Birjia language

The Birjia language, also known as Binjhia or Bijori, is a language of India. It is commonly assumed to be a Munda language closely related to the Asuri language. However, Anderson, based on Prasad (1961:314), suggests that Birjia (Binjhia) may be an Indo-Aryan language, although the Birjia are a tribe of the Asuri nation. The latter include the Asur and the Agariya.

Distribution

Birjia is spoken in:

Jharkhand: Lohardaga district and Ranchi district
West Bengal: Darjeeling district and Jalpaiguri district
Madhya Pradesh
Odisha

Phonology

Bhattacharya (2022) lists the following phonemes for the Birjia variety spoken in Gumla district, Jharkhand:

Consonants

Vowels

Word structure

Monosyllabic templates

VC: /otÃÂ°/ "earth", /up/ "hair"
V: /o/ "to smell"
CV: /kÃÂ°u/ "cough"
CVC: /ÃÂan/ "bone", /bÃÂ°ap/ "steam"
CVCC: /menÃÂ/ "eye"

Disyllabic templates

VCV: /iÃÂa/ "brick"
VVC: /oitÃÂ°/ "behind"
CVV: /rua/ "fever"
CVCV: /hasa/ "clay"
CVVC: /ÃÂ²ein/ "toy"
VCVC: /ipil/ "star"
VCCVC: /uttÃÂr/ "north"
CVCCV: /samdÃÂ±o/ "daughter-in-law's mother/
CVCVC: /palah/ "snow"
CVCCVC: /seÃÂgel/ "fire"
CVCCCV: /banÃÂÃÂ½o/ "storm"
CVCVCC: /reÃÂetÃÂ/ "hunger"
CVCCVV: /sÃÂrlÃÂi/ "matchstick"
CVVCVV: /kairao/ "to get angry"

Polysyllabic

VCVCV: /iremi/ "to harvest"
CVCVCV: /haremi/ "to bury a dead body"
CVCVCVCV: /nakaÃÂami/ "to comb hair"
CVCVCVCVCVC: /tajarajanam/ "to prepare"

Morphology

Nominal morphology

Pronouns

Cases

Bhattacharya (2022) describes several cases in Birjia. Like Santali and Mundari, Birjia lacks general case markers to demonstrate syntactic relationship between arguments.