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Sarnami Hindustani
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Sarnami Hindustani
Sarnámi Hindustáni (Sarnami Hindustani, Sarnami Hindoestani, Sarnami) is an Indo-Aryan koiné language and the Surinamese variety of Caribbean Hindustani. The language originated from a mixture of the various languages and dialects spoken by British Indian indentured labourers. The Indo-Aryan languages that formed the basis for the development of Sarnami consist of Bhojpuri, Awadhi and Hindustani (Hindi-Urdu), and to a lesser degree from other Bihari and Hindi languages, such as Magahi, Maithili and Braj. It also contains Influence and vocabulary taken from Dutch, English, and to a lesser extent Portuguese and loanwords from other Surinamese languages such as Sranan Tongo.
Sarnami is considered to be the mother tongue of the Indo-Surinamese people and is mainly spoken in the Nickerie and Saramacca districts of Suriname, and due to migration in the Netherlands, Netherlands Antilles, Guyana, United States, Canada, and French Guiana.
The word Sarnami literally means Surinamese. The name Sarnami Hindustani was first used in 1961 by Jnan Hansdev Adhin.[citation needed]
The language emerged mainly through the mixing of different dialects or language variants from Northern India and southern Nepal, the areas from which the approximately 34,000 indentured labourers were brought to Suriname between 1873 and 1916 by the Dutch colonial government via the British, to replace the African slaves who had been freed.
Sarnami is the third-most spoken language in Suriname after Dutch and Sranan Tongo and the mother tongue of approximately 500,000 of the Surinamese diaspora. Sarnami is also spoken by many immigrants in the Netherlands. Outside Suriname, other variants of Caribbean Hindustani are also spoken by Indo-Caribbean people in other Caribbean countries. Compared to other varieties of Caribbean Hindustani, Sarnami is still widely spoken, especially in Suriname and the Netherlands.
Hindustani (Standard Hindi-Standard Urdu) which has also influenced the language is separately considered a prestige language within Suriname, Sarnami is generally seen as a vernacular, and sometimes also considered to be a heritage language.
The difference with Standard Hindustani is mainly in the grammar. Sarnami, does not have the two cases of Hindi. Sarnami is also for example grammatically closer, to Bengali than it is to Hindi. An influence from Dutch on Sarnami grammar is, that the stem of the verb and the imperative mood are the same, meaning the syntax of the two languages is almost the same.
The first major Indo-Surinamese intellectual was Munshi Rahman Khan, with other major ones including Jit Narain, Rabin Baldewsingh, Chitra Gajadin, Cándani, Bhai, Raj Mohan and more.
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Sarnami Hindustani
Sarnámi Hindustáni (Sarnami Hindustani, Sarnami Hindoestani, Sarnami) is an Indo-Aryan koiné language and the Surinamese variety of Caribbean Hindustani. The language originated from a mixture of the various languages and dialects spoken by British Indian indentured labourers. The Indo-Aryan languages that formed the basis for the development of Sarnami consist of Bhojpuri, Awadhi and Hindustani (Hindi-Urdu), and to a lesser degree from other Bihari and Hindi languages, such as Magahi, Maithili and Braj. It also contains Influence and vocabulary taken from Dutch, English, and to a lesser extent Portuguese and loanwords from other Surinamese languages such as Sranan Tongo.
Sarnami is considered to be the mother tongue of the Indo-Surinamese people and is mainly spoken in the Nickerie and Saramacca districts of Suriname, and due to migration in the Netherlands, Netherlands Antilles, Guyana, United States, Canada, and French Guiana.
The word Sarnami literally means Surinamese. The name Sarnami Hindustani was first used in 1961 by Jnan Hansdev Adhin.[citation needed]
The language emerged mainly through the mixing of different dialects or language variants from Northern India and southern Nepal, the areas from which the approximately 34,000 indentured labourers were brought to Suriname between 1873 and 1916 by the Dutch colonial government via the British, to replace the African slaves who had been freed.
Sarnami is the third-most spoken language in Suriname after Dutch and Sranan Tongo and the mother tongue of approximately 500,000 of the Surinamese diaspora. Sarnami is also spoken by many immigrants in the Netherlands. Outside Suriname, other variants of Caribbean Hindustani are also spoken by Indo-Caribbean people in other Caribbean countries. Compared to other varieties of Caribbean Hindustani, Sarnami is still widely spoken, especially in Suriname and the Netherlands.
Hindustani (Standard Hindi-Standard Urdu) which has also influenced the language is separately considered a prestige language within Suriname, Sarnami is generally seen as a vernacular, and sometimes also considered to be a heritage language.
The difference with Standard Hindustani is mainly in the grammar. Sarnami, does not have the two cases of Hindi. Sarnami is also for example grammatically closer, to Bengali than it is to Hindi. An influence from Dutch on Sarnami grammar is, that the stem of the verb and the imperative mood are the same, meaning the syntax of the two languages is almost the same.
The first major Indo-Surinamese intellectual was Munshi Rahman Khan, with other major ones including Jit Narain, Rabin Baldewsingh, Chitra Gajadin, Cándani, Bhai, Raj Mohan and more.
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