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Maithili has 47 segmental phonemes or distinctive minimal speech sounds as shown in Table I and II. These are attested on the phonological contrasts. For instance,
पल /pəl/ 'moment' : फल /phəl/ 'fruit' बल /bəl/ 'force' : भल /bhəl/ 'good' ताकब /ta:kəb/ 'look' : थाकब /tha:kəb/ 'tire' दान /da:n/ 'giving' : धान /dha:n/ 'paddy'
Out of these six, namely ण् /ɳ/, ञ् /ɲ/, ष् /ʂ/, श् /S/, व् /v/ and य् /y/ are phonemic only in Sanskrit (Tətsəmə) words: ड् /ɖ/ and ढ् /ɖh/ are found only in initial position (or before a consonant) ; ङ्/ŋ/ and ङ्ह्/ŋh/ only medially and finally and the rest in all positions subject to euphonic law of the language.
Maithili freely draws its lexical resources from Sanskrit without any phonetic modification. The lexemes so drawn are known as tətsəmə and are immune to the phonetic laws of Maithili.
The alphabet of Maithili provides graphic symbols for all the above phonemes except for /æ/ and /ɔ/, and adds two symbols ऐ /ə ̆i/ and औ /ə ̆u/. These omitions and commitions need explanation. The absence of graphic symbols /æ/ and /ɔ/ is due to the fact that these two phonemes have recently developed from some vowel clusters and are heard generally only in rapid and careless speech as -
Careful Careless (i) अऎ /əě/,> /æ/ - kəěl कएल / kæl / 'did' (ii) आऎ /a:ě/ > /æ/ - a:ěl आएल / æl / 'come' (iii) अऒ /əǒ/ > /æ/ - əǒta:h अओताह / כta:h/ 'will come' (iv) आओ /a:ǒ/ > /כ/ - a:ǒr आओर / כr / 'and'
In absence of graphic symbol in Maithili alphabet, these phonemes are represented by the same symbols as stood for əi/ and əu/ violating the norm of phonemic-graphemic fit.
The phonemes are divided broadly into two classes: Vowels and Consonants.
Maithili has eight vowel phonemes as shown in Table II. They have two qualities:
In the indigenous words of Maithili, length is not a phoneme, as changing length does not change meaning. For example:
थिर /thir/ and थीर /thi:r/ 'motionless' सुनल /sunəl/ and सूनल /su:nəl/ 'heard' But in tətsəmə word, it is phonemic: सुत /sut/ 'son': सूत /su:t/ 'charioteer' दिन /din/ 'day' : दीन /di:n/ 'destitute'.
On phonetic level, distinction in pronunciation is, to some extent, observed. Accordingly, vowels are either long or short.
| Table I. Segmental Phonemes | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| [(1) = Unaspirates. (2) Aspirates] | ||||||
| Consonants | ||||||
| Bilabial (1) (2) |
Dental (1) (2) |
Retroflex (1) (2) |
Palatal (1) (2) |
Velar (1) (2) |
Glottal (1) (2) | |
| Stops | p | t | ʈ | k | ||
| ph | th | ʈh | kh | |||
| b | d | ɖ | g | |||
| bh | dh | ɖh | gh | |||
| Affricates | c | |||||
| ch | ||||||
| j | ||||||
| jh | ||||||
| Nasals | m mh | n nh | ( ɳ ) | ( ɲ ) | ŋ ŋh | |
| Taps | r | ɖ̥ ɖ̥h | ||||
| Fricatives | s | ( ʂ ) | ( ʃ ) | h | ||
| Lateral | l lh | |||||
| Semivowels | ( v ) | ( y ) | ||||
| Table II | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Vowels | |||
| Front | Central | Back | |
| High | i | u | |
| Mid | e | ə | o |
| Low | æ | a | ɔ |
Nasality is an optional quality of all vowels. It is often phonemic as well. A few examples:
काँच /kã:c/ 'raw'. काच /ka:c/ 'glass' गेलहुँ /gěləhũ/ 'I went' देलहू /děləhu/ 'he went' टाँट /ŧã:ŧ/ 'stiff' टाट /ŧa:ŧ/ 'fence'
Nasality is often caused by the proximity of nasal consonants, but in writing such nasality is not indicated:
As pronounced As written
आँम /ã:m/ 'mango' आम /a:m/
कँन्याँ /kə̃nyã:/ 'girl' कन्या /kənya:/
मोँन मे /mõn mẽ/ 'in mind' मन मे /mən me/
When a nasalized vowel preceeds /g/, the nasality shifts to /g/ turning it to /ŋ/. Thus,
आँग /ã:g/ → आङ /a:ŋ/ 'body' रँग /rə̃g/ → रङ /rəŋ/ 'color'
All nasals, excluding aspirated ones, may be written as a dot over the preceeding letter if followed by a consonant:
अज्ञ / əŋgə / or अग / amgə / 'limb' अचल / aղcal/ or अचल / aṃcal / 'fringe' कण्ब / kaր̃thə / or कट / kaṃŧhə / 'neck' अत / antə/ or अन्त / aṃtə / 'end' कम्प / kampə / or कप / kaṃpə / 'vibration'
Nasals beginning with a cluster occurs only before the stops of their own oral class, as is seen in the above examples.
In such situation, /ɲ/ and /ɳ/ are pronounced /n/ Thus:
कन्चन / kəրcən / (kəncən) 'gold' कण्चक / kəղŧək / (kənŧək) 'thorn'
Nasal or anusvar, when followed by a velar stop, sibilant or semivowel, is pronounced as /ŋ/. Thus
अंक / əṃkə / (əŋkə) 'mark' अंश / əṃ∫ə / (əŋs) 'share'
/g/ preceded by nasal is deleted on a weak position:
सन्घ / saŋgə / 'Company', but सन्घिता / saŋita: / 'Companion'
Maithili abounds in vowel cluster. Recent replacement of /əi/ and /əu/ by the diphthongs /əi/ and /əu/, and replacement of /əě/, /əǒ/, /a:ě/ and /a:ǒ/ by /æ/ and /ɔ/ may reduce the number of vowel cluster, but this change is yet in process. So the number goes beyond thirty:
A. Cluster of two: अइ / əi / - अइसन / əisən / 'like this' अउ / əu / - चौमुक / cəumuk / 'four faced' अए / əě / - अएलाह / əěla:h / 'came' अओ / əǒ / - अओताह / əǒta:h / 'will come' आइ / a:i / - आइ / a:i / 'today' आउ / a:u / - आउ / a:u / 'come please' आए / a:ě / - आएल / a:ěl / 'came' आओ / a:ǒ / - आओब / a:ǒb / 'will come' इअ / iə / - दिअ / diə:/ 'please give' इआ / ia: / - इआर / ia:r / 'friend' इउ / iu/ - घिउ / ghiu / 'ghee' इऎ / iě / - इएह / ieh / 'only this' इओ / io / - कहिओ / kəhio / 'any day' उअ / uə / - तुअ / tuə / 'yours' उआ / ua: / - पुआर / pua:r / 'straw' उइ / ui / - दुइ / dui / 'two' उए / ueh / - उएह / ueh / 'only that' उओ / uo / - बालुओ / ba:luo / 'also sand' एआ / ěa: / - देआद / děa:d / 'kinsman' एओ / ěo / - देओर / děor / 'husband’s brother' ओअ / ǒā / - सोअदगर / sǒadəgar / 'tasty' ओआ / oa: / - सोआदब / sǒa:dəb / 'to taste' ओइ / oi / - कोइली / koili: / 'cuckoo' ओए / oe / - होएत / hoet / 'will be' B. Cluster of three : अइअ / əiə / - रइअति / rəiəti / 'subject' अइआ / əia:/ - भइआ / bhəia: / 'brother' अउअ / əuə / - नउअबा / nəuəba: / 'barber' अउआ / əua: / - कउआ / kəua: / 'crow' आइए / a:ie / - आइए / a:ie / 'just today' आइओ / a:io / - भाइओ / bha:io / 'also brother' उइआ / uia: / - सुइआ / suia: / 'needle' ओइआ / oia: / - कोइआ / kǒia: / 'coconut shell' C. Cluster of four: अउअए / əuəe / - बउअएलाह / bəuəěla:h / 'roamed' अउआए / əua:ě / - बउआएब / bəua:ěb / 'roaming' Roughly speaking, cluster of more than two vowels occurs only in derivatives.
A peculiar type of phonetic change is recently taking place in Maithili by way of epenthesis i.e. backward transposition of final i and u in all sort of words. Thus:
Standard Colloquial अछि / əchi / अइछ / əich / 'is' रवि / rəbi / इब / rəib / 'sunday' मधु / mədhu / मउध / məudh / 'honey' बालु / ba:lu / बाउल / ba:ul / 'sand' This change is not yet admitted in standard Maithili.
Graphically Maithili has only two diphthongs: ऐ (अ + इ ) /əi/ - बैसह /bəisəh/ 'sit' औ (अ + उ ) /əu/ - कौआ /kəua:/ 'crow'
In Maithili words (excluding tatsama) these are often split apart in speech as well as in writing. Thus:
बैसल /bəisəl/ or बइसल /bəisəl/ कौआ /kəua:/ or कउआ /kəua:/ Recently some more vowel diphthongs have developed. See. §. 2.1.
Consonants in Maithili are simple and rigid. A few, however, have some notable peculiarities.
ड /ɖ/ and ढ /ɖh/ in between vowels (and also at the extreme) have trilled pronunciation and are written with a dot below.
कड़ाही /kəḍa:hi:/ 'soncer' बड़ /bəḍə/ 'fig tree' चढ़ब /cədhəb/ 'ascend' गाढ़ /gadhə/ 'deep'. र /r/ is distinct from ड़ / ḍ / but not as distinct as in Punjabi: बर /bər/ ‘husband’, but बड़ /bəḍ / 'fig tree'. हार /ha:r/ ‘necklace’, but हाड़ /ha:ḍ / 'bone' य् /y/ in tatsama words when initial or preceded by /r/ then it is pronounced as ज् /j/ : यदि /yədi/ [jədi] 'if' आर्य /a:ryə/ [a:rjə] 'noble' In Maithili words it is either an allophone of /ě/ or /y/ glide between vowels: कएल or कयल /kəěl or kəyəl/ 'did' जाए or जाय /ja:ě or ja:yə/ 'may go' पहिआ or पहिया /pəhia: or pəhiya:/ 'wheel'. व् /v/ is found mainly in tatsama words and in Maithili is pronounced /b/ as. वन /bən/ 'forest' नव /nəb/ 'new' भवन /bhəbən/ 'house' Sometimes it is heard as a glide between vowels and in place of /ǒ/ as: कौआ / kəua:/ or कौवा / kəuva: / 'crow'. भाओ or भाव / bha:ǒ or bha:v / 'market rate' नाओ or नाव / na:ǒ / or na:v / 'boat'. If a foreign word begins with /v/ it is altered to / ǒ/: वकील → ओकील / vəki:l → ǒki:l / 'pleader' वजह → ओजह / vəjəh → ojəh / 'reason' Sometimes it is changed to ब /b/: विदा → बिदा / vida: → bida: / 'departure' वाह → बाह / va:h → ba:h/ 'brave' Three nasals and /l/ have their aspirated contrasts: न्ह् -- कान्ह / ka:nh / 'shoulder' कान / ka:n / 'ears' म्ह् -- कुम्हार / kumha:r / 'potter' गेल्ह / gelh / 'young of crow' गेल / gel / 'went'. In clusters, consonants remain phonetically unchanged, except the following two:
ज्ञ – Traditionally it is a cluster of ज् / j / and ञ् / ɲ /, but in Maithili it is pronounced ग्यँ / gỹ / as if a nasalised cluster of ग् / g / and य् / y /
क्ष् - It is a cluster of क् / k / and ष् / ʂ /, but for a lay man it appears as a single consonant d and is pronounced च्छ् / cch /. Mostly even in Sanskrit Maithil pandits pronounce it so:
पक्ष / pakş / or /paccha/.
Aspirate stops are often broken with the insertion of /a/ in between: आधा / a:dha: / → अदहा / ədəha:/ 'half' सभक / səbhək / → सबहक / səbəhək/ 'of all' बीघा / bi:gha: / → बिगहा / bigəha:/ 'acre' पीढ़ी / pi:ḍhi: / → पिड़ही / piḍəhi:/ 'wooden seat' काढ़ा / ka:dha: / → कड़हा / kaḍəha:/ 'decoction'
Strictly speaking indigenous words in Maithili avoid consonant cluster. Doubling and n +, however, are allowed. For example:
A. Doubling p - कप्पा / kəppa: / 'a piece of cloth' ph - गप्फा / gəppha: / 'nudes' b - नब्बे / nabbe / 'ninety' t - पत्ती / pətti: / 'Leif' th - हत्था / həttha: / 'bunch of banana’ d - जिद्दी / jiddi: / 'obstinate' dh - खद्धर / khəddhər / 'handmade cloth' n - अन्न / annə / 'food grain' ŧ - पट्टा / pəŧŧa: / 'slab' ŧh - ठट्ठा / ŧhəŧŧha: / 'joke' d - अड्डा / ədda: / 'appointed place' dh - ढड्ढर / dhddhər / 'too big' c - बच्चा / bacca: / 'child' ch - अच्छर / əcchar / 'letter' j - सज्जन / səjjən / 'gentleman' jh - दोसज्ह / dosəjjha: / 'owned jointly by two persons'. l - हल्ला / həlla: / 'uproar' s - हिस्सा / hissa: / ‘share’
This type of cluster is already shown in § 2.2(b). Here a few example will suffice. अच् / əŋkə / 'mark' अज़् / əŋgə / 'body' हंस / həŋsə / 'goose' हिंसा / hiŋsa: / 'killing'
Words borrowed from Sanskrit, Arabic, Persian and English have all sorts of clusters initially, medially as well as finally. Space does not permit detail. Therefore clusters are shown below without distribution and examples.
p+ t, th, n, ŧ , y, r, l, v, s, ŧ + y, r, v.
d + y, r, v.
ph + r, l ղ + ŧ, ŧh, d, dh
b + d, dh,r, l c + y
bh + y, r ch + r, v.
m + p, ph, b, bh, j + m, y, r, v.
n, r, l. ր + c, ch, j, jh
d + p, ph, m, n, k. k + p, ph,m, t, y, r,
r, v, s. v, s.
th + y, r. kh + y
d + m, d, gh, y,r, g + m, d, dh, n, y, r, l.
v. gh + n, y, r, v.
dh + n, y,r, v. ŋ + k, kh, g, gh
n + t, th, d, dh, n,
y, r.
r + p, ph, b, bh v + y, r.
m, t, th, d, dh, ∫ + m, n, c, ch, y, r, v.
n, ŧ, ŧh, d, dh ş + ŧ, ŧh, ղ, p, ph, k,
c, ch, j, jh, k. v.
kh, g, gh, y, r, s + p, ph, m, t, th, n,
l, v, ∫, ş, s, h. k, kh, y, r, v.
l + p, ph, m, th, d,
k, g, y, v. h + y, r, v.
(a) Long vowels /ə:/, /i:/ and /u:/ are allophones of short ones:
घर or घऽर / ghər/ or / ghə:r / 'home' थिर or थीर / thir/ or / thi:r / 'motionless' सुनल, सूनऽल or सूनल / sunəl /, / sunə:l/ or / su:nəl / 'heard'.
Likewise, short / ě /, / æ / and / ǒ / are allophones of long one’s :
एहन or एऽहन / ěhən / or / ehən / 'like this' ओहऽन or ओऽहन / ǒhə:n / or / ohən / 'like that' कऽल or कैलऽहुँ / kæ / or / kǎla:hũ/ '(I) did'. But in tatsame words length of vowel is phonemic (See § 2.2 (a)).
(b) semivowels / y / and / v / are allophones of / ě / and / ǒ / respectively. Thus:
माए or माय / ma:ě / or / ma:y / 'mother' नाओ or नाव / na:o / or / na:v / 'boat'
(c) In tatsama words / ʃ / and / ɳ / are generally pronounced in Maithili as /s/ and /n/ respectively. They therefore may be treated as allophones. Thus:
प्राण or प्रान /pra:ղ/ or /pra:n/ 'life' यश or जऽस /yəs/ or /jə:s/ 'fame'
(d) ड् / ɖ / and ड़् / ɖ̥ / as well as ढ् / ɖh / and ढ् / ɖ̥h / are allophones but positionally distributed (See...):
घोड़ा / ghoḍa: / 'horse', but / डाबर / da:bar / 'pond' गाढ़ / ga:ḍh / 'deep', but ढोल / dhol / 'drum' /
There are some phonetic / articulative characteristics which make the above phonemes distinct from each other. Phoneticians have determined 15 binary distinctive features – Sonat, Syllabic, Consonantal, High, Low, Front, Back, Lateral, Anterior Coronal, Distributed, Nasals, Voiced, Tense and Delayed release. The following list will show these features of each phoneme in Maithili.
ə - Low, front a - low, back, i - high, front u - high, back e - front, back o - low, back æ - front, back כ - low, back. k - con., high, back. kh - con., high, back, tense g - con, high, back, vd. gh - con, high, back, vd, tens. c - con, high, dr. ch - con, high, tense, dr. j - con, high, vd, dr. jh - con, high, vd, tense, dr. ŧ - con, cor., dist. ŧh – con, cor., dist., vd. d - con, cor, dist., vd. dh - con, cor, dist, vd, ten. t - th - d - dh - p - con, ant. ph - con, ant, tense. b - con, ant,vd. bh - con, ant, vd., tense ŋ - son, con, high, back, vd., nas ղ - son, con, high, dr. nas ր - son, con, high, back, nas. n - son, con, ant. cor, nas m - son, con, ant, nas. ∫ - con, high, cor, dist. ş - Con, cor, dist. s - con, cor, high, dist. h - con, lat. r - son, con, ant, cor. l - son, con, lat, ant, cor.
The skeleton of phonotactic pattern of Maithili words consists of one or two long vowels as head some times preceded by one or two (rarely three) short vowels as tail or onset and followed by two short or one long vowels as code or boundary.
Examples are: (i) x - x ई /i:/ 'this' (ii) v – x लता /ləta:/ 'creeper' (iii) vv – x ककबा /kəkəba:/ 'comb' (iv) vvv – x पघड़िआ /pəghəḍia:/ 'chopper' (v) x – v हाथ /ha:th/ 'hand' (vi) v – v पिआस /pia:s/ 'thirst' (vii) vv – v हरबाह /hərəba:h/ 'ploughman' (viii) vvv – v देखलकैक /děkhələkəik/ 'saw' (ix) x – vv बालक /ba:lak/ 'boy' (x) v – vv पसारल /pəsa:rəl/ 'spread' (xi) x - - ताला /ta:la:/ 'lock' (xii) v - - पँसारी /pّəsa:ri:/ 'artisan' (xiii) v v - - बघछाला /bəghəcha:la:/ 'tiger leather'
This vowel pattern is the outcome of the Rule of Short Antepenultimate, under which all long vowels before a peak or head is shortened. Thus.
जागल/ ja:gəl / but जगलाह / jəgəla:h / 'woke up' बताहि / bəta:hi / but बतहिआ / bətəhia: / 'mad woman' In syllabic point of view the following pattern emerges: One syllable .... घर / ghər / 'house' Two syllables .... लता / lə / ta: / 'Creeper' Three syllables .... पसारल / pə / sa / rəl/ Four syllables .... पघड़िआ / pə / gha / ḍi / a: / Five syllables .... देखलकैक / dě / kh / lə / kə / ik /
Consonants are like flesh and vowels like bones. So every vowel may have single consonants stuck to it on either side or both sides. The consonants between vowels is the satellite of the following vowel. All syllables having long vowels are long. Likewise syllables having short vowels are short, but if they are followed by a satellite they become long. For example:
लता / lə / ta: / (v - ) घटना / ghəŧ / na: / ( - - )
All vowels are free to stand in any position in a word, but their duration is governed by the Rule of short Antepenultimate. Likewise consonants also, except ŋ, ɲ and ɳ may take any position.
