Magadhi language

Encyclopedia

The Magahi language also called Nagari , is an abugida alphabet of India and Nepal...

: मगही; also known as Magadhi, मगधी) is a language spoken in India. Magadhi Prakrit

Magadhi Prakrit

Magadhi Prakrit is of one of the three Dramatic Prakrits, the written languages of Ancient India following the decline of Pali and Sanskrit. Magadhi Prakrit was spoken in the eastern Indian subcontinent, in a region spanning what is now eastern India, Bangladesh, and Nepal. It is believed to be the...

was the ancestor of Magadhi, from which the latter's name derives. The ancestral language, Magadhi Prakrit, is believed to be the language spoken by the Buddha

Gautama Buddha

Siddhārtha Gautama was a spiritual teacher from the Indian subcontinent, on whose teachings Buddhism was founded. In most Buddhist traditions, he is regarded as the Supreme Buddha Siddhārtha Gautama (Sanskrit: सिद्धार्थ गौतम; Pali: Siddhattha Gotama) was a spiritual teacher from the Indian...

, and the language of the ancient kingdom of Magadha

Magadha

Magadha formed one of the sixteen Mahājanapadas or kingdoms in ancient India. The core of the kingdom was the area of Bihar south of the Ganga; its first capital was Rajagriha then Pataliputra...

. Magadhi is closely related to Bhojpuri

Bhojpuri language

Bhojpuri is a language spoken in parts of north-central and eastern India. It is spoken in the western part of state of Bihar, the northwestern part of Jharkhand, and the Purvanchal region of Uttar Pradesh , as well as adjoining parts of the Nepal Terai. Bhojpuri is also spoken in Guyana,...

and Maithili

Maithili language

Maithili language is spoken in the eastern region of India and South-eastern region of Nepal. The native speakers of Maithili reside in Bihar, Jharkhand,parts of West Bengal and South-east Nepal...

, and these languages are sometimes referred to as a single language, Bihari. These languages, together with several other related languages, are known as the Bihari languages

Bihari languages

Bihari is a name given to the western group of Eastern Indic languages, spoken in Bihar and neighboring states in India. Angika, Bajjika, Bhojpuri, Magahi, and Maithili are spoken in Nepal as well. The Angika, Bajjika, Bhojpuri, Magahi and Maithili speaking population form more than 21% of Nepalese...

, which form a sub-group of the Eastern Zone of Indo-Aryan languages

Indo-Aryan languages

The Indo-Aryan languages constitutes a branch of the Indo-Iranian languages, itself a branch of the Indo-European language family...

. Magadhi has approximately 18 million speakers.

It was once mistakenly thought to be a dialect of Hindi

Hindi

Standard Hindi, or more precisely Modern Standard Hindi, also known as Manak Hindi , High Hindi, Nagari Hindi, and Literary Hindi, is a standardized and sanskritized register of the Hindustani language derived from the Khariboli dialect of Delhi...

, but has been more recently shown to be descendant of and very similar to the Eastern Group of Indic languages, along with Bengali

Bengali language

Bengali or Bangla is an eastern Indo-Aryan language. It is native to the region of eastern South Asia known as Bengal, which comprises present day Bangladesh, the Indian state of West Bengal, and parts of the Indian states of Tripura and Assam. It is written with the Bengali script...

, Assamese

Assamese language

Assamese is the easternmost Indo-Aryan language. It is used mainly in the state of Assam in North-East India. It is also the official language of Assam. It is also spoken in parts of Arunachal Pradesh and other northeast Indian states. Nagamese, an Assamese-based Creole language is widely used in...

, and Oriya

Oriya language

Oriya , officially Odia from November, 2011, is an Indian language, belonging to the Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European language family. It is mainly spoken in the Indian states of Orissa and West Bengal...

. It has a very rich and old tradition of folk songs and stories. It is spoken in eight districts in Bihar, three in Jharkhand

Jharkhand

Jharkhand is a state in eastern India. It was carved out of the southern part of Bihar on 15 November 2000. Jharkhand shares its border with the states of Bihar to the north, Uttar Pradesh and Chhattisgarh to the west, Orissa to the south, and West Bengal to the east...

