Middle Gujarati

Updated on Dec 23, 2024

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Era Developed into Modern Gujarati by the 19th century Language family Indo-EuropeanIndo-IranianIndo-AryanWesternGujarati languagesMiddle Gujarati Early forms Gurjar ApabhraṃśaOld Gujarati

Middle Gujarati (AD 1500–1800), split off from Rajasthani, and developed the phonemes ɛ and ɔ, the auxiliary stem ch-, and the possessive marker -n-. Major phonological changes characteristic of the transition between Old and Middle Gujarati are:

i, u develop to ə in open syllables

diphthongs əi, əu change to ɛ and ɔ in initial syllables and to e and o elsewhere

əũ develops to ɔ̃ in initial syllables and to ű in final syllables

These developments would have grammatical consequences. For example, Old Gujarati's instrumental-locative singular in -i was leveled and eliminated, having become the same as Old Gujarati's nominative/accusative singular in -ə.

References

Middle Gujarati Wikipedia

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