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Kutchi
કચ્છી, 𑊺𑋀𑋪𑋁𑋢, ڪڇّي
Kutchi in Khudabadi, Gujarati and Sindhi scripts
Native to	India Pakistan
Region	Kutch (India) Sindh (Pakistan)
Ethnicity	Kutchi
Native speakers	1,031,000 (in India) (2011)
Language family	Indo-European Indo-Iranian Indo-Aryan Northwestern Sindhic Kutchi
Dialects	Kutchi-Swahili
Writing system	Gujarati, Khudabadi, Khojki, Perso-Arabic
Language codes
ISO 639-3	kfr
Glottolog	kach1277
Sindhic languages. Kutchi language shown in pink

Kutchi (/ˈkʌtʃi/; કચ્છી, 𑊺𑋀𑋪𑋁𑋢, ڪڇّي) or Kachhi is an Indo-Aryan language spoken in the Kutch region of Gujarat, and some parts of Rajasthan, India and Sindh, Pakistan.

Influences from other languages

Some scholars have considered Kutchi to be a dialect of Sindhi, but the two languages are quite distinct from one another. Over time, it has borrowed vocabulary from Gujarati. The variety of Kutchi spoken in Sindh and in the Banni region of Kutch is more similar to the Lari dialect of Sindhi, whereas the Kutchi spoken in the eastern parts of Kutch has more Gujarati influence, and is slowly becoming more similar to Gujarati.

Most Kutchis living in India are bilingual or trilingual, due to exposure to closely related neighbouring languages such as Gujarati. Many Pakistani Kutchis are also bilingual or trilingual; many residents of Karachi speak Kutchi. Its differences from neighbouring languages are more pronounced in its spoken varieties, but it has many loans from Gujarati, Marwari (a major western Rajasthani language) and Hindi-Urdu as well. Kutchi-speakers are often part of the Charans, Jadeja, Bhanushalis, Lohanas, Brahmins (Rajgor), Meghwals, Visa Oswal and Dasa Osval (Oshwal) Jains, Ismaili Khojas and followers of the Satpanth, Bhatias, Rabaris, Muslim Kutchi Khatris, the Muslim Rajput-Rayma, or Kutchi Memons.

During the British reign, many traders and families of the Kutchi communities left the Indian subcontinent and settled in regions of East Africa such as Kenya, Somalia, Tanzania, Uganda, Zaire/Congo, and even as far south as South Africa. The landing point of entry into Africa was in Zanzibar, a trading post of goods between India and East Africa in the late 1800s. Kutchi communities in this region often integrated Swahili words and phrases into their language, producing a creole language called Kutchi-Swahili.

Common words and phrases

There are distinct regional accents and variations in grammar. As in many languages spoken along Asian trade routes. Many Kutchi speakers also speak Gujarati as a separate language, especially as it is the language in which Kutchi speakers customarily write. Kutchi speakers' Gujarati accent and usage tends towards standard forms that any Gujarati speaker would be able to understand.

The following words are commonly used by Hindu individuals descending from the Kutch rural area of Gujarat, India, who, especially if in east Africa, reject Kutchi. These are colloquial forms of general Gujarati phrases that are often used in daily conversation in villages, particularly of Kutchi predominance, and are Gujaratisized versions of Kutchi words. Kutchi is also very close to Sindhi and Gujarati due to historical, cultural and geographic influences. These relationships are evident in the following examples:

Note: Bracketed texts indicate nasal or strong sounds

Writing system

Kutchi is normally written using a modified version of the Gujarati script. Many books and magazines are published in the language using the modified Gujarati script, including Vadhod ("Inquiry"). In parts of Pakistan, the modified Perso-Arabic script is used instead. In earlier times it was written in the Khudabadi and Khojki scripts, the latter of which is now extinct. Additionally, there may have been a Kutchi script, samples of which may be in the Kutch Museum. Below is a table of how different Kutchi words can be written in different scripts:

One of the issues confronting research into the Kutchi is the inaccesibility of information about the language. The Kutchi Language Online website (now archived) maintains a list of Kutchi vocabulary words, which can be accessed through their website. Dr Rajul Shah, an ayurvedic doctor, psychologist and a graphologist has created a script to use for the language.

Kutchi people

See also

• Kutchi cinema
• Kutchi Memon
• Memoni language
• Oswal
• Bhatia
• Lohana
• Khojki
• Bhanushali
• Patidar
• Meghwal

Notes

1. Also spoken in parts of Rajashtan and Sindh near the border with Kutch, India
2. Katchi, Kutchhi, Kachchi, Kachchhi, Kachhi, or Cutchi.

References

1. ^ "Voter you thinking?: Kutchis unsure where to place their thumbs on ballots". The Express Tribune.
2. "2011 Census tables: C-16, population by mother tongue". Census of India Website. Retrieved 4 November 2018.
3. ^ "Gujarātī". Omniglot.com. Retrieved 3 May 2014.
4. "Is Kutchi Rabita Committee any good in a peaceful Lyari?". www.thenews.com.pk. Retrieved 2020-06-09.
5. "Glottolog 4.8 - Kachchi". glottolog.org. Retrieved 2023-07-13.
6. "Kachchhi language". Encyclopedia Britannica. Some scholars have considered Kachchhi to be a dialect of Sindhi, but the two languages are quite distant from one another geographically, politically, and culturally.
7. "Lyari's dissidents pose challenge for health officials". The Express Tribune.
8. "Religion". www.asanjokutch.com. Retrieved 2024-12-15.
9. "Khojki alphabet". www.omniglot.com. Retrieved 2024-12-14.
10. "Kutchi Language Online". web.archive.org. 2021-09-17. Retrieved 2024-12-15.
11. "Kutchi Language gets script – Kutchi Maadu". Kutchimaadu.com. Retrieved 2017-08-20.
12. "Kutchi language gets script". Business Standard. Press Trust of India. 5 August 2009. Retrieved 2017-08-20.

External links

• Kutchi Language Online
• Suvichar Ki Dayri

• Languages of Gujarat
• Languages of Sindh
• Western Indo-Aryan languages
• Culture of Kutch