Awadhi, or Audhi, is spoken by 38,5 million (The Joshua Project lists 5 million native speakers] people in the Awadh region of Uttar Pradesh, India, and in Nepal. It has distinct grammar, vocabulary, and a rich literary tradition, with the devotional poem Ramcharitmanas being a prime example of classical Awadhi literature. Linguistically, Awadhi is considered a distinct language, though the Indian government often classifies it as a dialect of Hindi for political reasons.