Within the patterns stated above, innumerable sequences of vowels and consonants have filled up Maithili lexicon. But sequence of consonants and vowels in a word is limited to the permitted length of word. Maximum number of vowel in a Maithili word is seven. For example:
v cv cv cv cv cv vc अ - क - च - क - बि - ति - ऐक / ə / kə / cə / kə / bi / ti / əik / In any sequence, number of consecutive vowels and consonants is limited to three. Thus : cvcccvcv चन्द्रमा / cəndrəma: / 'moon' cvcvvvc महुआएल / məhua:ěl / 'honeyed'
But consonants do not face dissimilar consonants (See Sandhi) and vowels do not face similar vowels.
From a cursory observation it appears that not only facing but also proximity of dissimilar consonants is generally avoided. The absence of words of following sequences indicate the above fact:
कघ…/ kəgh… / कभ... / kəbh... / कझ…/ kəjh… / खठ... / khəŧh... / कध.../ kədh... / चथ… / cəth… / Only in depth, research may reveal such phonotactic rules.
Maithili phonology has three types of units – phonetic, segmental and syllabic. Take the word बकलेल /bəkəlel/ for example:
Phonetic - b, ə, k, ə, l, e, l (7 units) Segmental - bə, kə, le, la (4 units) Syllabic - bək, lel (2 units).
The smallest part of an utterance, which a Maithili speaking layman can utter in isolation, is called segmental unit of speech. This is the only unit in Maithili perceivable clearly in normal speech and clearly manifests in music and prosody. Division in syllabic units appears only in rapid or forceful utterances.
In segmental units, boundary is mostly vowel. In case that vowel is followed by any consonant cluster the first member of that cluster will be the boundary of the unit.
Stress in Maithili is very soft and plays no important role. Sometimes it indicates topicality. Otherwise it is not clearly perceivable. Generally first syllable receives stress.
'तों / 'to / 'you' 'कलम / 'kələm / 'pen' 'जे / 'je / 'who' 'बेटा / 'beŧa / 'son'
But words of two syllables receive stress on the second if that is heavier:
कٰ मार / kəٰ ma:r / 'carpenter' उत्साह / utٰ sa:h / 'zeal'
In compounds second component is stressed:
पनिٰ पिआइ / paniٰ pia:i / 'drinking water → breakfast' कमरٰ सारि / kamarٰ sa: / 'carpenter’s workshop'
2.17. Intonation:
(i) Normal declarative sentences start with high pitch and end in low pitch: । गाए । चरैत । अछी /ga:ě cərəit achi/ 'The cow is grazing' । हम । जाइत । छी / həm ja:it chi: / 'I go' (ii) Sentences having interrogative pronoun end in low pitch: । अहाँ कहिआ । आएब 'When will you come?' । हमए के बजबैत । छथि 'Who is calling me?' (iii) Questions answerable with yes or no have rising pitch at the end: मोहन । अएलाह / Mohan əela:h? / 'Did Mohan come?' (iv) In disjunctive questions only final question has low pitch and all the rest have high pitch : । की चाहैछह, । दही, । कि दूध,। आकि माछ ? / ki: ca:hai chəh, dəhi:,ki du:dh a:ki ma:ch? / 'What do you want, | curd? or | milk? or | fish?'.
(a) Deletion of / ə˘/
Maithili has three grades of vowels: long, short and extra short, depending on their position in a word. Accordingly, words have three kinds of segments: weaker, weak and strong or safe.
In weaker position, short vowels become extra short and in phonetic writing are pushed up-ward. But in the case of / ə /, there is a difference of opinion. Some hold that in weaker position / ə̆ / disappears or in technical terms schwa deletion takes place. But in others’ view schwa deletion takes place only in rapid and careless speech and is not a normal feature of Maithili. For example.
In former view In latter view कमल /kəmələ/ /kəməl/ कटहर /kəŧəhər/ /kŧ-hər/
[In phonetic transcription here we have chosen the latter view only for the sake of convenience. The Nagari (native) transcription will show where schwa deletion has taken place].
Similarly, final short /i/ and /u/ also become extra short and often are deleted in rapid speech, specially when it is a suffix. Thus :
In normal speech In rapid speech दोसरि मालिनि चलि गेलि / दोसर मालिन चल गेल / dosəri ma:lini cəli geli / dosər ma:lin cəl gel/ 'the second lady gardener went away' देखि कें चुनह / देख के चुनह /dekh ke cunəh/ dekhi kẽ cunəh/ dekh ke cunəh/ ‘See and select’
(i) final / e / of infinitives is deleted and preceding / ə / is lengthend in compensation. Thus:
ओ देखए गेलाह → ओ देखऽगेलाह /o dekhəě gěla:h / / o dekhə: gěla:h/ ओ पठाए देलनि → ओ पठा देलनि /o pəŧha:ě deləni/ /o pəŧha: děləni/ 'he sent'
(ii) Final / ta / in present participle is deleted specially before / ch /
चलैत छी → चलैछी /cəliət chi:/ /cələi chi:/ 'I am going' खाइत छी → खाइछी /kha:itchi:/ /kha:i chi:/ 'I eat'
(iii) Final / ka / in verbs is deleted (except in ʈhik):
छिऐक / chiəik / or छिऐ / chiəi / छौक / chəuk / or छौ / chəu /
(iv) In verbal affixs /nh/, /hu/ and /h/ aspiration is omitted:
छन्हि /chənhi/ → छनि /chəni/ कहलहुँ /kəhələhũ/ → कहलौं /kəhələũ/
Shortening of all long vowels in a word prior to the last or last but one syllable is the most important, extensive and characteristic morphophonemic alternation in Maithili. This phonetic feature is called by G.A. Grierson the Rule of short Ante penultimate. It operates without exception to all sorts of words and determines the five phonotactic patterns of last two syllables as (i) vvv (ii) v – v (iii) vv - (iv) v - - (v) - v v Examples may be seen under § 2.13.
The above rule of shortening is not limited to vowels, but also the consonant cluster is shortened by deletion of one consonant.
जज़्ल / jəŋgal / 'forest', but जङली / jəŋli / 'wild' जिद्दी / jiddi: / 'obstinate', but जिदिआह /jidia:h / 'of obstinate nature' धक्का / dhəkka: / 'thrust', but धकिआएब / dhəkia:ěb / 'thrust on'
Suffixes generally modify the ends of their bases. In Maithili, all bases end in vowel, which is modified in two ways: deletion and shortening. The union of base and suffix with such modification may be called internal sandhi. Unlike Sanskrit, Maithili has no external sandhi (except the additive and restrictive particles / e / and / o /). See § 6.8.
The lone declensional suffix / -ẽ / in instrumental case shortens preceding / i: / and / u: / and deletes such / ə / and / a: / Thus:
थारी /tha:ri:/ → थारिएँ /tha:riẽ/ 'with dish' आलू /a:lu:/ → आलएँ /a:luẽ/ 'with potato' हाथ /ha:th/ → हाथें/ha:thẽ/ 'with hand' माला /ma:la:/ → मालें /ma:lẽ / 'with garland'.
Suffixes beginning with vowel delete the final /ə/ of their bases. Thus:
चल + ई → चली /cələ + i: →cəli: / ‘I should go’ छ + ई → छी /chə + i: → chi: / ‘I am’ चलल +आह → चललाह /cələlə + a:h →cələla:h/ ‘departed’. तामस + आह → तमसाह /ta:məsə + a:h→təməsa:h/ But i: is shortened in all cases: देखी + ऐक → देखेऐक /dekhi: + əik → dekiəik/ 'I should say'. खुद्दी + आह → खुदिआह /khuddi: + a:h → khudia:h/ 'mixed with broken grain of rice'. Morphophonemic alternations in compounds may be seen in § 7.3.
Except a: which is a segmental phoneme, all vowels in Maithili have only positional length i.e. the length of vowel is not phonemic, rather it is a kind of accent. Accent falls on penultimate vowel and hence that vowel becomes long. Thus:
कऽम सऽ कऽम तीन दिऽन रहऽह /kə:msّə: kə:m ti:n di:n rəhə:h/ 'Stay at least three days'.
The symbol of prolongation % is not usual in writing, but here it is inserted as a device to indicate the accentual length.
The root of the prolongigation lies in the phonotactic structure of Maithili, which requires at least one long vowel in each word. Tatsama words are immune to this rule:
गोनू सकल काज नहि कए सकऽल / gonu: səkəl ka:j na:hi kəě səkə:l / 'Gonu could not do all his task'. अपऽन भवन मे छी / əpə:n bhəbən me chi: / 'I am in my own house'. Extra prolongation of vowel is a kind of syntactic accent. For example: बाउ, खएबह नऽऽहि , khəěbəhə na::hi/ 'my boy, will you not eat?' हमरा सङ जएबऽऽह / həməra: səŋ - jəěba::ha/ 'will you go with me?'
Where this extra prolongation takes place all other accents of length prior to that disappears. For instance, in the above first example, ba in khəebəh is without accent.
This type of prolongation is only oral, and is ignored in metrical composition, in proseic utterance and in writing.
Juncture is a suprasegmental phoneme in almost all languages and Maithili is not exception. Instances are rare, but not wanting:
(a) (i) पानि कमल / pa:ni kəməl / 'water (rain) subsided'
(ii) पानिक मल / pa:nik məl / 'dirt of water'.
(b) (i) आजहि तकर फल पाओल / a:jahi təkər phəl pa:ǒl / 'Today itself I got the result of that.'
(ii) आज हितकर फल पाओल / a:j hitəkər phəl pa:ǒl / 'Today I got the beneficial result'.
(c) (i) तखन हिनक गप करब जाए /təkhən hitək gəp kərəb ja:ě/ 'Then I will go and talk about the benefit?'
(ii) तखनहि तक गप कर बजाए /təkhənəhi tək gəp kər bəja:ě/ 'Only upto that time invite and talk to him.'
The smallest phonetic unit uttered in a single effort is a syllable. Maithili has peak type of syllable. In this each syllable has a vowel as its peak, which may have a consonant on each or either side. The first is called onset and the other code. Thus there are four kinds of syllable - (i) single vowel, (ii) consonant + vowel, (iii) vowel + consonant and (iv) consonant + vowel + consonant. For example:
अनन्य अन्तरङ्ञ / ənənyə əntərəŋgə / 'Absolutely intimate' अ + नन् + य ٰ अन् + त + रङ् + ग ٰ /ə + nən+ yə ٰ ən + tə + rəŋ + gə / v + cvc + cv + vc + cv + cvc + cv The fourth kind of syllable is long and the rest short.
The native tradition has a different system of syllabification. In this system, every vowel with or without preceding consonant/consonants is a syllable. In other words, the unit of utterance represented by a single graph or varṇa is a syllable. Thus, the syllabification of the above example will be as follows:
अ + न + न्य ٰ अ + न्त + र+ ज़्ٰ /ə + nə + nyəٰ ə + ntə + rə + ŋgə/ v + cv + ccvٰ v + ccv + cv + ccv.
In Maithili, words final / ə / is pronounced feebly. In rapid speech, it is rather absent. Therefore, such an / ə / may or may not be counted as a syllable. Thus:
बासन / ba:sənə / 'pot' = बा + सन् / ba: + sən / or बा + स + न / ba: + sə + nə /
But the traditional way of syllabification does not conform to the prevailing pronunciation because initial consonant in cluster cannot easily be pronounced without the support of a vowel. This is why no word in Maithili begins with / ntə / and the like consonant cluster. Of course /sp/ begins some words like स्पर्श / spərʃə / 'touch', but in usual speech a feeble / ə̆ / is heard initially something like अस्पर्श / əspərʃə /.
Vowel clusters beginning with ə or a may be treated either a single syllable or two depending on the way of pronunciation. Thus:
अएलाह = अ + ए + ला + ह or अए + ला + ह əěla:hə = ə + ě + la: + hə or əě + la: + h ; or æ + la:h आएल = आ + ए + ल / आ + एल् / ऐल् / a:ěla = a: + ě + lə /a: + ěl / æl / बैद = ब + र +ú द /बै + द / ब + इद्/
In Maithili, often consonant is pronounced with double force and traditionally written as a cluster of two. But in linguistics, this phenomenon is called gemination. Almost all consonant phonemes show gemination. A few examples are shown below:
गप्प / gəppə / 'talk' गप्फा / gəphpha: / 'knuckler' नब्बे / nəbbe / 'ninety' चुम्मा / cumma: / 'kiss' बच्चा / bəcca: / 'child' बच्छा / baccha: / 'calf' Sometimes, gemination appears for the sake of emphasis: एक्खन चलि जाउ / ěkkhən cəli ja:u / 'Go just now!' (In place of ěkhən:) एक्को दिन तँ रहू / ěkko din tّə: rəhu / 'please stay even for a day'
(a) Vowels: Most of the vowels in Maithili are harmonious with almost all vowels. This is why Maithili is rich in vowel clusters. Often in speech and also in writing, / y / and / v / intervene the vowel cluster to avoid hiatus, and then the vowel becomes more harmonious. Thus:
बीअनि = बीयनि / bi:əni = bi:yani / 'fen' भैआ = भैया / bhəia: = bhəiya: / 'brother' बिआह = बियाह / bia:h = biya:h / 'marriage' नूआ = नूवा / nu:a: = nu:va: / 'garment'
But vowel cluster beginning with / ə / or / a / followed by / e / or / o / often are coalesced instead of having intervening / y / or / v /.
The vowel clusters generally seen in Maithili are - əi, au, aě, aǒ, a:i, a:u, a:ě, a:ǒ, ia, ia:, uə, ua:, ui, ěa:, ěǒ, əia:, ǒa:, oi and əua:. For example see S 2.5. These clusters prove the mutual harmony of vowels.
Juxtaposition of the same vowels is not allowed. Two same vowels intervened by a consonant (vcv) are rarely seen mostly in onomotapoeic words like
किकिआएब / kikia:eb / 'to screen' चिचिआएब / cicia:eàb / 'to cry out' सुसुआएब / susua:eàb / 'to make hissing sound'
The cluster /ə/a: + əi/əu / is not allowed as it amounts to juxtaposition of same vowel (i.e. ə) which is not allowed.
Radical words in Maithili have as a rule not more than two vowels. This number exceeds only by way of construction. As
पाइए /pa:ie / 'only Paisa'
(b) Consonants: Maithili words, excluding tatsamas, have no consonant cluster except double ones and nasal-plus ones. So, harmony among consonants is little. Nasals are restricted to precede their own oral class. For example:
अज़्र् / əŋga: / 'body garment' पञ्जा / pəրja: / 'claw' चन्दा / cənda: / 'moon' पम्प / pəmp / 'pump'
Doubling is allowed of all consonants, but in the case of aspirates, the first member loses its aspiration. Thus:
ताख > तक्खा / ta:kh > təkkha: / (not təkhkha:). In tatsama words, harmony is maintained by the general rules of sandhi.
In Maithili lexicon, the sequences like /kəgh/, /kigh/, /pəbh/, /pibh/ are not seen. This shows that unaspirated stops dislike the proximity of aspirated stops.
Maithili has three types of idiophones and interjections as follows: (a) Expressing sentiments: अरे / əre / -surprise. अरेबा / are ba: / - fear अँह् / ّəh / - No no ! अहँ / əhّə / - No ! उँह / ũh / - No ! एँहें / ẽ hẽ / - Pleasure ओह् / oh / - Dislike. च्च् / c.c. – (voiceless palatal sound) Affection; sorrow; sympathy. छिह् / chih / - Fie. छीआ / chi:a: / - Disgusting; shame ! दुत् / dut / - Nonsense ! दुर् / dur / - very bad. धत् / dhət / - Foolish बाप रे / ba:p re / - Fear बाह / ba:h / - Good बाह रे / ba:h re / - Good मर / mər / - surprise हँ / hّə: / - Yes हा / ha: / - Alas ! हाए / ha:ẽ / - Lamentation हे / he / - warning. (b) Address: अए / əě / - Respectful address to ladies. अओ / əǒ / - Respectful address to man. गए / gəe / - Address to lower grade woman रओ / rəo / - Address to lower grade man. हओ / həo / - Address to man of equal or middle grade. (c) Guiding animals: अगत् / əgət / - Move on (To elephant). आओ / ao / - Turn aside (To bullock) आतू / a:tu: / - Come on (To dog) उड़ित् / uḍit / - Come here (To goat) चेहैत् / chehəit / - Come here (To buffalo) धत् / dhət / - Stop (To elephant) पिसू / pisu: / - Come on (To cat). लिह् / lih / - Go away (To goat) हर्र / hərr / - Come on (To goat) हह् / həh / - Stop (To bullock).
Like all NIA, Maithili has six parts of speech or grammatical categories, namely noun, pronoun, verb, adjective, adverb and particles. They will be described one by one below. Meanwhile, it is to be noted that there are two classes of words: inflected and uninflected. The inflected is divided into two subclasses: declensional and conjugational. So the words have only three classes - (i) Nouns or declined words, (ii) Verbs or conjugated words, and (iii) Particles or uninflected words. This tripartite classification is the most wide spread in the languages of the world. (iv) Pronoun, (v) Adjective and (vi) Adverb are basically the subclasses of he noun - class.
In Maithili, nouns have no stems or roots distinct from nouns. Noun itself functions as stem of declension or secondary derivation. In structure, it is either a simple morpheme or a complex one. In complex morpheme, the first member serves for the base of second member. In other words, the simple or primary word may be treated as the base or stem of its derivatives. The primary nouns in Mathili have only one or two vowels with consonant appended on either side thereto in the following patterns:
vc - आम / a:m / 'mango' cvc - घर / ghәr / 'home' vcvc - अपन / әpәn / 'own' cvcvc - पहाड़ / pәhaḍ / 'hill' Primary nouns having more than two vowels are probably of foreign origin. As तमासा / təma:sa: / 'show' (Arabic). खजाना / khəja:na: / 'treasury' (Persian).
The five-fold semantic classification of nouns, viz: proper noun, common noun, abstract noun, material noun and collective noun, as generally found in school grammars, is devised for English and the like languages where determiners like a and the play semantic role, and proper nouns start with capital letter. In Maithili, all sorts of noun are treated alike grammatically. So nouns in Maithili may be classified, on purely semantic level, as follows:
(i) Generic or common noun, and (ii) Specific or special noun (iii) Qualitative or characteristic noun Traditionally, they are known as Jətiva:cəkə, Vyəktiva:cəkə and Gunəva:cəkə. All nouns in Maithili terminate in any of the following vowels: - ? - घर / ghәr / 'house' - a: - घोड़ा / ghoḍa: / 'horse' - i - आँखि / ã:khi / 'eye' - i: - माछी / ma:chi: / 'fly' - u - भालु / bha:lu / 'bear' - ě - भाए / bha:ě / 'brother' - e - साबे / sa:be / 'a grass' - o - भादो / bha:do / 'a month' The last two are rare. 3.3 A.There are three grades of noun - short, long and redundant. Examples: Short Long Redundant ठकन ठकना ठकनमा ŧhəkan ŧhəkna: ŧhəkənma:
Maithili has no suffix for denoting number in nouns. Whenever necessary, some collective noun or tag-word is added like a postposition for this purpose. Traditionally, such postpositions are treated like suffixes and grammarians decline nouns in both singular and plural numbers. For example:
| Case | Singular | Plural |
|---|---|---|
| Nominative | नेना / nena / 'child' | नेना सभ / nena:səbh / 'children' |
| Accusative | नेना के / nena:kẽ / | नेना सभके / nena: səbh kẽ / |
The following types of words, 'inter elia', are used to denote plurality. सब, सभ, सबहु / səb, səbh, səbəhu / 'all', लोकनि /lo?kani/ 'men'. Here लोक, 'people', नि /-ni/ is perhaps only relic of real suffix denoting plurality. It also appears in conjugation of verb.
