Ndizzy4glo: Updated formatting and improved readability

2026-01-01T02:56:11Z

Updated formatting and improved readability

imported>Ratri21 at 14:35, 20 August 2021

2021-08-20T14:35:11Z

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{{short description|Indo-Aryan language spoken in India}}
{{Redirect-distinguish|Magadhi language|Magadhi Prakrit}}
{{more citations needed|date=March 2019}}
{{EngvarB|date=October 2019}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2019}}
{{Infobox language
| name = Magahi
| altname = Magadhi
| nativename = {{hlist|
| {{nowrap|𑂧𑂏𑂯𑂲/𑂧𑂏𑂡𑂲}}
| {{nowrap|मगही/मगधी}}
| {{nowrap|মগহী/মগধী}}
}}
| image = Magahikaithi.png
| imagesize = 300px
| imagealt = Magahi
| imagecaption = '''''Magahi''''' written in [[Kaithi|Magahi Kaithi]]<ref>{{cite book |last=Grierson |first=George Abraham |author-link=George Abraham Grierson|date= |title=Linguistic Survey Of India, Volume 5.2 |url= |location= |publisher= |pages=10 |isbn=}}</ref>
| states = [[India]]
| region = [[Magadh division|Magadh]]{{efn|[[Bihar]]; [[Jharkhand]]<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://archive.org/details/rosettaproject_mag_detail-1/mode/2up|title=Magahi or Magadhi|last=Grierson|first=G.A.|website=Internet Archive}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.omniglot.com/writing/magahi.htm|title=Magahi|website=Omniglot}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.longdom.org/articles/magahi-and-magadh-language-and-people.pdf|title=Magahi and Magadh: Language and the People|last=Atreya|first=Lata|website=Global Journal of Interdisciplinary Social Sciences}}</ref>}}
| ethnicity = [[Magahi people]]
| speakers = 20.7 million
| date = 2011 census
| speakers2 = (additional speakers counted under Hindi)
| ref = <ref name="ethnologue.com">{{Cite web |url=https://www.ethnologue.com/language/mag|title=Magahi|website=ethnologue}}</ref><ref name="census2011">{{cite web|title=Scheduled Languages in descending order of speaker's strength - 2011|url=http://www.censusindia.gov.in/2011Census/Language-2011/Statement-1.pdf|publisher=[[Registrar General and Census Commissioner of India]]|date=29 June 2018}}</ref>
| minority = {{IND}}
* [[Jharkhand]]{{efn|additional official language of Jharkhand}}<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.prabhatkhabar.com/news/ranchi/jharkhand-raghubar-das-cabinet-decision-maithili-bhojpuri-angika-magahi-second-language/1135878.html |title=झारखंड : रघुवर कैबिनेट से मगही, भोजपुरी, मैथिली व अंगिका को द्वितीय भाषा का दर्जा |website= [[Prabhat Khabar]]|date=21 March 2018 |access-date=17 November 2018 |language=hi}}</ref>
| ancestor = [[Magadhi Prakrit]]
| familycolor = Indo-European
| fam2 = [[Indo-Iranian languages|Indo-Iranian]]
| fam3 = [[Indo-Aryan languages|Indo-Aryan]]
| fam4 = [[Eastern Indo-Aryan languages|Eastern Zone (Magadhan)]]
| fam5 = [[Bihari languages|Bihari]]
| dia1 = Southern Magahi
| dia2 = Northern Magahi
| dia3 = Central Magahi
| dia4 = [[Khortha language|Khortha]]
| script = [[Devanagari]]<br/>[[Kaithi]] (formerly)
| iso2 = mag
| iso3 = mag
| glotto = maga1260
| glottorefname = Magahi
| map = Magahi map.png
| mapcaption = Magahi speaking regions
}}

