Right, let's get this over with. Don't confuse this with the Meitei language; making that mistake is a fine way to advertise your inattention to detail.
Maithili
| Maithili - - | Pronunciation | [ˈməi̯tʰɪliː] - - | Native to | India and Nepal - - | Region | Mithila [1] - - - - - - - - - | Ethnicity | Maithil - - - | Native speakers | 17 million (2011–2021) [2] - - - - - - - - - - | Language family | Indo-European • Indo-Iranian • Indo-Aryan • Eastern • Bihari • Maithili - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - | Early forms | Magadhi Prakrit • Magadhan Apabhraṃśa • Abahattha - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - | Dialects | • Thēthi-Maithili • Eastern Maithili • Angika-Maithili • Bajjika-Maithili • Sotipura-Maithili • Possibly Kochila Tharu [3] - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -- - el- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - | Writing system - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - | Official status - - - - - - - - - - - - -- - - - - - - -/- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -.... - - - - - - - - - - -Tirhuta script](/Tirhuta_script) (Historical and Original Script of Maithili language) • Newar script [4] (Historical) • Kaithi script [5] (Historical) - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - | Official language in | • India • Jharkhand [6] (additional) • Nepal • Koshi Province • Madhesh Province - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - | Regulated by | Sahitya Akademi, Maithili Academy, Maithili - Bhojpuri Academy, Delhi, Nepal Academy - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -- - - - - - -- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - --keystroke-tally | Language codes | ISO 639-2 mai ISO 639-3 mai Glottolog mait1250 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 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Ma-Maithili-speaking region of India and Nepal
Maithili (/ˈmaɪtɪli/ MY--il-ee , [7] Maithili: [ˈməi̯tʰɪliː]) is an Indo-A-yan language native to parts of India and Nepal. It is spoken in the Mithila region, which encompasses parts of the eastern Indian states of Bihar and Jharkhand, as well as Nepal's Koshi and Madhesh Provinces. It stands as one of the 22 scheduled languages of India. [8] [9] [10] It holds the distinction of being the second most commonly spoken native Nepalese language constitutionally [11] [12] [1-3] and is recognized as one of the fourteen provincial official languages of Nepal. [14]
The language is spoken by a total of 21.7 million people, with 3.2 million of those being Nepalese speakers. [12] While primarily written in Devanagari, the historical Tirhuta and Kaithi scripts have retained some usage to this day. [15]
Official status
In 2003, Maithili was formally included in the Eighth Schedule of the Indian Constitution as a recognized Indian language, which permits its use in education, government, and other official contexts within India. [8] Subsequently, in March 2018, Maithili was granted the status of a second official language in the Indian state of Jharkhand. [16]
Gopal Jee Thakur of the Bharatiya Janata Party became the first Member of Parliament, Lok Sabha to address the Parliament of India in the Maithili language. [17] He currently represents the Darbhanga constituency. [18]
The Nepalese Languages Commission has officially recognized Maithili as an administrative language in both Koshi province and Madhesh Province. [14]
On November 26, 2024, in commemoration of Constitution Day, the Maithili version of the Indian constitution was unveiled by the President of India, Droupadi Murmu. [19]
Distribution
In India, Maithili is predominantly spoken in the Darbhanga, Madhubani, Tirhut, Kosi, Purnia, Bhagalpur, and Munger divisions of Bihar, as well as in the Santhal Pargana division of Jharkhand. [20] [21]
In Nepal, the language is primarily spoken in the Madhesh Province and Koshi Province. [12] [22]
The cities of Darbhanga, Madhubani, and Janakpur are considered significant cultural and linguistic hubs for the Maithili language. [12]
Classification
The classification of Maithili has been a subject of academic debate, a tedious but apparently necessary exercise for linguists. In the 1870s, John Beames dismissed it as a mere dialect of Bengali. Rudolf Hoernlé initially categorized it as a dialect of Eastern Hindi, but later, after comparing it with other Gaudian languages, conceded its stronger resemblance to Bengali over Hindi. It was George Abraham Grierson who finally recognized it as a distinct language, grouping it under the 'Bihari' languages and, to his credit, publishing its first formal grammar in 1881, presumably so people could start arguing about it with proper citations. [23] [24]
