} || || {{IPA|ɡʲ}}
|-
| {{IPA|pʰ}} || {{IPA|t̪ʰ}} || {{IPA|ʈʰ}} || {{IPA|tsʰ}} || {{IPA|tʃʰ}} || {{IPA|kʰ}} || {{IPA|pʲʰ}} || {{IPA|t̪ʲʰ}} || {{IPA|ʈʲʰ}} || {{IPA|tsʲʰ}} || {{IPA|kʲʰ}}
|-
| {{IPA|m}} || {{IPA|n}} || || || {{IPA|ɲ}} || || {{IPA|mʲ}} || {{IPA|nʲ}}
|-
| || {{IPA|s}} || || || {{IPA|ʃ}} || || || {{IPA|sʲ}}
|-
| || {{IPA|z}} || || || || {{IPA|ɦ}} || || {{IPA|zʲ}} || || || {{IPA|ɦʲ}}
|-
| || {{IPA|ɾ l}} || || || || || || {{IPA|ɾʲ lʲ}} ||
|-
| {{IPA|w}} || || || || {{IPA|j}} || || {{IPA|wʲ}}
|}
|- style="vertical-align:top; text-align:center;" 
|
{| style="text-align:center; border:1px solid black"
|+ Saraiki
|-
| {{IPA|p}} || {{IPA|t̪}} || {{IPA|ʈ}} || {{IPA|tʃ}} || {{IPA|k}}
|-
| {{IPA|b}} || {{IPA|d̪}} || {{IPA|ɖ}} || {{IPA|dʒ}} || {{IPA|ɡ}}
|-
| {{IPA|pʰ}} || {{IPA|t̪ʰ}} || {{IPA|ʈʰ}} || {{IPA|tʃʰ}} || {{IPA|kʰ}}
|-
| {{IPA|bʱ}} || {{IPA|d̪ʱ}} || {{IPA|ɖʱ}} || {{IPA|dʒʱ}} || {{IPA|ɡʱ}}
|-
| {{IPA|ɓ}} || || {{IPA|ɗ}} || {{IPA|ʄ}} || {{IPA|ɠ}}
|-
| {{IPA|m}} || {{IPA|n}} || {{IPA|ɳ}} || {{IPA|ɲ}} || {{IPA|ŋ}}
|-
| {{IPA|mʱ}} || {{IPA|nʱ}} || {{IPA|ɳʱ}}
|-
| || {{IPA|s}} || || {{IPA|(ʃ)}} || {{IPA|(x)}}
|-
| || {{IPA|(z)}} || || || {{IPA|(ɣ) ɦ}}
|-
| || {{IPA|ɾ l}} || {{IPA|ɽ}}
|-
| || {{IPA|ɾʱ lʱ}} || {{IPA|ɽʱ}}
|-
| {{IPA|w}} || || || {{IPA|j}}
|-
| {{IPA|wʱ}}
|}
|
{| style="text-align:center; border:1px solid black"
|+ Punjabi
|-
| {{IPA|p}} || {{IPA|t̪}} || {{IPA|ʈ}} || {{IPA|tʃ}} || {{IPA|k}}
|-
| {{IPA|b}} || {{IPA|d̪}} || {{IPA|ɖ}} || {{IPA|dʒ}} || {{IPA|ɡ}}
|-
| {{IPA|pʰ}} || {{IPA|t̪ʰ}} || {{IPA|ʈʰ}} || {{IPA|tʃʰ}} || {{IPA|kʰ}}
|-
| {{IPA|m}} || {{IPA|n}} || {{IPA|ɳ}} || {{IPA|[ɲ}} || {{IPA|ŋ}}
|-
| {{IPA|(f)}} || {{IPA|s}} || {{IPA|ʃ}}
|-
| || {{IPA|(z)}} || || || {{IPA|ɦ}}
|-
| || {{IPA|ɾ l}} || {{IPA|ɽ ɭ}}
|-
| {{IPA|[w]}} || || || {{IPA|[j]}}
|}
|
{| style="text-align:center; border:1px solid black"
|+ Nepali
|-
| {{IPA|p}} || {{IPA|t̪}} || {{IPA|ʈ}} || {{IPA|ts}} || {{IPA|k}}
|-
| {{IPA|b}} || {{IPA|d̪}} || {{IPA|ɖ}} || {{IPA|dz}} || {{IPA|ɡ}}
|-
| {{IPA|pʰ}} || {{IPA|t̪ʰ}} || {{IPA|ʈʰ}} || {{IPA|tsʰ}} || {{IPA|kʰ}}
|-
| {{IPA|bʱ}} || {{IPA|d̪ʱ}} || {{IPA|ɖʱ}} || {{IPA|dzʱ}} || {{IPA|ɡʱ}}
|-
| {{IPA|m}} || {{IPA|n}} || || || {{IPA|ŋ}}
|-
| {{IPA|mʱ}} || {{IPA|nʱ}}
|-
| || {{IPA|s}} || || {{IPA|ʃ}} || {{IPA|ɦ}}
|-
| || {{IPA|ɾ l}}
|-
| || {{IPA|ɾʱ lʱ}}
|-
| {{IPA|[w]}} || || || {{IPA|[j]}}
|}
|
{| style="text-align:center; border:1px solid black"
|+ Sylheti<ref>{{cite conference |url=https://www.internationalphoneticassociation.org/icphs-proceedings/ICPhS2015/Papers/ICPHS0630.pdf |title=An Acoustic Analysis of Sylheti Phonemes |last1=Gope |first1=Amalesh |last2=Mahanta |first2=Shakuntala |date=2015 |location=Glasgow |conference=ICPhS 2015 |access-date=2022-11-11}}</ref>

