The most common languages spoken in Bihar are Hindi, Bhojpuri, Maithili and Magahi. Hindi is widely spoken by the people, especially those who live in the urbanized cities of Bihar. Other languages that people love are Maithili spoken in the north of the state, Bhojpuri in the west, and Magahi in center around capital Patna.
Urdu is the second official language in the state leaving behind the other local languages. Since Bihar shares its borders with Bengal, it also has a substantial number of Bengali speakers. Maithili has official recognition under the Eighth Schedule to the Constitution of India.
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Official Language of Bihar
Language spoken in Bihar is primarily Hindi, but the state has over 5 million speakers who use the other three main languages of Bihar as well. Hindi was the only official language of Bihar since Independence, until 1981 when Urdu became the second official language of the state. Although Hindi and Urdu are the two main languages of the state, the people of Bihar widely communicate in the indigenous languages of Maithili, Magahi, Angika and Bhojpuri. While most of these languages are not recognized by the Constitution of India, Maithili succeeded in achieving constitutional status in 2003.
Local Languages Spoken in Bihar
Official language of Bihar is Hindi and the local languages that are commonly used in the state are Magahi, Maithili, Angika and Bhojpuri.
Angika
Angika is an Indo-Aryan language which is spoken in the districts of Araria, Katihar, Purnia, Kishanganj, Madhepura, Saharsa, Supaul, Bhagalpur, Banka, Jamui, Munger, Lakhisarai, Begusarai, Sheikhpura and Khagaria.
Bhojpuri
Bhojpuri is another Indo-Aryan language which is spoken by mass people in the western regions of Bihar. It is the official language of Madhesh, Nepal. The language is also spoken in Fiji, Guyana, Trinidad and Tobago, Mauritius and Suriname.
Magahi
Magahi is a language that originated from Magadhi Prakrit. This language was spoken in the kingdom of Magadha. It utilizes the Devanagari script.
Maithili
Maithili is an Indo-Aryan language which is spoken widely by the people residing in Eastern Bihar. It is one of the most commonly spoken languages in India and it is also used widely in Nepal.
Bajjika
Bajjika is also a popular language in Bihar spoken by the people who live in the districts of Muzzafarpur, Vaishali, Samastipur, Shivhar, East Champaran and Sitamarhi.
In addition to the different languages used in Bihar, the state is also home to a variety of dialects. With Hindi gaining official status in the state, a lot of the indigenous languages of Bihar have lost their importance, and the number of speakers for these languages are slowly reducing.
Dialects in Bihar State
While the main language of Bihar is Hindi and Urdu, local dialects in Bihar, exist in the form of Maithili, Angika, Bhojpuri, Bajjika, Magahi, Brij, Fiji Hindi and Awadhi. Most of these dialects are divided by the regions in which they are spoken. A number of people in Bihar use other languages like Bengali and Nepali as well.
History of Languages Spoken in Bihar
Bihar language has a rich history because of its diversity of languages. One of the oldest languages in Bihar is Magahi which finds its roots in Magadhi Prakrit. Unfortunately, the language does not have a lot of historic information on its evolution to its current state. It was spoken by the people of the ancient kingdom of Magadh.
Maithili goes back to the 14th century and it is known to originate from the word Mithila which was the kingdom of Janaka, the father of Sita. Maithili has gradually taken its current form after having gone through many reformations through the kings who ruled the region.
Bhojpuri does not have a history that we can easily explore. Most of the works in Bhojpuri are recent. It is considered to be a descendant of Sanskrit.
Writing System: Script of Bihar Language
Official language of Bihar is Hindi and the second official language is Urdu. The writing system for these two languages are primarily used today for most of the official documents and in constitutional debate. Hindi uses the Devanagari script which is written in the abugida system.
Literature of Bihar State
Regional language of Bihar is divided according to the different regions. The primary languages are Maithili, Magahi, Bhojpuri and Angika. Literature for these languages are available mainly in the Devanagari script. A lot of scriptures in Maithili and Magahi are as old as the 12th century. Bhojpuri literature is not as old as the other two. Most of the literary works in these languages are more modern than ancient.
Bihar language name is Hindi. But the languages of Maithili, Magahi, Bhojpuri and Angika form what is collectively known as Bihari languages. These languages are indigenous to the state and they have a large number of users. While the use of these languages are gradually declining with the younger generations accepting Hindi as their means of communication. With a rich history and a lot of diversity, some of these languages in Bihar are yet to be recognized by the constitution which means that they are not taught in the schools.
