Pahari
Pahari (also known as Pahaari), is a general term for various dialects spoken in the
Indian part of the central
Himalayan range. The word is derived from 'pahar' or 'pahad' meaning 'mountain'. The term 'Pahaari/Pahari' in
Hindi,
Urdu, or
Punjabi means "language of the mountain people". Pahari dialects are found in the Indian states of
Himachal Pradesh and
Uttaranchal (traditionally called
Uttarakhand). Western Pahari (Himachali) dialects include:
Pothohari/Potwari,
Kangri,
Kullu,
Mandyali, etc. The dialects spoken in Uttaranchal/Uttarakhand include
Garhwali,
Kumaoni and others. Garhwali itself has many dialects spoken in different parts of the state, like
Jaunsari,
Jadhi, etc. In the UK the language is referred to colloquially as "mawri twaree" (mine and yours)
The words Garhwali and Kumaoni are also used to refer to people speaking those dialects.It is noteworthy that most people consider pahari language to be same or just a variant of Punjabi. In Pakistan, Pahari language is sometimes calld Dhanni or Jhelumi and in some places it is called Mirpuri but any native speaker of Punjabi can understand it.There are also speakers of various Pahari dialects living in the mountainous north of Pakistan, between
Kashmir and
Afghanistan - although these dialects are increasingly coming under the influence of the national language Urdu and also Punjabi.