आरू, अरु, हरू / a:ru:, əru, həru / 'and'. These are the variants of आओर / a:ǒr / 'in addition'. सिनी, सनी, सुन /sini:, səni:, sun/ of unknown meaning and origin. गण, वृन्द / gəղə, brind, etc. / 'multitude', only with tatsama words.
Basically, noun in Maithili has no gender distinction. Feminine gender however is expressed either by adjective and verb in agreement of a noun indicating some living being of perceptible female sex or by means of suffixes.
Nevertheless, it would be practical to say that (a) some nouns include both sexes in their domain, (b) others include only male sex and (c) the rest only female sex. For example:
(a) बालक /ba:lək/ 'boy', बालिका /ba:lika:/ 'girl' (b) पिता/pita:/ 'father' (c) माता /ma:ta:/ 'mother'
Nouns denoting living beings of ascure sex distinction are treated as masculine, such as:
माछ /ma:ch/ 'fish' कौआ /kəua:/ 'crow'
A few nouns have their own lexical gender and do not need gender-morpheme. As:
माता / ma:ta:/ 'mother' कन्या/ kənya:/ 'daughter'
Curiously enough, a masculine suffix - a: has emerged in analogy of feminine suffix -i:. Thus:
मओसा / məǒsa: / 'husband of mausi:' i,e. mother’s sister पिउसा / piusa: / 'husband of piusi' i.e. 'father’s sister'. महिसा / məhisa: / 'he buffalo', Cf. महिस /məhis/ ‘she-buffalo’
The following suffixes, ‘inter elia’ render masculines to feminine:
- i - गोआर / gǒa:r / 'milk man' : गोआरि / gǒa:ri / 'milk maid' - i: - घोड़ा, / ghoḍa: / 'horse' : घोड़ी / ghoḍi: / 'mare' - ini - साप / sa:p / 'snake' : सापिनि / sa:pini / 'she snake' - ini: - सोनार / sona:r / 'goldsmith' : सोनारिनी / sǒna:rini: / 'woman goldsmith'. - a:ini - ठाकुर / ŧha:kur / 'a surname' : ठकुराइनि / ŧhəkura:ni / 'wife of tha:kur' - ni - मालि / ma:li / 'gardener' : मालिनि / ma:lini / 'wife of ma:li' - ni: - मुसहर / mushər / 'a caste' : मुसहरनी / mushərni: / 'wife of mushər'
Maithili nouns have six traditional cases as follows:
Cases Case endings / markers 1) Nominative ┄ Zero 2) Accusative ┄ kẽ and zero 3) Instrumental ┄ ẽ and -sّə:, sa: 4) Ablative ┄ -sّə:, - sə: 5) Locative ┄ - me 6) Possessive ┄ -kә, - ker.
The following sentence illustrates all these cases (Superposed figures indicate the cases as numbered above)
मोहन1 गामसँ4 पटना2 [Mohən1ga:msə˘4 pəŧna:2 आबि बापक 6 घर मे 5 a:bi ba:pək6 ghər me5 अपना हाथें / हाथ सँ 3 əpna: ha:thẽ/ha:th sّə:3 मित्रकें2 टाका2 देलनि mitrə ẽ2ŧa:ka:2 deləni.]
'Coming from his village to Patna, Mohan gave the money to his friend with his own hand in the house of his father'.
Some hold that only two case endings - ẽ and - k are suffixes and the rest are postpositions, because between noun and kẽ /-me/ -sə̃: juncture is clearly percieved in speech - घर # मे, घर # सँ. These postpositions, however, differ from their English counter parts /with/, /from/ and /in/ in as much as postpositions in Maithili do not form adjective phrases like English 'Fish in the lake', 'Stories from Shakespeare', but only determine the action in aspect of time and place like an adverb.
Often case is equated with Sanskrit ka:rəkə. But there is a difference between them. Ka:rəkə literally means agent or participant in action and as such includes only the first three cases; the rest only modify or specify action, and along with noun form adverbs.
The locative case - e, so common in old Maithili, survives in folk songs and proverbs. For example: घरे घरे कएल पुछारि / ghərě ghərě kəěl puchə:ri / 'he made inquiry in every household'.
A peculiar use of kẽ in Maithili is noteworthy. As Maithili has no equivalent of English verb have, the English sentence 'Mohan has a book' will be rendered in Maithili thus:
मोहन कें पोथी छनि /mohәn kẽ pothi: chani/ 'A book is in-possession of Mohan'
In such cases, -kẽ seems to behave like a postposition of possessive case.
Except -ẽ all case endings allow intervention by the additive and restrictive particles -?hi and -?hu. Thus:
मोहन कें बजाउ / Mohən kẽ bəja:u / 'Call Mohan'. मोहनाहु (मोहन + अहु) कें बजाउ / Mohənəhu kẽ bəja:u / 'Call also Mohan'. मोहनहि कें बजाउ / Mohənəhi kẽ bəja:u / 'Call only Mohan.'
In accusative case, as a rule, kẽ is used only with direct object and may be omitted in case of inanimate or the like objects. In absence of marker, case is determined by word order or context. For example:
माछ बेङ खएलक / ma:ch beŋ khəelak / 'Fish ate frog'. बङ माछ खएलक / beŋ ma:ch khəelak / 'Frog ate fish'.
In Maithili, there are two types of case endings – case markers /-ě/ and /-k/ and postpositions /-kẽ/, /sã:/ and /me/. All of these, except /-k/, link up nouns with verbs and noun plus case ending quality verbs and hence may be termed as adverb in its literal sense.
There are also several other words and phrases, which function as case endings with, varied connotations. For example:
बानर गाछ पर अछि / ba:nar ga:ch par achi / 'The monkey is on the tree.' बानर गाछ तर अछि / ba:nar ga:ch tar achi / 'The monkey is under the tree' बानर गाछ लग अछि / ba:nar ga:ch lag achi / 'The monkey is near the tree'.
The morphemes par, tar and the like, function as the substitute of case ending. Some of them are nouns and others particles. Such nouns may appear also in combination of morphemes as /ga:ch lag/ /ga:chak lag/, /ga: chak lagme/, and the like.
For sandhi between noun and case ending /-ẽ/ see § 3.9.
(a) Zero (i.e. no case ending) is used in (i) nominative, (ii) inanimate object and (iii) motivator subject, Exam.
(i) मोहन गेलाह / Mohan gěla:h / 'Mohan went'. (ii) हम गाछ रोपल / ham ga:ch ropal / 'I planted a tree'. (iii) हम छात्रसँ गाछ रोपाओल / ham cha:tra sã: ga:ch rǒpa:ǒl / 'I caused a tree planted by a student'.
(b) /-kẽ/is used obligatorily in human direct object, but in causative construction it is used in agent only when benefits of the action goes to him, otherwise -sã is used. For example:
छात्रकें लिखबैत छथि / cha:Tra kẽ likhbait chathi / (He) causes his student to write (for student’s sake), but छात्रसँ लिखबैत छथि / cha:tra sã likhbait chathi (for his own sake).
This case ending is also used in inanimate objects when it is specific or determined:
एहि गाछ कें पटाउ /ehi ga:ch kẽ paʈa:u/ 'Please water this tree', but एकटा गाछ रोपू /ekʈa: ga:ch ropu: / 'Plant a tree' (not गाछकें).
For detail see yadav ( ) page 81.
It is used also in possessive dative case. (See § 3.6): -
मोहनकें अपन मकान छनि / Mohan kẽ apan maka:n chani / 'Mohan has his own house'.
(c) /-ẽ/ is used in instrumental case optionally with sã: but not in proper nouns:
अपना हाथसँ लिखैत छथि / o apna: ha:th sã: likhait chathi / 'He writing with his own hand'. but मोहनसँ लिखबैत छथि / o Mohan sã: likhbait chalti / 'He gets (something) written by Mohan'. (not मोहनें / Mohane?/.
(d) /-sã/ is used in instrumental as well as oblative case. It’s double role peculiar. Yadav ( ) explains this by holding the view that oblative is also instrumental in action denoted by verb.
(e) /-me/ is used in the sense of english “in”, elsewhere /-tar/, /par/ etc. are used:
गाछ मे आम अछि / ga:ch me a:m achi / "There are mangos in the tree"
गाछ पर बानर अछि / ga:ch par ba:nar achi / "There is a monkey on the tree".
गाछ तर गाए अछि / ga:ch tar ga:ě achi / "There is a cow under the tree".
It is used also in price of a thing and in comparative choice:
ई पोथी पाँच टाका मे कीनल /i: pothi: pã:c ŧa:ka: me ki: nal/ "(I) purchased this book for five Rupees".
फूल मे कमल श्रेष्ठ /phu:l me kamal sreʂʈha/ 'Lotus is the best of all flowers'.
(f) /-k/ is used in possessive case. Here, possession includes kinship, ownership and the like several relations:
हुनक घर / hunak ghar / 'his house' हुनक बेटा / hunak beŧa / 'his son' काक कुरसी / ka:ŧhak kursi / 'chair of wood'.
Nouns in Maithili are declined only for cases. Case endings, except /-ẽ/, are added generally without modifying their stems. Morphophonemic alternation before /-ẽ/ may be seen below. There are however some nouns, which have some alternation in oblic cases, as, will be clear from the table...
| Cases | Ending | Nouns | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nominative | Zero | हाथ | माला | पानि | हाथी | आलू |
| Objective Dative | -kẽ | हाथकें | मालाकें | पानिकें | हाथीकें | आलूकें |
| Instrumental | -ẽ | हाथें | मालें | पानिएँ | हाथिएँ | आलुएँ |
| Instrumental Ablative | -sã: | हाथसँ | मालासँ | पानिसँ | हाथीसँ | आलूसँ |
| Locative | - me | हाथमे | माला मे | पानिमे | हाथीमे | आलू मे |
| Possessive | - k | हाथक | मालाक | पानिक | हाथीक | आलूक |
Some nouns in oblique cases terminate in –a:, such as
Open case कोर आङन गर माङब Oblique case कोरामे आङनामे गएसँ मङबापर or कोरमे आङनमे गरसँ माङबपर
All verbal nouns formed with past participle /-l/ or future participle / -ब / terminate in /-a:/ optionally in oblique cases:
Open case देखब ( देखबल) Oblique case देखबासँ देखलासँ
But past participle in open case is not used as a noun, and future participle is not used in instrument case (देखबें) |.
Pronoun in Maithili are marked for person, honorificity or politeness and case. Number is marked by means of tagging a noun of multitude as in the case of nouns (See § 3.4.)
Maithili has following types of pronouns: Personal – 1st person ......... (1) हम / ham / 'I' 2nd person ........ (2) तों / tõ / 'you' 3rd person ......... Demonstrative (proximate) (3) ई / i: / 'this; he' Demonstrative (remote) (4) ओ / o / 'that' Relative or Referend ...... (5) जे / ji / 'who' Correlative or Referent ...... (6) से / se / 'that' Interrogative ...... (7) के / ke / 'who' Indifinite ...... (8) केओ / kěo / ‘some one’
Pronouns in Maithili take the same case endings as nouns (except that of possessive case), but their stems suffer special modification in some situations. The table 3..... will show such stems of seven main pronouns:
In the said vertical table, the 1st line shows nominatives, the next three show oblique forms which are used before case endings (i.e. kẽ, sã: and me) and the last two show possessive bas. The 2nd and the 5th denote honour. The 4th is used in the case of non-personal objects.
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | |
| 1 2 3 4 5 6 | हम / 'I' / ham / हमरा / hamra: / - (¨मोहि) / mohi / हम / ham / - | तों / 'you' / tõ / तोहरा / tǒhra: / तोरा / tora: / (तोहि) / tohi / तोह / tǒh- / तो / tǒ / | ई / 'this' / i: / हिनका / hinka: / एकरा / ekra: / एहि / ehi / हिन -/ hin- / ए / ě / | ओ / 'that' / o / हुनका / hunka / ओकरा / ǒkra: / ओहि / ohi / हुन / -hun- / ओ / ǒ / | के / 'who?' / ke / कनिका / kənika: / ककरा / kakra: / (काहि) / kalhi / कनि - / kəni- / क / kə- / | जे / 'who' / je / जनिका / jənika: / जकए / jəkra: / जाहि / ja:hi / जनि -/ jəni- / ज / -jə- / | से ‘that’ /se / तनिका / tənika: / तकरा / təkra: / ताहि / ta:hi / तनि / təni- / त / tə- / |
Table 4
Declension of Pronouns
First person
Nom ┄┄┄ हम /ham/ 'I'
Acc./Dat.┄┄┄ हमरा /hamara:/ 'to me'
Inst./abl ┄┄┄ हमरा सँ /hamara: sã:/ 'from me'
Loc ┄┄┄ हमरा मे /hamara: me/ 'in me'
Posse ┄┄┄ हमर /hamar/ 'my'
Second person
Honorific Nonhonorific
Nom. तों तोहें / tõ / tõhẽ/ तों तूँ / tõ / tũ: /
Acc. /Dat. तोहरा / tǒhara: / तोरा / tora: /
Inst./abl. तोहरा सँ / tohara:sã:/ तोरासँ / tora:sã: /
Loc. तोहरामे / tǒhara:me / तोरा / tora: मे /
Poss. तोहर / tohar / तोर / tor /
Third person (Proximate)
Honorific Nonhonorific
Nom ई / i: / ई / i: /
Acc./Dat हिनका / hinka: / एकरा / ẽkra: /
Inst./Abl. हिनका सँ / hinka:sã: / एकरा सँ / ẽkra:sã: /
Loc. हिनका मे / hinak:me / एकरा मे / ekra:me /
Poss. हिनक / hinka/ एकर / ekar /
हिनका / hinkar /
Third person (remote)
Honorific Nonhonorific
Nom. ओ / o / ओ / o /
Acc./Dat हुनका / hunka:/ ओकरा / okra: /
Inst./Abl. हुनकासँ / hunka:sã:/ ओकरा सँ / okra:sã: /
Loc. हुनका मे / hunka me / ओकरामे / okra:me /
Poss. हुनक / hunak / ओकर / okar /
हुनकर /hunkar /
Relative
Honorific Nonhonorific
Nom. जे / je / जे / je /
Acc./Dat. जोनेका / janika: / जकरा / jakra: /
Inst./Abl. जनिकासँ / janka sã: / जकरासँ / jakra:sã: /
Loc. जनिका मे / janika:me / जकरा मे / jakra:me /
Poss. जनिक / janik / जकर / jakar /
जनिकर / janikar /
Correlative
Honorific Nonhonorific
Nom. से / se / से / se /
Acc./Dat. तनिका / tanika: / तरा / takra: /
Inst./Dat. तनिकासँ / tanika:sã: / तकरासँ / takra:sã: /
Loc. तनिका मे / tanika:me / तकरा मे / takara: me /
Poss. तनिक / tanik / तकर / takar /
तनिकर / tanikar /
Interrogative
Honorific Nonhonorific
Person thing
Nom. के /ke/ के /ke/ की / ki /
कथी / kathi /
Acc./Dat. कनिका / kanika: / ककरा / kakra:/ कथीकें / kathi ke /
Inst./Dat. ककरासँ / kanika:sã: / ककरासँ / kakra: sã / कथीसँ / kathi:sã: /
Loc. कनिका मे / kanika:me / ककरामे / kakra: me / कथीमे / kathi:me /
Poss. कनिक / kanik / ककर / kakar / कथीक / kathi:k /
कनिकर / kanikar /
In accusative case pronouns delete their case ending - kẽ and bare oblique cases hamara:, tǒhara: etc. serve the purpose.
In possessive case pronouns have -r instead of –k, as हमर / hamar / in place of हमक / hamak / 'mine'.
The resultant declension may be seen in Table 4.....
Pronoun used as an adjective takes oblique form (shown in col. 4 of table 4.) when the noun qualified noun is in oblique case:
ई पोथी हमर थिक / i: pothi: hamar thik / 'This book is mine': but एहि पोथी मे कविता अछि / ehi pothi: me kavita: achi / 'There are poems in this book.' ओहि जनकें बोनि दिऔक / ohi jan kẽ boni diauk / 'Pay his wage to that labourer'
Distinction between persons and things is a peculiarity in Maithili pronouns. Thus:
तकरासँ / takara: sã: / 'from that (person)'. ताहिसँ / ta:hi sã: / 'from that (thing)' ई के थिक / i: ke thik? / 'who is he?' ई की थिक / i: ki: thik? / 'What is this?' ककरा मे / kakara: me? / 'In whom?' कथी मे / kathi:me? / 'In which?'
For showing special honour or politeness, second person pronoun is replaced by demonstrative pronoun or by aha: or by apne. Thus, five levels of respect emerge out:
(i) ई बैसथु / i: baisathu / 'May your honour please be seated.' (ii) अपने बैसल जाए / apane baisal ja:ẽ / 'May please be seated by yourself'. (iii) अहाँ बैसू / ahã: baisu: / 'Please take your seat'. (iv) तों बैसह / tõ baisah / 'Take your seat' (v) तों तू बैस / tõ/ tũ: bais / 'sit down'.
For proper use of these levels XA 7,8 may be seen.
When a pronoun in an interrogative sentence represents an idea, it is called idiophone. In Maithili pronoun or pronominal particle /ki:/or /ki/ is an idiophone. For example:
तों जएबह की? / tõ jaebah ki:? / 'Will you go?' Here ki: means 'I want to know from you whether...'
Pronoun je functions as a conjunct particle, Example: ओ कहलनि जे स्कूल बनद छैक / o kahalani je sku:l band chaik / 'He said that the school was closed'.
Here je is an anaphora (See...) having the second clause as its antecedent. The pronoun ki:or ki also functions like this: ओ कहलनि कि / okahlani ki.... /
This –or- that question - ki or ki: also denotes indecision in choosing one alternative. As: देही खाउकि भात ? / dahi: tha:u ki bha:t? / 'What should I take, curd or milk?'
Honour via plurality – The consonant n in pronouns janika:, tanika: and the like is originally a sign of plurality, but now signifies honour. This semantic change made Maithili numberless. Likewise हम / ham / was originally plural while मएँ / maě̃ / was its singular form. But with the loss of number distinction ham ousted maě̃̃.
Self-reference in Maithili is expressed with a word –
अपन /apan/ - stem अपने /apne/ - nominative. अपना /apna:/ - oblique.
Examples:
हम अपने चाह नहि पियाबित छी / ham apne ca:h nahi piabit chi: / 'I myself do not take tea'
ओ अपना कें धनिक बुझैत छथि / o apna: kẽ dhanik bujhail chathi / 'He regards himself rich'.
Unlike in English, the form of reflexive pronoun remains the same in Maithili which ever may be the person.
Tatsama svayam is its equivalent: हम स्वयं चाह नहि पिबैत छी /ham svayam ca:h nahi pibait chi/ 'I myself do not take tea.'
There are four indefinite pronouns in Maithili:
(i) केओ / kěo / 'some one' – It is a composite morpheme ke + o i.e. interrogative pronoun plus additive particle and hence is declinable in regular way (See Table 4..)
Nom- केओ / ’some one’
Acc. / Dat. - ककरहु कनिकहु
Inst. / Abl. - ककरहुसँ कनिकहुसँ and so on.
(ii) किछु / kichu / 'something' - It is declined like a general noun.
(iii) केदन / kědan / 'some one unknown person'. It is ke + dan, ke is declined having -dan infixed in between, as kakra + dan + sã: = kakra: dan sã:.
(iv) किदन / kidan / 'something unknown'.
In Maithili there are three – two words to express reciprocity.
कुकुर अपनामे लड़ैत अछि /kukur apna:me laɖ̥ait achi/ Dogs fight among themselves.
भलमानुस परस्पर वाएक दोसरासँ क आदर करैत छथि /bhalma:nus paraspar or eḳ dosra:k a:ther karail achi/ 'men respect each other'.
Verb forms in Maithili is a complex morpheme consisting of stem and one or a series of suffixes denoting tense, mood, person and its honorificity agreement etc.