Later, Suniti Kumar Chatterji further refined its lineage, placing Maithili within the Magadhi Prakrit family, thus cementing its place in the linguistic tapestry of the region. [25]
Dialects
Maithili, like any language with a pulse, exhibits considerable variation across its dialects. [26]
- The standard, or what passes for it, is Sotipura, also known as Central Maithili. [27] This is the form you'll hear in the Darbhanga, Madhubani, Supaul, Madhepura, Purnia, Samastipur, Araria, and Saharsa districts of India. Across the border in Nepal, it's spoken in the Dhanusha, Mahottari, Siraha, Saptari, Sarlahi, Sunsari, and Morang districts. [28]
- The Bajjika dialect, sometimes called Western Maithili, [29] is prevalent in the Sitamarhi, Muzaffarpur, Vaishali, and Sheohar districts of Bihar, India, as well as the Rautahat and Sarlahi districts of Nepal. [30] In Nepal, it's listed as a distinct language, though it shares a 76–86% lexical similarity with the Maithili dialects spoken in Dhanusa, Morang, Saptari, and Sarlahi Districts, which just goes to show that political borders have little respect for linguistic continua. [31]
- The Thēthi dialect is spoken primarily in the Kosi, Purnia, and Munger divisions, and around Mokama in Bihar, spilling over into some adjacent districts of Nepal. [32]
- The Angika dialect holds sway in and around the Bhagalpur and Banka [33] districts, as well as the Munger [34] district of Bihar, and the Godda, Sahebganj, and Dumka districts of Jharkhand. [35]
- Kochila Tharu, a language of the Tharu people in the Saptari and Siraha districts and surrounding areas, is considered by some linguists to be a variety of Maithili, a classification that is, of course, debated. [3]
- Beyond these, a constellation of other dialects exists across India and Nepal, including Dehati, Deshi, Kisan, Bantar, Barmeli, Musar, Tati, and Jolaha. Despite their differences, they are all generally intelligible to native Maithili speakers, which is more than you can say for most family gatherings. [12]
Origin and history
The name Maithili, if you must know, is derived from Mithila, an ancient kingdom ruled by King Janaka of Ramayana fame. Maithili is also one of the names of his daughter, Sita, wife of King Rama. So, it has mythological street cred, for what that's worth. [36]
The genesis of Maithili language and literature is often traced back to the 'Charyapadas', a collection of mystical Buddhist verses composed somewhere between 700 and 1300 AD. These verses were penned in a cryptic Sandhya bhasa by various Siddhas associated with Vajrayana Buddhism, whose influence was spread across Assam, Bengal, Bihar, and Odisha. A number of these Siddhas, including Kanhapa and Sarhapa, hailed from the Mithila region. Scholars like Rahul Sankrityayan, Subhadra Jha, and Jayakant Mishra have painstakingly provided evidence suggesting that the language of the Charyapada contains elements of an ancient or proto-Maithili. [37] Alongside this esoteric tradition, a vibrant folk culture of songs and stories flourished among the common people of Mithila. [38]
Following the collapse of the Pala Empire and the decline of Buddhism, the establishment of the Karnat dynasty ushered in a new era. The patronage of Maithili under Harisimhadeva (1226–1324) dates to the 14th century. Around 1327 AD, Jyotirishwar Thakur (1280–1340) composed the Varna Ratnakara, a seminal work of Maithili prose. [39] Written in the Mithilakshar script, it is recognized as the earliest known prose text not just in Maithili, but in any modern Indian language. [24] [40]
In 1324, Ghyasuddin Tughluq, the emperor from Delhi, invaded Mithila and defeated Harisimhadeva. He then handed over the region to his family priest, Kameshvar Jha, a Maithil Brahmin who founded the Oiniwar Dynasty. This turbulent period produced little literature until the arrival of Vidyapati Thakur (1360–1450). An epochal poet who thrived under the patronage of Shiva Simha Singh and his queen Lakhimadevi, Vidyapati composed over a thousand immortal songs. His subjects ranged from the divine love of Radha and Krishna and the domestic life of Shiva and Parvati to the very real suffering of migrant laborers from Morang. He also authored several treatises in Sanskrit. His love-songs spread with remarkable speed, captivating saints, poets, and the youth. Chaitanya Mahaprabhu saw divine love in these compositions, and they soon became central themes in the Vaishnavism of Bengal. Even a young Rabindranath Tagore, in a fit of creative experimentation, wrote a series of poems imitating Vidyapati's style under the pseudonym Bhanusimha. Vidyapati's influence extended to the religious literature of Assam, Bengal, and the Utkala Kingdom. This linguistic cross-pollination led to the emergence of artificial literary dialects like Brajabuli in Bengal and Brajavali in Assam. [41] [42] [43]
