Magadhi language
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The Magadhi language (also known as Magahi) is a language spoken in India. Magadhi is closely related to Bhojpuri and Maithili 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, which form a sub-group of the Eastern Zone group of Indo-Aryan languages.
Magadhi has approximately 13 million speakers. It is spoken primarily spoken in the Magadh area of Bihar state. This area includes Patna, Gaya, Nalanda, and other surrounding districts. It is also spoken in some areas of Hazaribagh, Giridih, Palamau, Munger, and Bhagalpur, with some speakers in the Malda District of West Bengal. It is generally written using Devanagari script.
It sounds very similar to Hindi and can be easily understood by someone who is not familiar with it but knows either Hindi or any of the other numerous Bihari languages. It has a very rich and old tradition of folk songs and stories. An earlier form of Magadhi is believed to be the language spoken by The Buddha, and Magadhi may have been the language of ancient kingdom of Magadha, after which the Magadh area is named. Theravada tradition has long held that the Pali language was synonymous with the ancient Magadhi language; and indeed, there are many remarkable analogies between Pali and an old form of Magadhi, - Ardhamagadhi, which is preserved in ancient Jain texts. Ardhamagadhi differs from Magadhi proper on similar points as Pali. For example, Ardhamagadhi too does not change r into l, and in the noun inflexion it shows the ending -o instead instead of Magadhic -e at least in many metrical places.
Magadhi is also the name of one of the three Dramatic Prakrits, and was a language spoken in what is now Bihar in medieval times. Its successors include Bengali, Oriya and the complex of languages together called Bihari. Many of the texts of the Jain religion are written in old Magadhi - Ardhamagadhi.
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