Marathi language

Marathi
Marāṭhī
मराठी
Pronunciation[məˈɾaːʈʰiː]
Native toIndia
RegionMaharashtra
EthnicityMarathis
Native speakers
L1: 83 million (2011)[1]
L2: 16 million (2011 census)[1]
Early form
Dialects
Indian Signing System
Official status
Official language in
India
Regulated byMinistry of Marathi Language and various other institutions
Language codes
ISO 639-1mr
ISO 639-2mar
ISO 639-3Either:
mar – Modern Marathi
omr – Old Marathi
omr Old Marathi
Glottologmara1378  Modern Marathi
oldm1244  Old Marathi
Linguasphere59-AAF-o
  regions where Marathi is the language of the majority or plurality
  regions where Marathi is the language of a significant minority
Map of Marathi language in India (district-wise). Darker shades imply a greater percentage of native speakers of Marathi in each district.

Marathi (मराठी, pronounced [məˈɾaːʈʰiː] ) is an Indo-Aryan language predominantly spoken by Marathi people in the Indian state of Maharashtra. It is the official language of Maharashtra, and an additional official language in the state of Goa used to reply provided the request is received in Marathi. It is one of the 22 scheduled languages of India, with 83 million speakers as of 2011. Marathi ranks 13th in the list of languages with most native speakers in the world. Marathi has the third largest number of native speakers in India, after Hindi and Bengali.[6] The language has some of the oldest literature of all modern Indian languages.[7] The major dialects of Marathi are Standard Marathi and the Varhadi dialect.[8]

Marathi distinguishes inclusive and exclusive forms of 'we' and possesses a three-way gender system, that features the neuter in addition to the masculine and the feminine. In its phonology, it contrasts apico-alveolar with alveopalatal affricates and alveolar with retroflex laterals ([l] and [ɭ] (Marathi letters and respectively).[9]

  1. ^ a b Modern Marathi at Ethnologue (26th ed., 2023) Closed access icon
    Old Marathi at Ethnologue (26th ed., 2023) Closed access icon
  2. ^ "Know Your City: The Modi script, using which Maratha empire would conduct business". 5 February 2022.
  3. ^ "'Other' Modi wave: How 700-year Marathi script is making a comeback | Mumbai News - Times of India". The Times of India. 7 July 2019.
  4. ^ "The Goa, Daman and Diu Official Language Act, 1987" (PDF). indiacode.nic.in. Retrieved 12 November 2022.
  5. ^ Cite error: The named reference goa was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  6. ^ "Abstract of Language Strength in India: 2011 Census" (PDF). Censusindia.gov.in.
  7. ^ "arts, South Asian". Encyclopædia Britannica. Encyclopædia Britannica 2007 Ultimate Reference Suite.
  8. ^ Dhoṅgaḍe, Rameśa; Wali, Kashi (2009). "Marathi". London Oriental and African Language Library. 13. John Benjamins Publishing Company: 101, 139. ISBN 9789027238139.
  9. ^ Dhongde & Wali 2009, pp. 11–15.