मानक साहित्यिक भाषा

The speech variety  based on the dialects  spoken  in  and around Darbhanga-Samastipur has come to be regarded as the standard  literary medium, although the variety based on Saharsa  dialect  has also been used by certain writers. The  standardization had  been accomplished quite some time back,  particularly  after 1940s. But the question of whether one should have unitary literary standard is still an open question.

Of course, in his Linguistic Survey of India, Grierson (1908: 13-4; Vol. V. ii) states that “Maithili is spoken in its greatest purity  (Standard Maithili)  by  the Brahmanas of the north of  the  Darbhanga  and Bhagalpur  districts  and those of Western Purnea. It  is  also         spoken  with some purity, but with more signs of wearing away  of infections  in the south of Darbhanga district, and in those  portions of the then Monghyr and Bhagalpur districts which lie on the  northern  bank  of the Ganges. This may be  called  Southern  Standard Maithili.  He then goes on to mention its other varieties:  Chhikaa-Chhikii  born out of contact between Maithili and  Magahi  in the south, Western Maithili (which has a lot of Bhojpuri  element         in  it),  and  the Jolahaa bolii (also known as  the  Shekhai  or Musalmani, and has traits of Awadhi)- which is basically a  cover term  used for Muslim speech variety in Mithila. It must be borne in  mind here that by the name “Standard”, Grierson was  referring  to mainly accepted spoken standards.

Today, there are multiple literary standards available and used concurrently depending upon the origin of the given author.