|-
| || {{IPA|t̪}} || {{IPA|ʈ}} || ||
|-
| {{IPA|b}} || {{IPA|d̪}} || {{IPA|ɖ}} || || {{IPA|ɡ}}
|-
| {{IPA|m}} || {{IPA|n}} || || || {{IPA|ŋ}}
|-
| {{IPA|ɸ}} || {{IPA|s}} || || {{nbsp}}ʃ{{nbsp}} || {{IPA|x}}
|-
| || {{IPA|z}} || || || {{IPA|ɦ}}
|-
| || {{IPA|r l}} || 
|-
| || || || 
|}
|- style="vertical-align:top; text-align:center;" 
|
{| style="text-align:center; border:1px solid black"
|+ Sindhi<ref>{{cite web |last=Pandey |first=Anshuman |title=Proposal to Encode the Sindhi Script in ISO/IEC 10646 |url=http://std.dkuug.dk/JTC1/SC2/WG2/docs/n3871.pdf |access-date=2022-11-11 |date=2010-09-10}}</ref>
|-
| {{IPA|p}} || {{IPA|t̪}} || {{IPA|ʈ}} || {{IPA|tʃ}} || {{IPA|k}}
|-
| {{IPA|b}} || {{IPA|d̪}} || {{IPA|ɖ}} || {{IPA|dʒ}} || {{IPA|ɡ}}
|-
| {{IPA|pʰ}} || {{IPA|t̪ʰ}} || {{IPA|ʈʰ}} || {{IPA|tʃʰ}} || {{IPA|kʰ}}
|-
| {{IPA|bʱ}} || {{IPA|d̪ʱ}} || {{IPA|ɖʱ}} || {{IPA|dʒʱ}} || {{IPA|ɡʱ}}
|-
| {{IPA|ɓ}} || || {{IPA|ɗ}} || {{IPA|ʄ}} || {{IPA|ɠ}}
|-
| {{IPA|m}} || {{IPA|n}} || {{IPA|ɳ}} || {{IPA|ɲ}} || {{IPA|ŋ}}
|-
| {{IPA|mʱ}} || {{IPA|nʱ}} || {{IPA|ɳʱ}}
|-
| {{IPA|(f)}} || {{IPA|s}} || || {{IPA|(ʃ)}} || {{IPA|(x)}}
|-
| || {{IPA|(z)}} || || || {{IPA|(ɣ) ɦ}}
|-
| || || {{IPA|ɾ l}} || {{IPA|ɽ}}
|-
| || || {{IPA|ɾʱ lʱ}} || {{IPA|ɽʱ}}
|-
| {{IPA|w}} || || || {{IPA|j}}
|-
| {{IPA|wʱ}}
|}
|
{| style="text-align:center; border:1px solid black"
|+ Marwari
|-
| {{IPA|p}} || {{IPA|t̪}} || {{IPA|ʈ}} || {{IPA|tʃ}} || {{IPA|k}}
|-
| {{IPA|b}} || {{IPA|d̪}} || {{IPA|ɖ}} || {{IPA|dʒ}} || {{IPA|ɡ}}
|-
| {{IPA|pʰ}} || {{IPA|t̪ʰ}} || {{IPA|ʈʰ}} || {{IPA|tʃʰ}} || {{IPA|kʰ}}
|-
| {{IPA|bʱ}} || {{IPA|d̪ʱ}} || {{IPA|ɖʱ}} || {{IPA|dʒʱ}} || {{IPA|ɡʱ}}
|-
| {{IPA|ɓ}} || {{IPA|ɗ̪}} || {{IPA|ɗ}} || || {{IPA|ɠ}}
|-
| {{IPA|m}} || {{IPA|n}} || {{IPA|ɳ}}
|-
| {{IPA|mʱ}} || {{IPA|nʱ}}
|-
| || {{IPA|s}} || || || {{IPA|ɦ}}
|-
| || {{IPA|ɾ l}} || {{IPA|ɽ ɭ}}
|-
| {{IPA|w}} || || || {{IPA|j}}
|-
| {{IPA|wʱ}}
|}
|
{| style="text-align:center; border:1px solid black"
|+Hindustani
|-
