The Awadhi Alphabet

Awadhi is written in the Devanagari script (Unicode Block U+0900–U+097F) — the same script used for Standard Hindi, Marathi, Nepali, Sanskrit, Chhattisgarhi, and Bhojpuri. Devanagari is a Brahmic abugida, written left to right, in which each consonant carries an inherent /a/ vowel that is modified or suppressed using diacritical marks called matras. The script was standardised in its modern form during the medieval period and has been used for Awadhi literature since at least the 14th century.

The Devanagari alphabet used for Awadhi includes 33 standard consonants, 11 independent vowels, a set of vowel diacritics (matras), and native Devanagari digits (०–९). The most celebrated Awadhi text — the Ramcharitmanas (1574 CE) by Tulsidas — was composed in Awadhi using the Devanagari script and remains one of the most read religious texts in India today, recited daily in homes and temples across North India.

Awadhi is spoken by approximately 38–60 million people as a first language, primarily in the Awadh region of central Uttar Pradesh, India, including the cities of Lucknow, Ayodhya, Faizabad, Sitapur, and Unnao. A significant Awadhi-speaking population also exists in the Terai region of Nepal, where the language is known as "Awadhi" or "Purbiya." Awadhi speakers are also found among the Indian diaspora in Mauritius, Fiji, Suriname, Trinidad and Tobago, and Guyana, where Awadhi was brought by indentured labourers in the 19th century.

Awadhi is closely related to Standard Hindi (Khariboli), and many speakers are bilingual. However, Awadhi has its own distinct phonology, vocabulary, and grammatical structures — particularly its verb morphology — that distinguish it from Hindi. In the diaspora communities of Fiji, Suriname, and Trinidad, Awadhi-derived varieties have evolved into creolised forms that are now distinct linguistic entities.

The Ramcharitmanas (रामचरितमानस, "Lake of the Deeds of Rama") is a 16th-century epic poem by the saint-poet Tulsidas (c. 1532–1623), composed in Awadhi. Completed around 1574 CE in Varanasi, it is a retelling of the ancient Sanskrit Ramayana of Valmiki, adapted into the Awadhi vernacular so that ordinary people — not just Sanskrit scholars — could access the story of Rama. It is one of the most widely read, recited, and performed texts in the Hindu tradition.

The Ramcharitmanas is considered one of the greatest works of medieval Indian literature, and its verses are recited in homes, temples, and during festivals across North India, Nepal, and the Indian diaspora. The epic elevated Awadhi to a language of literary and devotional prestige — the "sacred vernacular" of North Indian Vaishnavism. The complete text contains approximately 10,902 verses (chaupai, doha, soratha) and seven cantos (kandas). The city of Ayodhya (birthplace of Ram) and Varanasi (where Tulsidas lived) are the sacred centres of the Ramcharitmanas tradition.

Awadh (also spelled Oudh or Avadh) is a historic region of north-central India, centred on the fertile plains of the Ganga-Ghaghra doab in Uttar Pradesh. Its principal city is Lucknow, which served as the capital of the Nawabs of Awadh (1722–1856) under the Mughal successor state. The region includes the holy city of Ayodhya (sacred birthplace of the god Ram), the cities of Faizabad, Barabanki, Rae Bareli, Sitapur, and Hardoi.

The Nawabs of Awadh were patrons of a distinctive composite culture that blended Mughal, Persian, and Awadhi traditions. This produced the Nawabi style of Kathak dance, the refined cuisine of Awadhi Dum Pukht (slow-cooked meats), ornate architecture (Bara Imambara, Rumi Darwaza), and a tradition of Urdu poetry. The Awadhi language is the living heritage of this layered history, carrying both the devotional legacy of Tulsidas and the courtly refinement of the Nawabi era.

Awadhi and Hindi are related but distinct languages. Standard Hindi (Khariboli) is based on the dialect of the Delhi-Meerut region of western Uttar Pradesh, while Awadhi is an Eastern Hindi language from the Awadh region of central Uttar Pradesh. They differ significantly in verb morphology, pronoun forms, and vocabulary. For example, "I will go" in Standard Hindi is "मैं जाऊँगा" (main jaunga), while in Awadhi it is "हम जाइब" (ham jaaib) — the differences in pronouns ("main" vs. "ham"), verb endings, and word forms are clear.

The ISO 639-3 code for Awadhi is awa, confirming its status as a distinct language. Awadhi has its own grammatical system: it uses an ergative construction, has gendered verb agreement, and preserves archaic pronouns and verb forms from older Indo-Aryan. Despite the dominance of Standard Hindi in education and media, Awadhi remains a vital living language used in oral tradition, folk songs (especially the wedding songs of the Awadh region), and continues to be spoken as a first language by tens of millions of people across Uttar Pradesh and Nepal.

The ISO 639-3 code for Awadhi is awa. Awadhi does not have a two-letter ISO 639-1 code, as these are reserved for languages with the largest global speaker communities. In Glottolog, Awadhi is catalogued under the identifier "awad1243". Awadhi is classified within the Eastern Hindi group of Indo-Aryan, alongside Chhattisgarhi (hne), Bagheli/Baghelkhand (bfy), and Bhojpuri (bho).

SIL International records Awadhi under the code "awa" in its Ethnologue database. Despite having tens of millions of speakers, Awadhi is not listed in the 8th Schedule of the Indian Constitution as a Scheduled Language, unlike some of its relatives such as Hindi. There are periodic advocacy efforts by Awadhi literary organisations based in Lucknow, Ayodhya, and Varanasi to gain scheduled language recognition for Awadhi, which would provide constitutional support for its use in education and government.