Page 582 - A GRAMMAR OF BHOJPURI _ PhD Dissertation 2020 TU

exhibits the minimal pairs of non-aspirated and aspirated counterparts in all
̈
environments but it shows the breathy counterparts भ /b ̤ /, ध /d ̤ /, ढ /ɖ/, झ /ȷ ̈ / and घ /ɡ ̈ / of
ब /b/, द /d/, ड /ɖ/, ज /j/, and ग /ɡ/. Thus, Bhojpuri has an inventory of 36 consonants.

15.1.2 Vowels
The Indo-Aryan languages have three categories of vowels: monophthongs,

diphthongs and nasal vowels. Bhojpuri does have the three categories and an extra
one, i.e., thriphthongs, presented as follows:

a) Oral monophthongs
The NIA languages in South Asia have a minimal six-vowel system of two
types: Oriya type with parallel front and back vowels इ /i/, ए /e/, आ /ɑ/; उ /u/, ओ /o/, औ

/ɔ/ and Nepali/Marathi type with a height contrast in the central vowels इ /i/, ए /e/; आ

/ɑ/, अ /ə/; ओ /o/, उ /u/ (Masica, 1991:109). Pokharel (2000) gets अ /ʌ/ instead of अ /ə/

and so happens in Bhojpuri with two more additional lower-mid front and back vowels

ऐ /ɛ/ and औ /ɔ/. Thus, Bhojpuri follows Nepali type of vowels with addition of the two

as इ /i/, ए /e/; ऐ /ɛ/, आ /ɑ/; अ /ʌ/, औ /ɔ/; ओ /o/, उ /u/ as they are found in Maithili (Jha,
1991:108), whereas Hindi has two more long vowels ई /ī/ and ऊ /ū/ (Koul, 2008:12-3)

as Awadhi does have (Saksena, 1937:57-8). In this way Bhojpuri has 8 monophthongs,
typologically more nearer to Nepali type with adaptive inventory, too.

b) Nasal monophthongs
Oral-nasal contrast in the monophthongs is the NIA characteristics. Bhojpuri

has also the equal number of nasal monophthongs as it does have the oral ones,
already discussed in Chapter 3.

c) Diphthongs
Diphthongs, in terms of combinations of two vowel sounds within one
syllable, are not the essential part of the NIA languages in general, though Masica

(1991:116) quotes Ferguson and Chowdhury (1960) as recognizing some diphthongs
in Bengali. Bhojpuri does have some diphthongs already discussed in Chapter 3.

Besides, Bhojpuri exhibits some triphthongs, too.
15.1.3 Syllabicity

Historical phonology of the Indo-Aryan exhibits a number of changes to have
occurred to be present as the syllabicity of the New Indo-Aryan (NIA) languages.

They can be noted as follows:

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