Primary verb stems in Maithili have one or two syllables of the following patterns. v खा / -kha:- / 'to eat' vc उठ् / uŧh- / 'arise' cv हो / ho / 'to become' cvc चल् / cal- / 'to move' vcvc उनट् / unat ./ 'to turn down' cvcvc बिहुस् / bihũs / 'to smile'
A plethora of verbal suffixes makes conjugational system in Maithili most complicated. The crust of this complication is the pronominalization of verb. On that account Maithili verbs are marked not only for tense, mood etc. but also for the person and the social status of the subject as well as the object benefited with the result of the action performed by the subject. The following analysis of the verb:
देखलकइक / dekhalakaik / 'saw'
will clear the picture:
| Sub. | Ben. | Marker | Example. | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 1A 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 12A 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 | 1P 1P " " " " 2 PH " " 2 PNH " " 3PH 3PH " " " " 3 PNH " " " " | - - 2PH 2PNH 3PH 3PNH 1P 3PH 3PNH 1P 3PH 3PNH - 1P 2PH 2PNH 3PH 3PNH 1P 2PH 2PNH 3PH 3PNH | - -ahũ -iahu -iauk -ianhi -iaik -ah -ahunh -ahak -ě -ahunh -ahik - -anhi -athunh " -athinh " -ak -akahu -akauk -akanhi -akaik | देखल / dekhal.⋇ ham děkhalahũ/ dekhal. ham děkhalaiahu tõhara: ham děkhaliauk tora: ham děkhalianhi hunaka: ham dẽkhalaik okara: tõ dẽkhalah hamara: tõ děkhalahunh hunaka: tõ děkhalahak okara: tõ děkhalě hamara: tõ dẽkhalahunh hunaka: tõ/tũ děkhalahik okara: o देखल ⋇ o děkhalanhi hamara: o děkhalathunh tohara: o děkhalathunh tora: o děkhalathing hunaka: o děkhalathinh okara: o děkhalak hamara: o děkhalakahu tohara: o děkhalakauk tora: o děkhalakanhi hunaka: o děkahlakaik okara: |
Note: The simple form देखल / dekhal /is optionally used in older style for first and second person:
हम देखल / ham dekhal / 'I saw' ओ देखल / o dekhal / 'He saw'
⋇ These simple forms may be used without further extension.
(i) देख् / dekh- / - stem (ii) अल / -ala- / - marks past tense. (iii) क / -ka / - marks the subject 3rd person nonhonorific (iv) इक / -ik / - makrs non-subject beneficiary 3rd person non-honorific.
नेना बिलाड़िकें बिसकुट देलकैक / nena: bila: ɖ̥i kẽ biskut dělakaik / 'The child gave biscuit to his cat.'
The child of lower social status (non-honorific) is subject and the cat (of the same level) is the non-subject beneficiary of the donation.
It is not necessary to combine all the three suffixes: del, dělak, dělakaik each may be used depending on the intent of the speaker.
In other words verb agrees with subject (3 persons), three levels of social status and non-subject beneficiary. And this argument determines the choice of the suffixes of the third order. For exhaustive example Table 5 may be seen.
The Table shows that the most of the verb forms encode more than one suffix, but their demarcation is only functional. Structurally vowels between stems and suffix are thematic or the result of sandhi to maintain harmony, as the cluster of consonants is not permitted in Maithili.
In the suffixes /n/ or /nh/ is originally a marker of plurality and thence honour. /hu/ and /h/ are to mark argument with second person.
It is to be noted that inpractice the rule of agreement is often transgressed. For example:
एनए पानि नहि छैक /etaě pa:ni nahi chaik/ 'There is no water here'.
The speaker himself is beneficiary and there marking the verb for third person agreement with –ik is redundant, rather अछि / achi / will be appropriate to the system.
Maithili has three tenses: present, past and future. One has to start with the past tense, because in Maithili, grammatically proper present tense will become absolute
Past tense is marked by -al (or – (a). Basically -al is the marker of the past participle. For example.
देखल नाटक पुनः देखल /dekhal na:ʈak punah dekhal/ 'I again saw the drama already seen'.
Complete conjugation in past tense may be seen in table. It is to be added there that in the past tense conjugation of intransitive verb -k is absent serial! 2 and 17-21 differ as follows:
Transitive Intransitive 12. देखलन्हि / dekhlanhi / बसलाह / basla:h / 'dwelt' (बसलीह / baslih in fem.) 17. देखलक / dekhalk / बसल / basal /. 18. देखलकहु / dekhal kahu / बसलहु / basalahu / 19. देखलकहु / dekhalkauk / बसलौक / baslauk / 20. देखलकौक / dekhakanhi / बसलन्हि / baslanhi / 21. देखलकैक / dekhalkaik / बसलैक / baslaik /
In future tense, -ab, or -b is marker in 1st and 2nd persons, and -at or –t in 3rd person:
हम देखब / Ham dekhab / 'I will see' तों देखबह / tõ dekhbah / 'You will see' तों देखलें / tõ dekhlã / 'You will see' ओ देखत / o dekhal / 'He will see'
The rest may be realised on the pattern of Table.......
It will be dealt with in (4)
There are three aspects in Maithili: (i) Perfective, (ii) Imperfective and (iii) Progressive. It is realized periphrastically – main verb auxiliary.
In Perfective aspect, main verb is affixed with past participle marker –ne in transitive verbs and –al in intransitive.
The verb as /ch-/ 'to be' (See § 5.11) functions as auxiliary.
In imperfective aspect, main verb is affixed with present participle marker - ऐत / ait / or ईत / -it / followed by auxiliary as - / ch- /.
In progressive aspect, main verb is attached with the infinitive marker -i or -e (§ 5.17), it followed by रहल /rahal/ i.e. past participle of the first auxiliary and then comes final auxiliary –as / ch- /.
The following examples may be seen: (i) Present perfect: हम देखने छी / ham dekhne chi: / 'I have seen'. हम आएल छी / ham a:el chi: / 'I have come'. (ii) Past perfect: हम देखने छलहुँ / ham dekhne chalahũ / 'I had seen' हम आएल छलहुँ / ham a:el chalahũ / 'I had come'. (iii) Future perfect: हम देखने रहब / ham dekhne rahab / 'I will have seen' हम आएल रहब / ham a:el rahab / 'I will have come' (iv) Present imperfect = Present tense: हम देखैत छी / ham dekhait chi: / 'I am seeing = 'I see'. (v) Past imperfect: हम देखैत छलहुँ / ham dekhait chalahũ / 'I was seeing'. (vi) Future imperfect: हम देखैत रहब / ham dekhait rahab / 'I will be seeing'. (vii) Present progressive: हम देखि रहल छी / ham dekhi rahal chi: / 'I am seeing'. (viii) Past progressive: हम देखि रहल छलहुँ / ham dekhi rahal chalahũ / 'I was seeing' (ix) Future progressive: देखि रहल रहब / dekhi rahal rahab / 'I will be seeing' (Rarely in use). There is another way of forming present perfect. –l + finite verb + achi (not variable). हम दिखलहुँ अछि ( = हम देखने छई ) / ham --> dekhlahũ achi/ 'I have seen' तों देखलह अछि / tõ dekhlah achi/ 'You have seen'. So on.
There are five moods in Maithili: (1) Indicative or declarative, (2) Imperfective, (3) Optative, (4) Presumptive and (5) Conditional.
The verb forms of this mood are the same as already shown in earlier sections.
For exhaustive conjugation see Table
| Subject | Primary markers | Example |
|---|---|---|
| 1st P. 2nd PH 2ndP.NH 3rd P.H 3rd P.NH | - u - ah - Ø -athu - o | हम कोना देखू / ham kona: dekhu? / 'How would I see'. ई फूल देखह / i: phu:l dekhah / 'See this tower' ई फूल देख / i: phul dekh / 'See this flower' ओ देखथु / o dekhathu / 'let him see' ओ देखओ / o dekhao / 'let him see'. |
| Subject | Primary markers | Example |
|---|---|---|
| 1st P. 2nd P.H 2ndP.N 3rd P.H 3rd P.N | - ई /i:/ - आ /-ah/ - अई + / ahĩ / - अथि /athi/ - अए /ae/ | हम देखी / hamdekhi:/ 'May', see' तों देखह / tõ dekhah / 'May you see' तों देखहिं / tõ dekhahĩ / 'May you see' ओ देखथि / o dekhathi / 'May he see'. ओ देखए / o dekhaẽ / 'May he see'. |
The primary suffix of the conditional mood is -ait or it (which triggers the modification of the stem like present participle). Secondary suffixes are as follows:
| Subject | markers | Example |
|---|---|---|
| 1stP. 2ndP.H 2ndP.N 3rdP.H 3rd P.N | लाहुँ / lahũ / अह / -ah / एँ / -ẽ / अथइ / -athi / अएँ / aẽ / | जँ / jã: ham jaitahũ tã: ena: nahi hoit / 'Had I seen, it would not have happened so' जँ तों देखितब / jã: tõ dekhaitab... जँ तों देखितएँ / jã: tõ dekhitẽ... जँ ओ देखितथि / jã: o dekhitathi..... जँ ओ देखितए / jão dekhitaě...... |
As conditionality is also expressed by conjunctive particles jã: - tã: and jẽ - tẽ, other verb this conditional verb form may be substituted by other verb form. Thus:
जँ अहाँ जाइ तँ हम संग देब / jã: ahã: ja:i ta: ham sãga deb / 'If you go, I will accompany you.'
Presumptive has no special verb form. For expressing presumption main verb + - ne/l + auxiliary ho - in future tense is used. Thus:
हम देखने होएब / ham dekhne hoẽb / 'I may have seen'. हम बाजल होएब / ham ba:jal hoẽb / 'I may have spoken'
* For exhaustive conjugation see Table....
The total number of verbal stems, as calculated by D.Jha (1946), is about 1135. They are divided morphophonemically in three classes:
The first class, numbering about 834, is general one. It may be called ait-class as one of its characteristics is present participle karait etc.
The second class, numbering about 208, It may be called a: class as all stems in it are a: final. This: bigger initial vowels of primary suffixes as follows:
(i) / a / → / e / बिका + अत → बिकाएत / bika: + ak → /bika: et/,बिकाएल / bika:el /,बिकाएब / bika: eb / (ii) / ai / → / i / - बिका + ऐत → बिकाइत /bika: + ait → bika:it/ and (iii) / au / → / उ / - बिका + औक → बिकाउक /bika: + auk – bika:uk/. (iv) / i: / and / u: / suffixes are shortened. बिका + ई → बिका + उ / bika: + u: → bika:u /
The above changes take place also after o – final stems. For example, होइत अछि /hoit achi/ 'becomes'. धोएल / 'dhoel' / 'washed', etc.
The third class contains only 93 stems or so. Its radical vowel /a/ is changed to /a:/. For example: तक / tak / 'to look': तकैत अछि / takait achi / but ताकल / ta:kal / etc.
If we postulate the stems of this class having radical vowel /a:/ as ताक ताप etc, then its characteristic may be the change of this vowel to /a/ in present participle. As तकैत छी /takait chi/ but ताकल /ta:kal/. In the eastern dialect, however, the present participle always retains this sort of /a:/ as.
ताकैत छी / ta:kait chi: / 'I look into' जानैत छी / ja:nait chi: / 'I know'
The fourth class consists of stems ending in / a: b / either causative or others. In present participle its / a: / is changed to / a / (but not in eastern dialect):
पठाब / pãha:b / -- पठबैत छई / pãhbait chi: / 'I send', but also पठाबैत छई / pãha:bai chi: /.
कर + आब / kar+a:b → कराब kara:b / 'to cause to do' करबैत छी /kar bait ch/, bu कराबथि / kara:bathi /. कराब + अत
Alternation of its / b / to / o / and before / at /, / ab / and / al / and then coalescence of / o / and / a / is remarkable:
कराओत → करा + ओत / kara:b + at → kara:ǒt / पाब अल → पाओल / pa:b + al → pa:ǒl /
Suffix / u: / is shortened and / b / is deleted:
कराउ /kara:u/ ‘Pleas get it done’, not कराबू like देखू.
The verb stem /ch/. is used only in present and past tense, elsewhere /rah/ – takes its place.
आइ अछि काल्हि नहि रहत / a:i achi, ka:lhi nahi rahat / 'It is today (but) it will not e tomorrow there?'
The third person simple form achi is irregular. All the rest are regular (See Table...).
The stem de- and le- have each some irregular forms.
देत / det / 'will give' (for regular देहत) दैत / dait / 'giving'; लैत /lait/ 'taking' दितथि /ditathi/ ‘Had he given’, (for regular दैतथि) and so its cognates. दिअऽ / dia: / 'please give' (for regular देउ) Like wise लेत / let / 'will take' etc.
The stem ho- has single irregular form:
भेल / bhel / became / and its cognates.
Stem ja: 'to go' has irregular forms in past temse:
गेल /gel/ ‘went’ (for regular जाएल), and its cognates.
The verb thick is used only in present tense. Elsewhere its substitute is ch – 'to be'.
| Subject | Object | Past | Future | Imperative | Oblative | Conditional | Remote Imperative |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 |
| 1 " " " " 2H " " 2E " " 2N " " 3H " " " " " 3N " " " " " | 2H 2E 2N 3H 3N 1 3H 3N 1 3H 3N 1 3H 3N 1 2H 2E 2N 3H 3N 1 2H 2E 2N 3H 3N | कहलहुँ, कहल कहलि अहु कहलि औक कहलि अन्हि कहलिऐक कहलहुँ कहलि अन्हि कहलिऐक कहलह कहलहुन्ह कहलहक कहलें कहलहुन्ह कहलहीक कहलनि कहलनि कहलथुन्ह कहलथुन्ह कहलथिन्ह कहलथिन्ह कहलक कहलक कहलकहु कहलकौक कहलकन्हि कहलकौक | कहब कहबहु कहबौक कहबन्हि कहबैक कहब कहबन्हि कहबैक कहबह कहबहुन्ह कहबहक कहबें कहबहुन्ह कहबहीक कहताह कहताह कहथुन्ह कहथुन्ह कहथिन्ह कहथिन्ह कहत कहत कहतहु कहतौक कहतनि कहतैक | कहू कहिअहु कहिऔक कहिऔन्ह कहिऔक कहू कहिऔन्ह कहिऔक कहह कहुन्ह कहक कह कहुन्ह कहीक कहथु कहथु कहथुन्ह कहथुन्ह कहथुन्ह कहथुह कहऔ कहऔ कहहु कहौक कहौन्ह कहौक | कही कहिअहु कहिऔक कहिएन्ह कहिऐक कही कहिऐन्ह कहिऐक कहह कहुन्ह कहक कहहिं कहुनह् कहीक कहाथि कहाथि कहथुन्ह कहथुन्ह कहथुन्ह कहथुह कहऔ कहऔ कहहु कहौक कहैन्ह कहौक | कहितहुँ कहितिअहु कहितिऔक कहितिऐन्ह कहितिऐक कहितहुँ कहितिऐक कहितह कहितहुन्हु कहितहिक कहितथि कहितथि कहिथुन्ह कहिथुन्ह कहितथिन्हु कहितए, कहैत कहितए, कहैत कहितहु कहितौक कहितन्हि कहितैक | कहिहह कहिहौन्ह कहिहक कहिहें कहिहौन्ह कहिहक |
Present participle कहैत; Past participle कहल; Infinitive कहि कहए |
| Subject | Beneficiary (For) | Present tense | Past tense |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 " " " " 2H " " 2E " " 2N " " 3H " " " " " 3N " " " " " | 2H 2E 2N 3H 3N 1 3H 3N 1 3H 3N 1 3H 3N 1 2H 2E 2N 3H 3N 1 2H 2E 2N 3H 3N | छी छिअहु छिऔक छिअन्हि छिऐक छी छिअन्हि छिऐक छह छहुन्ह छहीक छथि छथि छथुन्ह छथुन्ह छथिन्ह छथिन्ह अछि अछि छहु छौक छन्हि छैक " " " | छलहुँ छलिअहु छलिऔक छलिअन्हि छलिऐक छलहुँ छलिअन्हि छलिऐक छलह छलहुन्ह छलहक छलें छलहुन्ह छलहीक छलाह छलाह छलथुन्ह छलथुन्ह छलथिन्ह छलथिन्ह छल छल छलह छलौक छलन्हि छलैक |
Like other IAL, Maithili has three voices: active, passive and impersonal. Active is preferred most. Passive is used with some limitations. Impersonal is rare. In passive construction either (i) root is added with suffix – a: (ii) or past participle is followed by verb ja: and subject is usually absent. Thus.
हम चिट्ठी लिखल / ham ciʈʈhi: likhal / 'I wrote a letter' (active)
हमरासँ चिट्ठी लिखाएल लिखल/गेल /hamra: sã: ciʈʈhi: likha: ěl/ likhal gel/ 'A letter was written by me?' (Passive).
हम हँसलहुँ /ham hãsalahũ/ 'I smiled' (active).
हमरासँ हँसल गेल / hamra: sã: hãsal gel/ or हमरासँ हँसाएल / hamra:sã: hãsa:ěl/ ‘It was me who smiled’ (passive).
Usually, subject is absent in passive construction and object itself is taken for subject. If anyone wants to express subject, he/she have to use active voice. For instance: हरबाहसँ खेस जोताइत अछि /har ba:h sã khet jǒta:it achi/ ‘The farm is being tilled by ploughman’
It seems unusual. Instead it should be हरबाह खेत जोतैत अछि /harba:h khet jotait achi / 'The ploughman tills the farm'(active).
Another type of passive construction peculiar to Maithili is formed with suffix - na: plus root ja: 'to go'.
हमरासँई नहि देखना जाइत अछि /hamra: sã: i: nahi dekhna: ja:it achi/ 'It is not being seen by me.' that is 'I cannot bear to see it'.
हमरासँ ई कएना गेल /hamra: sã: i: kaěna: gel/ 'It was done by me' (unwillingly or inadvertently).
Gender is an inflectional category in Maithili verbs. All verbs in agreement with a feminine noun change their - la: and -ta:- to -li:- and -ti:- respectively. Thus:
पिता गेलाह, माता गेलीह / pita: gěla:h, ma:ta: geli:h/ 'Father went, mother went.'
Likewise the suffix -la at the end of a verb is changed to -li in only intransitive verbs. Thus:
बेटी गेलि /beʈi:geli/ 'Daughter went.'
It is to be noted that -la is a suffix of past participle and the same is employed in the past tense as well. Hence feminine suffix -i appears here.
Maithili has four types of causative formation.
(a) Affixing /-a:b/ to the stem. Thus: छात्र लिखैत अछि, गुरूजी लिखाबैत छथिन्ह (or दी लिखबैत ) / Cha:tra likhait achi, guru:ji: likhabait chathinh/ 'The student is writing, the teacher is causing him to write'.
(b) Altering radical /a/ to /a:/. Thus: माछ करैत अछि मलाह माछ मारैत अछि / Ma:ch marait achi; Mala:h ma:ch ma:rait achi / 'Fish die: Fisherman cause them to die'.
(c) Altering radical vowel /u/ to /o/. Thus: ओ रुकल मोहन ओकरा रोकलक; / o rukal; Mohan okra: roklak / 'He stopped; Mohan caused him to stop'.
(d) Substituting the stem. Thus:
अहाँ आएब हम अहाँकें आनब / ahã: a:eb; ham ahã: kẽ a:nab / you will come; I will cause you to come. बिकाएब / bika:eb/ 'selling' (Intr.), बेचब / becab / 'causing to sell' जाएब / j:eb/ 'going'; पथाएब / paŧha:eb / 'causing to go'. रहत / rahat / 'will remain'; रकाएब / ra:khab / 'will cause to remain' → 'keep'.
Causative in Maithili may extend two steps. For example:
मरैत अछि / marait achi / 'dies' - Intranstitive. मारैत अछि / ma:rait achi / 'kills' – Transitive. मरबैत अछि / marbait achi / 'cause to be killed' – First causative मरबबैत अछि / marbabait achi / 'causes someone to cause some one to kill' – second causative.
