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{{Short description|Languages spoken in Bihar (India)}}
Most of the languages of [[Bihar]], the [[List of states and union territories of India by population|third most populous]] state of India, belong to the [[Bihari languages|Bihari subgroup]] of the Indo-Aryan family. Chief among them are [[Bhojpuri language|Bhojpuri]], spoken in the west of the state, [[Maithili language|Maithili]] in the north, [[Magahi language|Magahi]] in center around capital Patna and in the south of the state. Maithili has official recognition under the [[Eighth Schedule to the Constitution of India|Eighth Schedule]] to the Constitution of India.<ref name="mha.nic.in">{{Cite web|title=Constitutional provisions relating to Eighth Schedule |url=http://mha.nic.in/hindi/sites/upload_files/mhahindi/files/pdf/Eighth_Schedule.pdf|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160305010536/http://mha.nic.in/hindi/sites/upload_files/mhahindi/files/pdf/Eighth_Schedule.pdf|archive-date=5 March 2016|access-date=28 May 2016}}</ref> The official language of Bihar is [[Modern Standard Hindi]],<ref name="CSDOffLang19502">{{cite web|date=1950|title=The Bihar Official Language Act, 1950|url=http://csd.bih.nic.in/Act&rule/Act1english.pdf|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150413072041/http://csd.bih.nic.in/Act%26rule/Act1english.pdf|archive-date=13 April 2015|access-date=9 April 2015|website=Cabinet Secretariat Department, Government of Bihar}}</ref> with [[Standard Urdu]] serving as a second official language in 15 districts.<ref name="Benedikter20093">{{cite book|last=Benedikter|first=Thomas|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=vpZv2GHM7VQC&pg=PA89|title=Language Policy and Linguistic Minorities in India: An Appraisal of the Linguistic Rights of Minorities in India|date=2009|publisher=[[LIT Verlag]]|isbn=978-3-643-10231-7|location=Münster|page=89|access-date=10 April 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151019053006/https://books.google.com/books?id=vpZv2GHM7VQC&pg=PA89&lpg=PA89|archive-date=19 October 2015|url-status=live}}</ref> [[Bihari Hindi]] serves as the [[lingua franca]] of the region.

Exact speaker numbers for the main Bihari languages are not known because the more educated prefer to speak in Hindi (in formal situations) and so return this answer on the census, while many in rural areas and the urban poor, especially the illiterate, list their [[Hindi languages|language as "Hindi" And "Urdu"]] on the census as they regard that as the term for their language.<ref name="Danesh2">{{cite book|last1=Jain|first1=Danesh|title=The Indo-Aryan Languages|last2=Cardona|first2=George|date=2003|publisher=Routledge|page=500|quote=The number of speakers of Bihari languages are difficult to indicate because of unreliable sources. In the urban region, most educated speakers of the language name either Hindi or Urdu 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 regards Hindi or Urdu as the generic name for their language.}}</ref>

Other languages include the Indo-Aryan languages like [[Angika]], [[Bajjika]], [[Surjapuri language|Surjapuri]], [[Bengali language|Bengali]] and [[Tharu languages|Tharu]]; the [[Dravidian languages|Dravidian]] languages [[Kurukh language|Kurukh]] (84,000 speakers in 2011), Kulehiya/[[Malto language|Malto]] (76,000) and [[Mal Paharia language|Mal Paharia]], as well as the [[Austroasiatic languages|Austroasiatic]] languages [[Santali language|Santali]] (almost half a million speakers in 2011) and [[Munda language|Munda]].<ref>List of languages based on:
*{{cite web |title=C-16 Population By Mother Tongue – Bihar |url=https://censusindia.gov.in/2011census/C-16/DDW-C16-STMT-MDDS-1000.XLSX |format=XLSX |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200221112716/https://censusindia.gov.in/2011census/C-16/DDW-C16-STMT-MDDS-1000.XLSX |archive-date=2020-02-21 |work=Census of India 2011 |publisher=Office of the Registrar General |access-date=14 March 2020}}
*{{cite web| title = India| publisher = [[Ethnologue]]| year = 2023| url = https://www.ethnologue.com/country/IN/}} Ethnologue also lists the following languages as spoken in the state: Awadhi, Braj, Ho, Kanjari, Koch, Koda, Korwa, Kurmukar, Mahali, Munda, Nepali, Newar, Sindhi, Sora.
</ref>

