T he origin of Marathi can be traced back to early centuries of the Common Era when it emerged as a distinct language in the Maharashtra region of India.

Over time, Marathi was influenced by various languages, including Sanskrit, Prakrit, and Persian. This helped Marathi to develop its own characteristics.

Throughout its history, Marathi has been written in various scripts, including Brahmi, Modi, Balbodh, and Perso-Arabic, reflecting its diverse cultural influences and transitions. However, for many centuries and continuing to the present day, the Devanagari script has been the predominant and chosen script for writing Marathi.

Below are the phonetic components of the Marathi alphabets.

Marathi Vowels

In Marathi they are also known as “swar” (स्वर). There are 14 vowels in Marathi. Each vowel in Marathi is pronounced by itself and has distinct, pure, and unmodified sounds.

Marathi has retained a significant portion of the original Sanskrit pronunciation, and the sound closely resembles their Sanskrit counterparts. In addition, it has also developed its distinct phonetics, making it a unique language with its pronunciation norms over time.

Below is the chart of both independent and dependent vowels in Marathi.

Independent Vowels:

[a]
[aa]
[i]
[ii]
[u]
[oo]
[a]
[ai]
[o]
[au]
अं
[am]
अः
[a:]
[ri]
[rr]

Dependent Vowels:

[aa]
ि
[i]
[ii]
[u]
[uu]
[r]
[rr]
[e]
[e]
[e]
[ai]
[o]
[o]
[o]
[au]

Marathi Consonants

In Marathi they are also known as “Vyanjan” (व्यंजन). There are 36 consonants in Marathi. Just as in many other languages, consonants and vowels in Marathi combine to form a basic building block for pronunciation, allowing for the expression of a wide range of words and meaning.

For example, let's take the Marathi word "सूरज (sūraj)," where "स" (s) serves as the consonant, "ू" (ū) as the vowel, "र" (r) as another consonant, and "ज" (j) as the final consonant. In this word, consonants and vowels harmoniously combine to create the term "सूरज" (sūraj), signifying "sun" in Marathi.

[k]
[kh]
[g]
[gh]
[ng]
[ch]
[chh]
[j]
[jh]
[ny]
[t]
[th]
[d]
[dh]
[n]
[t]
[tha]
[d]
[dha]
[n]
[p]
[ph]
[b]
[bha]
[m]
[y]
[r]
[l]
[v]
[sh]
[shha]
[s]
[h]
[ḷ]
क्ष
[ksh]
ज्ञ
[gya]

Marathi Numerals

Marathi, like in many South Asian languages, has its own script for writing numerals. These are used to write decimal numbers, instead of the latin numbers.

[shunya]
[ek]
[don]
[teen]
[chaar]
[paach]
[saha]
[saat]
[aath]
[nau]
.

Features

  • The Marathi alphabet has 14 vowels and 36 consonants, and it is written from left to right.
  • Marathi incorporates nasalized vowels and consonants into its phonetic system. Nasalized vowels are denoted by special characters to indicate the nasal quality.

    For instance, the Marathi vowel "अं" (am) features the character "ं", which signifies the nasalization of the vowel. Similarly, nasalized consonants are also a part of Marathi, represented by characters like "ङ" (ṅ) and "ञ" (ñ), which indicate the presence of nasalized consonant sounds.
  • In Marathi, each consonant is inherently linked to a specific vowel sound.

    For instance, when you write the Marathi consonant "क" (k), it automatically includes the inherent vowel sound "a". Therefore, its pronunciation defaults to "ka" when read.
  • Characters are combined to construct words in a process referred to as ligature. This method involves linking two or more characters to form a complete word.

    Take, for instance, the Marathi word "मित्र (mitra)". In this word, "म" (m) and "ि" (i) are fused to form "मि" (mi), "ि" (i) and "त" (t) are linked to create "ित" (it), and "त" (t) and "र" (r) are joined to produce "त्र" (tra). This illustrates how Marathi script utilises ligatures to seamlessly connect characters and construct words.
  • Marathi uses its distinctive numeral system for expressing numbers. For instance, the numeral "५" corresponds to the number "5", which is written as "Five" in English.
  • In Marathi, a vertical right stroke is used at the end of a sentence to signify a period or full stop.

Interesting Facts about Marathi Language

  • Marathi is the official language of the Indian state of Maharashtra and is spoken by over 100 million people around the world.
  • Marathi is one of the oldest languages of the world, with its origins dating back as early as the 8th century.
  • Marathi's linguistic roots can be traced to "Prakrit", a language used for composing Jainism and Buddhism scriptures.
  • Throughout its history, Marathi has been written in various scripts, including Devanagari, Modi, and Perso-Arabic.

Marathi at a glance

Marathi (मराठी, məˈrɑːti), is an Indo-Aryan language spoken mainly in India. It is also spoken as a second language in part of Gujarat, Karnataka, and Madhya Pradesh. Below is the quick summary:

Pronunciation: [məˈrɑːti]
Native Name: Marathi (मराठी)
Number of Speakers: 100 million
Language family: Indo-Aryan
Writing System: Devanagari Script (देवनागरी)
Spoken in: Part of Gujarat, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh.
Status: Official language of the Government of India; Official Language of Maharashtra, Goa.
Two digit language code: mr

A Complete Marathi Alphabet Chart

Below is a list of complete Marathi Varnamala Chart

Independent Vowels:

[a]
[aa]
[i]
[ii]
[u]
[oo]
[a]
[ai]
[o]
[au]
अं
[am]
अः
[a:]
[ri]
[rr]

Dependent Vowels:

[aa]
ि
[i]
[ii]
[u]
[uu]
[r]
[rr]
[e]
[e]
[e]
[ai]
[o]
[o]
[o]
[au]

Consonants:

[k]
[kh]
[g]
[gh]
[ng]
[ch]
[chh]
[j]
[jh]
[ny]
[t]
[th]
[d]
[dh]
[n]
[t]
[tha]
[d]
[dha]
[n]
[p]
[ph]
[b]
[bha]
[m]
[y]
[r]
[l]
[v]
[sh]
[shha]
[s]
[h]
[ḷ]
क्ष
[ksh]
ज्ञ
[gya]

Marathi Digit:

[shunya]
[ek]
[don]
[teen]
[chaar]
[paach]
[saha]
[saat]
[aath]
[nau]
.

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