Languages of Bihar (original) (raw)

Hindi is the official language of the State of Bihar. Urdu is the second official language in 15 districts of the State. Maithili is a recognized language of the state. However, the majority of the people of Bihar speak one of the Bhojpuri languages, most of which as classified as dialects of Hindi during the census. The major ones are Bhojpuri, Maithili, Magahi and are spoken by large numbers. Maithili is a recognised regional language of India under the Eighth Schedule to the Constitution of India. However speaker numbers for the languages of Bihar are limited because the more educated prefer to speak in Hindi (in formal situations) and so return this answer on the census, while many in rural areas and the urban poor, especially the illiterate, list their language as "Hindi" on the censu