The Eastern Indo-Aryan languages, also known as Māgadhan languages, are spoken throughout the

eastern region Eastern Region or East Region may refer to: * Eastern Region (Abu Dhabi): Al Ain *Eastern Region, Ghana *Eastern Region (Iceland) *Eastern Region, Malta *Eastern Region, Nepal *Eastern Region, Nigeria * Eastern Region, Serbia *Eastern Region, Ugand ...

of the

Indian subcontinent The Indian subcontinent is a physiographic region of Asia below the Himalayas which projects into the Indian Ocean between the Bay of Bengal to the east and the Arabian Sea to the west. It is now divided between Bangladesh, India, and Pakista ...

, which includes

Bihar Bihar ( ) is a states and union territories of India, state in Eastern India. It is the list of states and union territories of India by population, second largest state by population, the List of states and union territories of India by are ...

Uttar Pradesh Uttar Pradesh ( ; UP) is a States and union territories of India, state in North India, northern India. With over 241 million inhabitants, it is the List of states and union territories of India by population, most populated state in In ...

Jharkhand Jharkhand (; ) is a States and union territories of India, state in East India, eastern India. The state shares its border with the states of West Bengal to the east, Chhattisgarh to the west, Uttar Pradesh to the northwest, Bihar to the north ...

Bengal region Bengal ( ) is a historical geographical, ethnolinguistic and cultural term referring to a region in the eastern part of the Indian subcontinent at the apex of the Bay of Bengal. The region of Bengal proper is divided between the modern- ...

Tripura Tripura () is a States and union territories of India, state in northeastern India. The List of states and union territories of India by area, third-smallest state in the country, it covers ; and the seventh-least populous state with a populat ...

Assam Assam (, , ) is a state in Northeast India, northeastern India, south of the eastern Himalayas along the Brahmaputra Valley, Brahmaputra and Barak River valleys. Assam covers an area of . It is the second largest state in Northeast India, nor ...

, and

Odisha Odisha (), formerly Orissa (List of renamed places in India, the official name until 2011), is a States and union territories of India, state located in East India, Eastern India. It is the List of states and union territories of India by ar ...

; alongside other regions surrounding the northeastern Himalayan corridor.

Bengali Bengali or Bengalee, or Bengalese may refer to: *something of, from, or related to Bengal, a large region in South Asia * Bengalis, an ethnic and linguistic group of the region * Bengali language, the language they speak ** Bengali alphabet, the w ...

is official language of

Bangladesh Bangladesh, officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, eighth-most populous country in the world and among the List of countries and dependencies by ...

and the state of

West Bengal West Bengal (; Bengali language, Bengali: , , abbr. WB) is a States and union territories of India, state in the East India, eastern portion of India. It is situated along the Bay of Bengal, along with a population of over 91 million inhabi ...

and the Barak valley of

while Assamese and Odia are the official languages of

and

, respectively. The Eastern Indo-Aryan languages descend from

Abahattha Abahaṭ‌ṭha, Abahatta or Avahaṭṭha (Sanskrit ''apabhraṣṭa'' 'corrupted', related to apabhraṃśa) is a stage in the evolution of the Eastern group of the Indo-Aryan languages. This group consists of languages such as Assamese, ...

, which descends from Magadhan

Apabhraṃśa Apabhraṃśa (, , Prakrit: ) is a term used by '' vaiyākaraṇāḥ'' (native grammarians) since Patañjali to refer to languages spoken in North India before the rise of the modern languages. In Indology, it is used as an umbrella term for ...

and ultimately from

Magadhi Prakrit Magadhi Prakrit (''Māgadhī'') is of one of the three Dramatic Prakrits, the written languages of Ancient India following the decline of Pali. It was a vernacular Middle Indo-Aryan language, replacing earlier Vedic Sanskrit. History and over ...

.South Asian folklore: an encyclopedia : Afghanistan, Bangladesh, India, By Peter J. Claus, Sarah Diamond, Margaret Ann Mills, Routledge, 2003, p. 203Ray, Tapas S. (2007)
"Chapter Eleven: "Oriya"
In Jain, Danesh; Cardona, George. ''The Indo-Aryan Languages''. Routledge. p. 445. .

Classification

The exact scope of the Eastern branch of the Indo-Aryan languages is controversial. All scholars agree about a kernel that includes the Odia cluster and the

Bengali–Assamese languages The Bengali-Assamese languages (also Gauda–Kamarupa languages) is a grouping of several languages in the eastern Indian subcontinent. This group belongs to the Eastern Indo-Aryan languages, Eastern zone of Indo-Aryan languages. The languages ...