The '''Magahi language''' (𑂧𑂏𑂯𑂲), also known as '''Magadhi''' (𑂧𑂏𑂡𑂲), is a language spoken in [[Bihar]] and parts of [[Jharkhand]] in [[East India|eastern India]],<ref name="Magahi01">{{cite book | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=p3N81Di9EN8C&q=magahi+people&pg=PA6 | title=Magahī Phonology: A Descriptive Study | access-date=4 November 2018| pages=6| isbn=9788180695254 | last1=Prasad | first1=Saryoo | year=2008 }}</ref><ref name="Magahi02">{{cite book | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=SylBHS8IJAUC&q=magahi+people&pg=PA91 | title=Language, Religion and Politics in North India | access-date=4 November 2018| pages=93| isbn=9780595343942 | last1=Brass | first1=Paul R. | year=2005 }}</ref> and in the [[Terai]] of [[Nepal]].<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://www.ethnologue.com/language/mag|title=Magahi|work=Ethnologue: Languages of the World|editor-last=Eberhard|editor-first=David M.|editor-last2= Simons|editor-first2=Gary F.|editor-last3=Fennig|editor-first3=Charles D.|date=2021|publisher=SIL International|location= Dallas, Texas|edition=Twenty-fourth|access-date=29 April 2021|url-access=subscription}}</ref> [[Magadhi Prakrit]] was the ancestor of Magahi, from which the latter's name derives.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.livemint.com/Leisure/Nl73WC1JA8d6KVybBycNlM/How-a-Bihari-lost-his-mother-tongue-to-Hindi.html|title=How a Bihari lost his mother tongue to Hindi|date=22 September 2017}} It is considered as a dialect of [[Hindi]] continuum.</ref>

It has a very rich and old tradition of folk songs and stories. It is spoken in nine districts of [[Bihar]] ([[Gaya district|Gaya]], [[Patna district|Patna]], [[Jehanabad district|Jehanabad]], [[Aurangabad district, Bihar|Aurangabad]], [[Nalanda district|Nalanda]], [[Sheikhpura district|Sheikhpura]], [[Nawada district|Nawada]], [[Lakhisarai district|Lakhisarai]], [[Arwal district|Arwal]]), eight districts of [[Jharkhand]] ([[Hazaribagh district|Hazaribag]], [[Palamu district|Palamu]], [[Chatra district|Chatra]], [[Koderma district|Koderma]], [[Jamtara district|Jamtara]], [[Bokaro district|Bokaro]], [[Dhanbad district|Dhanbad]], [[Giridih district|Giridih]]) and in [[West Bengal]]'s [[Malda district]].<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=sl_dDVctycgC&q=angika+in+west+bengal&pg=PA481|title=International Encyclopedia of Linguistics: 4-Volume Set|last=Frawley|first=William|access-date=8 November 2018|publisher=Oxford University Press, USA|isbn=9780195139778|language=en|date=May 2003}}</ref> There are around 20,700,000 speakers of Magahi, including speakers of [[Khortha language|Khortha]] which is considered a dialect of Magahi.<ref name="ethnologue.com"/>

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]].

It is also known as ''Magahi'' which is directly derived from the name "Magadhi". It is also common in [[Magadh division|Magadh]] to refer to the region as Magah.

Though the number of speakers in Magahi is large about 12.6 million, it has not been constitutionally recognised in India. In Bihar, Hindi is the language used for educational and official matters.<ref name="diehardindian.com">{{cite web|url=http://www.diehardindian.com/demogrph/moredemo/histlang.htm |title=History of Indian Languages |publisher=Diehardindian.com |access-date=29 February 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120226234832/http://www.diehardindian.com/demogrph/moredemo/histlang.htm |archive-date=26 February 2012 }}</ref> Magahi was legally absorbed under Hindi in the 1961 Census.<ref name="books.google.co.in">{{cite conference
| last = Verma
| first = Mahandra K.
| title = Language Endangerment and Indian languages : An exploration and a critique
| year = 2001
| book-title = Linguistic Structure and Language Dynamics in South Asia
| isbn = 9788120817654
| url = https://books.google.com/books?id=tcfJY7kANo8C&q=awadhi+and+magahi+languages&pg=PA5
}}</ref>

==History==
{{See also|Magadhi Prakrit|Pali|Sadri language}}

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 [[Ganges|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.<ref>Jain Dhanesh, [[George Cardona|Cardona George]], ''The Indo-Aryan Languages'', pp449</ref>

