epic poems in this dialect, and it was because of this that the word "Magadhi" came to mean "a bard". Devanagari is the most widely used script in present times, while Bengali and Odia scripts are also used in some regions and Magahi's old script was Kaithi script. The pronunciation in Magahi is not as broad as in Maithili and there are a number of verbal forms for each person. Historically, Magahi had no famous written literature. There are many popular songs throughout the area in which the language is spoken, and strolling bards recite various long epic poems which are known more or less over the whole of Northern India. In Magahi speaking area, folk singers sing a good number of ballads. The introduction of Urdu meant a setback to local languages as its Persian script was alien to local people. The first success in spreading Hindi occurred in Bihar in 1881, when Hindi displaced Urdu as the official language of the province. After independence, Hindi was given the sole official status through the Bihar Official Language Act, 1950 ignoring the state's own languages. Phonology Consonants Vowels may also be heard as lower in shortened positions. may also be heard as lower in more initial positions. can also be heard as in more stressed positions. Speakers of Magahi There are several dialects of Magahi. It is spoken in the area which formed the core of the ancient kingdom of Magadha - the modern districts of Patna, Nalanda, Gaya, Jehanabad, Arwal, Aurangabad, Lakhisarai, Sheikhpura and Nawada. Magahi is bounded on the north by the various forms of Maithili spoken in Mithila across the Ganga. On the west it is bounded by the Bhojpuri, On the northeast it is bounded by Angika. A blend of Magahi known as Khortha is spoken by non-tribal populace in North Chotanagpur division of Jharkhand which comprises districts of Bokaro, Chatra, Dhanbad, Giridih, Hazaribagh, Koderma and Ramgarh. People of Southern Bihar and Northern Jharkhand are mostly speakers of Magahi. Magahi is also spoken in Malda district of West Bengal. According to 2011 Census, there were approximately 20.7 million Magahi speakers. See also Culture of Magadh Region Culture of Bhojpuri Region Culture of Mithila Region Culture of Angika Region Pāli, the canonical language of Theravada Buddhism traditionally associated with the language of Magadhi Phool Bahadur Notes References Further reading Munishwar Jha - "Magadhi And Its Formation," Calcutta