, and has some speakers in Malda, West Bengal

West Bengal

West Bengal is a state in the eastern region of India and is the nation's fourth-most populous. It is also the seventh-most populous sub-national entity in the world, with over 91 million inhabitants. A major agricultural producer, West Bengal is the sixth-largest contributor to India's GDP...

.

Though the number of speakers in Magadhi is large, it has not been constitutionally recognized in India. Even in Bihar, Hindi is the language used for educational and official matters (although Maithili, a related language also spoken widely in Bihar, is an official language under the Eighth Schedule to the Constitution of India

Constitution of India

The Constitution of India is the supreme law of India. It lays down the framework defining fundamental political principles, establishes the structure, procedures, powers, and duties of government institutions, and sets out fundamental rights, directive principles, and the duties of citizens...

). Magahi was legally absorbed under the subordinate label of Hindi in the 1961 Census. Such state and national politics are creating conditions for language endangerments.

History

The ancestor of Magadhi, from which its name derives, Magadhi Prakrit

Magadhi Prakrit

, was spoken in the eastern Indian subcontinent, in a region spanning what is now eastern India, Bangladesh

Bangladesh

Bangladesh , officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh is a sovereign state located in South Asia. It is bordered by India on all sides except for a small border with Burma to the far southeast and by the Bay of Bengal to the south...

, and Nepal

Nepal

Nepal , officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal, is a landlocked sovereign state located in South Asia. It is located in the Himalayas and bordered to the north by the People's Republic of China, and to the south, east, and west by the Republic of India...

. These regions were part of the ancient kingdom of Magadha

Magadha

Magadha formed one of the sixteen Mahājanapadas or kingdoms in ancient India. The core of the kingdom was the area of Bihar south of the Ganga; its first capital was Rajagriha then Pataliputra...

, the core of which was the area of Bihar

Bihar

Bihar is a state in eastern India. It is the 12th largest state in terms of geographical size at and 3rd largest by population. Almost 58% of Biharis are below the age of 25, which is the highest proportion in India....

south of the Ganges. It is believed to be the language spoken by Gautama Buddha

Gautama Buddha

. It was the official language of the Mauryan court, and the edicts of Ashoka

Ashoka

Ashok Maurya or Ashoka , popularly known as Ashoka the Great, was an Indian emperor of the Maurya Dynasty who ruled almost all of the Indian subcontinent from ca. 269 BC to 232 BC. One of India's greatest emperors, Ashoka reigned over most of present-day India after a number of military conquests...

were composed in it.

The name Magahi is directly derived from the name Magadhi Prakrit

Magadhi Prakrit

, and the educated speakers of Magahi prefer to call it Magadhi rather than Magahi.

The development of the Magadhi language into its current form is unknown. However, language scholars have come to a definite conclusion that Magadhi, Maithili

Maithili language

Maithili language is spoken in the eastern region of India and South-eastern region of Nepal. The native speakers of Maithili reside in Bihar, Jharkhand,parts of West Bengal and South-east Nepal...

, Bhojpuri, Bengali

Bengali language

, Assamese

Assamese language

and Oriya

Oriya language

originated from Magadhi-Prakrit/Ardh-Magadhi during the 8th to 11th centuries AD. These different 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 12th century, the development of Apabhramsa reached its climax. Gujrathi, Marathi, Bengali, Assamese, Oriya, Maithili, etc. tool a 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 Sidh-Sarahapa and Sidh-Kauhapa. Magadhi had a setback due to the transition period of 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'. Kaithi is the script generally used for it. 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 Magahi spoken area folk singers sing a good number of ballads.

Even though the number of speakers of Magadhi is quite large, it has not been constitutionally recognized in India. Even in Bihar, Hindi is the language used for educational and official matters. Magahi was legally absorbed under the subordinate label of "HINDI" in the 1961 Census. Such state and national politics are creating conditions for language endangerments.

The first success for spreading Hindi occurred in Bihar in 1881, when Hindi displaced Urdu

Urdu

Urdu is a register of the Hindustani language that is identified with Muslims in South Asia. It belongs to the Indo-European family. Urdu is the national language and lingua franca of Pakistan. It is also widely spoken in some regions of India, where it is one of the 22 scheduled languages and an...

as the sole official language of the province. In this struggle between competing Hindi and Urdu, the potential claims of the three large mother tongues in the region - Magahi, Bhojpuri and Maithili

Maithili language

Maithili language is spoken in the eastern region of India and South-eastern region of Nepal. The native speakers of Maithili reside in Bihar, Jharkhand,parts of West Bengal and South-east Nepal...

were ignored. After independence, Hindi was again given the sole official status through the Bihar Official Language Act, 1950.

