Oriya (ଓଡ଼ିଆ ) is an official language of the state of Odisha(ଓଡ଼ିଶା), India. The region has been known at different stages of history as Kalinga, Udra, Utkala or Koshala. The language is also spoken by minority populations of the neighbouring states of Jharkhand, West Bengal, Chhattisgarh and Andhra Pradesh. The earliest written texts in the language are about thousand years old. Odisha was a vast empire in ancient and medieval times, extending from the Ganges in the north to the Godavari in the south. During British rule, however, Odisha lost its political identity and formed parts of the Bengal and Madras Presidencies. The present state of Odisha was formed in 1936. The modern Oriya language is formed mostly from Pali words with significant Sanskrit influence. About 28% of modern Oriya words have Adivasi origins, and about 2% have Hindustani (Hindi/Urdu), Persian, or Arabic origins. Historians have divided the history of the Oriya language into five main stages: Old Oriya (8th century to 1300), Early Middle Oriya (1300 to 1500), Middle Oriya (1500 to 1700), Late Middle Oriya (1700 to 1850) and Modern Oriya (1850 to present). Further subdivisions, as seen below, can more accurately chart the language’s development.
