Non-Finite Clauses in English and Maithili: A Contrastive Study

Abstract

Maithili belongs to the Eastern subgroups of the Indo-Aryan language group within the Indo-Iranian branch of Indo-European Family. Maithili forms a subgroup with BHOJPORI and Magahi and is linguistically closer toASSAMESE, BANGLA, and ORIYA than to its more contiguous languages, namely HINDI, Gujrati or Marathi and NEPALI, which belong to the central and western subgroups of Indo-Aryan, respectively. Maithili has a large speech community with a rich literacy heritage, the history of Maithili literature is more than an old millennium to the present situation. In terms of vocabulary, Maithili stands close Bengali and Hindi. Words are derived mostly from common sources. On the other hand English is an international language which is a common langua franca in most parts of the world. It has played a crucial role in an international communication of thoughts, ideas and sentiments. It is spoken as a first, second and foreign language. This work entitled “Non-Finite Clauses in English and Maithili: A Contrastive Study” attemptsto describe the clause structures in both languages along with their kinds, functions and uses.