==History==
[[File:Languages Spoken in Bihar and Jharkhand.png|alt=Languages Spoken in Bihar and Jharkhand|thumb|Detailed Linguistic map of Bihar and Jharkhand combined]]
The first success of spreading [[Modern Standard Hindi]] occurred in Bihar in 1881, when it displaced [[Standard Urdu]] as the sole official medium of the province. In this [[Hindi–Urdu controversy|struggle between Hindi and Urdu standards]] of the [[Hindustani language]], the potential claims of the three large mother tongues in the region – [[Bhojpuri language|Bhojpuri]], [[Maithili language|Maithili]] and [[Magahi]] were ignored. After independence, Hindi was again given the sole official status through the Bihar Official Language Act, 1950. Urdu became the second official language in the undivided State of Bihar on 16 August 1947

==Official languages==
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[[Hindi]] is the official languages of the State.<ref name=CSDOffLang1950>{{cite web |title=The Bihar Official Language Act, 1950 |url=http://csd.bih.nic.in/Act&rule/Act1english.pdf |date=1950 |website=Cabinet Secretariat Department, Government of Bihar|access-date=9 April 2015 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150413072041/http://csd.bih.nic.in/Act%26rule/Act1english.pdf |archive-date=13 April 2015}}</ref> [[Urdu]] is the second official language of the state.

===Hindi===
{{Main|Bihari Hindi|Hindi in Bihar}}

{{See also|Hindi}}

==Recognised languages==

===Maithili===
{{Main|Maithili language}}
[[Maithili language|Maithili]] is an [[Indo-Aryan languages|Indo-Aryan language]] native to India and Nepal. In India, it is widely spoken in [[Bihar]].<ref>{{Cite web|title=मैथिली लिपि को बढ़ावा देने के लिए विशेषज्ञों की जल्द ही बैठक बुला सकते हैं प्रकाश जावड़ेकर|url=https://ndtv.in/india-news/prakash-javadekar-likely-to-call-meeting-of-experts-to-promote-maithili-script-1826774|website=NDTVIndia}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=मैथिली को भी मिलेगा दूसरी राजभाषा का दर्जा|url=https://www.livehindustan.com/jharkhand/story-maithili-will-get-second-state-language-status-in-jharkhand-1835624.html|website=Hindustan}}</ref> Native speakers are also found in other states and union territories of India, most notably in [[Jharkhand]] and the [[National Capital Territory of Delhi]].<ref>{{Cite web|title=BJP trying to influence Maithil voters in delhi | मैथिल मतदाताओं को मोहने की कोशिश में है बीजेपी, दिल्ली में हैं कुल 40 लाख वोटर्स| Hindi News, बिहार एवं झारखंड|url=https://zeenews.india.com/hindi/india/bihar-jharkhand/bjp-trying-to-influence-maithil-voters-in-delhi/635693/amp?espv=1|website=zeenews.india.com}}</ref> According to [[Ethnologue]], there are about 12 million Maithili speakers in India as per 2011 Census.<ref name="ethnologue.com">{{cite web |url=https://www.ethnologue.com/language/mai/17 |title=Maithili |access-date=1 June 2017 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170730151525/https://www.ethnologue.com/language/mai/17 |archive-date=30 July 2017 }}</ref>
However, in the [[2011 census of India]], It was reported by only 1,35,83,464 people as their mother tongue comprising about 1.12% of the total population of India,<ref>[https://www.jagranjosh.com/current-affairs/language-census-2011-surge-in-hindi-speakers-south-indian-language-and-urdu-speakers-decline-1530869001-1, Rise in Hindi language speakers, ''Statement-4'' Retrieved on 22 February 2020]{{Dead link|date=July 2025 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> as many Maithili speakers view it as a dialect of Hindi and report their mother tongue as Hindi.
In [[Nepal]], it is spoken in the eastern [[Terai]], and is the second most prevalent language of Nepal.<ref name="Sah2013">{{cite journal|author=Sah, K. K.|year=2013|title=Some perspectives on Maithili|journal=Nepalese Linguistics|issue=28|pages=179–188}}</ref> [[Tirhuta script|Tirhuta]] was formerly the primary script for written Maithili. Less commonly, it was also written in the local variant of [[Kaithi]].<ref>{{cite book|author=Brass, P. R.|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=SylBHS8IJAUC&pg=PP1|title=Language, Religion and Politics in North India|publisher=iUniverse|year=2005|isbn=0-595-34394-5|location=Lincoln|access-date=1 April 2017}}</ref> Today it is written in the [[Devanagari]] script.<ref name="Yadava2013">Yadava, Y. P. (2013). Linguistic context and language endangerment in Nepal. [http://himalaya.socanth.cam.ac.uk/collections/journals/nepling/pdf/Nep_Ling_28.pdf Nepalese Linguistics 28]: 262–274.</ref>

