Page 600 - A GRAMMAR OF BHOJPURI _ PhD Dissertation 2020 TU

CHAPTER 16
SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS

16.0 Outline
This chapter exhibits summary of the major findings of the study and
concludes it. It consists of two sections. In section 16.1, we present a summary of the

major findings of the study and we conclude the study by highlighting the most
striking features of Bhojpuri in section 16.2.

16.1 Major findings
In this section, we present the major findings, i.e., the major features of the

language in the domains of sociolinguistics, phonology, morphophonology,
morphology, syntax and coherent pragmatics.

16.1.1 Sociolinguistic features
Bhojpuri is a New Indo-Aryan language spoken in western part of State No. 2
along with the bordering districts of Bagmati Pradesh, State No. 4 and 5 in Nepal. It is

also spoken in the adjacent neighbouring territories of India in western Bihar and
eastern Uttar Pradesh, along with other Indian provinces and in a number of foreign

countries. The majority of Bhojpuri native speakers are Hindus but the number of
Muslims, Buddhists, Samanists and Christians is also meaningful. It has acquired its

name from Bhojpur, now a district and a pair of villages in Bihar. Bhojpurias retain
themselves in majority in agriculture and animal farming but they have also been

scattered in Diaspora initially as indentured labourers and contemporarily in different
professions in foreign employment, too. Hindu caste system still exists, though efforts
are being made to abolish untouchability. Ehnologue, 2012 has data of literacy rate of

the Bhojpuri speech community in the first language to be 5%–30% and that in the
second language to be 50%–75% respectively. The early marriage system still

remains both in Hindus and Muslims but rapidly receding because of public
awareness and new legal system.
The resources available in the Bhojpuri language are folk stories and folklore,

songs, religious literature and modern literature. The people of the old generations tell
stories about their ancestors, supernatural stories and stories related to the animal

kingdom. They have different types of songs for different rites and rituals from birth
to the funeral ceremony. Phonemic inventory, grammar, dictionary, textbooks,

literacy materials, newspapers, magazines and abundance of written literature with

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