The earliest external reference to Maithili, or Tirhutiya, appears in Amaduzzi's preface to Beligatti's Alphabetum Brammhanicum, published in 1771. [44] It lists 'Tourutiana' among Indian languages. Colebrooke's 1801 essay on Sanskrit and Prakrit languages was the first to formally describe Maithili as a distinct dialect. [45]
Many devotional songs were penned by Vaisnava saints, including Vidyapati and Govindadas in the mid-17th century. Mapati Upadhyaya wrote a drama titled Pārijātaharaṇa in Maithili. Professional troupes, often from dalit classes and known as Kirtanias, who were singers of bhajans or devotional songs, began performing this drama in public and at the courts of nobles. Lochana (c. 1575 – c. 1660) wrote Rāgatarangni, a significant treatise on music that detailed the rāgas, tālas, and lyrics prevalent in Mithila. [46]
During the reign of the Malla dynasty from the 16th to the 17th century, Maithili's influence spread widely throughout Nepal. [47] [48] In this period, at least seventy Maithili dramas were produced. In the play Harishchandranrityam by Siddhinarayanadeva (1620–57), characters speak a mix of pure colloquial Maithili, Bengali, Sanskrit, and Prakrit. [49] One of the most notable Malla kings, Bhupatindra Malla, was a prolific patron, composing 26 plays in Maithili himself. [50]
After the death of Maheshwar Singh, the ruler of Darbhanga Raj, in 1860, the estate came under the administration of the British Raj as regent. The Darbhanga Raj was returned to his successor, Maharaj Lakshmishvar Singh, in 1898. The Zamindari Raj displayed a characteristic lack of enthusiasm for Maithili. The language was revived through the personal efforts of individuals like MM Parameshvar Mishra, Chanda Jha, and Munshi Raghunandan Das. [51] [52]
The publication of Maithil Hita Sadhana (1905), Mithila Moda (1906), and Mithila Mihir (1908) provided a much-needed platform for writers. The first social organization, the Maithil Mahasabha, was established in 1910 to champion the cause of Mithila and Maithili. [53] It was, however, notoriously exclusive, barring membership to anyone outside the Maithil Brahmin and Karna Kayastha castes. The Maithil Mahasabha campaigned for the official recognition of Maithili as a regional language. Calcutta University finally recognized it in 1917, with other universities slowly following suit. [54]
Babu Bhola Lal Das authored a Maithili Grammar (Maithili Vyakaran), edited the book Gadya Kusumanjali, and also edited a journal named Maithili. [55] In 1965, Maithili was officially accepted by the Sahitya Academy, an institution dedicated to the promotion of Indian literature, a gesture that was long overdue. [56] [57]
In 2002, Maithili was finally recognized on the VIII schedule of the Indian Constitution, making it one of the twenty-two Scheduled languages of India. [58]
The effort to publish Maithili books in the traditional Mithilakshar script was initiated by Acharya Ramlochan Saran. [59] [60]
Demand of Classical Language status for Maithili
On October 3, 2024, the Union Government of India designated five additional languages as having classical status: Assamese, Bengali, Marathi, Pali, and Prakrit. Conspicuously absent was Maithili, a failure attributed to the Bihar government's lack of a formal proposal. [61] This oversight predictably rekindled the campaign for Maithili's classical status. [62] On October 7, 2024, JD(U) national working president and Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Jha publicly renewed the demand via his social media, because that's how politics works now. [63]
Phonology
Main article: Maithili Grammar § Phonology
Vowels
| Front | Central | Back | |
|---|---|---|---|
| short | long | short | |
| Close | ɪ ⟨इ⟩ | iː ⟨ई⟩ | |
| Mid | e ⟨ऎ⟩ | eː ⟨ए⟩ | ə~ɐ ⟨अ⟩ |
| Open | æ~ɛ ⟨ऍ⟩ | a ⟨ॴ⟩ | |
| Diphthongs | əɪ̯ ⟨ऐ⟩ əe̯ ⟨ꣾ⟩ |
- All vowels have their nasal counterparts, represented by "~" in IPA and a chandrabindu (ँ) in writing, for instance, आँ ãː.