In 2003, Maithili was included in the [[8th Schedule|Eighth Schedule]] of the [[Indian Constitution]] as a recognised regional language of India, which allows it to be used in education, government, and other official contexts.<ref name="Singh2011">Singh, P., & Singh, A. N. (2011). Finding Mithila between India's Centre and Periphery. ''Journal of Indian Law & Society'' 2: 147–181.</ref>

==Other languages and dialects of Bihar==

===Angika===
{{Main|Angika}}
Angika is mainly spoken in Anga area which includes [[Munger district|Munger]], [[Bhagalpur district|Bhagalpur]] and [[Banka district]]s of Bihar and the [[Santhal Pargana division]] of [[Jharkhand]].<ref>{{cite book |last=Masica |first=Colin P. |title=The Indo-Aryan Languages |year=1993 |page=12 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=J3RSHWePhXwC&pg=PA12 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=978-0-521-29944-2}}</ref> Its speakers are estimated to be around 15 million.<ref>{{cite book|author=Sevanti Ninan|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QHRNs4Pt2YAC&pg=PA61|title=Headlines From the Heartland: Reinventing the Hindi Public Sphere|publisher=SAGE Publications|year=2007|isbn=978-0-7619-3580-3|page=61|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180511100606/https://books.google.com/books?id=QHRNs4Pt2YAC&pg=PA61|archive-date=11 May 2018|url-status=live}}</ref> In addition to the Anga area, it is also spoken in some parts of [[Purnia district]] of Bihar.<ref name="uchicago.edu">{{cite web|url=https://dsal.uchicago.edu/books/lsi/lsi.php?volume=5-2&pages=466#page/110/mode/1up|title=The Record News|website=dsal.uchicago.edu|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140903110135/http://dsal.uchicago.edu/books/lsi/lsi.php?volume=5-2&pages=466#page/110/mode/1up|archive-date=3 September 2014}}</ref>

===Bajjika===
{{Main|Bajjika}}
Bajjika or Western Maithili is spoken in eastern India and Nepal. Bajjika is spoken in the north-western part of Bihar which mostly spans the modern day [[Tirhut division|Tirhut Division]] and thus is also referred to as Tirhutiya. In Bihar, it is mainly spoken in the [[Samastipur district|Samastipur]], [[Sitamarhi district|Sitamarhi]], [[Muzaffarpur district|Muzaffarpur]], [[Vaishali district|Vaishali]], [[Sheohar district|Sheohar]] districts. It is also spoken in a part of the [[Darbhanga district]] adjoining [[Muzaffarpur district|Muzaffarpur]] and [[Muzaffarpur district|Samastipur]] districts.<ref>{{cite book |author=Abhishek Kashyap |chapter=On the linguistic resources of Bajjika |editor=Vibha Chauhan |title=The People's Linguistic Survey of India |volume=6: The Languages of Bihar |publisher=Orient Blackswan |year=2014 |page=1 |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/259569719}}</ref>