Magadhi speech area

Magadhi is spoken in the area which formed the core of the ancient kingdom of Magadha

Magadha

Magadha formed one of the sixteen Mahājanapadas or kingdoms in ancient India. The core of the kingdom was the area of Bihar south of the Ganga; its first capital was Rajagriha then Pataliputra...

- the modern districts of Patna

Patna District

Patna district is one of the thirty-eight districts of Bihar state, with Patna as the district headquarters. Patna district is a part of Patna division...

, Nalanda

Nalanda District

Nalanda district is one of the thirty-eight districts of Bihar state, India, and Bihar Sharif town is the administrative headquarters of this district...

, Gaya

Gaya District

Gaya is one of the thirty-eight districts of Bihar state, India. The district is having a common boundary with the Jharkhand state in the south. Gaya city is its largest city and the district headquarters.-History:...

, Jehanabad

Jehanabad District

Jehanabad district is one of the thirty-eight districts of Bihar state, India, and Jehanabad town is the administrative headquarters of this district. Jehanabad district is a part of Magadh Division. This district is 45 k.m nearby of Patna, the capital of Bihar.Jehanabad is located on the...

, Arwal

Arwal District

Arwal district is one of the thirty-eight districts of Bihar state, India, and Arwal town is the administrative headquarters of this district. It was earlier part of Jehanabad district....

, Aurangabad

Aurangabad District, Bihar

Aurangabad district is one of the thirty-eight districts of Bihar state, India. It is currently a part of the Red Corridor.-History:Aurangabad features in traditional records...

, Sheikhpura

Sheikhpura District

Sheikhpura district is one of the thirty eight districts of Bihar state, India, and Sheikhpura town is the administrative headquarters of this district. Sheikhpura district is a part of Munger Division...

and Nawada

Nawada District

Nawada district is one of the thirty-eight districts of Bihar state, India, and Nawada town is the administrative headquarters of this district. The district was part of famous Magadh, Sunga and Gupta empires. It is located between historical districts of Nalanda and Gaya and falls under Magadha...

. Magahi is bounded on the north by the various forms of Maithili

Maithili

Maithili may refer to:* Maithili language, a language spoken in the eastern part of India and south - eastern part of Nepal and it is a second national language of Nepal. It belongs to the ancient Kingdom Mithila....

spoken in Tirhut

Tirhut

Historically Tirhut refers to the Indo-Gangetic plains lying north of the Ganges River, in the Indian state of Bihar. The geographical area known as Tirhut corresponds to the ancient region of Mithila. Tirhut, a densely populated area of India, has alluvial plains and several rivers pass through...

across the Ganga. On the west it is bounded by the Bhojpuri , On the northeast it is bounded by Maithili

Maithili

and Angika. The total geographical area covered by Magahi is much larger today. .
A blend of Magahi and Bengali

Bengali language

known as Kharostha (Khortha) is spoken by non-tribal populace in North Chotanagpur division

North Chotanagpur division

North Chotanagpur division is one of the five divisions in the Indian state of Jharkhand.The division comprises the following districts: Bokaro district, Chatra district, Dhanbad district, Giridih district, Hazaribagh district, Koderma district and Ramgarh district. It was earlier part of Chota...

of Jharkhand

Jharkhand

which comprises districts of Bokaro

Bokaro District

Bokaro district is one of the twenty-four districts of Jharkhand state, India. It was established in 1991 by carving out one subdivision consisting of two blocks from Dhanbad District and six blocks from Giridih District. Bokaro Steel City is the district headquarters...

, Chatra

Chatra

Chatra is a genus of Moth in the family Lasiocampidae....

, Dhanbad

Dhanbad

Dhanbad features climate that is transitional between a humid subtropical climate and a tropical wet and dry climate. Summer starts from last week of March and ends in mid-June. Peak temperature in summer can reach 47oC. Dhanbad also receives heavy rainfall...

