Magahi language

Magahi (𑂧𑂏𑂯𑂲), also known as Magadhi (𑂧𑂏𑂡𑂲), is an Indo-Aryan language spoken in Bihar, Jharkhand, and parts of West Bengal and Odisha in eastern India, and in the Terai region of Nepal. Magadhi Prakrit was the ancestor of Magahi, from which the latter's name derives.

It has a very rich and old tradition of folk songs and stories. It is spoken in approximately twelve districts of Bihar (Gaya, 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.

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. Magahi was legally absorbed under Hindi in the 1961 Census.

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.

The development of the Magahi language into its current form is unknown. However, according to linguists, 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. 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. 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. 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 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, ignoring the state's own languages.

Geographical distribution

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 Maithili spoken in Mithila across the Ganga. On the west it is bounded by the Bhojpuri and 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, Palamu, Dhanbad, Giridih, Hazaribagh, Koderma and Ramgarh. People of Southern Bihar and Northern Jharkhand are mostly speakers of Magahi. Magahi is also spoken in Malda district of West Bengal. According to 2011 Census, there were approximately 12.7 million Magahi speakers. Apart from India it is spoken in various districts of south eastern Nepal.

Phonology

Consonants

Vowels

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

Kinship terms

Some common kinship terms:

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
• Bhaiyaa

Notes

Further reading

• 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. Prasad, Saryoo (2008). . New Delhi: Concept Publishing Company. ISBN 9788180695254.
• 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.

External links

• 27 October 2020 at the Wayback Machine