- Vowel sounds are automatically realized as nasal when they appear before or after a nasal consonant. It’s just efficient. [64]
- The sounds eː and oː are frequently replaced by the diphthongs əɪ̯ and əʊ̯. [citation needed]
- The vowel ɔ is replaced by ə in northern dialects and by o in the southernmost dialects, because consistency is overrated.
- There are three short vowels described by Grierson which modern grammarians tend to ignore. They can be understood as syllable breaks: ॳ /ɘ̆/, इ /ɪ̆/, उ /ʊ̆/, or as a syllable break represented by ऺ in Devanagari and "." in IPA.
- The Unicode character ꣾ (IPA /əe̯/) and its mātrā are not currently supported on many browsers and operating systems, a modern problem for an ancient sound.
The following diphthongs are present: [65]
- अय़(ꣾ) /əe̯/ ~ /ɛː/ - as in अय़सन (ꣾ सन) /əe̯sən/ ~ /ɛːsɐn/ 'like this'
- अव़(ॵ) /əo̯/ ~ /ɔː/ - as in चव़मुख(चॏमुख) /tɕəo̯mʊkʰ/ ~ /tɕɔːmʊkʰ/ 'four faced'
- अयॆ /əe̯/ - as in अयॆलाः /əe̯laːh/ 'came'
- अवॊ (अऒ) /əo̯/ - as in अवॊताः /əo̯taːh/ 'will come'
- आइ /aːi̯/ - as in आइ /aːi̯/ 'today'
- आउ /aːu̯/ - as in आउ /aːu̯/ 'come please'
- आयॆ (आऎ) /aːe̯/ - as in आयॆल /aːe̯l/ 'came'
- आवॊ (आऒ) /aːo̯/ - as in आवॊब /aːo̯b/ 'will come'
- यु (इउ) /iu̯/ - as in घ्यु /ɡʱiu̯/ 'ghee'
- यॆ (इऎ) /ie̯/ - as in यॆः /ie̯h/ 'only this'
- यॊ (इऒ) /io̯/ - as in कह्यो /kəhio̯/ 'any day'
- वि (उइ) /ui̯/ - as in द्वि /dui̯/ 'two'
- वॆ (उऎ) /ue̯/ - as in वॆ: /ue̯h/ 'only that'
A peculiar phonetic shift is currently underway in Maithili through epenthesis, involving the backward transposition of final /i/ and /u/ in all manner of words. [65] Thus:
| Standard Colloquial | Common Pronunciation | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| अछि /ətɕʰi/ | अइछ /əitɕʰ/ | 'is' |
| रवि /rəbi/ | रइब /rəib/ | 'Sunday' |
| मधु /mədʱu/ | मउध /məudʱ/ | 'honey' |
| बालु /ba:lu/ | बाउल /ba:ul/ | 'sand' |
Consonants
Maithili possesses four classes of stops, one class of affricates (generally treated as a stop series), and the related nasals, fricatives, and approximants.
