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Language
Oriya is the regional language of Odisha (Orissa). It belongs
to the Aryan family of languages and is closely related to Assamese, Bengali
and Maithili as a direct descendant of eastern Magadhi. Under the
influence of neighbouring regional languages of the Aryan and Dravidian
families, as also that of the Austric group
of languages current among the tribal groups, Oriya has developed many
linguistic variations, such as Baleswari (Balasore), Bhatri (Koraput),
Laria (Sambalpur), Sambalpuri (Sambalpur and other western districts),
Ganjami (Ganjam and Koraput), Chhatisgarhi (Chhatisgarh of Madhya Pradesh
and adjoining areas of Odisha (Orissa)) and Medinipuri (Midnapur district of West
Bengal). Besides, hilly regions of north and south Odisha (Orissa) have their own
local versions of Oriya with many linguistic peculiarities. The first
dated, inscription in Oriya goes back to 1051 AD discovered at Urajang.
But recent discoveries of Sanskrit inscriptions with Oriya words thrown
in, reported from Odisha (Orissa) and Andhra Pradesh areas of the ancient Kalinga
empire, push back its lineage to the 6th century AD. During the Surya
dynasty(1435-1523), Oriya literacy activities were remarkable and the
great epics and almost all the Puranas and some Upanishads were translated
and often reinterpreted. The Oriya script, descending from Brahmi script,
has been given the round or Dravidian finish, probably during the reign
of the Ganga kings. The shape was admirably adopted to writing on processed
palm leaves with an iron stylus.
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