Maithili language

Maithili language
Languages recognised by the Constitution of India
Official name	Maithili language
Location	Bihar and Jharkhand
Part of	Official languages of India
Includes	Additional official language of the Government of Jharkhand
Reference	constitution-india-ninety-second-amendment-act-2003

Maithili
Maithili
मैथिली
	The word "Maithili" written in Devanagari script
Pronunciation	[ˈməi̯tʰɪliː]
Native to	India and Nepal
Region	Mithila[lower-alpha 1]
Ethnicity	Maithil
Native speakers	34 million (2000)[4]
Language family	Indo-European Indo-Iranian Indo-Aryan Eastern Bihari Maithili; ; ; ; ;
Early forms	Magadhi Prakrit Magadhan Apabhraṃśa Abahattha ; ;
Dialects	Thēthi;
Writing system	Devanagari and historical Kaithi
Official status
Official language in	India[lower-alpha 2] Jharkhand[5] (additional); Nepal[lower-alpha 3] Koshi (provincial official); Madhesh (provincial official);
Regulated by	Sahitya Akademi, Maithili Academy, Maithili - Bhojpuri Academy, Delhi, Nepal Academy
Language codes
ISO 639-2	mai
ISO 639-3	mai
Glottolog	mait1250
	Maithili-speaking region of India and Nepal

Maithili (English: /ˈmaɪtɪli/[6]) is an Indo-Aryan language spoken in parts of India and Nepal. It is native to the Mithila region, which encompasses parts of the Indian states of Bihar and Jharkhand as well as the Nepalese Koshi and Madhesh Provinces. It is one of the 22 official languages of India.[7][1][2] It is the second most commonly spoken language of Nepal.[8][9][10] It is also one of the fourteen provincial official languages of Nepal.[11] It was once described by linguist Sir George Abraham Grierson as the "sweetest language".[12]