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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]

Magahi
Magadhi
  • 𑂧𑂏𑂯𑂲/𑂧𑂏𑂡𑂲
  • मगही/मगधी
  • মগহী/মগধী
Magahi written in Kaithi script[1]
Native toIndia
RegionMagadh (southern Bihar, northern Jharkhand, and northwestern West Bengal)[2][3][4]
EthnicityMagahi
Native speakers
12.6 million (2011 census)[5][6]
(additional speakers counted under Hindi)
Language family
Early form
Dialects
  • Southern Magahi
  • Northern Magahi
  • Central Magahi
  • Khortha
Writing system
Devanagari
Kaithi (formerly)
Official status
Recognised minority
language in
Language codes
ISO 639-2mag
ISO 639-3mag
Glottologmaga1260
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
Stop/
Affricate
voiceless p t ʈ k
aspirated ʈʰ tʃʰ
voiced b d ɖ ɡ
breathy ɖʱ dʒʱ ɡʱ
Fricative s h
Approximant voiced w l j
breathy
Tap voiced ɾ ɽ
breathy ɾʱ ɽʱ

Vowels


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

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



Notes


  1. additional official language of Jharkhand

References


  1. Grierson, George Abraham. Linguistic Survey Of India, Volume 5.2. p. 10.
  2. Grierson, G.A. (1927). "Magahi or Magadhi". Internet Archive.
  3. "Magahi". Omniglot.
  4. Atreya, Lata. "Magahi and Magadh: Language and the People" (PDF). Global Journal of Interdisciplinary Social Sciences.
  5. "Magahi". ethnologue.
  6. "Scheduled Languages in descending order of speaker's strength - 2011" (PDF). Registrar General and Census Commissioner of India. 29 June 2018.
  7. "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.
  8. Prasad, Saryoo (2008). Magahī Phonology: A Descriptive Study. p. 6. ISBN 9788180695254. Retrieved 4 November 2018.
  9. Brass, Paul R. (2005). Language, Religion and Politics in North India. p. 93. ISBN 9780595343942. Retrieved 4 November 2018.
  10. Eberhard, David M.; Simons, Gary F.; Fennig, Charles D., eds. (2021). Magahi. Ethnologue: Languages of the World (Twenty-fourth ed.). Dallas, Texas: SIL International. Retrieved 29 April 2021.
  11. "How a Bihari lost his mother tongue to Hindi". 22 September 2017. It is considered as a dialect of Hindi continuum.
  12. Frawley, William (May 2003). International Encyclopedia of Linguistics: 4-Volume Set. Oxford University Press, USA. ISBN 9780195139778. Retrieved 8 November 2018.
  13. "History of Indian Languages". Diehardindian.com. Archived from the original on 26 February 2012. Retrieved 29 February 2012.
  14. Verma, Mahandra K. (2001). "Language Endangerment and Indian languages : An exploration and a critique". Linguistic Structure and Language Dynamics in South Asia. ISBN 9788120817654.
  15. Jain Dhanesh, Cardona George, The Indo-Aryan Languages, pp449
  16. Maitra Asim, Magahi Culture, Cosmo Publications, New Delhi (1983), pp. 64
  17. "Maithili and Magahi". Archived from the original on 23 July 2012. Retrieved 10 January 2020.
  18. Brass Paul R., The Politics of India Since Independence, Cambridge University Press, pp. 183
  19. Sinha, Anil Chandra (1966). Phonology and morphology of a Magahi dialect. Poona: Deccan College.
  20. Verma, Sheela (2003). Magahi. In George Cardona and Dhanesh Jain (eds.), The Indo-Aryan Languages: London: London & New York: Routledge. pp. 498–514.
  21. Verma, Sheela (2003). "Magahi". In Jain Dhanesh, Cardona George, The Indo-Aryan Languages. London: Routledge.

Further reading





На других языках


- [en] Magahi language

[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.

[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].

[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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