, Giridih

Giridih

Giridih is headquarters of the Giridih district of Jharkhand state, India. The literal meaning of Giridih is the land of hills & hillocks - giri, a Hindi word, means hills and dih, another word of the local dialect, indicates upland...

, Hazaribagh

Hazaribagh

Hazaribagh is a city and a municipality in Hazaribagh district in the Indian state of Jharkhand. It is the divisional headquarters of North Chotanagpur division. It is famous as a health resort and for Hazaribagh National Park ....

, Koderma and Ramgarh

Ramgarh

Ramgarh Raj was a major Zamindari in the era of the British Raj.The areas that would later comprise the Ramgarh Raj had initially belonged to the Raja of Chhota Nagpur. Around the year AD 1368, the area witnessed unrest for reasons not now known. The Raja deputed two brothers by name Baghdeo and...

.
Khortha language is often regarded as the rough dialectal variant of Bengali

Bengali language

and it serves as the medium of communication between the tribals and non-tribals in North Chotanagpur division

North Chotanagpur division

of Jharkhand

Jharkhand

Speakers of Magadhi

The number of Magadhi speakers is difficult to indicate because of unreliable sources. In the urban Magahi region, most educated speakers of the language name Hindi as their language because this is what they use in formal contexts and believe it to be the appropriate response because of unawareness. The uneducated and the rural population of the region return Hindi as the generic name for their language. Current estimates indicate approximately 18 million Magadhi speakers.

Scripts and literary tradition

Magadhi is generally written using Devanagari

Devanagari

Devanagari |deva]]" and "nāgarī" ), also called Nagari , is an abugida alphabet of India and Nepal...

script. A later-developed script of Magadhi is Kaithi.
There have been efforts by scholars in the Magahi area to explore and identify a literary tradition for Magadhi. Magadhi has a rich tradition of folk literature, and in modern times there have been various activities in the publication of literary writing. Magahi Parishad was established in Patna in 1952, which was renamed Bihar Magahi Mandal. Magadhi, a journal, was started at the same time, which was renamed Bihan, meaning "tomorrow" or the coming dawn. This time magadhi is published by akhil bhartiya magahi bhasa sammelan. it is headed by Kavi Yogesh ., who lead Magahi movement. Another very famous monthly journal was started by Magahi Academy, Gaya edited by Dr. Ram Prasad Singh, a well-known writer.He also got Sahitya Academy Award for his contribution. He is famous writer of thirty-five books, commonly known as 'Magahi Ke Bhartendu'. Dr. Ram Prasad Singh Sahitya Puraskar has been awarded every year on his birthday (10 July) to renowned writers of Hindi & Folk literature. Nalanda Open University

Nalanda Open University

-History:Nalanda Open University is a university at Patna in Bihar state in India. The university was established in March, 1987. It is named after the famous Buddhist University of Nalanda, the ancient seat of learning. In 1995 the Nalanda Open University Act was passed, and the University came...

offers various courses on Magahi.

Weekdays

English	Magahi/Magadhi	मगही/मगधि	Hindi	Urdu
Sunday	Eitwaar	एतवार	Ravivwaar	Eitwaar
Monday	Somaar	सोमार	Somwaar	Peer
Tuesday	Mangal	मंगर	Mangalwaar	Mangal
Wednesday	Budhh	बुध	Buddhwaar	Budhh
Thursday	Barashpat/Bife	बिफे	Guruwaar	Jumeraat
Friday	Sookar/Sook/Juma	सूक / जुमा	Shukrawaar	Jumma
Saturday	Sunicher	सनिचर	Shaniwaar	Sunicher

Fruits and vegetables

English	Magahi/Magadhi	मगहि/मगधि	English	Magahi/Magadhi	मगहि/मगधि
Mango	Aam	आम	Apple	Seo	सेव
Orange	Narangi/Santola /Kewla	नारंगी/संतोला/केवला	Lemon	Lemu	लेमू
Grapefruit; pomelo	Mausmi/	मौसमी	Papaya	Papita	पपीता
Guava	Amdur	अमदुर	Melon	Jaamun	जामुन
Sweet Potato	Shataalu	शतालु	Pomegranate	Anaar	अनार
Grape	Angoor	अंगूर	Custard apple	Shareefa	शरीफा
Banana	Keraa	केरा	Lytchee	Litchi	लीची
Tomato	Tamaatar	टमाटर	Jackfruit	Katahar	कटहर
Jack Fruit	Bhuikatahar	भुईकटहर

