Sambalpuri language
| Sambalpuri Odia | |
|---|---|
| Western Odia | |
| ସମ୍ବଲପୁରୀ ଓଡ଼ିଆ | |
'Sambalpuri Odia' in Odia script | |
| Native to | India |
| Region | Western Odisha |
| Ethnicity | Odias |
Native speakers | 2.63 million (2011 census) |
| Odia | |
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-3 | spv |
| Glottolog | samb1325 Sambalpuriwest2384 Western Oriya |
Sambalpuri Odia speaking areas(dialect continuum in green) in Odisha and Chhattisgarh | |
Sambalpuri is classified as Vulnerable language by the UNESCO Atlas of the World's Languages in Danger | |
Sambalpuri Odia is an Indo-Aryan language variety spoken in western Odisha, India. It is alternatively known as Western Odia, and as Kosali (with variants Kosli, Koshal and Koshali), a recently popularised but controversial term, which draws on an association with the historical region of Dakshina Kosala, whose territories also included the present-day Sambalpur region.
Its speakers usually perceive it as a separate language, while outsiders have seen it as a dialect of Odia, and standard Odia is used by Sambalpuri Odia speakers for formal communication. A 2006 survey of the varieties spoken in four villages found out that they share three-quarters of their basic vocabulary with Standard Odia.