Nouns and adjectives may be made verbs to denote some action associated with them. For this there are two suffixes in Maithili: (i) -a: which makes intransitive. Examples:
(i) गोर / gor / 'fair complexioned' - गोराएल / gora:el / 'became fair' (ii) आगि / a: gi / 'fire' - आगिआएल / agia:el / 'became heated'. (iii) दाँत / dã:t / 'teeth' - दँतिआएब / dãtia:eb / 'to catch with teeth'. (iv) लात / la:t / 'leg' - लतिआएब / latia:eb / 'to beat with leg'. ã
Some other suffixes also are noticed sporadically:
जुन्ना / junna: / 'straw rope' - जुनेठब / juneŧhab / 'wind with straw rope' चून / cu:n / ‘lime’ - चुनेठब / cuneŧhab / 'to whitewash' हूर/hu:r/ 'point of stick' - हुरेठब / hureŧhab / 'strike with the point of stick'. ठनकब / ŧhankab / 'make sound like that' 'thunder'. So चनकब / cankab /, भनकब / bhankab /.
Onomatopoeic denominatives are also formed with –a-:
चनचनाएब / cancna:eb / make can-can sound. So घनघनएब / ɖhanɖhana:eb /, खटखटाएब / khaʈkhaʈa:eb / etc.
For expressing some shades of meaning in Maithili, verb is compounded with another verb. The first is called polar and the second vector. Like auxiliary verb, victor is conjugated in usual way and as such grammatically is the main. But semantically, victor loses its meaning and so is subordinate to the polar. In its literal sense, all periphrastic verb forms including aspectual constructions are compounds, but in restricted sense, compound verbs are only those in which one component loses its primary meaning. Here are some examples:
ले / le / 'to take' - खाए लेलन्हि / kha: e lelanhi / 'He ate up' (Self directed action). So खाए देलानि. दे /de/ 'to give' - लिखि देलन्हि / likhi dělanhi / 'He wrote' (For other: sake). जा /ja: / 'to ge' - भागि गेलाह / bha:gi gěla:h / 'He ran away'. ताक / ta:k / 'to look' - ई काल भेल ताकए / i: ka:j bhel ta:kaě / 'This work must be done'. लाग / la:g / 'be engaged' - बाजए लगलाह / ba:jaě lagla:h / 'He began to speak'. कर /kar/ 'to do' - पढ़ल पड़त / paḍhal karah / 'Read regularly'. पढ / paḍ/ 'to lay' - पढ़ए पड़त / paḍhae paḍat / 'you will have to read' उठ / uŧh / 'to rise up' - बाजि उठलाह / ba:ji uŧhla:h / 'He spoke suddenly'. बैस / bais / 'to sit' - रुसि बैसलाह / rusi baisla:h / 'He got offended all of a sudden'. चुक / cuk / 'to fail' - हम दएचुकलहुँ / ham daě cuklahũ / 'I have already given'.
Some auxiliaries perform the function of model verbs.
सक / sak / 'to be able' - हम ई उठाए सकैत छी / ham i: uŧha:ě sakait chi: / 'I can lift it up' पाबा /pa:b/ 'to get' - हम नहि कए पा ओल / ham nahi kaě pa:ol / 'I could not do this'. पड़ा / paḍ / 'to lay' - अहाँकें करए पड़त / ahã: kẽ karae paḍat / 'You will have to do'. दे /de/ 'to give' - हमरा जाए दिअऽ / hamra: ja:ě dia: / 'Allow me to go'. चाह/ca:h/ 'to desire' - ई करक चाही / i: karak ca:hi: / 'One should do it'.
Unlike in English, all vector /auxiliaries in Maithili perform the function of independent verbs as well. Two of them are, however, defective and irregular.
छ / ch- / 'to be' is used only in present and past tense and has a single irregular form आछि / achi / 'is'. (See....)
थिक / thik / 'is' is a peculiar verb in Maithili. It is used only as a copula and is not affixed with any termination. For example:
ई गुलाब थिक, ओ चमेली / i: gula: b thik, o cameli / 'It is rose and that is jasmine'.
It is now losing its ground in popular speech in favour of आछि /achi/.
In some dialects, छ / ch- / is replaced by हो / ho- / 'to be', 'to become'. and रह / rah / 'to stay' or 'to remain'.
ई कथी हइ / i: kathi: hai? / 'what is this?' But रह / rah / is often substituted to __ / ch- / even in standard speech: हम कतए रही ? = हम कतए छलहुँ ? 'Ham kataě rahi = ham kataě chalahũ' / 'where was I'?
All verbal forms subordinate to a verb are known as infinite.
Some infinitives mark time sequence. That is, they indicate time either simultaneous with, or after, or prior to the main action. For example.
(i) ओ टीभी देखैत बजलाह / o ŧi:bhi: dekhait bajla:h / 'He spoke while seeing TV'. Both actions are simultaneous. (ii) ओ टीभी देखि बजलाह / o ŧi:bhi: dekhi bajla:h / 'He spoke after seeing TV'. Seeing is meant before speaking. (iii) ओ टीभी देखए गेलाह / o ŧi:bhi: dekhaě gěla:h / 'He went to see TV'. Seeing after going. Purpose is implied.
The suffix for (i) is -ait or –it, for (ii) -i or -ě, and for (iii) -e. The first is the same as present participle. Past participle is also used as in an infinitive:
(iv) कुरसी पर बैसल पढ़ैत छथि / kursi; par → baisal paḍhait chathi. / 'He reads while seated in the chair'.
Here subordinate verb is in perfect aspect and denotes simultaneous action. This past participle is also used as infinitive in passive construction and compound verbs.
(v) पढ़ल करू / paḍhal karu: / 'read regularly' पढ़ल जाए / paḍhal ja:ě / 'May be read'
Note that in (v) paɖ̥hal is a verbal noun, not an adjective.
Adjectives in Maithili are not marked for number or case. Grammatical gender is also absent, but female sex is marked in limited words:
Masculine Feminine छोट / choŧ/ 'small' छोटि / choŧi / बड़का / baḍaka: / 'big' बड़की / baḍaki: / भेल / bhel / 'become' / bheli / But कुराल गृहिणी /ku∫al grihiŋi:/ efficient housewife पाँचम बेटी /pã:cam beŧi:/ fifth daughter.
Due to the recent tendency to obliterate final short -i, the distinction of gender adjectives survives only in standard Maithili. But long i: is still firm:
छोटाका बेटा / choŧka: beŧa: / 'Younger son', छोटकी बेटी / choŧki: beŧi: / 'Younger daughter'.
Adjectives denoting definiteness are attached with the following suffixes:
- का / -ka: / - ललका / lalka: / 'The red one'; from लाल, छोटका / choʈka: / 'The smaller one'. मोटका / moʈka: / 'The stout one', पहिलका /pahilka:/ 'The first one'
- आ / -a: / उजरा / ujara: / 'The white one', करिआ / karia: / 'The black one'. पुरना / purna: / 'The old one'. - हा / ha: / - निक आ / nik-ha: / 'The better one'.
Some explain it otherwise, viz: उजरा / ujra: / 'of white variety and so on'. Definite adjectives cannot be used predicatively. ई फूल लाल अछि / i: phu:l la:l achi / 'This tower is red' ई फूल ललका अछि / i: phu:l lalka: achi / But in copula construction, its use as predicate is allowed. ई फूल उजरा थिक / i: phul ujra: thik / 'This flower is of white variety'.
Adding -a modifies pronominal adjectives of possession and some other ones: when governed by oblique case:
हमर घर हमरा घरमे / hamar ghar: hamra: ghar me / 'My house': 'in my house' अपन लोक अपना लोकमे / apan lok: apna: lok me / 'Own man': 'in own man' हुनक बालक हुनका बालक मे / hunak ba:lak: hunka: ba:lak me / 'His son': 'in his son'.
Pronominal adjectives are formed with the following suffixes:
On the bases ka-, ja-, ta-, ě- and ǒ-
(a) - तबा /-taba:/ - कतबा / katba: / 'how much?' जतबा / jatba: / 'as much' ततबा / tatba: / 'that much' एतबा / etba: / 'this much' ओतबा / ǒtba: / 'that much' (b) - तेक / -tek / - कतेक / katek / 'how many?' जतेक / jatek / 'as many' so on. (c) - तने / -tane / कतने / katane / 'how little?' जातने / jatane / 'as little' so on. (d) - तनी /tani:/ - कतनी / katani: / 'how little?' (diminutive of the above). On the basis of ke-, je-, te-, e- and o- : (e) - हन /-han/ - केहन / kehan / 'Like what?' जेहन / jehan / 'Like which?' so on.
Maithili has no suffix for marking comparison of adjectives. It is, however, expressed by ablative case followed by an adjective of degree.
रमेश उमेशसँ अधिक चतुर छथि + / Ramesh Umesh sã: adhik catur chathi / 'Ramesh is cleverer than Umesh'. सुरेश सभसँ चतुर छथि / Suresh sabhsã: catur chathi / 'Suresh is the cleverest of all'.
In comparative degree, adhik or the like adverb may be dropped, but in superlative degree sabh sã: or the like phrase is obligatory.
Numbering system in Maithili is mainly decimal. Cardinals from one to lakh (100000) are in common use. There are four other kinds of numerals: ordinals, fractions, multiplicative and aggregatives. All these are shown in Table......
In numerals, one to nine is basic. 10, 20, 30, 40, 50, 60, 70, 80 and 90 are decades. Counting goes in order of basic + decade, i.e. एगारह /ega:rah = 1+10; बारह /ba:rah = 2+10, एकैस /ekais = 1+20. But numerals based on nine are expressed as decade minus one, viz: = उनैत /unais = one less then twenty (20-1) and so on. Laymen, however, conceive all numbers upto hundred as basic.
The numerals सए / sae / '200', हजार / hajar / 1000, and लाख / la:kh / '100000' and so on are treated as countable, and in counting them, greater number precedes lesser one, i.e. एक लाख पाँच हजार दू सए चारि / ek la:kh pã:c haja:r du; sae ca:ri / '105204'.
In the multiplication tables taught to children, the system of counting differs from the above. Only a few examples will suffice:
एगारह एगर हाँ एकैसा सए / ěga:rah egarhã: ekaisa: sae / '11x11 makes 21+100' एगारह बरहाँ बत्तीसा सए / ega:rah barhã: batti:sa: sae / '11x12 = 32+100'.
Ordinals are formed by attaching -म / -m / to the number, as चारिम / ca:rim / 'fourth'; पाँचम / pã:cam / 'fifth' and so on.
There are, however, four exceptions: पहिल / pahil / 'first' दोसर / dosar / 'second' तेसर / tesar / 'third' छठम / chaŧham / 'sixth'
Fractions may be seen in Table ..... The other way of expressing fraction to take sixteen as a whole and divide the same in आना / a:na: / '1/16' and पाइ and 415 / pa:i / 'one fourth of ana' i.e. 1/64 For example:
धान आठेआना उपजल / dha:n a:ŧhe a:na: upjal / Paddy yielded only half.
There are three words in Maithili to express multiples: गुन / gun /, गुना / guna: / and बर / bar / 'times'.
ओ तीन गुना दाम मउतक / o ti:n guna: da:m maŋ lak / 'He charged price three times?' तीन बर के दाम देतहु ? / ti:n bar da:m kedetahu? / 'Who will pay three times?' /gun/ or /guna:/ may be compounded with numbers:
दोगुन / dogun /, तेगुन / tegun / or दुगुना / duguna: /, तिगुना / tiguna:/ 'two times; three times' and so on.
Most of the quantifiers in Maithili come from pronouns such as katek, takbā. Katni:, katne etc. They need not be repeated here. Other few are as follows:
बहुत / bahut / 'much' थोड़ /thoḍ / 'less', 'little' अधिक / adhik / 'much', 'more' कम / kam / 'less' ढेर / ḍher / 'ample', 'bulk' पर्याप्त / parya:pta / 'sufficient' बहुत अधिक / bahut adhik / 'much more' बहुत कम / bahut kam / 'much less' ढाकीक ढाकी / ḍha:ki:k ḍha:ki: / 'many many basketful'
The last one is quite informal and has semblance of slang.
Numerals (Cardinal) 1. एक / ek / 11. एगारह / ega:rah / 2. दू / du: / 12. बारह / ba:rah / 3. तीन / ti:n / 13. तेरह / terah / 4. चारि / ca:ri / 14. चौदह / caudah / 5. पाँच / pã:c / 15. पन्द्रह / pandrah / 6. छओ / chaǒ / 16. सोड़ह / soḍh / 7. सात / sa:t / 17. सतरह / satrah / 8. आठ / a:ŧh / 18. अठारह / aŧha:rah / 9. नओ / naǒ / 19. उनैस / unais / 10. दस / das / 20. बीस / bi:s / 21. एकैस / ěkais / 31. एकतीस / ěkti:s / 22. बाइस / bais / 32. बत्तीस / batti:s / 23. तैस / tais / 33. तेंतीस / tẽti:s / 24. चौबीस / caubi:s / 34. चौंतीस / caũti:s / 25. पचीस / paci:s / 35. पेंतीस / pẽti:s / 26. छब्बीस / chabbi:s / 36. छत्तीस / chatti:s / 27. सत्ताइस / sattais / 37. सेंतीस / sẽti:s / 28. अट्ठाइस / aŧŧhais / 38. अठतीस / aŧhti:s / 29. उन्तीस / unti:s / 39. उनचालिस / unca:lis / 30. तीस / ti:s / 40. चालिस / ca:lis / 41. एकतालिस / ekta:lis / 51. एकाबन / ěka:ban / 42. बेआलिस / bẽa:lis / 52. बाबन / ba:ban / 43. तेंतालिस / tẽta:lis / 53. तिरपन / tirpan / 44. चौआलिस / caua:lis / 54. चौबन / chauban / 45. पेंतालिस / pẽta:lis / 55. पचपन / pacpan / 46. छेआलिस / chěa:lis / 56. छप्पन / chappan / 47. सेंतालिस / sẽta:lis / 57. सताबन / sata:ban / 48. अठतालिस / aŧhta:lis / 58. अठाबन / aŧha:ban / 49. उनचास / uncha:s / 59. उनसठि / unsaŧhi / 50. पचास/ paca:s / 60. साठि / sa:ŧhi / 61. एकसठि / ěksaŧhi / 71. एकहत्तरि / ěk-hattari / 62. बासठि / ba:saŧhi / 72. बहत्तरि / bahattari / 63. तिरसठि / tirsaŧhi / 73. तेहत्तरि / těhattari / 64. चौंसठि / caũsaŧhi / 74. चौहत्तरि / cauhattari / 65. पेंसठि / pẽsaŧhi / 75. पचहत्तरि / pac-hattari / 66. छेआसठि / chea:saŧhi / 76. छेहत्तरि / chěhattari / 67. सतसठि / satsaŧhi / 77. सतहत्तरि / sat-hattari / 68. अठसठि / aŧhsaŧhi / 78. अठहत्तरि / aŧh-hattari / 69. उनहत्तरि / unhattari / 79. उनासी / una:si: / 70. सत्तरि / sattari / 80. अस्सी / assi: / 81. एकासी / ěka:si / 91. एकान्नबे / eka:nnabe / 82. बेरासि / běra:si / 92. बेएन्नबे / běra:nnabe / 83. तेरासी / těra:si: / 93. तेरान्नबे / těra:nnabe / 84. चौरासी / chura:si: / 94. चौरान्नबे / caura:nnabe / 85. पचासी / paca:si: / 95. पंचान्नबे / panca:nnabe / 86. छेआसी / chěa:si: / 96. छेआन्नबे / chěa:nnabe / 87. सतासी / aŧha:si: / 97. सन्तान्नबे / santan:nabe / 88. अठासी / aŧha:si: / 98. अंठान्नबे / anŧha:nnabe / 89. नबासी / naba:si: / 99. निनान्नबे / nina:nnabe / 90. नब्बे / nabbe / 100. सए / saě /
Fractions: 1/16 = कनमा/ kənma: / 1/4 = पाओ / pa:ǒ / चौठी / cauthi: / चौठाइ / cauŧhai / 1/3 = तेहाइ /těha:i / 1/2 = आध / a:dh / आधा / a:dha: / 3/4 = पओने / pəǒne / 1¼ = साबा / sa:ba: / 1½ = डेढ़ / ḍeḍh / 2½ = अढ़ाए / aḍha:ě /
Multiples: Multiples of - 2 - दूआ / du:a: / 9. नाहा / na:ha: / 3 - तीआ / ti:a: / 10. दाहा / da:ha: / दहाइ / daha:i / 4 - चौका / cauka: / गंडा / ganḍa: / 12. दरजन / darjan / 5 - पंजा / panja: / गाही / ga:hi: / 16. सोड़हि / soḍahi / 6 - छक्का / chakka: / 20. बीसी / bi:si: / 7 - सत्ता / satta: / 25. पचीसी / paci:si: / 8 - अट्ठा / aŧŧha: / 30. तीसी / ti:si: /
The traditional fractions and multiples as shown in Table.. and ... are losing their grounds in favour of decimal and foreign ones.
Adverbs modify the action denoted by verb in its aspect of time, place, direction and manner. Unlike in English, adjectives in Maithili are not adverb, as it suffers no grammatical operation.
Most of the adverbs in Maithili come from other word classes. For example:
मन्दमन्द चलैत छथि / mand – mand calait chathi / 'He walks slowly' - Adjective. जोरसँ बजैत छथि / jorsã: bajait chathi / 'He speaks loud by' – Noun. कतए जाएब / katae ja:eb? / 'Where will you go?' - Pronoun.
Some adverbs of frequent use belonging exclusively to their own word class are shown below as examples.
आइ / a:i / 'today' (Time) काल्हि / ka:lhi / 'tomorrow'. (Time). परसू / parsu: / 'day after tomorrow' (Time) परुकाँ / Parukã: / 'next year' (Time) हबर-हबर / habar- habar / 'hastily' (Manner) नहु-नहु / nahu-nahu / 'slowly' (Manner) अनतह / antah / 'elsewhere' (Place) बरमहल / barmahal / 'regularly'. (Time) कलबल / kalbal / 'quietly' (Manner).
A number of adverbs are derived from pronouns:
कतए / katae / 'where?' कहाँ / kahã: / 'where?' कहिआ / kahia: / 'On which day?' कखन / kakhan / 'when?' कोना / kona: / 'how?' कोम्हर / komhar / 'whether?' किएक / kiek / 'why?'
and likewise from all third person pronouns.
Actually, nouns in ablative and locative cases are adverbs as they modify the action denoted by the verb concerned. So adverbs have no limit.
Two formative pu:rvaka and puraḥsar taken from Sanskrit function as adverbial affix?.
ऒ यात्रासँ कुथलपूर्वक घुरॆ अएलाह / o ja:tra: sã: tusalpu:rbak ghuri aela:h / 'He returned from journey safely'
मोहन प्रतिष्टा सेवा निकृत भेलाह / Mohan pratisʈtha: purahsar seva: nikritt bhela:h / 'He retired from service honorably?'
Maithili has three types of particles: Clitics, conjunctions and interjections.
There are two clitics: - e and -o. Both mark a kind of emphasis. The former is called exclusive emphasiser and latter inclusive. Examples:
हरिए जएताह / 'Harie jaeta:h / 'Only Hari will go.' (nobody else). हरिओ जएताह / 'Harie jaeta:h / 'Hari will go'. (along with others).
Unlike other particles, they are always, attached to the words to be emphasized. Yet they are neither suffix nor post-position, but a clitic of emphasis. (R. yadav...)
Placing of them seems to be idiosyncratic. Usually, they are placed after nouns, pronouns and adjective, but not after particles or case endings, they are replaced by -ahi/-ahu and the like examples.