| {{IPA|p}} || {{IPA|t̪}} || {{IPA|ʈ}} || {{IPA|tʃ}}
|{{IPA|(q)}}|| {{IPA|k}}
|-
| {{IPA|b}} || {{IPA|d̪}} || {{IPA|ɖ}} || {{IPA|dʒ}}
|{{IPA|(ɣ)}}
| {{IPA|ɡ}}
|-
| {{IPA|pʰ}} || {{IPA|t̪ʰ}} || {{IPA|ʈʰ}} || {{IPA|tʃʰ}}
|{{IPA|(x)}}|| {{IPA|kʰ}}
|-
| {{IPA|bʱ}} || {{IPA|d̪ʱ}} || {{IPA|ɖʱ}} || {{IPA|dʒʱ}}
| || {{IPA|ɡʱ}}
|-
| {{IPA|m}} || {{IPA|n}}
|{{IPA|(ɳ)}}
|
|
|
|-
| {{IPA|(f)}} || {{IPA|s}} || {{IPA|(ʂ)}}
| {{IPA|ʃ}}
|{{IPA|(ʒ)}}
|
|-
| || {{IPA|(z)}} || || 
| || {{IPA|ɦ}}
|-
| || {{IPA|[r] ɾ l}} || {{IPA|ɽ}}
|
|
|
|-
| || || {{IPA|ɽʱ}}
|
|
|
|-
| {{IPA|ʋ}}
{{IPA|[w]}}
| || || {{IPA|j}}
|
|
|}
|
{| style="text-align:center; border:1px solid black"
|+ Assamese
|-
| {{IPA|p}} || {{IPA|t}} || {{IPA|k}}
|-
| {{IPA|b}} || {{IPA|d}} || {{IPA|g}}
|-
| {{IPA|pʰ}} || {{IPA|tʰ}} || {{IPA|kʰ}}
|-
| {{IPA|bʱ}} || {{IPA|dʱ}} || {{IPA|ɡʱ}}
|-
| {{IPA|m}} || {{IPA|n}} || {{IPA|ŋ}}
|-
 || || {{IPA|s}} || {{IPA|x}}
|-
 || || {{IPA|z}} || {{IPA|ɦ}}
|-
 || || {{IPA|ɹ l}} || 
|-
| {{IPA|[w]}}
|}
|- style="vertical-align:top; text-align:center;" 
|
{| style="text-align:center; border:1px solid black"
|+ Bengali
|-
| {{IPA|p}} || {{IPA|t̪}} || {{IPA|ʈ}} || {{IPA|tʃ}} || {{IPA|k}}
|-
| {{IPA|b}} || {{IPA|d̪}} || {{IPA|ɖ}} || {{IPA|dʒ}} || {{IPA|ɡ}}
|-
| {{IPA|pʰ}} || {{IPA|t̪ʰ}} || {{IPA|ʈʰ}} || {{IPA|tʃʰ}} || {{IPA|kʰ}}
|-
| {{IPA|bʱ}} || {{IPA|d̪ʱ}} || {{IPA|ɖʱ}} || {{IPA|dʒʱ}} || {{IPA|ɡʱ}}
|-
| {{IPA|m}} || {{IPA|n}} || {{IPA|[ɳ]}} || {{IPA|[ɲ]}} || {{IPA|ŋ}}
|-
| {{IPA|[ɸ] [β]}} || {{IPA|[s] [z]}} || {{IPA|ʃ [ʒ]}}|| || {{IPA|[x]}} || {{IPA|ɦ}}
|-
| || {{IPA|[r] ɾ l}} || {{IPA|ɽ}}
|-
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{| style="text-align:center; border:1px solid black"
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{| style="text-align:center; border:1px solid black"
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{| style="text-align:center; border:1px solid black"
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== Sociolinguistics ==

