Santali Grammar & Composition

Chapter 1: Introduction to Santali Language Santali is a language belonging to the Munda branch of the Austroasiatic language family. It is the most widely spoken language of the Munda language family and is one of the 22 Scheduled Languages of India. The language is primarily spoken in the Indian states of Jharkhand, West Bengal, Odisha, Bihar, Assam, and Tripura. It is also spoken in Bangladesh and Nepal. Historical Background The Santali language has a rich oral tradition that dates back thousands of years. For generations, the language was passed down through oral literature, songs, and stories. The written tradition began relatively recently with the development of various scripts. Ol Chiki Script The Ol Chiki script (also known as Ol Cemet') was created by Pandit Raghunath Murmu in 1925. It was specifically designed to write the Santali language and is considered one of the most efficient scripts for representing the sounds of Santali. The script consists of 30 letters: 6 vowels and 24 consonants. Each letter is designed to represent a specific phoneme in the Santali language. The script is written from left to right. Vowels in Ol Chiki: - A (ᱟ) - open central unrounded vowel - E (ᱤ) - close-mid front unrounded vowel - I (ᱦ) - close front unrounded vowel - O (ᱳ) - close-mid back rounded vowel - U (ᱩ) - close back rounded vowel Consonants are organized by their place of articulation: - Velar: K (ᱠ), Kh (ᱧ), G (ᱜ), Gh (ᱡ) - Palatal: C (ᱪ), Ch (ᱭ), J (ᱰ), Jh (ᱱ) - Retroflex: T (ᱴ), Th (ᱷ), D (ᱟ), Dh (ᱞ) - Dental: T' (ᱝ), Th' (ᱨ), D' (ᱲ), Dh' (ᱹ) - Labial: P (ᱯ), Ph (ᱰ), B (ᱵ), Bh (ᱶ) - Nasals and others: M (ᱢ), Y (ᱤ), R (ᱨ), L (ᱲ), W (ᱣ), S (ᱥ), H (ᱦ) Phonology Santali has a rich phonological system with distinctions between: - Voiceless and voiced stops - Aspirated and unaspirated consonants - Oral and nasal vowels - Short and long vowels