हरिए हरिओ जएताह / Harie / Hario jaeta:h / 'Hari alone/ Hari too will go'.
गोपालहिकें गोपालहुकें दिऔन्ह /Gopa:lahi kẽ/ Gopa:lahu kẽ diaunh/ 'Give only to Gopa:l / also to Gopa:l.'
हमरहि हमरहु दिअऽ / 'Hamrahi/ hamrahu dia:/ 'Give only to/ also to me'.
तों बुघिआरे नहि, सुन्दरोछह / 'Tõ budhia:re nahi, sundaro chah / 'You are not only wise but smart as well'
In the case of pronouns, they are placed after possessive case:
हमरे बेटा नहि, हुनको बेटा जएताह / Hamare beʈa: nahi, hunko beʈa: jaeta:h / 'Not only my son, but also his son will go'.
In some pronominal adverbs, they are placed inside the words:
कोना कहुना / kahuna: / 'any how' तेना तहिना / tahina: / 'in that very manner'. एना एहिना / ehina: / 'in this very manner' तखन तहिखन / tahikhan / 'only them, also' ककन कहुखन / takhanahu / kahukhan / 'in any moment', Also Kakhanahu.
In compound words, they may be placed either after the first member or at the end:
Rampur = Rampure; Ramepur. Janakla:l - Janakela:l; Janak la:le Both are proper nouns. दहीभात / dahi:bha:t / - दहीएभात / dahiebha:t / दहीभाते / dahi:bha:te / 'Only / also curd and rice.' Ra:m Misar (proper noun) = Ra:me Misar / Ra:m Misari.
They have a number of variants and often are attached in place of last vowels.
अहाँ / ahã: / 'you' - ahĩ:/ ahũ: हम / ham / 'I' – hamahi: or hamahi; hamahĩ; orhamahi. जे / je / 'who', 'what' – jěhe ; jěho से / se / 'that', 'sěhe' - sěho छें / chẽ / 'you are' - chehẽ.
In locative case - ahĩ may come after deleting the case ending.
ओ गमहिं गामहिं मे छथि /o ga:mahĩ or ga: mahi me chathi/ ‘He is in his native village itself’.
In the case of verbs, the inclusive forms are obtained by adding – ahu or – o to the verbal noun ending in -ab, followed by the appropriate tense form of the auxiliary verb kar-. Thus
देबो करताह / debo karata:h / 'He will also give'. ओ पढ़बो करैत छथि / O paḍhabo karait chathi / पढ़ितहुँ छथि / Paḍhitahũ chathi / 'He is reading as well.' हम देखबे करब / ham dekhbe karab / 'I will only see' or 'I will do see'.
There are eight semantic categories of conjunctions as follows:
(i) Cumulative - आओर, आर, आ, तथा / a:ǒr a:r, a:, tatha: /
दिन आओर राति / din a:or ra:ti / 'day and night'
(ii) Alternative - कि, आकि, वा अथवा, किंवा / ki, a:ki, ba:, athaba:, kimba: /.
दिन कि राति / din ki ra:ti / 'day or night'
(iii) Disjunctive - ने ने / ne...ne. / ने दिन ने राति / 'neither day nor night.'
(iv) Adversatives - किन्तु, परन्तु, मुदा / kintu, parantu,muda: /.
हम जाएब किन्तु तों नहि जएबह / ham ja:ẽb kintu tõ nahi jaẽbah / 'I shall go, but you will not'.
(v) Causative - जें तें / jẽ ... tẽ /.
जें तों जएबह तें हम जाएब / jẽ tõ jaebah tẽ ham ja:eb / 'because you will go therefore I shall go.'
(vi) Conditional - जँ तँ / jã: .... tã: /
जँ तों जएबह तँ हम जाएब / jã: tõ jaebah tã: ham ja:eb / 'If you will go, then I shall'.
नहि एना नहि बाजू / ena: nahi ta:ju: / 'Do not speak so'. जनु जाउ / janu ja:u / 'Do not go'.
पिताजी मोइनजी साहुजी झाजी / Pita;ji, Mohanji:, Sa:huji:, Jha:ji /
श्री श्री मोइनझा श्रीमती सुशीला झा / Sri: MohanJha:, Sri:mati: Susi:la:Jha: /
बाबू मोहन बाबू, बाबू जान कीनदन सिंह, डाकटरबाबू / Mohan Babu, Ba: bu Janaki: nandan Singh,Da:kʈar ba:bu: /
साहेब-प्रोफेसर साहेब, मेम साहेब, दरोगा साहेब / prophesar sa:heb, mem sa:hěb, daroga:sa:heb.
श्रीमती--श्रीमती - सुन्दी देबी / Sri:mati: Sundari: debi: /
हओ हओ, तों कतए जएबह / aǒ, apne or ahã: katae ja:ěb? / 'Where will you go?' sir?' हओ हओ, तों कतए जएबह / o / hao tǒ katae jaěbah? / 'Where will you go?' रओ--रओ, तों कतए जएबें / rao, tõ - kataě jaebẽ / 'Where will you go?' अए-अए नानी, कतए जाएब / ae na:ni:, katae jaeb? / 'Where will you go, my grand mummy'. हए हए बाहिनि, तों कतए जएबह / hae bahini. tõkatae jaěbah? / 'Where will you go, sister?' गए गए बेटी, तों कतए जएबें / gae beŧi:, tõ katae jaebẽ? / 'Where will you go, my little daughter?'
Note: particles of interjection may be seen in § 2.24.
There are two types of derivatives in Maithili : Primary and secondary. Their suffixes are numerous, but most of them produce only a few. Here they are grouped according to the parts of speech of the base and the product.
घट कैती / ghaŧkaiti: / 'Profession of ghaŧtak'. So कुटुमैती / kuŧumaiti / Alliance with kuŧum (Kinsman). पँजिआर /pãjia:r/ 'skilled in pã:ji or genealogy'. सोनार / sǒna:r / skilled in gold i.e. goldsmith. So लोहार / lǒha:r 'black smith?' etc. हरबाह / harba:h / 'Operator of हर i.e. plough'. So जलबाह / jalba:h / from ja:l 'net'; etc. डिहबार / ḍihba:r / 'Protector of ̣i:h or village settlement' i.e. village deity. So गैबार / gaiba:r / 'cowherd'. etc.
सुननिहार or सुननाहर ( from sun 'to hear' ) / sunaniha:r or sunana:har / 'hearer'. So देखनिहार, देखनाहर etc. पढ़ ( from paḍh 'to read' ) पढ़ाइ / paḍha:i / 'reading'. So likha:i ( from likh 'to write') etc. पढ़नाइ ( from paḍh – 'to read' ) / paḍhana:i / 'reading'. So लिखनाइ / likhana:i / 'writing' etc. ओढ़ना ( from oḍh- 'to wrap' ) / oḍhna: / 'wrapper'. So झपना / jhapna: / 'cover'. etc. ऐंठना ( from aĩŧh 'to twist' ) / aĩŧhan / 'twisting'. So चरपन / charpan / 'jump' etc. गबैआ ( from gab 'to sing?' / gabaia: / 'siner'. सुनबैआ / sunbaia: / 'One compassionate' to hear'. etc. हारि ( from ha:r - 'to be defeated') / ha:ri / defeat. मारि / ma:रि / 'fight'. etc.
उँचाइ (from ũ:c ‘high’) / ũca:i / 'height'. गोरा इ (from gor 'of fair complexion) gora:i 'fair complexion'. जेठाइ / jeŧha:i / 'seniority' etc. चतुरपन / from catur ‘clever’) / caturpan / 'cleverness'. गमरपन / gamarpan / 'rusticity'. बुधआरी / from budhia:r ‘wise’) budhia:ri: ‘wisdom’, तैआरी / taia:ri: / 'readiness'.
मुकिआएब (from + mukka: 'fist' See nominal verbs § 5.15.
मधुराएब (from madhur 'sweet') See Nominal verbs § 5.15.
उजराह (from ujar 'white') / ujra:h / 'whitish'. अमताह / amata:h / 'sourish'. ललाओन (from la:l 'red') / lala ǒn / 'reddish'. निचला (from ni:c 'low') / nicla: / 'lower', 'place below'. बिचला / bicla: / 'standig in the middle'. उजरा (from ujar 'white') / ujra: / 'of white variety'.
बलगर (from bal 'force') / balgar / 'forceful', मटिगर / maŧigar / 'clayer'. बोधगर/ bǒdhgar / 'intelligent'. धनमन्त (from dhan 'riches') / dhanmant / 'rich'. बलमन्त / balmant / 'strong' पितिऔत (from pitti 'uncle') / pitiaut / 'related through uncle'. so mamiaut, pisiaut. मेघाओन (from megh 'cloud') / megha:ǒn / 'Cloudy'. भयाओल / bhaya:ǒn / 'Fearful'. बनैआ (from ban 'forest') / bania: / 'wild'. घरैआ / gharaia: / 'domestic'. समैआ / samaia: / 'seasional'
बिकाड ( from bik 'to be sold') / bika:u / 'on sale'. टिकाउ / ŧika:u / 'durable'. देखनुक ( from dekh 'to see' ) / dekhnuk / 'worth seeing'. बुझनुक / bujhnuk / 'intelligent'. अपजाहु (from Upaj- 'to grow') / upaga:hu / 'growing much', 'productive'. उसराहु / usra:hu / 'fit for beingdone speedily?'
कल्हुका (from ka:lhi 'yesterday') / kalhuka: / 'of yesterday or tomorrow' अजुका / ajuka: / 'of a today'. अगिला (from a:gã: 'later on') / agila: / 'to be later on'. पछिला / pachila: / 'previous'. एखनुक (from ekhan 'now') / ekhnuk / 'of present moment'. काल्हुक / ka:lhuk / 'of yesterday'.
Traditional grammarians classify derivatives as primary and secondary, and make further divisions semantically. For this, Bibliogrphy may be seen.
Tatsama derivatives have their own morphology. Only a few most frequent types are shown here.
-ta: - कर्ता / karta: / 'doer', 'agent' (from कृ /kri/ 'to do'). वक्ता / bakta:/ 'speaker' (from वच् 'to speak'). -ak - कारक / ka:rak / 'doer', 'agent'. गायक / ga:yak / 'singer'. पाठक / pa:ŧhak / 'reader' (from paŧh 'to read'. -an - दर्शन /dar∫an/ ‘seeing’ (from दृश् / dṛ∫ / 'to see' भोजन /bhojan/ ‘eating’ (from bhuj 'to eat'. -ta - कृत / krit / 'done' (From कृ 'to do'). मृत / mrit / 'dead'. ¸श्रृत / srut / 'heard' (from¸ श्रृ 'to hear'). -it - रचित / racit / 'made' (from रच् 'to make'). -a - वास /ba:s/ ‘dwelling’ (From वास + अ ). प्रहार / praha:r / 'struking' (from प्र हृ अ ). -y - देय / deya / 'to be given', 'due' (from दा 'to give'). धार्य / dha:rya / 'to be borne' (from ) धृ → धार् 'to bear'). गम्य / gamya / 'approachable'.(from गम् 'to go') - tavya - कर्तव्य / kartbya / 'to be done'. 'duty'. (from कृ - 'to do'). दातव्य / da:tabya / 'to be given'.
-i:ya - भारतीय / bha:rati:ya / 'Indian'. -ik - शारीरिक / ∫a:ri:rik / 'bodily' (from ∫ari:r), मासिक / ma:sik / 'monthly'. -a - जैव / jaib / 'biological' (from ji:va 'living being'). गौण / guaղa / 'sub-ordinate' (from guղa). मानस / ma:nas / 'mental' (from manas 'mind'). -ya - वन्य / banya / 'wild' (from van 'forest'). चैतन्य / caitanya / 'vitality' (from cetana).गव्य / gabya / 'relating to cow'.
The noteworthy feature of Maithili compounds is that they have not more than two members; they cannot be coined by the speakers at their own will but have been emerging in course of idiom formation. All compounds are modified under the rule of short antepenultimate or otherwise. Often their meaning is also modified and specialized.
There are four categories of compounds in Maithili. Here they are treated one by one.
In this category the first member determiner limits the semantic domain of the second member. Speaking otherwise, it is noun+noun construction. Thus:
तमघैल (तामाक घैल) / tamghail / 'Ghail or jar made of copper'. The first a: is shortened and the case ending -ka is dropped.
पनिबट (पानिक बाट) / panibaŧ / 'way of water', 'drain' or 'channel'. Weakening of the second member from बट to बट should be noted.
बँस बिट्टी (बाँसक बीट) / bãsbiŧŧi: / 'bamboo cluster'. Due to the shortening of i: the consonant / ŧ / got doubled in compensation, and / -i / is added.
In this compound first member is adjective and the second noun. Thus आनधान (अनधना) /andhana:/ 'other rice'. तोहर धान मे बड अनधना छहु। / ʈohar dha:n me baɖ̥ andhana:chahu / 'your rice is mixed with other variety of rice'.
भल मानुस (भल मानुस) / bhalma:nus / 'good man' i.e. man of a particular social class (not good man in general) – specialization of meaning. Here absence of juncture makes it a compound and gives special meaning.
This kind of compound expresses is also called possessive as it expresses possession apart from the meaning of its compounds. It is generally adjective plus – noun construction. Thus:
टेढमुहा ( टेढमुह बाला ) / ʈěɖ̥hmuha: / 'having (possessing) crooked face'. Aslo मुहटेढा / muhʈeɖ̥ha: /.
कौटड ( कौआक सन टाड बाला ) / kauʈaŋ / 'having legs like those of crow'. Kaua: is shortened to kau.
चौकोर ( चारि कोर भाला ) / caukor / 'having four edges'. ca:ri is shortened to call.
In this compound, two words of the same class come together to give a composite meaning. Absence of conjunctive particle and juncture make two words one. Its both constituents must be conventionally associated. In its strict sense, it is not a compound because no phonetic modification, so obligatory in any derivative in Maithili, takes place in this construction. Thus:
दालिमात ( दालि आओर भात ) /da:libha:t/ 'pulse and rice', a favourite dish in Mithila. Also भातदालि / bha:tda:li /.
घर आइन ( घर आ ओर आइन ) /ghara:ŋan/ ‘dwelling house and its compound’ i.e. 'premises'. Also आइन घर / a:ŋanghar /.
It is a peculiar compound in Maithili. Like Bahuvrihi, it is possessive or exocentric. Its second member is always a verb in its basic form, but indicating past or present tense.
नकपिच्चा ( पिच्चल नाक बाला ) / nakpicca: / 'whose nose is pressed down' i.e. 'flat nosed'.
मुह मौंसा ( मौसल मुह बाला ) / nauhjhaũsa: / 'scorched-faced', an abusive word.
मुह दुस्सी ( मुह दुसनिहार ú) /muhdussi:/ 'a bird which imitates human sound' (abusingly) i.e. owl.
In addition to the operation of the rule of short antepenultimate (18(c)). The following morphophonemic alterations are seen in compounds.
दोमूहा ( दू मूहबाला ) / domu:ha:/ 'two – faced'. (du → do-). तेकठी ( तीन काठ ) / tekaŧhi: / 'combination of three sticks'. (ti:n → te-). चौबटी ( चारि बाट ) / caubaŧŧi: / 'junction of four paths'. (ca:ri → cau-). नक पिच्चा ( पीचल नाक बाला ) / nakpicca: / ‘flat – nosed'. (Doubling of consonant). चौघरा ( चारी घर बाला ) / canghara: / 'having four houses'. (addition of -a:). पनिबट ( पानिक बाट ) / panibaŧ / 'drain' (ba:t → bat).
General structure (word order) of Maithili sentence is subject - object / complement - verb (SOV). Any deviation takes place only for semantic or pragmatic effect. For example:
चिट्टी मोहन लिखेत छाथि / ciʈʈhi: Mohan likhait chathi / 'It is Mohan who writes the letter (none else).
In copular sentences attributive follows its substantive. Thus: मोहन विज्ञान छाथि / 'Mohan is a scholar'.
In a complex sentence relative clause may be placed first or last. Thus:
जे छात्र पढए नही चाहथि से बाह जाथु / je cha:tra paɖ̥hae nahi ca:hathi se ba:har ja:thu / 'Those students who do not want to read may go out.' or से छात्र बाहर जाथु जे पढए नही चाहथि / se cha:tra ba:harja:thu je paɖ̥hae nahi ca:halthi /
There are five types of sentence: (a) Declarative, (b) Imperative, (c) Interrogative, (d) Optative and (e) Exclamatory.
This type of sentence is used merely impart an information. For example:
हम पाटना पहुँचलहूँ / ham paŧana: pahuchlahũ / 'I reached patna'
Its usual word order is subject – complement or object-verb (SOV) and it has falling intonation. In frequency it is highest. If complement is a clause, it comes after the main verb.
ओ कहलानि हम काल्हि आएब / o kahlani,'ham ka:lhia:eb' / 'He said, 'I will come tomorrow'.
All other types of sentences are generated from this type:
तो पटना अएलह / toŧ patna aelah / 'Have you come to patna?'
Only rising tone has converted it into interrogative type.
Imperative type is obtained by changing verb-for in declarative:
तो पटना आबह / tǒ Patna a:bah / 'Come Patna'.
In this type subject is usually dropped because in Maithili verb-agreement itself indicates the subject.
Interrogative sentence demands the answer of three kinds of questions: (i) Yes – No Question. (ii) Information question and (iii) Disjunctive questions.
This kind of question may be answered either in affirmative or in negative way.
चाइ पिअब? / da:h piab? will you take tea?
Interrogative particle -ki and subject may be added to this kind of sentence.
कि अहाँ चाइ पिअब ki ahã: .....
This sort of question can be answered by declaring some fact sought for, and such fact is hinted in the question by adding interrogative pronoun. Thus:
अहाँक नाम की थिक / aha:k na:m ki: thik? / 'What is your name?.
This sort of question offers two alternatives to be answered in favour of any one:
अहाँ दूध लेब कि दही? / ahã: du:dh leb कि दही? / 'Whether you would take curd or milk?'
In this kind of question the questioner already presumes answer, he wants only confirmation. Thus:
बाबा नीन छथि आकिनहि / ba:ba: ni:n chathi, a:ki nahi / Ba:ba: is asleep, is he.
This type of sentence expresses politeness and amounts to comparative mood. Thus:
चित्र देखल जाए / citra dekhal ja:e / 'The picture may be seen'
This type of sentence expresses strong emotion and as such words are often minimized. For example:
आएँ एइन बात / aẽ, ehan ba:t! / 'O' It is so!'.
Negation in Maithili is very simple. Add negative particle nahi, ne or janu before verb, it is negative:
काका नहि अएलाह / ka:ka: nahi aela:h / 'Uncle did not come'. तोहे जनुजाइ बिदेस / tǒhẽ janu ja:h bides / 'Do not go far off'.
Nonfinite constructions has three types:
(i) हम देखए चाहैत छी / ham dekhae ca:hait chi: / 'I want to see'. (ii) हम देखए जाइत छी / ham dekhaě ja:it chi / 'I go to see'. (iii) हम पढिके खाएब / ham paḍhi kě kha:eb / 'I will eat after reading'.
In (i) the subordinate verb ‘to see’ is the object of the finite verb, in (ii) the aspect of the subordinate.
Verb 'to see' is imperfective as the seeing is to follow the going, while (iii) is perfective as the reading is meant to precede the eating.
A peculiar type of subordinate verb construction is: हमरा देखबाक अछि / hamra: dekhba:k achi / or हमरा देखक अछि / hamra: dekhak achi / 'I have to see'.
In isolation, dekhba:k or dekhat may mean 'of seeing'. It may be construed by supplying a word iccha-'desire' or the like 'I have desire of seeing'.
Two types of construction are realized with participle of subordinate verb:
(i) हम बापक कहने गेलहूँ / ham ba:pak kahne gelahũ / 'I went as my father told me (to do so)? (ii) हम बापक कहलाप (गेलहूँ) / ham ba:pak kahla:par gelahũ / 'I went after being told by father?'
