Bihari languages

Many people use Bihari ways to talk. They live in India and Nepal. Some people also use them in Fiji.

There are many kinds of these ways to talk. Some are called Bhojpuri and Maithili. Others are called Magahi and Angika.

Many people speak them in small towns and farms. In big cities, people often use Hindi instead. This can make the old ways hard to keep.

Maithili is a very special one in India. In Nepal, two ways to talk are official.

Learning these ways helps us know more about people.

Bihari languages are a group of ways to talk. People speak them in India and Nepal. Some people also use them in Fiji. These languages belong to a large group called Indo-Aryan.

Many different languages are in this group. Bhojpuri is one of the largest. It has over 52 million speakers! Other big languages include Maithili and Magahi. Maithili has about 33 million speakers. Magahi has about 14 million speakers. There are also languages like Angika and Bajjika.

In India, Maithili has a special status. This means the law recognizes it. In Nepal, both Maithili and Bhojpuri are official. In Fiji, a mix of Bhojpuri and Awadhi is official. They call this Fiji Hindi.

Many people speak these languages in small towns and farms. In big cities, people often use Hindi for school or work. This can make it hard to keep the Bihari languages strong. Some people even call their language Hindi by mistake. This happens because they use Hindi in formal places. Learning these many ways to talk helps us understand many cultures.

Bihari languages are a special group of ways to speak. They belong to the Indo-Aryan family of languages. Many people use these languages to share stories and ideas. They are spoken in several places in India and Nepal. Some people even use a mix of these languages in Fiji. In Fiji, this mix is called Fiji Hindi.

Learning how these languages work can be very interesting. Many of them use a writing system called Devanagari. In the past, people used different ways to write. Some used a script called Kaithi. Others used Tirhuta or Anga Lipi. Even the Magahi language once used a script called Siddham. These different scripts show how writing has changed over time.

History has changed how these languages are seen. In the 1961 Census, these languages were grouped under the name Hindi. This happened because of state and national politics. After India became independent, the Bihar Official Language Act of 1950 made Hindi the only official language. Later, in 1981, Urdu became the second official language in Bihar. This history makes it hard for some Bihari languages to stay strong.

There are many different Bihari languages with many speakers. Bhojpuri is very large with over 52 million speakers. Maithili has about 33 million speakers and is recognized by the Indian constitution. Magahi has about 14 million speakers. Bajjika has about 8 million speakers. Khortha has about 8 million speakers as well. Angika has about 743,600 speakers.

These languages connect people to their homes and history. Most speakers live in rural areas like villages. In big cities, people often use Hindi for school or work. Sometimes, educated people in cities call their language Hindi by mistake. They do this because Hindi is used in formal places. This can make it difficult to track exactly how many people speak Bihari languages.

Bihari languages are a specific group of Indo-Aryan languages. They represent a diverse collection of ways that people communicate in South Asia. These languages are primarily spoken in several Indian states, including Bihar, Jharkhand, Uttar Pradesh, and West Bengal. They are also spoken in Nepal. Within this group, several major languages stand out, such as Bhojpuri, Maithili, Magahi, Angika, and Bajjika.

The way these languages are spoken and recorded involves various scripts. Today, most of these languages use the Devanagari script for writing. However, history shows a much more complex system of writing. For example, Bajjika and Khortha once used the Tirhuta script. Many languages, including Angika and Magahi, previously used the Kaithi script. Magahi also once used the Siddham script. Some languages, like Angika, used the Anga Lipi script in the past. These changes in writing systems show how literacy and culture have shifted over many centuries.

There are many distinct types of languages within the Bihari group. Bhojpuri is one of the largest, with approximately 52,245,300 speakers. It is recognized as a language in Nepal and is also an official language in Fiji. In Fiji, a mix of Bhojpuri and Awadhi is known as Fiji Hindi. Maithili is another major language, with about 33,890,000 speakers. Magahi follows with roughly 14,035,600 speakers. Bajjika and Khortha each have about 8 million speakers. Other languages include Nagpuri, which has 5,100,000 speakers, and Tharu, which has about 1,900,000 speakers.

The history of these languages is closely tied to government laws and politics. In 1950, the Bihar Official Language Act established Hindi as the sole official language. This was followed by the 1961 Census, which legally absorbed these Bihari languages under the label of Hindi. In 1981, Urdu was added as the second official language in Bihar. These political shifts have created conditions that may endanger some of these languages. Despite these challenges, Maithili gained special status through the 92nd amendment to the Constitution of India in 2003. This amendment received assent in 2004.

Understanding the number of speakers is difficult due to several factors. In urban areas, many educated people identify their language as Hindi. They often do this because Hindi is used in formal settings like schools and offices. Some people may not even realize they are speaking a Bihari language instead of Hindi. Because of this, the exact number of Bihari language speakers is hard to determine. Most speakers of languages like Bajjika, Angika, and Surjapuri live in rural areas.

Different languages are distributed across specific geographical regions. Angika is spoken in eastern Bihar and parts of Nepal. Bajjika is found in north-central Bihar and eastern Madhesh in Nepal. Bhojpuri covers a large area, including western Bihar, eastern Uttar Pradesh, and parts of Nepal. Khortha is spoken in south Bihar and north-central Jharkhand. Kudmali is spoken in southeastern Jharkhand and southern West Bengal. These specific locations help linguists map how different communities interact with their environment.

Bihari languages connect to broader academic and cultural systems. For instance, Nalanda Open University offers specific courses in Magahi, Bhojpuri, and Maithili. This shows how these languages are part of formal education. The study of these languages also connects to the study of Indo-Aryan linguistics. Researchers use various tools, such as the ISO 639-3 identifiers, to categorize them globally. This ensures that even smaller languages, like Danuwardhi or Bote-Darai in Nepal, are recognized by the international community.