Researcher Abhishek Kashyap (2013), based on the 2001 census data, estimated that there were 20 million Bajjika speakers in Bihar (including around 11.46 illiterate adults).{{sfn|Abhishek Kashyap|2014|pp=1–2}}

===Bhojpuri===
{{Main|Bhojpuri language}}
[[Bhojpuri language|Bhojpuri]] is an [[Indo-Aryan languages|Indo-Aryan]] language predominantly spoken in the [[Bhojpuri region|Bhojpur region]] located in the western part of Bihar. It is widely spoken in several districts of Bihar, including [[West Champaran district|West Champaran]], [[East Champaran district|East Champaran]], [[Saran district|Saran]], [[Siwan district|Siwan]], [[Gopalganj district, India|Gopalganj]], [[Muzaffarpur district|Muzaffarpur]], [[Bhojpur district, India|Bhojpur]], [[Buxar district|Buxar]], [[Kaimur district|Kaimur]], and [[Rohtas district|Rohtas]]. Apart from western Bihar, the Bhojpur region also encompasses [[Purvanchal|eastern Uttar Pradesh]], western [[Jharkhand]], some parts of [[Madhya Pradesh]] and [[Chhattisgarh]], as well as the Terai region of [[Nepal]].<ref>{{Cite thesis |type=Masters |first=Gopal Thakur |last=Lohar |url=https://archive.org/details/a-sociolinguistic-survey-of-bhojpuri-by-gopal-thakur |title=A Sociolinguistic Survey of the Bhojpuri Language in Nepal |date=2006-06-04 |location=Kirtipur, Kathmandu, Nepal |publisher=Central Department of Linguistics, [[Tribhuvan University]] }}</ref> In Nepal, Bhojpuri is the third most spoken language, primarily used in the central and eastern Terai regions. Globally, there are approximately 150 million Bhojpuri speakers.

Bhojpuri has several dialects: Southern Bhojpuri, Northern Bhojpuri, Western Bhojpuri, and [[Sadri language|Nagpuria]].<ref>{{Cite book |author=Trammell, Robert Lee |title=The phonology of the Northern standard dialect of Bhojpuri |date=1968 |oclc=64035989}}</ref> The Bhojpuri variant of the [[Kaithi|Kaithi script]] is the indigenous script of the Bhojpuri language.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Grierson |first=George Abraham |url=https://archive.org/details/handbooktokayath00grie |title=A handbook to the Kayathi character. |date=1881 |publisher=Calcutta, Thacker, Spink, and co. |others=The Library of Congress}}</ref> However, in modern times, Devanagari has become more commonly used for writing Bhojpuri.

There is a demand for the recognition of Bhojpuri language, its inclusion in the [[Eighth Schedule to the Constitution of India|Eighth Schedule]] of the Indian Constitution, and its status as an official language in Bihar.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2024-07-29 |title=क्या हिंदी-संस्कृत की तरह भोजपुरी भी बनेगी आधिकारिक भाषा? रवि किशन का बिल कानून बना तो क्या होगा फायदा |url=https://www.aajtak.in/explained/story/ravi-kishan-bhojpuri-official-language-constitution-eighth-schedule-bhojpuri-demand-ntc-pryd-1994961-2024-07-29 |access-date=2024-11-20 |website=आज तक |language=hi}}</ref>

===Magahi===
{{Main|Magahi language}}Magahi is spoken in the [[Magadh division|Magadh region]] in southern Bihar. Its heartland is Patna, Jehanabad, Nalanda, Nawada, Gaya and Sheikhpura districts, with the centres of Magahi culture being Patna, earlier called Pataliputra, and Gaya. In the west, in western Patna district, Arwal and Aurangabad districts, Magahi blends into Bhojpuri spoken across the [[Son river]]. Across the Ganga Magahi borders various dialects closely related to Maithili. In the east, in Lakhisarai and Jamui districts, Magahi blends into Angika.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Prasad |first1=Balaram |last2=Mukherjee |first2=Subasis |title=Magadhi/Magahi |url=http://lsi.gov.in/MTSI_app/DraftReport/Bihar/11.%20MAGADHI%20MAGAHI.pdf |journal=Languages of Bihar |publisher=Linguistic Survey of India}}</ref>