In both the instances father is motivator, but in (ii) time sequence also is indicated.
Two or more grammatical forms (words, phrases, clauses and sentences) may combine in coordination by means of conjunctives and may make compound one. Thus:
(i) दिन 'ओ' राति / din 'o' ra:ti / day or night.
(ii) नदीक कात मे 'वा पोखरिक घाट पर ' / nadi:k ka:t meba: pokharik gha:ʈ par / ‘By the side of a river or at a bathing place in a tank’.
(iii) जखन 'भाइ कहलानि ' 'आ ' 'पिता आदेश देलानि ' 'तखन' हम गेलहूँ / jakhan bha:i kahalani 'a:' pita: a: deʃ delani' takhan 'ham gelahũ / 'When brother told and father ordered then I went'.
(iv) 'जहा' 'वर्षा भेल ' ‘कि’ रोपनी चलल / jahã: barkha: bhel ki ropni: calal / 'As soon as it rained, transplantation started'.
When a subordinate clause is transformed into a phrase, subject stands in possessive case and verb is converted to a verbal noun ending in -l or b. For example:
(i) पिता कहलानि तपन हम गेलहूँ / pita: kahalani lakhan ham gelahũ / 'Father told then I went'.
(ii) पिताक कहलाप हम गेलहूँ / pita:k kahala: par ham gelahũ / 'I went after having been told by my father'.
(iii) पिता अओताह ताहिसँ पहिने हम जाएब / pita: aota:h ta:hisã:, pahine ham ja:eb / 'I shall go before my father comes'.
(iv) पिताक अएबासँ पूर्व हम जाएब / pita:k aeba:sã: pahine ham ja:eb / 'I shall go before the arrival of father'.
Here it is to be noted that -l and -b also make verbal noun indicating perfect and imperfect action respectively.
Anaphora (i.e. symbolic or truncated representation of something already expressed) in Maithili seems to be limited to third person pronouns. For instance:
(i) मोहन कें जनैत छिअनि ओ अहाँक सहायता करताह / Mohan kẽ janait chiani? O ahã:k saha:yata: karta:h / 'Do you know Mohan? He will help you?'
Here O 'he' is an anaphoric expression and Mohan is its antecedent. In some types of dialogue it is noticed outside pronoun. Thus:
(i) अहाँकें तीन टा बेटा छथि / ahã: kẽ ti:n ŧa: beŧa: chathi / 'You have three sons'. (Stemuli). (ii) छथि मुदा ताहिसँ की / chathi, muda: ta:hisã: ki: ! '(yes, I) have, but what with that!' (Response).
Here छथि / chathi / is an anaphora and ti:n ʈa: beʈa: chani is its antecedent. Another example: मोहन कें तीन टा बेटा छनि, हमरा एक टा / Mohan kẽ ti:n ʈa: beʈa: chani, hamra: ek ʈa: / 'Mohan has three sons but I have one'.
Here ekʈa: stands for ‘ekʈa: beʈa: achi (not chani) – An example of modified antecedent.
Unlike English, Maithili has single reflexive pronoun for persons of all social status, namely apna: 'one’s own'. Thus:
हम अपना कें गरीब नहि मानैत छी / ham apna: kẽ gari:b nahi ma:nait chi: / 'I do not think myself poor.'
तों अपना कें गरीब नहि बूजाह / tõ apna: kẽgari:b nahi bu:jhah / 'Do not think yourself poor'.
हम अपनहि ई के सकैत छी / ham apnahi i: kaě sakait chi: / 'I myself can do this.'
सभटा आम नेनासभ अपना मे बाँटि लेलक / sabhʈa: a:m nena: sabh apna: me ba:ʈi lelak / 'the children distributed all mangoes among themselves'.
The tatsama equivalent svayam also is used in the same way:
हम स्वयम ई कए सकैत छी / ham svayam i: kaě o sakait chi: / 'I myself can do this.'
The base of reciprocal pronoun in Maithili is the phrase ek dosar quite similar in construction to English 'one another' as well as 'each other'. For example:
कुकुर एक दोसरा कें कटैत अछि / kukur ek dosra: kẽ kaʈait achi / 'Dogs bite each other'.
मनुख एक दोसरा सँ प्रेम करैत अछि / manukh ek dosra: sã: prem karait achi / 'Man loves one another'.
Other terms of reciprocity are paraspar and apna: mẽ :
नेतासभ परस्पर बा अपना मे लडैत अछि / neta:sabh paraspar ba: apna: me laɖ̥ait chathi / 'Leaders fight with each other'.
Maithili has inherited three degrees of qualitative comparison from OIA, but that has remained limited to only tatsama words. For example:
मधुर / madhur / 'sweet' मधुरतर / madhuratara / 'sweeter' (Comparative) मधुरतम / madhuratama / 'sweetest' (Superlative)
But in practice this type of morphological distinction of degree diminished even in tatsama words. Consequently a new device of comparison developed in which adverbs like adhik, besi: bahut, bahut adhik, sabhsã: adhik and the like are used to express the degree of comparison. For example:
लताम मधुर, ताहिस अधिक मधुर चीनी अंगूर आ सभसँ अधिक मधुर चीनी / lata:m madhur, ta:hisã: adhik madhur chi:ni: / 'Guava is sweet, grapes are sweeter than that and sugar is the sweetest of all').
Like -tara and –tama, the OIA suffixes -iya and -iʂʈha are used with tatasma words. As:
गरीष्ठ / garişŧha / 'heavisest' धनिष्ठ / ghanişŧha / 'closest'. बरीया / bari:ya / 'senior' कनीय / kani:ya / 'junior'.
Here it is to be noted that the adverbs and the suffixes like bahut, -tara etc. denote only degree and as such are used indiscriminately and even without any comparison. It is always ablative case that denotes comparison.
Maithili has, for its equational construction, a special defective verb thik conjugated only in present declarative, thik, thikẽ, thikah etc. It is used in copulative construction when attributive is a topic. But in case the verb ‘to be’ is a topic, achi (not thik) or its cognate will be used. The following example will make it clear:
(i) एहि बाडीमे ई आमक गाछ थिक / ehi ba:ɖi: me i: a:mak ga:ch thik / 'This is mango tree in this garden'.
(ii) एहि बाडी मे एकटा आमक गाछ अछि / ehi ba:ɖi: me ek ʈa : a:mak ga:ch achi / 'There is a mango tree in this garden'.
In other words, if the question is whether this is a mango tree or else the answer will be (i). And when the question is whether there is any mango tree or not, the answer will be (ii).
Predicative sentences have mostly two constituents: topic and comment. In Maithili, there is not segmental device to distinguish topic. Context alone is the guide. Generally subject itself stands as topic, but not always, usually topic is placed in the beginning and thus word order also indicates topicality. Examples are:
(i) गाए बकरी कें देखलक / ga:ě bakri: kẽ dekhalak / 'The cow saw the goat'. (ii) बकरी कें गाए देखलक / bakri: kẽ ga:ě dekhalak / 'The cow saw the goat'.
Whether cow is topic or goat, (i) and (ii) both are correct. Only tone and context determines the topicality.
Simple sentence is made up of noun and verb (NV), or noun, object and verb (NOV) with or without their adjuncts. But some times sentence deviates from its norm and is said to be of minor type. In Maithili, following types are in vogue:
Minor - कुशल /ku∫al? 'well?' Full - की अहाँ कुशल छी / ki: ahã: ku∫xal chi:? / 'Are you well?' Minor - घर कतए? / ghar kataě? / 'Where is your home?' Full - अहाँक घर कोन गाम मे अछि / ahã:k ghar kon ga:m me achi? / ‘What village to you belong to?’
Minor - जानि नहि / ja:ni nahi / 'not known'. Full - हम नहि जानैत छी / ham nahi जनैत छी / 'I do not know' Minor - कहि नहि / kahi nahi / 'not to tell?' Full - हम कहि नहि सकैत छी / kahi nahi sakait chi: / 'I cannot say.'
(i) Minor - अपन सपत / apan sapat / 'My own swearing' Full - हम अपन सपत खाइत छी / ham apan sapat kha:it chi: / 'I swear at myself' (If, deviate I may die). (ii) Minor - सोन तँ कान नहि कान तँ सोन नहि / son tã: ka:n nahi ka:n tã: son nahi / 'If gold no ears, if ears no gold'. Full - जकए सोन छैक तकए कान नहि छैक आओ जकए कान छैक तकए सोन नहि छैक / jakra: son chait takra: ka:n nahi chaik aǒr jakra: ka:n chaik takra: son nahi chaik / If one has gold does not have ears and has ears does not have gold.
Exclamatory sentences are generally of miner type:
Minor - साप / sa:p / 'snake'. Full - साप अछि साबधान होउ / sa:p achi, sa:badha:n hou / 'Here is a snake, Beware'.
Adjectives with pronominal adverbs also form exclamatory minor sentences:
की विलक्षण / ki: bilaksaղ / 'Very good'. केहन सुंदर / kehan sundar / 'Very nice'. कतेक महान् / katek maha:n / 'So great.'
Kinship terms in Maithili cover seven generations: three above and three below the axis, and branch off from self, father, mother and wife/husband. Basically most of them are masculine and get modified in case of opposite gender. There are two categories of kinship terms: address words and reference words. The former may be seen in x A7, the latter are exhaustively listed below:
(i) परदादा or प्रपितामह / parda:da: or prapita:mah / 'Great grand father'. (ii) परदादी or प्रपितामही / parda:di: or prapita:mahi: / 'Wife of (1) 'great grand mother'. (iii) दादा or पितामह / Da:da: or pita:mah / 'Grand father'. (iv) दादी or पितामही / da:di: or prapita:mahi: / 'Wife of (iii) 'Grand mother' (v) बाप or पिता / ba:p or pita: / 'Father'. (vi) कठबाप / kaŧhba:p / 'Step father' (vii) माए or माता / ma:ě or ma:ta: / 'mother' (viii) सतमाए / satma:ě / 'step mother' (ix) बेटा or पुत्र / beŧa: or putra / 'Son' (x) सतौत / sataut / 'Step son' (xi) पुतोहु / putohu / 'Wife of son' (xii) पोता or नाति or पौत्र / pota: or na:ti or pautra / 'Grand son' (xiii) नातिनिपुतोहु / natini putohu / 'Wife of grand son' (xiv) परपोता or प्रपौत्र / parpota: or prapautra / 'Great grand son' (xv) बेटी or कन्या / beŧi or kanya: / 'Daughter' (xvi) जमाए / jama:ě / 'Husband of daughter' (xvii) नाति or दौहित्र / na:ti or dauhitra / 'Son of daughter' (xviii) नातिनिपुतोहु / na:tini putohu / 'Wife of (XVii)'. (xix) नातिनि / na:ti:ni / 'Daughter’s daughter' (xx) नातिनिजमाए / nati:ni jama:ě / 'Husband of na:tini'/ (xxi) परनाति / parna:ti / 'Son of na:tini' (xxii) परनातिनि / parna:tini / 'Daughter of na:ti'.
(i) भाए / bha:ě / 'brother' (ii) भाउजि / bha:uji / 'brother’s wife' (iii) भातिज / bha:tij / 'Brother’s son' (iv) भतिजपुतोहु / bhatijputohu / 'Wife of (iii)' (v) भतिजी / bhatiji: / 'Brother’s daughter' (vi) भतिजजमाए / bhatijjama:ě / 'Husband of (v)' (vii) बहिनि / bahini / 'Sister' (viii) बहिनोएँ / bahinoe / 'Sister’s husband'/ (ix) भागिन / bha:gin / 'Sister’s son' (x) भगिनपुतोहु / bhagin putohu / 'Wife of (ix)' (xi) भगिनी / bhagini: / 'Sister’s daughter' (xii) भगिनजमाए / bhadinjama:ě / 'Husband of (xi)'. (xiii) पिती / pitti: / 'Fatehr’s brother' (xiv) पितिआइनि / pitia:ini / 'Wife of (xiii)'. (xv) पितिऔत / pitiaut / 'Son/Daughter of (xiv)'. (xvi) पिउसि / piusi / 'Father’s sister'. (xvii) पिउसा / piusa: / ‘Husband of (xvi)'. (xviii) पिसिऔत / pisiaut / 'Son/Daughter of (xvi)'.
(i) परनाना or प्रमातामह / parna:na: or prama:ta:mah/ 'Maternal great grand father' (ii) परनानी or प्रमातामही / parna:ni: or prama:ta:mahi:/ 'maternal great grand mother' (iii) नाना or मातावह / na:na: or ma:ta:mah/ 'maternal grand father' (iv) नानी or मातामही / na:ni orma:ta:;mahi:/ 'maternal grand mother' (v) माम / ma:m / 'mother’s brother' (vi) कठमाम / kaŧhma:m / 'mother’s step brother' (vii) मामि / ma:mi / 'Wife of (v)' (viii) मामिऔत / mamiaut / 'Son/daughter of (v)' (ix) माउसि / ma:usi / 'mother’s sister' (x) मओसा / maǒsa: / 'husband of (ix)'. (xi) मसिऔत / masiaut / 'Son/daughter of (ix)'.
(i) ददिआ सुसुर / dadia sasur / 'Wife’s or husband’s grandfather' (ii) ददिआ सासु /dadia: sa:su / 'wife’s or husband’s grandmother'. (iii) नानिआ सुसुर / 'wife’s or husband’s maternal father' (iv) नानिआ सासु / nania: sa:su / 'Wife of (iii)'. (v) ससुर / sasur / 'Wife’s or husband’s father' (vi) सार / sa:r / 'Wife’s brother' (vii) सरओजि / sarhoji / 'Wife of (vi)' (viii) सारि / sa:ri / 'Wife’s younger sister' (ix) जेठसासु / jeŧhsa:su / 'Wife’s elder sister' (x) साढू / sa:ḍhu: / 'Husband of wife’s sister' (xi) भैसुँर / bhaĩsur / 'husband’s elder brother' (xii) देओर / děor / 'husband’s younger brother'. (xiii) देआदिनी or गोतनी / děa:dini: or gotni: 'Wife of (xii)' (xiv) जाउत / ja:ut / 'Son of husband’s brother' (xv) जैधी / jaidhi:/ 'Daughter of husband’s brother'
Maithili lexicon distinguishes nine varieties of colour as follows:
लाल / la:l / 'red' नारंगी / na:raŋgi: / 'Orange' पीअर / pi:ar / 'Yellow' हरिअर / hariar / 'Green' लील or नील / li:l or ni:l / 'Blue' जमुनिआ / jamunia: / 'Indigo' बैगनी / baigani: / 'Violet or purple' उज्जर / ujjar / 'White' कारी / ka:ri:/ ‘Black’
Variety of colour is mostly expressed with reference to the things usually of that colour. For example na:ragi: means, “of the colour resembling that of an orange”. The following words of this kind are widespread in Maithili:
आसमानी / a:sma:ni: / 'Sky blue'. कचनारी / kacna:ri / 'Similar to a particular flower'. कटिरिआ / kaŧharia: / 'Like jack fruit'. कमलपत्री / kamalpatri: / 'Like lotus petal'. कुसुमी / kusumi: / 'Like safflower' केसरिआ / kěsaria: / 'Saffron'. खएरा / khaěra: / 'Like chocolate?' गहुमा / gahuma: / 'Like wheat' गुलाबी / gula:bi: / 'Like rose, pink'. गेरूआ / gerua: / 'Orcheous'. चंपइ / campai / 'Like campa: flower', 'azurine'. धानी / dha:ni / 'Like paddy'. नारंगी / na:raŋgi: / 'Like orange' बदामी / bada:mi: / 'Like ground nut' बैगनी / baigni: / 'Like brinjal' सिनुरिआ / sinuria: / 'Like vermilion'. सूगापंखी / su:ga:paŋkhi / 'Like parrot’s feather'. सोनहुला / sǒnhula: / 'Golden'.
Some words refer only bovine and human complexion:
कैल / kail / 'redish' (cow or bull). गोर / gor / 'of fair complexion (man)'. गोल / gol / 'of light brown complexion' (cow or bull)' चरक / caruk / 'of white complexion' (cow or bull)' पिडाश्याम or पिडासिआम / pinḍsya:m or piḍsia:m / 'Of light dark complexion' (man).
Human body or deh consists of four components each having a number of parts or limbs as follows:
(a) मूडी or मुंडा / mu:ḍi: or munḍ / 'head'. (i) केस / kes / 'hair' (ii) माथ / ma:th / 'head above ears' (iii) मुह / चेहरा /muh/ 'face', from forehead (iv) कपार / kapa:r / 'forehead' (v) कनपट्टी / kanpaŧŧi: / 'temple'. (vi) पुटपुडी / puŧpuḍi: / 'depression near' (vii) भौहँ / bhaũh / 'brow' (viii) आँखि / ã:khi / 'eye' (ix) पिपनी / pipni: / 'eyelash'. also 'eyelid'. (x) डिमहा / ḍimaha: / 'eye ball' (xi) कान / ka:n / 'ear' (xii) धरनि / dharani / 'ear lobe' (xiii) नाक / na:k / 'nose'. (xiv) पूडा / pu:ḍa: / 'nostril' (xv) मुह / muh / 'mouth' (xvi) दाँत / daã:t / 'teeth' (xvii) मसकुर / maskur / 'gums' (xviii) जीह / ji:h / 'tongue' (xix) तारू / ta:ru / 'palate' (xx) लबलबी / lablabi: / 'uvala' (xxi) ठोर or ओठ / ŧhor or oŧh / 'lips' (xxii) काउचि / kauci / 'cleft of mouth' (xxiii) गाल / ga:l / 'cheek' (xxiv) कल्ला / kalla: / 'jaw' (xxv) थुथून / thuthu:n / 'chin'. (b) धाड / dhaḍ / 'main body': (i) धाड / gha:ḍ /, गरदनि / gardani / कंठ / kanŧh / and घेट / ghẽt / 'neck'. (ii) धडसुर / ghaḍsur / 'back of neck' (iii) गर / gar / 'throat' (iv) कन्हु / ka:nh / 'shoulder' (v) छाती / cha:ti: / 'chest' (vi) थन / than / 'breast' (vii) चूची / cu:ci: / 'nipple' (viii) पेट / peŧ / 'belly' नाभी / na:bhi: / or ढाँढी / ḍhõḍhi: / 'navel' (ix) पीठ / pi:ŧh / 'back' (x) पाँजर / pã:jar / 'side' (xi) डाँड / ḍã:ḍ / 'waist' (xii) पोन / pon / 'hip' (xiii) भथिआन / bhathia:n / 'grain' (xiv) इन्द्री / indri: / 'male organ' (xv) जोनि / joni / 'female organ' (xvi) गाँडि / gã:ḍi / 'anus'. (C) हाथ / ha:th / 'hand' from armpit to nail: (i) काँख / kã:kh / 'arm pit' (ii) बाँहि / bã:hi / 'arm' (iii) पाँखुर / pã:khur / 'shoulder joint' (iv) केहुनी / kěhuni: / 'elbow' (v) गट्टा / gaŧŧa: / 'fore arm' (vi) पहुँचा / pahũca: / 'wrist' (vii) हाथ / ha:th / 'hand' (viii) तरहत्थी / tarhatthi: / 'palm' (ix) आहुर / a:ŋur / 'finger' (x) औंठा / aũŧha: / 'toe' (xi) नह / nah / 'nail'. (d) टाड or गोड / ŧa:ḍ / or goḍ / 'leg' From (i) to (ix).: (i) पहुलाठ / pahula:ŧh / 'haunches'. (ii) जाँघ / jã:gh / 'thigh' (iii) थेहुन / ŧhehun / 'knee' (iv) गुलफा / gulpha: / 'calf' (v) घाबा / cha:ba: / 'shins' (vi) घुट्टी / ghuŧŧhi: / 'ankle' (vii) पाएर / paer / 'foot' (viii) एडी / eḍi / 'heel' (ix) तरबा / karba: / 'sole'
Following are the terms of some important actions, materials, utensils and products related to the traditional style of cooking in Maithili community.
