International Journal of Linguistics & Communication

Politeness in Language of Bihar: A Case Study of Bhojpuri, Magahi, and Maithili
Shaivya Singh, Rajesh Kumar, Lata Atreya

Abstract
The present study attempts to analyze and demonstrate the politeness in the structure of three languages of Bihar i.e. Bhojpuri, Magahi and Maithili. The physical and geographical proximity of these languages bring them closer to one another on the continuum in more than one ways. Along with physical proximity, cultural traits of the landscape gets visible in the structure of these languages at many instances – manifestation of politeness strategies in the structure happens to be one of them. Politeness is an important and universal feature of human language. People express politeness in a variety of ways in interpersonal communication. It depends on several factors such as age, status, relationship, social constraints, and gender etc., which often influence the linguistic choices in languages. It surfaces differently in different languages. Bhojpuri, Magahi and Maithili are Indo-Aryan languages spoken in Bihar. They have several common features and at the same time they are strikingly different from each another in politeness strategies.

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