Odia dialects (ଓଡ଼ିଆ ଉପଭାଷା) are the regional and community varieties of the Odia language spoken across Odisha and its borderlands. The main ones are Kataki in the central coast, Baleswari in the north, Ganjami in the south, Sambalpuri (also called Kosli) in the west, Desia in the south-west and Sundargadi in the north-west. Standard written Odia grew out of the central coastal speech, while some speakers of the western variety regard it as a separate language.
Overview of the main dialects
| Variety | Also called | Main area | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kataki | Central Odia, Mughalbandi | Cuttack, Khordha, Puri, Nayagarh, Jajpur, Jagatsinghpur, Kendrapara, Dhenkanal, Angul, eastern Boudh | Basis of the standard written language |
| Baleswari | Northern Odia | Balasore, Bhadrak, Mayurbhanj, Kendujhar | Some similarity with nearby Bengali and Medinipuri speech in the far north |
| Ganjami | Southern Odia | Ganjam, Gajapati, parts of Kandhamal; Srikakulam (Andhra Pradesh) | Borders Telugu-speaking Andhra Pradesh |
| Sambalpuri | Kosli, Western Odia | Bargarh, Subarnapur, Balangir, Sambalpur, Jharsuguda and neighbouring districts; parts of Chhattisgarh | 2.63 million mother-tongue speakers in Census 2011; status debated |
| Desia | Desiya, Koraputia, Adivasi Odia | Koraput, Nabarangpur, Rayagada, Malkangiri, southern Kalahandi; parts of Andhra Pradesh | About 230,000 speakers in Census 2011; link language among tribal communities |
| Sundargadi | North-western Odia | Sundargarh and adjoining areas | Borders Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh; less documented |
Area lists follow the descriptions in standard references and are approximate: dialects shade into each other, and towns and families mix them.
Smaller varieties described by linguists include Bhatri, Reli, Kupia and Bodo Parja, along with community varieties such as those of the Bhuyan, Sounti, Bathudi, Agharia and Matia.
Kataki (central Odia)
The speech of the old coastal heartland around Cuttack and Puri is the basis of the standard language used in schools, books, newspapers, radio and government. Britannica identifies the Mughalbandi dialect of the coastal plain as the educational standard of Odisha. Because the standard is close to Kataki, it is sometimes popularly treated as "correct" Odia, although linguists treat all regional varieties as equally valid forms of speech.
Baleswari (northern Odia)
Baleswari is spoken in the Balasore, Bhadrak, Mayurbhanj and Kendujhar districts. Its most noticed feature is a vowel shift in which an "o" in standard Odia is often pronounced "u", so that Odisha can sound like Udisha. Everyday words differ too: kisa for "what" instead of standard kana, and kene for "why" instead of kahinki. Speech in northern Balasore shows some similarity to neighbouring Bengali and Medinipuri speech, while the Bhadrak variety is closer to the standard.
Ganjami (southern Odia)
Ganjami is spoken in Ganjam, Gajapati and parts of Kandhamal, and across the state border in Srikakulam district of Andhra Pradesh. The region borders Telugu-speaking Andhra Pradesh. The region has a long literary history: the court poet Upendra Bhanja came from the Ganjam area.
Sambalpuri or Kosli (western Odia)
Sambalpuri is the speech of western Odisha. The 2011 Census recorded 2.63 million people with Sambalpuri as their mother tongue, counted under the Odia language group. The largest shares were in Bargarh, followed by Subarnapur, Balangir, Sambalpur and Jharsuguda.
Sambalpuri has a strong modern literature, songs and theatre. The poet Haldhar Nag, who writes in the language, received the Padma Shri in 2016. Sambalpuri songs and the region's dance are among the best-known cultural exports of Odisha; see Sambalpuri dance and the Sambalpuri saree.
Is Sambalpuri a dialect or a language?
This is a genuinely open question, and Odiapedia does not take a side.
- The dialect view: The Census of India groups Sambalpuri under Odia, and many linguists and speakers outside western Odisha treat it as a dialect. A 2006 survey found that Sambalpuri varieties share about three-quarters of their basic vocabulary with standard Odia, and both are written in the Odia script.
- The language view: Many speakers regard their speech as a distinct language and prefer the name Kosli (also spelled Koshali or Kosali), after the historical region of Kosala. Language activists have campaigned for its inclusion in the Eighth Schedule of the Constitution.
- The name itself: Even the name is debated. "Sambalpuri" is the older and more widely used term, while "Kosli" has been popularised more recently and is preferred by many activists.
The distinction between a language and a dialect is partly social and political rather than purely linguistic, which is why both positions are held by serious people.
Desia (south-western Odia)
Desia, also known as Desiya, Koraputia or Adivasi Odia, is spoken in Koraput, Nabarangpur, Rayagada, Malkangiri and southern Kalahandi, and in adjoining parts of Andhra Pradesh. About 230,000 people reported it as their mother tongue in 2011, but far more use it as a second language. Desia is the lingua franca of the region, used between communities such as the Paraja, Gadaba and Kondh who also speak their own languages. Linguists note that it has lost some retroflex sounds found in standard Odia.
Sundargadi (north-western Odia)
Sundargadi is spoken in Sundargarh and nearby areas, along Odisha's borders with Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh, in a district where many tribal languages are also spoken. It is less documented than the other major varieties.
Odia outside Odisha
Odia varieties are also spoken in neighbouring states, including the Singhbhum area of Jharkhand, parts of West Bengal's Medinipur region, Chhattisgarh and northern Andhra Pradesh. Odia is an additional official language in Jharkhand. See the Odia language overview for speaker numbers and official status.