ABSTRACT

 1.1 Gujarati is the official language of Gujarat state, on the west coast of India, with an area of 196,024 square kilometres. Within the Republic of India, Gujarat borders Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra; it also borders Pakistan to the northwest. The languages spoken in the areas contiguous to the Gujarat within India are Marwari, Hindi and Marathi. The 1991 Census of India reports 40,673,814 speakers, accounting for approximately five per cent (4.85%) of the population. This includes Gujaratis living outside Gujarat state, in Maharashtra (Mumbai has a substantial Gujarati population), Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Karnataka, as well as dialects for which separate figures are given (Vijayanunni 1997:11); e.g. Saurashtri is listed with 220,116 speakers. Gujarati speakers also reside in many other countries, principally Pakistan, Singapore, Fiji, South Africa, the United Kingdom, the United States and Canada. Although the first generation of immigrants in these areas maintained Gujarati as a family language, one can see a gradual diminution in its use in successive generations.