Kumaoni Language

The Kumaoni (कुमाँऊनी ) are a people of the Kumaon Division of Uttarakhand, a region in the Indian Himalayas. Their Kumaoni language (कुमाँऊनी भाषा ) is one of the Central Pahari languages.

Kumaoni is spoken by over 2,360,000 (1998) people of Indian states of Uttarakhand - Almora, Nainital, Pithoragarh, Bageshwar, Champawat, Rudrapur (Udhamsingh Nagar) districts; Assam; Bihar; Delhi; Madhya Pradesh; Maharashtra and Punjab, besides being spoken in some regions of Himachal Pradesh and Nepal.

The Central Pahari languages include Kumaoni and Garhwali (spoken in the Garhwal region of Uttarakhand). Kumaoni, like Garhwali, has many regional dialects spoken in different places in Uttarakhand. Amongst its dialects, the Central Kumauni is spoken in Almora and northern Nainital, Northeastern Kumauni is in Pithoragarh, Southeastern Kumauni is in Southeastern Nainital, Western Kumauni is west of Almora and Nainital.

Almost all people who can speak and understand Kumaoni can also speak and understand Nepali and Hindi,the official language of India. However, due to a number of reasons, Kumaoni is one of the languages which is shrinking very rapidly. UNESCO’s Atlas of the World's Languages in Danger designates Kumaoni as language in the unsafe category and which requires consistent conservation efforts.

Read more about Kumaoni Language:  Dialects of Kumaon Region, Grammar, Example Short Phrases, Kumaoni Literature, Further Reading

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