Marathi language

Marathi is a <a href="/facts/Classical_languages_of_India/6XDhJrTq">classical</a> <a href="/facts/Indo-Aryan_languages/hm2N7fYp">Indo-Aryan language</a> predominantly spoken by <a href="/facts/Marathi_people/6NNqkj3G">Marathi people</a> in the Indian state of <a href="/facts/Maharashtra/4hAVYlb4">Maharashtra</a> and is also spoken in <a href="/facts/Goa/tTfJfNh3">Goa</a>, and parts of <a href="/facts/Gujarat/HwmVfMwr">Gujarat</a>, <a href="/facts/Karnataka/NhJAc4t9">Karnataka</a> and the territory of <a href="/facts/Dadra_and_Nagar_Haveli_and_Daman_and_Diu/Q8q7LH9r">Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu</a>.
It is the official language of Maharashtra, and an additional official language in the state of <a href="/facts/Goa/tTfJfNh3">Goa</a>, where it is used for replies, when requests are received in Marathi.
It is one of the 22 <a href="/facts/Scheduled_languages_of_India/lu7FmR72">scheduled languages of India</a>, with 83 million speakers as of 2011. Marathi ranks 13th in the <a href="/facts/List_of_languages_by_number_of_native_speakers/QSBNlNBj">list of languages with most native speakers in the world</a>. Marathi has the <a href="/facts/List_of_languages_by_number_of_native_speakers_in_India/F7hyWnHy">third largest number</a> of native speakers in India, after <a href="/facts/Hindustani_language/rPnbEyYP">Hindustani</a> and <a href="/facts/Bengali_language/twpKobqA">Bengali</a>. Marathi has some of the oldest <a href="/facts/Literature/CmUDxokU">literature</a> of all modern Indian languages. The major dialects of Marathi are Standard Marathi and the <a href="/facts/Varhadi_dialect/xI6bu7l2">Varhadi Marathi</a>. Marathi was designated as a <a href="/facts/Classical_languages_of_India/6XDhJrTq">classical language</a> by the <a href="/facts/Government_of_India/BIpETqjv">Government of India</a> in October 2024.
Marathi distinguishes <a href="/facts/Clusivity/7M8aQkYW">inclusive and exclusive</a> forms of 'we' and possesses three <a href="/facts/Grammatical_gender/2hEshpnP">genders</a>: masculine, feminine, and neuter. Its <a href="/facts/Phonology/qWAsvnok">phonology</a> contrasts <a href="/facts/Apico-alveolar/L7691gMF">apico-alveolar</a> with <a href="/facts/Alveopalatal/RYDvFYvt">alveopalatal</a> <a href="/facts/Affricates/Fn2y7FIA">affricates</a> and <a href="/facts/Alveolar_lateral/dgbHhqeK">alveolar</a> with <a href="/facts/Retroflex_lateral/LHNtHWAC">retroflex</a> laterals ([l] and [ɭ] (Marathi letters ल and ळ respectively).

Marathi language open-in-new

Marathi language