Marathi Language Services

Marathi is an Indo-Aryan language spoken by the Marathi people of western and central India. It is the official language of the state of Maharashtra. There are 90 million fluent speakers worldwide. Marathi has the 4th largest number of native speakers in India and is the 15th most spoken language in the world.[6] Marathi has the oldest of the regional literatures in Indo-Aryan languages, dating from about 1000 CE. The major dialects of Marathi are called the Standard Marathi and the Warhadi Marathi. There are a few other sub-dialects like Ahirani, Dangi, Samavedi, Khandeshi and Chitpavani Marathi. Standard Marathi is the official language of the State of Maharashtra. There are no inherently nasalized vowels in standard Marathi whereas the Chitpavani dialect of Marathi does have nasalized vowels. Official Status > Marathi is the official language of Maharashtra and co-official language in the union territories of Daman and Diu and Dadra and Nagar Haveli. In Goa, Konkani is the sole official language; however, Marathi may also be used for all official purposes. The Constitution of India recognizes Marathi as one of India’s twenty-two official languages. In addition to all universities in Maharashtra, Maharaja Sayajirao University of Baroda in Vadodara, Osmania University in Hyderabad, Karnataka University in Dharwar, Gulbarga University in Gulbarga, Devi Ahilya University in Indore and Goa University in Goa have special departments for higher studies in Marathi linguistics. Jawaharlal Nehru University (New Delhi) has announced plans to establish a special department for Marathi. Dialects > Standard Marathi is based on dialects used by academics and the print media. Indic scholars distinguish 42 dialects of spoken Marathi. Dialects bordering other major language areas have many properties in common with those languages, further differentiating them from standard spoken Marathi. The bulk of the variation within these dialects is primarily lexical and phonological (e.g. accent placement and pronunciation). Although the number of dialects is considerable, the degree of intelligibility within these dialects is relatively high. Jhadi Boli > Jhadi Boli or Jhadiboli is spoken in Jhadipranta (Forest rich region) of far eastern Maharashtra or eastern Vidarbha or western-central Gondvana comprising Gondia, Bhandara, Chandrpur, Gadchiroli and some parts of Nagpur and Wardha districts of Maharashtra. Southern Indian Marathi > Thanjavur Marathi, Namdev shimpi Marathi and Bhavsar Marathi are spoken by many Maharashtrians in Southern India. This dialect is stuck in the 17th century and is old Marathi – it did not change from the time the Marathas conquered Thanjavur and Bangalore in southern India, till date. It has speakers in parts of Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka. Varhadi > Varhadi (Varhādi), or Vaidarbhi, is spoken in the Western Vidarbha region of Maharashtra. In Marathi, the retroflex lateral approximant ḷ [ɭ] is common, while in the Varhadii dialect, it corresponds to the palatal approximant y (IPA: [j]), making this dialect quite distinct. Such phonetic shifts are common in spoken Marathi, and as such, the spoken dialects vary from one region of Maharashtra to another Others > Deshestha Marathi, spoken in Tanjore, Tamil Nadu, and Judæo-Marathi, spoken by the Bene Israel Jews