which are spoken in India and Nepal Kortha, • Jolaha and • Thetiya, which are spoken only in India •
Bantar, • Barmeli, • Musar and • Tati, which are spoken only in Nepal. •
Bajjika, which is spoken by about 12 million people in India and Nepal, is considered a separate language by those who speak it; however, it isn’t officially recognised as a language. Maithili was formerly written with the Tirhuta script, which is sometimes still used. It has also been written with the Kaithi script. In the 20th century, Devanāgarī became the most used script for Maithili. The name of the language comes from the name Mithila which is said to be the ancient kingdom of Sita’s father King Janaka (7th Century BC). Though it is said that in ancient times in Mithila, Sanskrit was used by the scholars for their literary work and Maithili was the language of the commoners. The most famous literary figure in Maithili was poet Vidyapati, who elevated Maithili from the status of people’s language to one used for official work in 14th century Bihar, by impressing the King of Darbhanga with his poems.
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