Santali

Santali is a language spoken in India, Bangladesh, and Nepal. It is also spoken by the Santal people, an ethnic group in those countries. The Santal people are also found in Pakistan, where they are known as the Santal. The Santal language is a member of the Munda subfamily of Austroasiatic languages. It is closely related to Mundari and Ho. The Santal people have a long and rich history. They are thought to be the original inhabitants of the Chota Nagpur Plateau, which includes parts of present-day Bihar, Jharkhand, Odisha, and West Bengal. The Santal were displaced from their homeland by the arrival of other groups, such as the Munda, who came from Central Asia. The Santal eventually settled in the northern and eastern parts of the Chota Nagpur Plateau. The Santal language is written in the Devanagari script. It is also written in the Santali alphabet, which was created in the 19th century by missionaries. The Santali alphabet is based on the Latin alphabet, with some additional letters to represent sounds that are not found in Latin. The Santal language has a rich oral tradition. Santal stories and songs are passed down from generation to generation. Santal storytellers are known as bards, and their stories are often about the Santal people's history and culture. The Santal language is spoken by about 6 million people. It is one of the 22 scheduled languages of India, and it is also one of the 106 languages listed in the 8th schedule of the Constitution of Nepal.