Magahi language

"Magadhi language" redirects here. Not to be confused with Magadhi Prakrit.

Magahi
Magadhi
  • मगही
Magahi
The word "Magahi" written in Devanagari script
Native toIndia and Nepal
RegionMagadh (southern Bihar, northern Jharkhand, and northwestern West Bengal),[1][2][3]Terai region of Eastern Nepal
EthnicityMagahi
Native speakers
12.7 million (2011 census)[4][5]
(additional speakers counted under Hindi)
Early forms
Dialects
  • Southern Magahi
  • Northern Magahi
  • Central Magahi
  • Khortha
Devanagari (official)
Kaithi (formerly)
Official status
Recognised minority
language in
Language codes
ISO 639-2mag
ISO 639-3mag
Glottologmaga1260
Magahi speaking regions

Magahi (𑂧𑂏𑂯𑂲), also known as Magadhi (𑂧𑂏𑂡𑂲), is a Indo-Aryan language spoken in Bihar, Jharkhand and West Bengal states of eastern India,[7][8] and in the Terai of Nepal.[9] Magadhi Prakrit was the ancestor of Magahi, from which the latter's name derives.[10]

It has a very rich and old tradition of folk songs and stories. It is spoken in approx eleven districts of Bihar (Gaya, Bhagalpur, Patna, Jehanabad, Aurangabad, Nalanda, Sheikhpura, Nawada, Lakhisarai, Arwal,Jamui), eight districts of Jharkhand (Hazaribag, Palamu, Chatra, Koderma, Jamtara, Bokaro, Dhanbad, Giridih) and in West Bengal's Malda district.[11] There are around 20,700,000 speakers of Magahi, including 12 million Magahi speakers and 8 million Khortha speakers, which is considered a dialect of Magahi.[4]

Magahi derived from the ancient Magadhi Prakrit, which was created in the ancient kingdom of Magadha, the core of which was the area south of the Ganges and east of Son River.

Though the number of speakers in Magahi is about 12.7 million, it has not been constitutionally recognised in India. In Bihar, Hindi is the language used for educational and official matters.[12] Magahi was legally absorbed under Hindi in the 1961 Census.[13]

  1. ^ Grierson, G.A. (1927). "Magahi or Magadhi". Internet Archive.
  2. ^ "Magahi". Omniglot.
  3. ^ Atreya, Lata. "Magahi and Magadh: Language and the People" (PDF). Global Journal of Interdisciplinary Social Sciences.
  4. ^ a b "Magahi". ethnologue.
  5. ^ "Abstract of Speakers' Strength of Languages and Mother Tongues - 2011" (PDF). Office of the Registrar General & Census Commissioner, India. 2011. p. 6. Retrieved 22 September 2024.
  6. ^ "झारखंड : रघुवर कैबिनेट से मगही, भोजपुरी, मैथिली व अंगिका को द्वितीय भाषा का दर्जा". Prabhat Khabar (in Hindi). 21 March 2018. Retrieved 17 November 2018.
  7. ^ Prasad, Saryoo (2008). Magahī Phonology: A Descriptive Study. Concept Publishing Company. p. 6. ISBN 9788180695254. Retrieved 4 November 2018.
  8. ^ Brass, Paul R. (2005). Language, Religion and Politics in North India. iUniverse. p. 93. ISBN 9780595343942. Retrieved 4 November 2018.
  9. ^ Eberhard, David M.; Simons, Gary F.; Fennig, Charles D., eds. (2021). Magahi (Twenty-fourth ed.). Dallas, Texas: SIL International. Retrieved 29 April 2021. {{cite book}}: |work= ignored (help)
  10. ^ "How a Bihari lost his mother tongue to Hindi". 22 September 2017. It is considered as a dialect of Hindi continuum.
  11. ^ Frawley, William (May 2003). International Encyclopedia of Linguistics: 4-Volume Set. Oxford University Press, USA. ISBN 9780195139778. Retrieved 8 November 2018.
  12. ^ "History of Indian Languages". Diehardindian.com. Archived from the original on 26 February 2012. Retrieved 29 February 2012.
  13. ^ Verma, Mahandra K. (2001). "Language Endangerment and Indian languages : An exploration and a critique". Linguistic Structure and Language Dynamics in South Asia. ISBN 9788120817654.


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