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Bihārī languages
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Bihārī languages

language family
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History

Bihārī languages, eastern Indo-Aryan languages spoken in the state of Bihār, India, and in the Tarai region of Nepal. There are three main languages: Maithilī (Tirhutiā) and Magadhī (Magahī) in the east and Bhojpurl in the west, extending into the southern half of Chota Nāgpur. Maithilī, spoken in the old country of Mithilā (Tirhut), was famous from ancient times for its use among scholars, and it still retains many antiquated linguistic forms. It is the only Bihārī dialect with any real literature and has been the object of increasing interest since 1947. Magadhī is considered the modern representative of the Magadhī Prākrit. The Bihārī languages are linguistically related to Bengali but are culturally identified with Hindi. Most educated Bihārī speakers also know Bengali and Hindi.