Geographic variation and the rise of (h-) in Bihar
Bihar is one of the eastern states of India which has been historically home to three closely related
Indo-Aryan speech varieties, namely Maithili, Magahi and Bhojpuri occupying distinct
geographical regions. Two additional varieties have emerged over time known as Angika and
Bajjika. Increased internal mobility across the state has resulted in increased contact across the
language regions. This has resulted in the redistribution of various copular verb forms.
The focus of the study is on geographic variation in the use of present tense be form (h-). Despite
having its own geographic and linguistic centre of gravitation, the (h-) form is spreading to other
linguistic regions in Bihar. The study reports on the rise and diffusion of the (h-) forms, agencies of
diffusion, and the consequences of diffusion on the grammar (h-). It is based on sociolinguistic
interviews conducted in ten dialect regions representing the five varieties. The data was coded for
several internal and external factors such as copula-types, person, honorificity, humanness, age,
gender, mobility, language and region, etc., and subjected to multivariate analysis.
The findings suggest that: (a) (h-) has diffused everywhere but not uniformly. For instance, it is
more widely spread in the Southern regions. (b) Another striking finding is that (h-) has replaced the
traditional copular verb form in two of the Northern regions, a clear case of diffusion and
diachronic shift. (c) (h-) has maintained its presence in Western Bihar, though it seems restricted in
its distribution. (d) Finally, we can also see a pattern in the direction of diffusion.
Geographic distance, Reorganization of the districts, education, gender, and mobility are identified
as important factors to understand this change. The findings also suggest that (h-) has lost some of
its structural details in diffusing to the other region. This finding is in line with Labov (2007).
Keywords: Mobility, contact, redistribution, copular verbs, diffusion, diachronic shift, stability,
variation and change.
References
Labov, William (2007). Transmission and Diffusion. Language, 83, pp. 344-387. 10.1353/
lan.2007.0082.