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The Magahi language (𑂧𑂏𑂯𑂲), also known as Magadhi (𑂧𑂏𑂡𑂲), is a language spoken in Bihar, Jharkhand and West Bengal states of eastern India,[8][9] and in the Terai of Nepal.[10] Magadhi Prakrit was the ancestor of Magahi, from which the latter's name derives.[11]

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Magahi
Magadhi
𑂧𑂏𑂯𑂲/𑂧𑂏𑂡𑂲 मगही/मगधी মগহী/মগধী
Magahi written in Kaithi script[1]
Native to	India
Region	Magadh (southern Bihar, northern Jharkhand, and northwestern West Bengal)[2][3][4]
Ethnicity	Magahi
Native speakers	12.6 million (2011 census)[5][6] (additional speakers counted under Hindi)
Language family	Indo-European Indo-Iranian Indo-Aryan Eastern Zone (Magadhan) Bihari Magahi
Early form	Magadhi Prakrit
Dialects	Southern Magahi Northern Magahi Central Magahi Khortha
Writing system	Devanagari Kaithi (formerly)
Official status
Recognised minority language in	India Jharkhand[lower-alpha 1][7]
Language codes
ISO 639-2	mag
ISO 639-3	mag
Glottolog	maga1260
Magahi speaking regions

It has a very rich and old tradition of folk songs and stories. It is spoken in nine districts of Bihar (Gaya, Patna, Jehanabad, Aurangabad, Nalanda, Sheikhpura, Nawada, Lakhisarai, Arwal), eight districts of Jharkhand (Hazaribag, Palamu, Chatra, Koderma, Jamtara, Bokaro, Dhanbad, Giridih) and in West Bengal's Malda district.[12] There are around 20,700,000 speakers of Magahi, including speakers 12 million Magahi and 8 million Khortha which is considered a dialect of Magahi.[5]

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 12.6 million, it has not been constitutionally recognised in India. In Bihar, Hindi is the language used for educational and official matters.[13] Magahi was legally absorbed under Hindi in the 1961 Census.[14]

History

The ancestor of Magahi, Magadhi Prakrit, formed in the Indian subcontinent. These regions were part of the ancient kingdom of Magadha, the core of which was the area of Bihar south of the river Ganga.

The name Magahi is directly derived from the word Magadhi, and many educated speakers of Magahi prefer the name "Magadhi" over Magahi for the modern language.[15]

The development of the Magahi language into its current form is unknown. However, linguists have concluded that Magahi along with Assamese, Bengali, Bhojpuri, Maithili and Oriya originated from the Magadhi Prakrit during the 8th to 11th centuries. These different but sister dialects differentiated themselves and took their own course of growth and development. But it is not certain when exactly it took place. It was probably such an unidentified period during which modern Indian languages begin to take modern shape. By the end of the 12th century, the development of Apabhramsa reached its climax. Gujarati, Marathi, Bengali, Assamese, Oriya, Maithili and other modern languages took definite shape in their literary writings in the beginning of the 14th century. The distinct shape of Magadhi can be seen in the Dohakosha written by Sarahapa and Kauhapa. Magadhi had a setback due to the transition period of Magadha administration.[16] Traditionally, strolling bards recite long epic poems in this dialect, and it was because of this that the word "Magadhi" came to mean "a bard". Devanagari is the most widely used script in present times, while Bengali and Odia scripts are also used in some regions and Magahi's old script was Kaithi script. The pronunciation in Magahi is not as broad as in Maithili and there are a number of verbal forms for each person.[17] Historically, Magahi had no famous written literature. There are many popular songs throughout the area in which the language is spoken, and strolling bards recite various long epic poems which are known more or less over the whole of Northern India. In Magahi speaking area, folk singers sing a good number of ballads. Introduction of Urdu meant a setback to local languages as its Persian script was alien to local people.

The first success for spreading Hindi occurred in Bihar in 1881, when Hindi displaced Urdu as the official language of the province. After independence, Hindi was given the sole official status through the Bihar Official Language Act, 1950[18] ignoring the state's own languages.

Phonology

Consonants

		Labial	Dental/ Alveolar	Retroflex	Post-alv./ Palatal	Velar	Glottal
Nasal	voiced	m	n			ŋ
	breathy	mʱ	nʱ
Stop/ Affricate	voiceless	p	t	ʈ	tʃ	k
	aspirated	pʰ	tʰ	ʈʰ	tʃʰ	kʰ
	voiced	b	d	ɖ	dʒ	ɡ
	breathy	bʱ	dʱ	ɖʱ	dʒʱ	ɡʱ
Fricative			s				h
Approximant	voiced	w	l		j
	breathy		lʱ
Tap	voiced		ɾ	ɽ
	breathy		ɾʱ	ɽʱ

Vowels

	Front	Central	Back
High	i		u
Mid	e	ə	o
Low		aː
Diphthongs	əi		əu

• /i, u/ may also be heard as lower [ɪ, ʊ] in shortened positions.[8]
• /e, o/ may also be heard as lower [ɛ, ɔ] in more initial positions.[19]
• /ə/ can also be heard as [ʌ] in more stressed positions.[20]

Speakers of Magahi

There are several dialects of Magahi. It is spoken in the area which formed the core of the ancient kingdom of Magadha - the modern districts of Patna, Nalanda, Gaya, Jehanabad, Arwal, Aurangabad, Lakhisarai, Sheikhpura and Nawada. Magahi is bounded on the north by the various forms of Maithili spoken in Mithila across the Ganga. On the west it is bounded by the Bhojpuri, On the northeast it is bounded by Angika. A blend of Magahi known as Khortha is spoken by non-tribal populace in North Chotanagpur division of Jharkhand which comprises districts of Bokaro, Chatra, Dhanbad, Giridih, Hazaribagh, Koderma and Ramgarh. People of Southern Bihar and Northern Jharkhand are mostly speakers of Magahi.[21] Magahi is also spoken in Malda district of West Bengal.[8][9] According to 2011 Census, there were approximately 20.7 million Magahi speakers.[6]

See also

• Culture of Magadh Region
• Culture of Bhojpuri Region
• Culture of Mithila Region
• Culture of Angika Region
• Pāli, the canonical language of Theravada Buddhism traditionally associated with the language of Magadhi
• Phool Bahadur

Notes

References

Further reading

External links

• Magahi - A Historical language
• Jain Scriptures
• Magahi Detailed Description by Grierson, G.A.
• Magahī Phonology: A Descriptive Study by Saryoo Prasad

На других языках

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- [en] Magahi language

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[es] Idioma magahi

El idioma magadhi (autoglotónimo: «मगही ‹magahī) es una lengua indoaria hablada por 11.362.000 personas en India. El magahi es cercano con el bhojpuri y también el maithili y a veces se menciona estos idiomas conjunto como una sola lengua "bihari". Estos, junto con otros varios idiomas relacionados, son conocidos como lenguas bihari los cuales forman un subgrupo del grupo oriental de lenguas indoarias.

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[it] Lingua magadhi

La lingua magadhi, nota anche come lingua magahi, è una lingua indoaria parlata in India. Al 2022, è parlata da 20,7 milioni di parlanti totali[1].

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[ru] Магахи

Мага́хи (Bihari, Magadhi, Magahi, Magaya, Maghai, Maghaya, Maghori, Magi, Magodhi, Megahi) — язык восточной группы индоарийских языков, на котором говорят около 18 миллионов человек в Индии. Близок к языкам бходжпури и майтхили; образует вместе с ними (и несколькими менее распространёнными языками) группу бихарских языков, которые иногда рассматриваются как единый язык бихари.

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