(a) Cutting vegetable in different sizes and shapes: कुटबी / kuŧbi: / 'cubes' चक्का / cakka: / 'discs' भुजबी / bhujbi: / 'small pieces' (b) Grinding spices: पीसब / pi:sab / 'grindings' भुडरब / bhuḍrab / 'crushing' बुकब / bukab / 'powdering' (c) Utensils – सिलौट / silaut / 'stone slab for grinding' लोढी / loḍhi: / 'stone pestle' कोहा / koha: / or तोला / taula: / 'earthen pot for cooking rice/pulse' कडाही / kaḍa:hi: / 'vegetable pot' कडछु / kaḍachu / 'ladle' थारी / tha:ri: / 'dish/plate' बाटी / ba:ŧi: / 'cup for soup' तब / tab / 'baking pan' बेलना / belna: / 'roller for pastry' चकती / cakti: / 'tough board' हाँसू or कता / hã:su: or katta: / 'vegetable cutter' (d) Materials - चाउर / caur / 'rice' दालि / da:li / 'pulse' तरकारी / tarka:ri: / 'vegetable' हरदि / haradi / 'turmeric' मेरिचाइ / merica:i / 'chilly' घन्नी / dhanni: / 'coriander' मेथी / methi: / 'fenugreek seeds' जीर / ji:r / 'cumin' मरिच / maric / 'black pepper' हीड / hi:ŋ / 'fenugreek' तेजपात / tejpa:t / 'bay leaf' तेल / tel / 'oil' घी or घिउ / ghi: or ghiu / 'purified butter' आँटा / ã:ŧa: / 'flour' नोन / non / 'salt'. (e) Products - भात / bha:t / '(cooked) rice' दालि / da:li / 'pulse' तरकारी / tarka:ri / 'vegetable' खीर / khi:r / 'milk rice' खीचडि / khi:caḍi / 'mixed rice' mess सोहारी / sǒha:ri: / or / रोटी / 'chapati' पूआ / pu:a: / 'sweet bread' पूरी / pu:ri: / 'fried chapati' ठकुआ / ŧhakua: / 'hard cake' (f) Process - अदहन / adahan / 'boiling water' फोडन / phoḍan / 'seasoning in the beginning' छौंकन / chaũkan / 'seasoning at the end' रान्हब / ra:nhab / 'cooking' भुजब / bhujab / 'frying' पकाएब / paka:eb / 'baking, or softening in direct fire' तरब / tarab / 'deep frying' छानब / chanab / 'straining out' उसिनब / usinab / 'boiling' सिझाएब / sijha:ěb / 'softening' पसाएब / pasa:ěb / 'pouring out'
रवि / rabi / 'Sunday' सोम / som / 'Monday' मंगल / maŋgal / 'Tuesday' बुध / budh / 'Wednesday' बृहस्पति or बेरसपति / Brihaspati or Beraspati / 'Thursday' शुक्र or सुकर / ∫ukra or sukar / 'Friday' शनि / sani / 'Saturday'
Mainly lunar months, which starts from new moon day and ends on full moon day are in vogue. The first month falls within March-April. Solar months also are known by the same name instead of meʂa,vrʂa etc.
चैत / cait / आसिन / a:sin / बैसाख / baisa:kh / कातिक / ka:tik / जेठ / jeŧh / अगहन / ag.han / अखाढ / akha:ḍh / पूस / pu:s / जाओन / ja:ǒn / माध / ma:gh / भादब / bha:dab / फागुन / pha:gun /
Almost all planets, signs of zodiac and constellations of Indian astronomy are known to the educated class. Out of 27 constellations, only nine are widely known, as their periods determine the season for agricultural operation. They are as follows:
रोहिणी / rohiրi: / ........ 24 May मृगशिरा / mrigsira: / ..... 7 June अरदरा / ardara: / ...... 21 June पुनर्वसू / punarbasu: / ..... 5 July पुष्य or पुक्खा / pukya or pukkh /.... 20 July असरेस / asres / ...... 3 August मघा or मग्घा / maggh or mgha: / 17 August पुरबा / purba: / .... 31 August उतरा / utra: / .... 14 September हथिआ or हस्त / hathia: or hast / ... 27 September चित्रा / citra: / .... 11 October
सुरूज / suruj / 'The sun' चान / ca:n / 'The moon' भुरूकबा / bhurukba: / 'morning star' कचबचिआ or कृत्तिका / kacbacia: or krittika: / 'Peades' डंटीतराजू / ḍanŧi:tra:ju: / 'Orion'
These bodies are referred to for time while asteresm for season.
आकास / aka:s /, आसमान / asma:n / 'sky', मेघ / megh / 'cloud', बिजुलोका / bijuloka: / 'lightning' ; ठनका / ŧhanka: / a: / 'thunder bolt'; गरज / garaj / 'thunder'; बरखा / barkha: / 'rain' ; पानि / pa:ni / 'water' नदी / nadi: / 'river' ; चओर / caǒr / 'lake' नहरि / nahari / 'canal' ; बसात / basa:t /, हाबा / ha:ba: / 'wind' ; बिहारि / biha:ri / 'storm'; रौद / raud / 'sun'; छाहारि / cha:hard / 'shade' ; छरती / dhrti: / 'earth' ; माटि / ma:ŧi / ‘soil’.
बोन / bon / 'forest' गाछी / ga:chi: / 'grove'; गाछ / ga:ch / 'plank' or 'tree' ; बाँस / bã:s / 'bamboo' ; झाड़ / jha:ɖ̥ / 'shrub' ; लत्ती / latti: / 'creeper' ; खढ / khaɖ̥h / 'grass'. डारि / ɖa:ri / 'branch' ; पात / pa:t / 'leaf'.
आम / a:m / 'mango' ; कटहर / kaŧhar / 'jackfruit' ; जामुन / ja:mun / 'black plum' ; केरा / kera: / 'banana'; नारिअर / nariar / or नारिकेर / nariker / 'coconut'; लताम / lata:m / 'guava'; ताड / ta:ɖ̥a / 'palm tree', खजूर / khaju:r / 'date palm', बड / baɖ̥ / 'banian' ; पीपर / pi:par / 'pipal tree' ; दाडिम / da:ɖ̥im / or . अनार / ana:r / 'pomegranate'; अड्गूर / aŋgu:r / 'grapes' ; मखान / makha:n / 'an aquatic nut'.
लोक / lok / 'people' ; मनुख / manukh / 'human being' ; नेना / nena: / 'child' ; चैतन / cetan / 'adult' ; पुरूख / purukh / 'man' ; मौगी / maugi: / or स्त्री / stri: / 'woman' ; गाए / ga:ě / 'cow' बरद / barad / 'bullock' ; महिस / mahis / 'she-buffalo' ; बकरी / bakri: / 'goat' घोडा / ghoɖ̥a: / 'horse'; गादहा / gadha: / 'ass' ; कुकुर / kukur/ 'dog' बिलाडि / bila:ɖ̥i / 'cat' ; कौआ / kaua: / 'crow'; मेना / mϨna: / 'turdus salica'; बाघ / ga:gh/ 'tiger' ; सिंह / siŋh / 'lion' ; हाथी / ha:thi: / 'elephant' ; हरीन / harin / 'deer' ; गोहि / gohi / 'crocodile' ; काछु / ka:chu / 'tortoise' ; माछ / ma:ch / 'fish'.
छोती / dhoti: / 'man's loose lower wear’; साडी / sa:ɖ̥i: / 'saree', 'women’s loose maxy' ; साया / sa:ya: / 'petticoat' ; गमछा / gamcha: / 'towel'; ओढना / ǒɖ̥hha: / 'rapper', चादरि / ca:dari / 'bed sheet' and 'male's scarf'; अड्गा / aŋga: / 'coat in general' सीरक / si:rak / 'quilt' ; खाट / kha:ŧ / 'bed stead' ; पटिआ / paŧia: / 'mat'.
बरख / barakh / or साल / sa:l / 'year' ; मास / ma:s / or महिना / mahina: / 'month' ; पख / pakh / or पच्छ / paccha / 'fortnight' ; सप्ताह / sapta:h / 'week' दिन / din / 'day' ; भोर / bhor / 'early morning' ; परात / para:t / or भिनसर / bhinsar / 'morning' ; बेरखन / berkhan / 'afternoon' ; साँझ / sã:jh / 'evening' ; राति / ra:ti / 'night' ; निसी राति / nisi: ra:ti / 'midnight' ; एक बजैत राति / ek bajait ra:ti / 'one A.M.' ; पहर / pahar / '1/4 day' ; घण्टा / ghaɳta: / or घडी / ghaɖ̥i: / 'hour' ; पल / pal / 'minute' ; छन / chan / 'moment'.
मोट / moŧ / 'thick', 'fat' ; दूबर / du:bar / 'lean' ; पातर / p:tar / 'thin', 'fine', लम्बा / lamba: / ; नाम / na:m /, लाम / la:m / 'long', 'tall' ; चओडा / caǒɖ̥a: / 'wide' ; नाट / na:ŧ /, भुट्ट / bhuŧŧa / 'short' 'dwarf' ; सोझ / sojh / 'straight' ; टेढ / ŧeɖh / 'curved' ; पैछ / paigh /, बड / baɖ̥ / 'big' ; छोट / choŧ / 'small' ; गोल / gol / 'round'; चौकोर / caukor / 'square' ; चौरस / cauras / 'flat' ; गँहीर / gãhi:r / 'deep' ; उत्थर / utthar / 'shallow' ; साँकर / sã:kar / 'narrow' ; फैल / phail / 'specious' ; ऊँच / ũ:c / 'igh' ; नीच / ni:c / 'low' ; हलुक / haluk / 'light' ; भारी / bha:ri: / 'heavy'.
होएब / hǒěb / 'to be' ; करब / karab / 'to do' ; जागब / ja:gab/ 'to wake up' ; उठब / uŧhab / 'rise' ; बैसब / baisab / 'to sit' ; ठाढ / ŧha:ɖ̥hh hǒěb / 'stand' ; चलब / calab / 'to move' ; बुलब / bulab / 'to walk' ; जाएब / ja:ěb / 'to go' ; आएब / aěb / 'to come' ; धुरब / ghurab / 'to return' ; दौडब / dauɖ̥ab / 'to run' ; उडब / uɖ̥ab / 'to fly' ; नहाएब / naha:ěb / 'to bath' ; घोएब / dhoěb / 'to wash' ; खाएब / kha:ěb / 'to eat' ; पिअब / piab / 'to drink' ; कहब / kahab / 'to say' ; हँसब / haɖsab / 'to laugh' ; बाजब / ba:jab / 'to speak' ; सुनब / sunab / 'to hear' ; देखब / dekhab / 'to see' ; जानब / ja:nab / 'to know' ; पढब / paɖ̥hab / 'to read' ; कमाएब / kama:ěb / 'to earn' ; देब / deb / 'to give' ; लेब / leb / 'to take' ; कीनब / ki:nab / 'to buy' ; बेचब / becab / 'to sell' ; घरब / dharab / 'to hold' ; पकडब / pakɖ̥ab / 'to catch' ; खोलब / kholab / 'to open' ; बुझब / bujhab / 'to understand' ; सुझब / sujhab / 'to come to sight' ; रान्हब / ra:nhab / 'to cook' ; काटब / ka:ŧab / 'to cut'; मारब ma:rab / 'to kill' ; पडब / paɖab / 'to lie' ; सुतब / sutab / 'to sleep' ; चढब / daɖ̥hab / 'to ascend' ; उतरब / utrab / 'to elite'.
Historically there are four types of lexicon in Maithili - (i) Tatsama or same as in Sanskrit, (ii) Tadbhava or developed from Sanskrit words, (iii) Deshi or native, and (iv) Videshi or foreign. Examples:
(i) जल / jal / 'water'. देह / deh / 'body' दिन / din / 'day'. माता / ma:ta: / 'mother' (ii) हाथ / ha:th / 'hand', from Skr. hasta. चान / ca:n / 'moon', from Skr. candra. (iii) पेट / peŧ / 'belly', टाड / ta:ŋ / ‘leg’ बेटा / beŧa: / 'son', खोज / khoj / ‘search’ (iv) रेल / rel / 'rail' इसकुल / iskul / 'school' जमीन / jmi:n / 'land'. आदमी / a:dmi: / 'man'.
Broadly speaking, in the parlance of peasantry, ratio of tadbhava words comes to 80%. Even in educated class it is no less than 60%. Recent trend seems apathetic to tatsama words and uses them only when there is no way out. Unlike Hindi, Maithili resisted Arabic and Persian words. For instance, औलाद ( ), औरत (++), खैरियत ( ), वक्त ( ) and the like words of high frequency have no place in Maithili.
Structurally, Maithili lexicon has three types: (i) Verbal root, (ii) nominal root and (iii) derivative. The first is generally tagged. When untagged, it becomes a grammatical form of imperative verb, as:
देख / dekh / 'to see' (Root). देख / dekh / 'please see'.
In terms of area of use, Maithili lexicon has four categories: (i) Colloquial or basic, (ii) Literary or classical, (iii) Administrative and (iv) Technical or scientific.
Grammatically, Maithili words are sharply divided into two categories: (i) indigenous or naturalized and (ii) Borrowed or transplanted. The first strictly follows the phonetic or morphophonemic norm such as rule of short antepenultimate (§ 2.18(c)). Even tatsama words are treated in Maithili as foreign or borrowed words in as much as they stick to their own phonetic and derivative norms.
Semantically, Maithili words are divided into two categories: (i) Ruḍha or original and (ii) Yaugika or derivational. The words of unknown etymology and denoting only conventional meaning come in the first category and the rest having etymological meaning belong to the second.
Generally, different kinds of contents require to some extent, different types of structure. But in certain types of discourse, structural difference is oddly obvious. In narrating a tale or explaining anything quite leisurely, often sentence is broken to pieces and every piece is converted to a clause: For example:
आठओजे अश्वहृदयवॆत्ता अथिकह तन्हिक जे अश्वशिक्षप्रकार तंका उस्तीर्णह / a:ŧhaǒ je aʃvahṛdayavetta: athikah je aʃvaʃikʂa: tãka: utti:rɳɳa:h / 'What those all eight experts in knowing the heart of horses are, what their kinds of horse training, expert in them'.
The simple sentence behind this is: ‘He is expert in manners of horse-training science possessed by all the eight scholars expert in knowing the heart of horses.’
In folk songs, some questions are raised and messages are conveyed by way of their answers:
कओने बाबा बँसबा कटाओल मडबा बन्हाओल रे ? (kaǒně ba:ba: bãsaba: kaŧa:ǒl maḍaba: banha:o’l re? बुचकुन बाबा बसबा कटाओल मडबा बन्हाओल रे Buckun ba:ba: bãsab: kaŧa:ǒl maḍaba: banha:ǒl re?
Another example of breaking a sentence, taken from a drama, is as follows:
ओ चौरी छै ते ओहीमे एक टा पँनकठबा खेत छै ओही पानकठबा खेतक पुबरिआ आरिपर द क चल जाह / cauri: chai ne, ǒhi: me ekŧa: pǎckaŧh ba: khet chai, ǒhi : pãckaŧhba: khetak pubaria: a:ripar da: ka: cal ja:h / Do you see that farm? There is a plot of five kattha in it. Go on by the side of that plot of five kattha.
These three sentences, full of repetitions is nothing but a simple sentence:
ओहि चौहीक पँचकठबा खेतक पुबरिआ अरिपर द क चल जाह / ohi cauri:k pãckaŧhba: khetak pubaria: a:ri par da: ka: calja:h / 'Go by the side of the eastern ridge of the plot of five kattha in that farm.'
The breaking of the sentence is mean for easy comprehension of an addressee of low mental level.
In contrast to this expensive style, poets often condense the ideas of several sentences in one omitting verb. The best example will be the description of river Ganga (गङ्गास्तुति) composed by Surendra Jha in his Suman.
परम पुरातन भगीरथक श्रमसँ संचालित विश्व अविधाहरण हेतु अरिपद उद्रधाटित जत निर्बाध प्रवेश जलक कण-कण अध्यापक नर नारी शिशु युवा जीर्ण पल भरि मे स्नातक तत्व चयन जत आर्यजन युग युगसँ कएलानि पास करथु अविधा दूर से विश्वक विधालय चरम / parama pura:tana Bhagi:rathak ∫ramasã: sanca:lita; vi∫va- avidya:haraղa hetu Haripada- udgha:ŧi; jata nirba:dha prve∫a jalak kaղa - kaղa adya:paka ; nara na:ri: ∫i∫u juba: briddha pala bhari me sna:taka; taŧŧva cayana jata a:rjajana jug-jug sã: kaělani parama; karathu avidya: du:r se vi∫vaka vidya:laya carama /
'Let that world’s oldest and the highest university (i.e. the holy river Ganga) remove (our) ignorance, the university is run by the effort of Bhagiratha (exemplary effort); and is inaugurated by the grace (foot) of Hari; where entrance is free, every drop of water is a professor, man and woman, child, young and old, all becomes snataka (bathed / graduate) in a moment and wise men have been in search of the ultimate reality.'
The above two examples are sufficient to show how the structure depends on the contents.
Any speech larger than a sentence is discourse. As sentence is a combination of immediate constituents, likewise discourse is a string of sentences linked with coherence. This link may or may not be expressed segmentally. In view of the Indian linguists, link or coherence is a mental phenomenon, a tendency technically called आकांक्ष /a:ka:ŋkʂa:/ or expectancy. Any discourse must fulfill this expectancy which ends only when discourse end. Any slackness in coherence marks the discourse.
Maithili has nothing special in this matter. Critics of Maithili fiction always expose the lapse in coherence.
The most obvious difference between general grammar and grammar of discourse is in respect of taxeme i.e. word order. Maithili poets break the natural order of words either for stress or for the exigency or versification. For example, the poem quoted above परम पुरातन may be recalled where the adjectives carama and param are detached from their immediate constituents (nouns) namely avidya and tattva.
Some discourses especially in verse use a number of older or absolute grammatical forms. Thus:
Older Current तुअ / tua / 'your' तोहर /tohar/ काहे / ka:he / 'why' किएक /kiæk/ तोहि / tohi / 'to you' तोहरा /tohra:/ जनि / jani / 'as if' मानू /ma:nu:/
In folk songs, one can find a good number of old grammatical forms, which survive only in some dialects. In other words, folk songs are liberal enough to cross over boundaries of time and space. For example:
बेरि बेरि बरजओं हमे तोहि / běri-beri barajaõ hame tǒhi / 'I forbid you again and again.'
This may be paraphrased in usual Maithili thus:
हम बेर बेर तोहरा मना करैत छिअहु / ham ber-ber tǒhra:mana: karait chiahu /.
In another instance:
मएँ तोहि पूछओं गे कोइली कह तोहें आज किए-किए देखले गे कोइली बाबाको राज |
In day-to-day business, language is meant to present the facts straight away. But in discourse, it is necessary to project the fact effectively. It leads to various semantic changes in language. Of course, Maithili is not immune to such changes, but in absence of any research, little can be said. Broadly speaking, in discourse, secondary and symbolic meaning prevails upon the primary or lexical meaning. Symbols are derived from culture. Maithili writers, especially poets, are fond of such symbolic expressions. In critic’s language, such expressions are known as local colour. A line from Chitra: (चित्रा) of Yatri alias Nagarjun is worth quoting:
अहिबातक पातिल फोडि फाडि हम जाए रहल छी आंथम / ahiba:tak pa:til phoḍi-pha:̣i ham ja:ě rahal chi: a:n ŧha:m / 'Smashing the earthen vessel of wedding lamp... I am leaving for elsewhere'.
Here the wedding lamp pot flashed the scene of coming of a bride to her husband’s home and sitting with him in a dim light, symbolizing happy conjugal life. And smashing that pot means the sudden end of the wedding tie.
Copyright CIIL-India Mysore