Magahi language

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Magahi (Template:Script), also known as Magadhi (Template:Script), is an Indo-Aryan language spoken in Bihar, Jharkhand and West Bengal states of eastern India,<ref name="Magahi01">Template:Cite book</ref><ref name="Magahi02">Template:Cite book</ref> and in the Terai region of Nepal.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> Magadhi Prakrit was the ancestor of Magahi, from which the latter's name derives.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

It has a very rich and old tradition of folk songs and stories. It is spoken in approximately twelve districts of Bihar (Gaya, Nalnda, Patna, Jehanabad, Aurangabad, Nalanda, Sheikhpura, Nawada, Lakhisarai, Arwal, Jamui and in some parts of Banka), twelve districts of Jharkhand (Hazaribag, Palamu, Chatra, Koderma, Jamtara, Bokaro, Dhanbad, Giridih, Deoghar, Garhwa, Latehar, Chatra) and in West Bengal's Malda district.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

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.<ref name="diehardindian.com">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Magahi was legally absorbed under Hindi in the 1961 Census.<ref name="books.google.co.in">Template:Cite conference</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

HistoryEdit

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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.<ref>Jain Dhanesh, Cardona George, The Indo-Aryan Languages, pp449</ref>

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 Odia 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, Bhojpuri, Assamese, Odia, 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 the 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 and Odia scripts are also used in some regions and Magahi's old script was Kaithi script.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref> 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">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</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 the Magahi speaking area, folk singers sing a good number of ballads. The introduction of Urdu meant a setback to local languages as its Persian script was alien to local people.

The first success in 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>Brass Paul R., The Politics of India Since Independence, Cambridge University Press, pp. 183</ref> ignoring the state's own languages.

Geographical distributionEdit

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.<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"/><ref>Template:Cite book</ref> According to 2011 Census, there were approximately 12.7 million Magahi speakers.<ref name="census2011"/> Apart from India it is spoken in various districts of south eastern Nepal.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

PhonologyEdit

ConsonantsEdit

		Labial	Dental/ Alveolar	Retroflex	Post-alv./ Palatal	Velar	Glottal
Nasal	Template:Small	Template:IPAlink	Template:IPAlink			Template:IPAlink
Nasal	Template:Small	Template:IPAlink	Template:IPAlink
Stop/ Affricate	Template:Small	Template:IPAlink	Template:IPAlink	Template:IPAlink	Template:IPAlink	Template:IPAlink
	Template:Small	Template:IPAlink	Template:IPAlink	Template:IPAlink	Template:IPAlink	Template:IPAlink
	Template:Small	Template:IPAlink	Template:IPAlink	Template:IPAlink	Template:IPAlink	Template:IPAlink
	Template:Small	Template:IPAlink	Template:IPAlink	Template:IPAlink	Template:IPAlink	Template:IPAlink
Fricative			Template:IPAlink				Template:IPAlink
Approximant	Template:Small	Template:IPAlink	Template:IPAlink		Template:IPAlink
Approximant	Template:Small		Template:IPAlink
Tap	Template:Small		Template:IPAlink	Template:IPAlink
Tap	Template:Small		Template:IPAlink	Template:IPAlink

VowelsEdit

	Front	Central	Back
High	Template:IPAlink		Template:IPAlink
Mid	Template:IPAlink	Template:IPAlink	Template:IPAlink
Low		Template:IPAlink
Diphthongs	main}}		main}}

{{#invoke:IPA|main}} may also be heard as lower {{#invoke:IPA|main}} in shortened positions.<ref name="Magahi01" />
{{#invoke:IPA|main}} may also be heard as lower {{#invoke:IPA|main}} in more initial positions.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
{{#invoke:IPA|main}} can also be heard as {{#invoke:IPA|main}} in more stressed positions.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

Kinship termsEdit

Some common kinship terms:

Sr. No.	Magahi Word	IPA Pronunciation	English Word
1	बाप	[baːp]	Father
2	माई	[maː.i]	Mother
3	लइका	[lə.ɪ.kaː]	Son
4	लइकी	[lə.ɪ.kiː]	Daughter
5	भइया	[bʰə.jaː]	Elder Brother
6	भौजी	[bʰɔː.dʒiː]	Sister-in-law (brother's wife)
7	दीदी	[diː.diː]	Elder Sister
8	बहिनिया	[bə.hi.ni.jaː]	Younger Sister
9	दादा	[daː.daː]	Paternal Grandfather
10	दादी	[daː.diː]	Paternal Grandmother
11	नाना	[naː.naː]	Maternal Grandfather
12	नानी	[naː.niː]	Maternal Grandmother
13	मरद	[mə.rəd]	Husband
14	मेहरारू	[me.hə.raː.ruː]	Wife
15	सास	[saːs]	Mother-in-law
16	ससुर	[sə.suɾ]	Father-in-law
17	देबर	[de.bəɾ]	Brother-in-law (husband's younger brother)
18	जेठ	[dʒeʈʰ]	Husband’s Elder Brother
19	ननद	[nənəd]	Husband’s Sister
20	बहू	[bə.huː]	Daughter-in-law
22	चाचा	[tʃaː.tʃaː]	Paternal Uncle (Younger)
24	चाची	[tʃaː.tʃiː]	Aunt (Younger Uncle's Wife)
25	मामा	[maː.maː]	Maternal Uncle
26	मामी	[maː.miː]	Maternal Uncle’s Wife
27	मौसी	[mɔː.siː]	Maternal Aunt
28	मौसा	[mɔː.saː]	Maternal Aunt’s Husband
29	फूफी	[fuː.fiː]	Paternal Aunt
30	फूफा	[fuː.faː]	Paternal Aunt’s Husband
31	भतीजा	[bʰə.t̪iː.dʒaː]	Nephew
32	भतीजी	[bʰə.t̪iː.dʒiː]	Niece