ORIYA LANGUAGE

Indo-Aryan language of the eastern group spoken mainly in the state of Orissa, India. Oriya is one of the 14 regional languages recognized by the Indian constitution. A direct descendant of the Ardhamagadhi Prakrit spoken in the ancient kingdom of Magadha, it is now most closely related to Maithili, Assamese, and Bengali. Oriya has not changed greatly since the 14th century, the time of the earliest-known inscriptions in the language. It shows less foreign influence (Muslim and British) than most Indo-Aryan languages because its speakers were among the last to be conquered. Oriya's literary style borrows heavily from Sanskrit. In grammar, Oriya distinguishes between rational and nonrational beings and objects. Like Bengali, it uses the plural verb forms instead of the singular to show respect to a rational being.