Colin P. Masica (1931–2022)

Phew! compendious. Especially in a situation like India's, where what constitutes a 'language' as opposed to a dialect or dialect continuum or even a standard or style (Urdu-Hindi, e.g., have been described simply as 'styles' of Hindustani, with a lot more difference within than between them, and a lot more difference in their literary forms, which refer to Sanskrit and Farsi (Pahlavi--can I call that 'Farsi', or do I have to say 'Persian'?) as their models respectively is so open to show more sociolinguistic and political wrangling, it would have been nice to see more of a focus on historica and social contexts. But there is some of that here, and if it's just pure synchronic and diachronic typology and variation info you want, I hope to god that you don't need more than you'll find here, sir. (For WHAT?!) show less

This is a highly specialized work that takes a look at the languages of Northern India and their development from ancient times to the present day. This is a must have for linguists and lay enthusiasts wanting to learn the technical side of the linguistic structure of the Indo-Aryan languages