| Labial | Dental/ Alveolar | Retroflex | Palatal | Velar | Glottal | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nasal | m ⟨म⟩ | n ⟨न⟩ | ɳ ⟨ण⟩ | (ɲ) ⟨ञ⟩ | ŋ ⟨ङ⟩ | |
| Plosive/ Affricate | voiceless | unaspirated | p ⟨प⟩ | t ⟨त⟩ | ʈ ⟨ट⟩ | tɕ ⟨च⟩ |
| aspirated | pʰ ⟨फ⟩ | tʰ ⟨थ⟩ | ʈʰ ⟨ठ⟩ | tɕʰ ⟨छ⟩ | ||
| voiced | unaspirated | b ⟨ब⟩ | d ⟨द⟩ | ɖ ⟨ड⟩ | dʑ ⟨ज⟩ | |
| aspirated | bʱ ⟨भ⟩ | dʱ ⟨ध⟩ | ɖʱ ⟨ढ⟩ | dʑʱ ⟨झ⟩ | ||
| Fricative | voiceless | (ɸ~f) ⟨फ़⟩ | s ⟨स⟩ | (ʂ) ⟨ष⟩ | (ɕ) ⟨श⟩ | (x) ⟨ख़⟩ |
| voiced | (z) ⟨ज़⟩ | (ʑ) ⟨झ़⟩ | ||||
| Rhotic | unaspirated | ɾ~r ⟨र⟩ | (ɽ) ⟨ड़⟩ | |||
| aspirated | (ɽʱ) ⟨ढ़⟩ | |||||
| Lateral | l ⟨ल⟩ | |||||
| Approximant | (ʋ~w) ⟨व⟩ | (j) ⟨य⟩ |
- The fricative sounds [ʂ, ɕ] are marginal, typically collapsing into a dental fricative /s/ in most pronunciations. The sound [h] (ः) is always appended after a vowel.
Stops
Maithili features four series of stops: bilabials, coronals, retroflex, and velar, along with a palatal affricate series. Like most modern Indo-Aryan languages, these exhibit a four-way contrast:
- tenuis, like /p/, similar to the ⟨p⟩ in "spin."
- voiced, like /b/, similar to the ⟨b⟩ in "bin."
- aspirated, like /pʰ/, similar to the ⟨p⟩ in "pin."
- murmured or aspirated voiced, like /bʱ/.
All series, excluding the retroflex, show full phonological contrast in all positions. The retroflex tenuis /ʈ/ and /ʈʰ/ contrast fully in all positions. In contrast, /ɖ/ and /ɖʱ/ only show phonological contrast primarily at the beginning of words. [66] Both are defective phonemes, appearing between vowels and at the end of words only if preceded by a nasal consonant. Word-finally and after a vowel, /ɖʱ/ surfaces as [ɽʱrʱ]. [67] In non-initial positions, both are interchangeable with [ɽɾ] and [ɽʱ~rʱ] respectively. [66]
Fricatives
The most common fricatives are /s/ and /ɦ/, which maintain full phonological opposition. The sound [ɕ], found in tatsama words, is usually simplified to /s/. Pre-vocalic [ʂ] is often replaced by /kʰ/, [x], [66] or /s/. The sound [ɕ] occurs before /tɕ/, and [ʂ] before /ʈ/. Sounds like [x] and [f] appear in Perso-Arabic loanwords and are generally replaced by /kʰ/ and /pʰ/. Notably, [x] and [ɸ] also appear in Sanskrit words (jihvamuliya and upadhmaniya), a feature peculiar to Maithili.
Sonorants
/m/ and /n/ appear in all phonological positions. /ŋ/ occurs only non-initially and is followed by a homorganic stop, which may be deleted if voiced, leading to the independent presence of /ŋ/. /ɳ/ occurs non-initially, followed by a homorganic stop, and is independent only in tatsama words, often being replaced with /n/. The sound [ɲ] appears only non-initially and is always followed by a homorganic stop; it is the only nasal that does not occur independently.
- In most pronunciations, the retroflex flap [ɽ] is marginal. It is typically pronounced as an alveolar tap [ɾ] and is often interchanged with /r/. [66]
- The approximant sounds [ʋ, w, j] and fricative sounds [ɸ, f, z, ɕ, ʑ, ʂ, x] primarily occur in words borrowed from Sanskrit or Perso-Arabic. The conjunct ष्प (IAST ṣp) is pronounced [ɸp] in Maithili, as in पुष्प [puɸp(ə)]. The conjunct ह्य (IAST hy) is pronounced [ɦʑ], as in ग्रऻह्य (grahya) [graɦʑə]. [66]
There are four non-syllabic vowels in Maithili: i̯, u̯, e̯, o̯, written in Devanagari as य़, व़, य़ॆ, व़ॊ. Often, these are written without the nukta, because why make things easy?
