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Magahi (), also known as Magadhi (), is an Indo-Aryan language spoken in Bihar, Jharkhand, and parts of West Bengal and Odisha in East 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 district, Patna district, Jehanabad, Aurangabad, Nalanda district, Sheikhpura, Nawada district, Lakhisarai, Arwal district, Jamui district and in some parts of Banka), twelve districts of Jharkhand (Hazaribag, Palamu district, Chatra district, Koderma district, Jamtara district, Bokaro district, Dhanbad district, Giridih district, 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.
The name Magahi is directly derived from the word Magadhi.Jain Dhanesh, George Cardona, The Indo-Aryan Languages, pp449
The development of the Magahi language into its current form is unknown. However, according to linguists, Magahi along with Assamese, Bengali language, Bhojpuri, Maithili and Odia language 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.Maitra Asim, Magahi Culture, Cosmo Publications, New Delhi (1983), pp. 64. 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 and 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 introduction of Urdu meant a setback to local languages as its Persian alphabet 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,Paul Brass, The Politics of India Since Independence, Cambridge University Press, pp. 183 ignoring the state's own languages.
| 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 | bʰəʊ.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 | məʊ.siː | Maternal Aunt |
| 28 | मौसा | məʊ.saː | Maternal Aunt’s Husband |
| 29 | फूफी | pʰuː.pʰiː | Paternal Aunt |
| 30 | फूफा | pʰuː.pʰaː | Paternal Aunt’s Husband |
| 31 | भतीजा | bʰə.t̪iː.dʒaː | Nephew |
| 32 | भतीजी | bʰə.t̪iː.dʒiː | Niece |
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