=== Khortha ===
{{Main|Khortha language}}Khortha is a language variety spoken in far-southern Bihar adjoining Jharkhand, on the [[Chota Nagpur plateau]]. Districts where Khortha is spoken include Aurangabad, Gaya, Nawada and Jamui.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Shekhar Dash |first=Niladri |title=Language Attitude of Khortha Speakers in Giridih: A Survey Report |journal=Linguistic Research Unit, Indian Statistical Institute, Kolkata}}</ref>

===Santali===
{{Main|Santali language}}Santhali is a Munda language spoken by the Santhal Adivasis in its heartland in [[Santhal Pargana division|Santhal Parganas]] in northeastern Jharkhand. As an extension of this population, Santhali is spoken by many people in Jamui, Banka, Munger and Bhagalpur districts. Many Santhali people were also brought to eastern Bihar (Purnia division) as agricultural workers, so large numbers are also found in Araria, Purnia, Katihar and Kishanganj districts.

===Surjapuri===
{{Main|Surjapuri language}}Surjapuri is a language variety spoken in Purnia division (Araria, Purnia, Katihar and Kishanganj districts), and adjoining areas of West Bengal, although it has been clubbed under Hindi in the census. In fact, it is more closely related to [[Assamese language|Assamese]] and [[Bengali language|Bengali]] than Hindi, being the western extension of the [[KRNB lects|Kamata]] group of lects like [[Rajbanshi language (Nepal)|Rajbanshi]] in neighbouring Nepal and [[Rangpuri language|Rangpuri]] in nearby Bangladesh. In the west it blends with eastern dialects of Maithili.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |last=PTI |date=2022-06-12 |title=Bihar: Tharu and Surjapuri languages facing extinction |url=https://theprint.in/india/bihar-tharu-and-surjapuri-languages-facing-extinction/993794/ |access-date=2024-02-02 |website=ThePrint |language=en-US}}</ref>

=== Tharu ===
{{Main articles|Tharu languages}}
Tharu is spoken by the [[Tharu people]] of the [[Terai]] region in Nepal and neighboring regions of [[Uttarakhand]], [[Uttar Pradesh]] and [[Bihar]] in India. Tharu language is one of the major language spoken in [[Nepal]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=danielle |date=2019-07-21 |title=International Year Of Indigenous Languages - Tharu, Nepal |url=https://rights.culturalsurvival.org/international-year-indigenous-languages-tharu-nepal |access-date=2024-02-02 |website=Indigenous Rights Radio |language=en}}</ref> Although their own precise classification within Indo-Aryan remains uncertain, Tharu languages have superficial similarities with neighbouring languages such as [[Awadhi language|Awadhi]], [[Maithili language|Maithili]], [[Bengali language|Bengali]], [[Rajbanshi language (Nepal)|Rajbanshi]] and [[Bhojpuri language|Bhojpuri]]. In Bihar it is spoken in northern parts of [[East Champaran district|East Champaran]] and [[West Champaran district|West Champaran]] districts.<ref name=":0" />

==Classical languages of Bihar==
===Pali===
{{Main|Pali}}

===Sanskrit===
{{Main|Sanskrit}}

==Writing systems==
{{Main|Indic script|Devanagari|Tirhuta|Kaithi}}

==See also==
*[[Hindi in Bihar]]
**[[Urdu Language in Bihar|Urdu in Bihar]]
*[[Bihari languages]]
*[[Eastern Indo-Aryan languages]]
*[[Languages of India]]
*[[Languages of Nepal]]
*[[Languages of South Asia]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

{{Bihar}}
{{Languages of Bihar}}
{{Languages of India}}
{{Languages of South Asia}}
{{Asia topic|Languages of}}
{{Portalbar|India|Languages}}

[[Category:Languages of Bihar| ]]

Languages of Bihar - Revision history

Tijusacademy at 11:51, 16 March 2026