The development of the Magahi language into its current form is unknown. However, language scholars have concluded that Magahi along with [[Assamese language|Assamese]], [[Bengali language|Bengali]], [[Bhojpuri]], [[Maithili language|Maithili]] and [[Oriya language|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 [[Middle Indo-Aryan languages#Apabhramsa|Apabhramsa]] reached its climax. [[Gujarati language|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.<ref>Maitra Asim, ''Magahi Culture'', Cosmo Publications, New Delhi (1983), pp. 64</ref> 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 alphabet|Bengali]] and [[Odia script]]s 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.<ref name="Maithili and Magahi">{{Cite web|url=http://www.bihar.ws/info/Bihari-Languages/Maithili-and-Magahi.html|title=Maithili and Magahi|access-date=10 January 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120723144641/http://bihar.ws/info/Bihari-Languages/Maithili-and-Magahi.html|archive-date=23 July 2012|url-status=dead}}</ref> 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<ref>[[Paul Brass|Brass Paul R.]], ''The Politics of India Since Independence'', Cambridge University Press, pp. 183</ref> ignoring the state's own languages.

==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 District|Patna]], [[Nalanda District|Nalanda]], [[Gaya District|Gaya]], [[Jehanabad District|Jehanabad]], [[Arwal District|Arwal]], [[Aurangabad District, Bihar|Aurangabad]], [[Lakhisarai District|Lakhisarai]], [[Sheikhpura District|Sheikhpura]] and [[Nawada District|Nawada and Munger]]. Magahi is bounded on the north by the various forms of [[Maithili language|Maithili]] spoken in [[Mithila (region)|Mithila]] across the Ganga. On the west it is bounded by the [[Bhojpuri]], On the northeast it is bounded by Maithili and [[Angika]]. A blend of [[Magahi]] known as [[Khortha language|Khortha]] is spoken by non-tribal populace in [[North Chotanagpur division]] of [[Jharkhand]] which comprises districts of [[Bokaro district|Bokaro]], [[Chatra]], [[Dhanbad]], [[Giridih]], [[Hazaribagh]], [[Koderma]] and [[Ramgarh district|Ramgarh]]. People of Southern Bihar and Northern Jharkhand are mostly speakers of Magahi.<ref>Verma, Sheela (2003). "Magahi". In Jain Dhanesh, Cardona George, ''The Indo-Aryan Languages''. London: Routledge.</ref> Magahi is also spoken in [[Malda district]] of [[West Bengal]].<ref name="Magahi01"/><ref name="Magahi02"/> According to 2011 Census, there were approximately 20.7 million Magahi speakers.<ref name="census2011"/>

==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==
{{noteslist}}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==Further reading==
{{refbegin}}
* Munishwar Jha - "Magadhi And Its Formation," Calcutta Sanskrit College Research Series, 1967, 256 pp
* Saryu Prasad - "A Descriptive Study of Magahi Phonology", PhD thesis submitted to Patna University.
* A.C. Sinha (1966) - "Phonology and Morphology of a Magahi Dialect", PhD awarded by the University of Poona.(now Pune)
* G.A. Grierson Essays on Bihari Declension and Conjugation, Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal, vol. iii, pp. 119–159
* Hoernle, A.F. Rudolf & Grierson, G.A. A Comparative Dictionary of the Bihari Language
* Prasad, Swarnlata (1959) Juncture and Aitch in Magahi, Indian Linguistics, Turner Jubilee Volume, 1959 pp. 118–124.
* Sweta Sinha (2014) - "The Prosody of Stress and Rhythm in Magahi", PhD thesis submitted to Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi.
* Sweta Sinha (2018)- "Magahi Prosody", Bahri Publications: New Delhi. {{ISBN|978-93-83469-14-7}}.
{{refend}}

==External links==
*[https://www.sites.google.com/site/bihargatha/the-history-of-the-dialects-folk-and-proverbs/the-historical-magahi-dialect Magahi - A Historical language]
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20070311232843/http://www.jainworld.com/scriptures/ Jain Scriptures]
*[https://archive.org/details/rosettaproject_mag_detail-1 Magahi Detailed Description by Grierson, G.A.]
*[https://books.google.com/books?id=p3N81Di9EN8C Magahī Phonology: A Descriptive Study by Saryoo Prasad]

{{Bihari languages}}
{{Languages of India}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Magahi Language}}
[[Category:Magahi language]]
[[Category:Bihari languages]]
[[Category:Eastern Indo-Aryan languages]]
[[Category:Hindi languages]]
[[Category:Languages of Bihar]]
[[Category:Languages of Jharkhand]]
[[Category:Languages of West Bengal]]

Magahi language - Revision history

Ndizzy4glo: Updated formatting and improved readability

imported>Ratri21 at 14:35, 20 August 2021