Morphology
Main article: Maithili grammar
Nouns
Here is an example declension, a glimpse into the structured chaos.
| Case name | Singular Inflection | Plural Inflection |
|---|---|---|
| Feminine | Masculine | |
| Nominative | -इ ɪ | -आ/अ꣱ aː/ɔ |
| Accusative (Indefinite) | -ई iː | -ई iː |
| Instrumental | Postposition used | -एँ ẽː |
| Dative | Postposition used | -इल ɪlə |
| Ergative | -इएँ ɪẽː | -एँ ẽː |
| Ablative | -इतः ɪtəh | -अतः ətəh |
| Genitive | -इक ɪk, इर ɪr | -अक ək, -अर ər |
| Locative | Postposition used | -ए eː |
| Vocative | -इ ɪ/ई iː | -आ/अऽ aː/əː |
Adjectives
The line between adjectives and nouns in Maithili is, to put it mildly, blurry. However, some marked adjectives do exist.
| Masculine | Feminine | Neuter | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Definite | -का/क꣱ kaː/kɔ | -कि/कि kɪ/kɪ̆ | का/कऽ kaː/kəː |
| Indefinite | -आ/अ꣱ aː/ɔ | -इ/इ ɪ/ɪ̆ | अ/अऽ ᵊ/əː |
Pronouns
Main article: Maithili grammar § Pronouns
Pronouns in Maithili are declined much like nouns, though the genitive case often takes a different form, just to keep you on your toes. The lower forms listed are accusative and postpositional. Plurals are formed periphrastically, which is a fancy way of saying they add words.
| Person | First Grade Honour | Honorific | High Honorific |
|---|---|---|---|
| First Person | हम ɦəm हमरा ɦəmᵊraː |
अपना ɐpᵊnaː (Inclusive) अपना ɐpᵊnaː (Inclusive) |
|
| Second Person | तोँह tõːɦᵊ तोँहरा tõːɦᵊraː |
अहाँ ɐɦãː | अपने ɐpᵊneː |
| Third Person | Proximate ई iː ऎकरा ekᵊraː ए eː (Neuter) ऎहि, ऍ, अथि eɦɪ, æ, ɐtʰɪ (Neuter) |
ए eː हिनका ɦɪnᵊkaː |
|
| Non-Proximate ऊ, वा uː, ʋaː ऒकरा okᵊraː ऒ o (Neuter) ऒहि, ॵ oɦɪ, əʊ (Neuter) |
ओ oː हुनका ɦʊnᵊkaː |
Orthography
Consonants in Tirhuta script
Beginning in the 14th century, the language was written in the Tirhuta script (also known as Mithilakshara or Maithili), a script related to the Bengali-Assamese script. [68] By the early 20th century, this script was largely the domain of Mithila Brahmans, while most others used Kaithi. The influence of scholars at Banaras led to the spread of Devanagari. [69] Over the course of the century, Devanagari's use grew until it eventually supplanted the other two, and it has since remained the dominant script for Maithili. [70] [68] [69] Tirhuta has managed to cling to some specific uses—on signage in north Bihar, in religious texts, genealogical records, and letters—and has seen a flicker of renewed interest in the 21st century. [68]
Both the Tirhuta and Kaithi scripts are now included in Unicode, for all the good that does them on a daily basis.
| Devanagari | Tirhuta | Transcription - | :----------------- | :--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | Image | Text | IAST | IPA - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -.. - ... | क | 𑒏 | ka | /kə/ - | | ख | 𑒐 | kha | /kʰə/ - | | ग | 𑒑 | ga | /gə/ - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -- - - - - - -- - - - - - - - - --' | | घ | 𑒒 | gha | /gʱə/ - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -- - - - - - - - - -- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -- - - - - - - - - -- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -- -... | ङ | 𑒓 | ṅ