Abstract
Drawing on epigraphical sources the present paper purports to trace the origin and development of the neo Indo-Aryan Pahādī language of western Nepal, Kumaon and Garhwal. The methodology involves diachronic study of inscriptions found in the above-mentioned three regions, and their inter-area relationship with one another especially in terms of palaeography, orthography, contents, diction, syntax and vocabulary. Certain linguistic uses peculiar to the entire zone under reference were noticed in the very earliest inscriptions, some of which have survived to date. These records show the existence of proto Pahādī and proto Hindi (precursor of Avadhī, and Braja/Saurasenī) languages in the eleventh-thirteenth century AD and fully developed Pahādī from the fourteenth century AD onwards. In conclusion, epigraphy, can add considerably to our knowledge of history of language, and help us deconstruct myths related to philology.
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