The Magahi language (𑂧𑂏𑂯𑂲), also known as Magadhi (𑂧𑂏𑂡𑂲), is a language spoken in Bihar and parts of Jharkhand in eastern India, and in the Terai of Nepal. Magadhi Prakrit was the ancestor of Magahi, from which the latter's name derives.
It has a very rich and old tradition of folk songs and stories. It is spoken in nine districts of Bihar (Gaya, Patna, Jehanabad, Aurangabad, Nalanda, Sheikhpura, Nawada, Lakhisarai, Arwal), eight districts of Jharkhand (Hazaribag, Palamu, Chatra, Koderma, Jamtara, Bokaro, Dhanbad, Giridih) and in West Bengal's Malda district. There are around 20,700,000 speakers of Magahi, including speakers of Khortha which is considered a dialect of Magahi.
Magahi derived from the ancient Magadhi Prakrit, which was created in the ancient kingdom of Magadha, the core of which was the area south of the Ganges and east of Son River.
It is also known as Magahi which is directly derived from the name "Magadhi". It is also common in Magadh to refer to the region as Magah.
Though the number of speakers in Magahi is large about 12.6 million, it has not been constitutionally recognised in India. In Bihar, Hindi is the language used for educational and official matters. Magahi was legally absorbed under Hindi in the 1961 Census.
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