Family relations

English	Magahi/Magadhi	मगहि/मगधि
Papa / Dad	Baabuji / Baba/ Bava	बाबूजी/ बाबा/ बावा
Mummy / Mom	Maiya/Maay	मईया/माय
Sister	Bahin / Didi	दीदी/बहिन
Brother	Bhaai / Bhaiya	भाई भईया
Grand Dad	Daada	दादा
Grand Mom	Daadi	दादी

Spoken trends

Addition of “Waa” or “eeya” to nouns and sometimes verbs

For male nouns:

In Hindi with Magahi/Magadhi style – “सलमनवा के पास एगो मोटरसाइकिल है”

In true Magahi/Magadhi language - “सलमनवा के एगो मोटरसाइकिल हई”

English translation – Salman has a motorcycle.

English in Magahi/Magadhi style – Salmanwa has a motorcycle.

For female nouns:

In Hindi with Magahi/Magadhi style – “रिमवा रिया सेनवा के बहन है”

In true Magahi/Magadhi language - “रिमवा रिया सेनवा के बहिन हई”

English translation – Rimi is the sister of Riya sen

English in Magahi/Magadhi style – Rimwa is the sister of Riya senwa.

In Hindi with Magahi/Magadhi style – “लठीया चला के तोर कपरवे फोर देंगे”

In true Magahi/Magadhi language - “लठीया चला के तोहर/तोर कपरवे फोर देम ”

English translation – (I'll) throw the baton and crack your skull

English in Magahi/Magadhi style – (I'll) throw the batowa and crack your skullwa.

In Hindi with Magahi/Magadhi style – “जानते हो, मोहना का बाप मर गया है”

In true Magahi/Magadhi language - “जानअ ह, मोहना के बाप / बाबूजी / बाबा /बावा मर् गेलथिन/गेलवा”

English translation – You know, Mohan's dad has died

English in Magahi/Magadhi style – You know, Mohanwa's dad has died

Apart from these all other females names and other nouns get "waa" in their ends.

Addition of "eeye" or "ey" in adverbs, adjectives and pronouns

In Hindi with Magahi/Magadhi style – हम बहुत नजदिके से आ रहें है

In true Magahi/Magadhi language – हम/हमनी बहुत नजदिके (बहुते नज़दीक) से आवईत हिवअ/ आ रहली हे

English translation – We are coming from a very near place

English in Magahi/Magadhi style – We are coming from a very nearey place.

Within Magahi, one can find lot of variation while moving from one area to other, mainly end of the sentence is with a typical tone like Hiva, thau, hein etc. It is a rich language with lot of difference one can see while saying something with respect to elder or one with peer or younger.

Magahi is a language of the common people in area in and around Patna. It has few indigenous written literature, though a number of folk-tales and popular songs have been handed down for centuries from mouth to mouth and this remain main form of knowledge transfer in literature.
Strolling bards also known by name “Bhad” recite long epic poems in this dialect, and sing verses in honor of the heroic achievements of legendary princes and brave men of ancient time like "Alha aur udal". But no manuscriptic text has been seen except that nowadays people have given it a book form.

One sample of folk song is given below.

Goar Gaura parvati

Sankar jee kariya

Maiya ge sankar jee ke ajbi rahaniya

Ho, Maiya ge Sankar jee ke ajbi rahaniya

गोर गौरा पारवती

शंकर जी करिया

मैया गे, शंकर जी के अज्बी रहनिया

हो, मैया गे शंकर जी के अज्बी रहनिया

Phonology

Research work done in this field:

Dr Saryu Prasad - "A Descriptive Study of Magahi Phonology", Ph.D. thesis submitted to Patna University.
Dr A.C. Sinha (1966) - "Phonology and Morphology of Magahi Dialect", Ph.D. thesis submitted to University of Poona.

Morphology

Research work done in this field: Dr A.C. Sinha (1966) - "Phonology and Morphology of Magahi Dialect", Ph.D. thesis submitted to University of Poona.

External links

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.

History

Magadhi speech area

Speakers of Magadhi

Scripts and literary tradition

Weekdays

Fruits and vegetables

Family relations

Spoken trends

Phonology

Morphology

See also

External links