, while many also include the

Bihari languages Bihari languages are a group of the Indo-Aryan languages. The Bihari languages are mainly spoken in the Indian states of Bihar, Jharkhand, Uttar Pradesh, and West Bengal, and also in Nepal.Brass, Paul R. (1974). ''Language, Religion and Politi ...

. The widest scope was proposed by

Suniti Kumar Chatterji Suniti Kumar Chatterji (26 November 1890 – 29 May 1977) was an Indian linguist, educationist and litterateur. He was a recipient of the second highest Indian civilian honour of Padma Vibhushan. Life Childhood Chatterji was born on 26 Novem ...

who included the

Eastern Hindi The Eastern Hindi languages, are a branch of the Indo-Aryan language family spoken chiefly in Awadh region of Uttar Pradesh, Baghelkhand region of Madhya Pradesh, and Chhattisgarh, in Northern and Central India. Eastern Hindi languages evolved ...

varieties, but this has not been widely accepted. When the Bihari languages are included, the Eastern Indo-Aryan languages fall into four language groups in two broader categories:

Western Magadhan

*Bihari **

Bhojpuri Bhojpuri may refer to: * Bhojpuri language, an Indo-Aryan language of India and Nepal * Bhojpuri grammar, grammatical rules of the language * Bhojpuri nouns, nouns of the language * Bhojpuri people, people who speak the language * Bhojpuri region ...

***

Caribbean Hindustani Caribbean Hindustani () is an Indo-Aryan language spoken by Indo-Caribbean people and the Indo-Caribbean diaspora. It is a koiné language mainly based on the Bhojpuri and Awadhi dialects. These Hindustani dialects were the most-spoken dialec ...

Magahi Magahi (), also known as Magadhi (), is an Indo-Aryan language spoken in Bihar, Jharkhand and West Bengal states of eastern India, and in the Terai region of Nepal. Magadhi Prakrit was the ancestor of Magahi, from which the latter's name de ...

*** Khortha ** Maithili ***

Bajjika Bajjika is an Indo-Aryan language variety spoken in parts of Bihar, India and in Nepal. It is also classified as a dialect of Maithili language and is known as Western Maithili. Territory and speakers Bajjika language is spoken in the north-w ...

(Western Maithili) ***

Angika Angika (also known as ''Anga'', ''Angikar'' or ''Chhika-Chhiki'') is an Eastern Indo-Aryan language spoken in some parts of the Indian states of Bihar and Jharkhand, as well as in parts of Nepal. Angika is closely related to neighbouring Indi ...

(Southern Maithili) ***Central Maithili ***Eastern Maithili ***

Thēthi Thēthi, also known as ''Thēth'', ''Thethiya'', ''Thenthi'', or ''Thati'', is a Maithili dialect, mainly spoken in the Mithila region of India and Nepal. It is spoken mainly in Kosi, Purnia and Munger divisions of Bihar, India and in Koshi Pr ...

***Jolaha ***Kisan ** Sadanic *** Nagpuri *** Kurmali (Panchpargania) **Unclassified Bihari *** Tharuic ****Chitwania Tharu ****

Dangaura Tharu Danguara Tharu also known as Dangauli Tharu, Dangora Tharu, or Dangura Tharu is one of the Tharu languages spoken by the Tharu people in the Dang, Kapilvastu, Banke, and Bardiya districts of the Lumbini Province and in Kailali and Kanchanpur di ...

*****Dangaha **** Sonha ****

Kathariya Tharu Kathariya Tharu also known as Kathoriya Tharu is one of the Indo Aryan languages spoken by the Tharu people of Nepal and India. It is a language spoken in the Sudurpashchim Province of Nepal, particularly in the Kailali District, including areas ...

****

Kochila Tharu Kochila Tharu also called Morangiya, Saptari or Saptariya Tharu, Madhya-Purbiya Tharu, and Mid-Eastern Tharu (), is a diverse group of language varieties within the Tharu group of the Indo-Aryan languages. The several names of the varieties ref ...

*****Western Kochila *****Central Kochila (Saptariya Tharu) *****Eastern Kochila (Morangiya, Khawas Tharu) **** Rana Tharu **** Buksa **** Musasa *** Majhi *** Kumhali ***Kuswaric **** Danwar *****Dewas Done Danuwar ******Dewas Rai ******Done Danuwar *****Kochariya-East Danuwar ******East Danuwar ******Kochariya **** Bote-Darai *****Bote *****Darai

Eastern Magadhan

* Bengali–Assamese: ** Gauda- Banga ***

****

Bangali Bengalis ( ), also rendered as endonym Bangalee, are an Indo-Aryan ethnolinguistic group originating from and culturally affiliated with the Bengal region of South Asia. The current population is divided between the sovereign country Bangl ...

