Introduction Statistics Origin Of Maithili Maithili  Audio

Maithili  Language Introduction- Maithli is of the family of Indo-Aryan languages. It is spoken in the Mithila region. The language script is Devnagri.  In 2002-03 Maithili is declared independent language. A movement to give the language official status through inclusion in the Eighth Schedule of the Indian Constitution so that it may be used in education, government, and other official contexts, resulted in Maithili being given official status in 2003.

Maithili was traditionally written in the Devnagri script . It was also written in the Kaithi, Bengali and some other Scripts script, but the Devanagari script is the script most commonly used today for Maithili.                                                                              

Aproximatly 5.5 crore, or 5.5 million, people spoken Maithili.  The most famous literary figure in Maithili is the poet Vidyapati And Kalidas.

Maithili is very old language. The King Of Darbhanga Kameswar Singh also accepts Maithili for official works. In 2003 Sri Atal Vihari Vajyee Goverment declared Maithili os a independent language.

Region- Bihar, from Muzaffarpur on the west, past the Kosi on the east to western Purnia District, to the districts of Munger and Bhagalpur in the south, and the Himalayan foothills on the north. Cultural and linguistic centers are the towns of Madhubani and Darbhanga. Janakpur also important culturally and religiously. Delhi, Calcutta, Bombay have thousands. Many have settled abroad. Also spoken in Nepal.Narayani Zone, Rautahat District; Janakpur Zone, Sarlahi, Mahottari, Dhanusa districts; Sagarmatha Zone, Siraha, Saptari districts; Koshi Zone, Sunsari District.

Population of People Speaking Maithili- India:64,000,00 Nepal:2,800,800 (2001 Census)

Language Use - Official language. Spoken by Brahmin and other high caste or educated Hindus, who influence the culture and language, and other castes. There is a Maithili Academy. Linguistics and literature are taught at the L. N. Mithila University in Darbhanga and Patna University. Used in the home, village, town, or cities. Language attitudes are influenced by caste, ranging from superiority to resentment. Non-Brahmin speech viewed as inferior. Hindi considered superior, Nepali generally accepted. Hindi, Nepali, English, Bhojpuri, Bengali used mainly for commerce or social interaction outside the home by men or working women with various degrees of proficiency from marketing only to fluency. In cities some may use Hindi, Nepali, or English in the home.Standard Maithili, Southern Standard Maithili, Eastern Maithili (Khotta, Kortha, Kortha Bihari), Western Maithili, Jolaha, Central Colloquial Maithili (Sotipura), Kisan, Dehati. Caste variation more than geographic variation in dialects. Functional intelligibility among all dialects, including those in Nepal. Closest to Magahi. Brahmin and non-Brahmin dialects average 80 % lexical similarity.

Composed by Nagendra Jha Khelubhai@mithilalive.com  Send your feedback at info@mithilalive.com