=== Register ===
In many Indo-Aryan languages, the literary register is often more archaic and utilises a different lexicon (Sanskrit or Perso-Arabic) than spoken vernacular. One example is Bengali's high literary form, Sādhū bhāṣā, as opposed to the more modern Calita bhāṣā (Cholito-bhasha).{{sfn|Masica|1991|p=57}} This distinction approaches [[Social:Diglossia|diglossia]].

=== Language and dialect ===
In the context of South Asia, the choice between the appellations "language" and "dialect" is a difficult one, and any distinction made using these terms is obscured by their ambiguity. In one general colloquial sense, a language is a "developed" dialect: one that is standardised, has a written tradition and enjoys [[Social:Prestige (sociolinguistics)|social prestige]]. As there are degrees of development, the boundary between a language and a dialect thus defined is not clear-cut, and there is a large middle ground where assignment is contestable.
There is a second meaning of these terms, in which the distinction is drawn on the basis of linguistic similarity. Though seemingly a "proper" linguistics sense of the terms, it is still problematic: methods that have been proposed for quantifying difference (for example, based on [[Social:Mutual intelligibility|mutual intelligibility]]) have not been seriously applied in practice; and any relationship established in this framework is relative.{{sfn|Masica|1991|pp=23–27}}

== See also ==
* Indo-Aryans
* Iranic languages
* [[History:Indo-Aryan migration|Indo-Aryan migration]]
* Proto-Vedic Continuity
* The family of Brahmic scripts
* Linguistic history of India
* [[Social:Indo-Aryan loanwords in Tamil|Indo-Aryan loanwords in Tamil]]
* [[Social:Dravidian languages|Dravidian languages]]
* Languages of Bangladesh
* Languages of India
* [[History:Maldives#Languages|Languages of Maldives]]
* Languages of Nepal
* Languages of Pakistan
* Languages of Sri Lanka
* Languages of South Asia

== Notes ==
{{notelist}}

== References ==
{{reflist}}

== Further reading ==
*Morgenstierne, Georg. "Early Iranic Influence upon Indo-Aryan." Acta Iranica, I. série, Commemoration Cyrus. Vol. I. Hommage universel (1974): 271–279.
* John Beames, ''A comparative grammar of the modern Aryan languages of India: to wit, Hindi, Panjabi, Sindhi, Gujarati, Marathi, Oriya, and Bangali''. Londinii: Trübner, 1872–1879. 3 vols.
* Madhav Deshpande (1979). ''Sociolinguistic attitudes in India: An historical reconstruction''. Ann Arbor: Karoma Publishers. {{ISBN|0-89720-007-1}}, {{ISBN|0-89720-008-X}} (pbk).
* Chakrabarti, Byomkes (1994). ''A comparative study of Santali and Bengali''. Calcutta: K.P. Bagchi & Co. {{ISBN|81-7074-128-9}}
* Erdosy, George. (1995). ''The Indo-Aryans of ancient South Asia: Language, material culture and ethnicity''. Berlin: Walter de Gruyter. {{ISBN|3-11-014447-6}}.
* {{cite web |url=http://homepages.fh-giessen.de/kausen/klassifikationen/Indogermanisch.doc |first=Ernst |last=Kausen |date=2006 |title=Die Klassifikation der indogermanischen Sprachen (Microsoft Word, 133 KB)}}
* Kobayashi, Masato.; & George Cardona (2004). ''Historical phonology of old Indo-Aryan consonants''. Tokyo: Research Institute for Languages and Cultures of Asia and Africa, Tokyo University of Foreign Studies. {{ISBN|4-87297-894-3}}.
* {{Citation |last=Masica |first=Colin |year=1991 |title=The Indo-Aryan Languages |place= Cambridge |publisher={{wipe|Cambridge University Press}} |isbn=978-0-521-29944-2 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=J3RSHWePhXwC&q=indo-aryan+languages}}.
* Misra, Satya Swarup. (1980). ''Fresh light on Indo-European classification and chronology''. Varanasi: Ashutosh Prakashan Sansthan.
* Misra, Satya Swarup. (1991–1993). ''The Old-Indo-Aryan, a historical & comparative grammar'' (Vols. 1–2). Varanasi: Ashutosh Prakashan Sansthan.
* Sen, Sukumar. (1995). ''Syntactic studies of Indo-Aryan languages''. Tokyo: Institute for the Study of Languages and Foreign Cultures of Asia and Africa, Tokyo University of Foreign Studies.
* Vacek, Jaroslav. (1976). ''The sibilants in Old Indo-Aryan: A contribution to the history of a linguistic area''. Prague: Charles University.

== External links ==
* [https://web.archive.org/web/19991007065656/http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Ithaca/1335/Lang/prakrit.html The Indo-Aryan languages], 25 October 2009
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20141029054109/http://www.ahandfulofleaves.org/documents/The%20Indo-Aryan%20Languages_Masica.pdf The Indo-Aryan languages] Colin P.Masica 
* [http://web.mit.edu/rbhatt/www/24.956/l1.pdf Survey of the syntax of the modern Indo-Aryan languages] (Rajesh Bhatt), 7 February 2003.



{{DEFAULTSORT:Indo-Aryan Languages}}
[[Category:Indo-Aryan languages| ]]

{{Sourceattribution|Indo-Aryan languages}}