Kutchi language
Kutchi is an Indo-Aryan language spoken in the Kutch region of India and also in the Sindh region of Pakistan. The name of the language is also transliterated as Kutchhi, Kachchi, Kachchhi, Kachhi or Cutchi.
Influences from other languages
Kutchi is considered by some to be a dialect of Sindhi, with which it is mutually intelligible. Over time, it has borrowed vocabulary from Gujarati.Most Kutchis living in India are bilingual or trilingual, due to exposure to closely related neighbouring languages such as Gujarati. Many Pakistani Kutchis are also bilingual or trilingual; many residents of Karachi speak Kutchi.
It is a unique language in itself especially in the way it is spoken and has many common words from Marwari as well. It is spoken by the Kutchi people specifically, these are the Rajputs Jadeja, Bhanushalis, Lohanas, Brahmins, Meghwals, Visa Oswal and Dasa Osval Jains, followers of Satpanth, Bhatias, Rabaris and various Muslim communities in the region, including the Muslim Kutchi Khatris, the Muslim Khojas,the Muslim Rajput-Rayma and Kutchi Memons.
By way of emigration during the British reign many members of Kutchi communities left India / Pakistan and settled in regions of East Africa such as Kenya, Uganda, Zaire/Congo, Tanzania, and even far south as South Africa. The landing point of entry into Africa was in Zanzibar which was a trading post of goods between Indian and East Africa in the late 1800s.
Common words and phrases
There are distinct regional accents and variations in grammar. As in many languages spoken along Asian trade routes, there is substantial borrowing from Persian and Arabic—words like "duniya", and "nasib", are routinely used by many speakers of Kutchi. Many Kutchi speakers also speak Gujarati as a separate language, especially as it is the language in which Kutchi speakers customarily write. Kutchi speakers' Gujarati accent and usage tends towards standard forms that any Gujarati speaker would be able to understand.The following words are commonly used by Hindu individuals descending from the Kutch rural area of Gujarat, India, who, especially if in east Africa, reject Kutchi. These are colloquial forms of general Gujarati phrases that are often used in daily conversation in villages, particularly of Kutchi predominance, and are Gujaratisized versions of Kutchi words. Kutchi is also very close to Sindhi and Gujarati due to historical, cultural and geographic influences. These relationships are evident in the following examples:
| Kutchi | Gujarati | Sindhi | Memoni | Gloss |
| chhado hane/ chhadela | Bas chhodo have | Haaiyo hane/chhado hane | Chhado Hane | 'Now drop it' |
| Achanto/Vinanto | Aavu' chhu' / Jaau' chhu' | Achantho/Vinatho' | Achanto/Vinato | I am coming / going |
| Kichadi Khayo taa? | Kichdi khaao chho? | Kichadi khaaoo tha? | Kichadi Khiyo taa? | 'Are you eating kichdi?' |
| Toke vaachejo naye? | Tane vachvanu nathi? | Toke vachejo naye?' | Toke vachejo naye? | Don't you have to study? |
| Booey taraf ji ticket | Banne taraf ni ticket | Bohe taraf ji ticket | Banne taraf ji ticket | A round trip ticket |
| Mujo samaan Khovai jevayo | Maro saman khovai gayo che | Munjo samaan vinayi vayo | Mijo samaan khovai vayo | I lost my luggage |
Writing system
Kutchi is normally written using a modified version of the Gujarati script. Many books and magazines are published in the language using the modified Gujarati script, including Vadhod. Kutchi is also written in the Devanagari script by some speakers. In earlier times it was written in Khojki script, which is now extinct. Dr Rajul Shah, an ayurvedic doctor, psychologist and a graphologist has created a script to use for the language.There are examples of the Kutchi script in the Kutch Museum, though the script is believed to be now extinct.