|
There are three identified dialects in this group: Eastern Goalpariya dialect, Western Goalpariya dialect and Intermediate Goalpariya dialect. The scholars from Assam associate these dialects with the Assamese language. A renowned Bengali Scholar Chatterjee classifies Western Goalpariya dialect with the North Bengali dialects, and classes all Goalpariya dialects, including Eastern Goalpariya (Bongaigaon District), in Kamatapuri versions. This Goalpariya dialect is concentrated in the undivided Goalpara district, also called Goalpara region. This Goalpara district was constituted in colonial Assam that has subsequently seen further division. This region was earlier a part of the Kamata kingdom and later a part of Koch Hajo, the domain of Raghudeva and Parikshit Narayana, from 1581 to about 1615, when the Mughals took control over the region and constituted a regional government. The British East India Company received this region as the Diwani of Bengal in the 18th century, and it became a part of Colonial Assam administration soon after the British took control of the Ahom kingdom in 1826. Another scholar Dutta identifies three main dialects of Goalpara Region. One he classifies as Eastern Goalpariya, with two sub-varieties: the dialects around Abhayapuri and Goalpara towns forming one; and the dialects around Krishnai, Dudhnai and Dhupdhara forming the other. Locally, the speeches in this region are individually given names: Habraghatiya, Bausiya, Namdaniya and Barahajari. Under Western Goalpariya dialect, Dutta discusses two separate dialects: the dialects around Gauripur which is locally called Ghulliya and the dialects around Salkocha which is locally called Jharua. Dutta considers the Salkocha dialect as the intermediate dialect of Goalpara. Assamese scholars consider Goalpariya dialect as a part of Assamese language. Most specifically, it is called as a western Assamese language. The two erstwhile western districts of Assam, Kamrup districtand Goalpara district, possess several local dialects. In fact, the Goalpariya dialect is similar to the Rajsbansi dialect which was evolved under the Koch kings during the early phase of the medieval period, and also similar to Bengali dialects spoken in Noth Bengal concentrated in Malda District and other adjacent places. Of course, the differences between the eastern and western Assamese dialects are wide and range over the whole field of phonology, morphology and not infrequently vocabulary. The people, who speak Goalpariya dialect, call themselves "deshi", a dominant section, leaving out the Bodo Tribe, Rabha Tribe, Mech Tribe, Chawtal Tribe and other communities of the region. They call their dialect as "deshi bhasa". Sections of these people are known as Rajbongshi, which means men of royal descent who are Koch in origin. To trace the intermingling nature of this dialect, one can look its words. For example, the word "Kechha", meaning story, could have been derived from the Urdu word "kissa" and transformed itself into the Goalpariya dialect. The Urdu influence may be traced to the Mughal general, Mir Jumla, who, during his invasion of Assam, had pitched his military camp at Panbari in Dhubri district, probably due to the Panbari Mosque, which was used by Muslim soldiers. Indeed, a section of the Mughals had settled in the district and the process of acculturation followed. There are many other words of Arabian Language, Persian Language and Urdu language use in the Goalpariya dialect such as "roshan", "haram", "nasta", "chacha", "chachi", "bhabi", "nana" and "nani". These are particularly used by the Muslim community. There are some leading variations in Goalpariya dialect as one move from one place to another which is not surprising as when there is a physical separation in terms of distance. According to Birendra Nath Dutta, one of renowned Assamese linguist and the former president of the Assam Sahitya Sabha, the old district can roughly be divided into two zones, the eastern and the western, on the basis of variation in their dialects. The eastern zone is contiguous to the district of Kamrup District and the western zone is closer to northern part of West Bengal. |
| More Articles in Goalpara District (3) | |
|
|
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