(Eastern Bengali) ***** Dhakaiya kutti Bengali ***** Mymensinghi Bengali **** Manbhumi (Western Bengali) **** Rarhi (South-Central Bengali) **** Barendri (North-Central Bengali) ***

Bishnupriya Manipuri Bishnupriya Manipuri, also known as Bishnupriya Meitei or simply as Bishnupriya, is an Indo-Aryan lect belonging to the Bengali–Assamese linguistic sub-branch. It is a creole of Bengali language and ''Meitei language (also called Manip ...

*** Chakma *** Chittagonian ***

Rohingya The Rohingya people (; ; ) are a stateless Indo-Aryan ethnolinguistic group who predominantly follow Islam from Rakhine State, Myanmar. Before the Rohingya genocide in 2017, when over 740,000 fled to Bangladesh, an estimated 1.4 million Ro ...

***

Noakhali Noakhali District (), historically known as Bhulua (), is a Districts of Bangladesh, district in southeastern Bangladesh, located in Chattogram Division. It was established as a district in 1821, and officially named Noakhali in 1868. The distr ...

*** Sylheti *** Tanchangya ** Kamarupic: ***Eastern Kamarupi **** Assamese *****Eastern Assamese *****Central Assamese ***** Kamrupi (Western Assamese) ***** Dehan (Southern Assamese) ***Western Kamarupi ****

KRDS lects The KRDS lects (or the Kamta, Rajbanshi, Deshi and Surjapuri subgroup) are a cluster of modern lects that are phylogenetic descendants of the proto-Kamta language. The proto-Kamta language began differentiating after 1250 around Kamatapur, th ...

*****Kamtapuri ***** Rangpuri *****

Surjapuri Surjapuri is an Indo-Aryan language of the Bengali-Assamese branch, spoken in Eastern India including some eastern parts of Purnia division of Bihar, parts of Uttar Dinajpur district in West Bengal and Goalpara Division of Assam in India, as wel ...

***** Goalpariya (Western) ***** Rajbanshi **** Hajong * Oriya languages ** Odia *** Baleswari (Northern Odia) *** Singhbhumi (Southern Jharkhandi Odia) *** Kataki (Central Odia) *** Sundargadi (Northwestern Odia) *** Kalahandia (Southwestern Odia) *** Ganjami (Southern Odia) ** Bodo Parja ** Bhatri ** Desia ** Reli ** Sambalpuri ** Kupia * Halbic: ** Halbi ***Adkuri ***Bastari ***Chandari ***Gachikolo ***Govari ***Kawari ***

Kunbi Kunbi (alternatively Kanbi) (Marathi language, Marathi: ISO 15919: ''Kuṇabī'', Gujarati language, Gujarati: ISO 15919: ''Kaṇabī'') is a generic term applied to several caste system, castes of traditional farmers in Western India. These ...

***Mahari ***Muri ***Sundi ** Kamar **

Bhunjia Bhunjias, are an ethnic group found in India mainly reside in Sunabeda plateau in Odisha and Chhattisgarh. They are mostly found in Nuapada district, which is roughly between 22° 55′ N and 21° 30′ N latitude and 82° 35′ E longitude. I ...

** Nahari

Features

Grammatical features of the Eastern Indo-Aryan languages: Eastern

Indo-Aryan languages The Indo-Aryan languages, or sometimes Indic languages, are a branch of the Indo-Iranian languages in the Indo-European languages, Indo-European language family. As of 2024, there are more than 1.5 billion speakers, primarily concentrated east ...

display many morphosyntactic features similar to those of

Munda languages The Munda languages are a group of closely related languages spoken by about eleven million people in India, Bangladesh and Nepal. Historically, they have been called the Kolarian languages. They constitute a branch of the Austroasiatic langu ...

, while western Indo-Aryan languages do not. It is suggested that "pre-Munda" ("proto-" in regular terminology) languages may have once dominated the eastern

Indo-Gangetic Plain The Indo-Gangetic Plain, also known as the Northern Plain or North Indian River Plain, is a fertile plain spanning across the northern and north-eastern part of the Indian subcontinent. It encompasses North India, northern and East India, easte ...

, and were then absorbed by Indo-Aryan languages at an early date as Indo-Aryan spread east.

References

External links

''A Comparative dictionary of the Bihārī language, Volume 1'' By August Friedrich Rudolf Hoernle, Sir George Abraham Grierson (1885)
* {{Authority control Languages of India Languages of Bangladesh Languages of Nepal History of the Bengali language