Marathi language
Marathi is one of the many languages of India, and has a long literary history. It is the language spoken in the state of Maharashtra. Marathi is supposed to be derived from Sanskrit (like many other languages in India). It is spoken by about 70 million people and is to have separated from the other languages in its group about a thousand years ago. Other names for the language are Maharashtra, Maharathi, Malhatee, Marthi, and Muruthu.
| Marathi (Marathi) | |
|---|---|
| Spoken in: | India |
| Region: | Maharashtra and adjacent states |
| Total speakers: | 68 Million native speakers 3 Million second language speakers |
| Ranking: | 17 |
| Genetic classification: |
Indo-European Indo-Iranian |
| Official status | |
| Official language of: | Maharashtra State, India |
| Regulated by: | -- |
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-1 | mr |
| ISO 639-2 | mar |
| SIL | MRT |
History
Marathi is descended from the Sanskrit language of India via the Prakrit dialect Maharashtri. Maharashtri was the official language of the Satavahana empire based at Pratishthana (now Paithan) in the first few centuries A.D. Maharashtri was the most widespread Prakrit used in its time, and also dominates the three "Dramatic" Prakrits (the others being Sauraseni and Magadhi). A version of Maharashtri (Jaina Maharashtri) was used to write part of the Jain canon. The Satavahana emperor Hala's Sattasai (Sanskrit Saptasati) - an anthology of 700 love poems - is the most famous piece of literature in Maharashtri. Maharashtri slowly evolved in Marathi during the 15th and 16th centuries A.D.
Classification
Marathi is part of the Indo-European family of languages.
Geographic distribution
Marathi is mostly spoken in the Indian state of Maharashtra, but is also spoken in neighboring states like Madhya Pradesh. The Ethnologue states that Marathi is also spoken in Israel and Mauritius.
Official status
Marathi is an official language of Maharashtra. It is one of the eighteen official languages recognised by the Constitution of India.
Dialects
Dialects of Marathi include Ahirani, Manadeshi. Konkani was once considered as dialect of Marathi, but is now recognized as a separate language.
Sounds
Grammar
It partly preserves the locative case in noun declension as follows:
Sanskrit:
prabhaat: dawn gR^iha: house
prabhaate: at dawn gR^ihe: at/in house
Marathi:
pahaaT: dawn ghar: house
pahaaTe: at dawn gharI/gharaat: at/in/to house
Vocabulary
Writing system
Marathi uses the Devanagari script for writing. Get Marathi Writing simple software baraha, Itranslator, ITRANS online.
Before the usage of printing press for Marathi, a different script called the Modi script was used to write Marathi. It was a cursive script and could be written with minimum rising of pen from the paper. However, with the advent of large scale printing, the script fell into disuse, as it was very difficult to type set in this script.(See External Link)
The oldest evidence of written Marathi is found at the base of a thousand year old gigantic statue in southern Indian town of Shrawana-belagola. The inscription is about the king Gangaraya who funded the effort, and his general Chamundaraya, who erected the statue for the king.
Examples
Marathi has a long literary tradition, and a huge literature has been written in Marathi in the last seven centuries. The saint-poet Dnyaneshwar is considered the first major literateur in the Marathi language. Prominent recent Marathi authors include P.L. Deshpande, Jaywant Dalawi, V. P. Kale, Vyankatesh Madgoolkar and D. M. Mirasdar, Anand Yadav, Shankar Patil,Vijay Tendulkar
See also
External links
- Ethnologue report for Marathi
- Marathi and Maharashtra related resources, discussion forums, songs, and links.
- Modi Script online
- Marathi documents and links