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Marathi language

Marathi
मराठी
Marāṭhī
Marathi written in Devanagari script.svg
"Marathi" in Devanagari script
Pronunciation [məˈɾaʈʰi]
Native to Maharashtra
Region Maharashtra, Goa, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Dadra and Nagar Haveli, Daman and Diu and significant minority in the countries of Israel and Mauritius
Ethnicity Marathi people
Native speakers
73 million (2007)
Early forms
Dialects
Devanagari (Balbodh)
Devanagari Braille
Indian Signing System
Official status
Official language in
 India - Maharashtra, Goa, Daman and Diu, and Dadra and Nagar Haveli
Regulated by Maharashtra Sahitya Parishad & various other institutions
Language codes
ISO 639-1 mr
ISO 639-2
ISO 639-3 Either:
mar – Modern Marathi
omr – Old Marathi
Linguist list
omr Old Marathi
Glottolog mara1378  (Modern Marathi)
oldm1244  (Old Marathi)
Linguasphere 59-AAF-o

Marathi (English pronunciation: Listeni/məˈrɑːti/; मराठी Marāṭhī [məˈɾaʈʰi]) is an Indian language spoken predominantly by the Marathi people of Maharashtra. It is the official language and co-official language in the Maharashtra and Goa states of Western India, respectively, and is one of the 22 scheduled languages of India. There were 73 million speakers in 2001; Marathi ranks 19th in the list of most spoken languages in the world. Marathi has the fourth largest number of native speakers in India. Marathi has some of the oldest literature of all modern Indo-Aryan languages, dating from about 900 AD. The major dialects of Marathi are Standard Marathi and the Varhadi dialect.Malvani Konkani has been heavily influenced by Marathi varieties.

Marathi has several features that set it aside from most other Indian languages. 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, in common with Gujarati, alveolar with retroflex laterals ([l] and [ɭ], Marathi letters and respectively).


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