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 +Birjia consonantsBilabialDentalAlveolarPostalveolarRetroflexPalatalVelarGlottalStop/AffricatevoicelessaspiratedvoicedbreathyFricative()NasalApproximantRhotic
Vowels +Birjia vowels Front Central Back High Mid-high Mid-low Low
Word structure Monosyllabic templates VC: /otʰ/ "earth", /up/ "hair" V: /o/ "to smell" CV: /kʰu/ "cough" CVC: /ɟan/ "bone", /bʰap/ "steam" CVCC: /menʔ/ "eye"
Disyllabic templates VCV: /iʈa/ "brick" VVC: /oitʰ/ "behind" CVV: /rua/ "fever" CVCV: /hasa/ "clay" CVVC: /ɲein/ "toy" VCVC: /ipil/ "star" VCCVC: /uttər/ "north" CVCCV: /samdʱo/ "daughter-in-law's mother/ CVCVC: /palah/ "snow" CVCCVC: /seŋgel/ "fire" CVCCCV: /banɖɽo/ "storm" CVCVCC: /reŋetʔ/ "hunger" CVCCVV: /sərləi/ "matchstick" CVVCVV: /kairao/ "to get angry"
Polysyllabic VCVCV: /iremi/ "to harvest" CVCVCV: /haremi/ "to bury a dead body" CVCVCVCV: /nakaɟami/ "to comb hair" CVCVCVCVCVC: /tajarajanam/ "to prepare"
Morphology Nominal morphology Pronouns singular dual plural 1st person ɲia ɲia 2nd person amaʔ aban ape 3rd person huni/hunikuɽi hukin huku
Cases Bhattacharya (2022) describes several cases in Birjia. Like Santali and Mundari, Birjia lacks general case markers to demonstrate syntactic relationship between arguments. Case Marker Function Nominative/Accusative =Ø Subjects and objects Dative =ʔta Animate dative/recipient argument Genitive =raʔ Possession Instrumental =te Medium Ablative eteraʔ From
Vocabulary Numerals Numbers greater than three have been replaced by Indo-Aryan borrowings. Gloss Birjia Santali "one" mian mitˀ "two" barija bar "three" peja pɛ Nature Gloss Birjia Santali "cloud" rimil rimil "dog" seta seta "he" huni uni "horse" sadom sadɔm "wood" səhan sahan "fruit" ɟoʔoh dʒɔ "fish" haku hako "ant" muon muˀtʃ "house" oɽa oɽaˀk "star" ipil ipil "rope" bawer baber ~ waber
References