Marathi is an Indo-Aryan language spoken by about 71 million people
mainly in the Indian state of Maharashtra and neighbouring states. Marathi
is also spoken in Israel and Mauritius. Marathi is thought to be a descendent of
Maharashtri, one of the Prakrit languages which developed from Sanskrit.
Marathi first appeared in writing during the 11th century in the form of inscriptions on
stones and copper plates. From the 13th century until the mid 20th century, it was written with
the Modi alphabet. Since 1950 it has been written with the
Devanāgarī alphabet.
Devanāgarī alphabet for Marathi
Vowels and vowel diacritics
Consonants
Numbers
Sample text in Marathi
Transliteration
Sarva manuṣyajāt janmataḥc svataṅtra āhe va sarvajaṇāṅnā pdkulkarni samān pratiṣṭhā va samān adhikār āhēt. Tyānnā vicāraśakti va sadasadvivekabuddhi lābhalelī āhe va tyāṅnī ekamekaṅśī baṅdhutvācyā bhāvanēnē ācaraṇ karāvē.
A recording of this text by Ganesh Deshmukh
Translation
All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. They are endowed with reason
and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood.
(Article 1 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights)
Thanks to Arvind Iyengar for providing the above sample text and to Mrunal for
corrections to this page.
Links
Information about the Marathi language
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marathi
http://www.india4world.com/indian-language/marathi-language.shtml
Online Marathi lessons
http://www.marathimitra.com
https://www.glovico.org/en/marathi
Marathi phonology (includes recordings)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marathi_phonology
Marathi and Maharashtra related resources (in Marathi and English)
http://www.maayboli.com
Online Marathi newspaper
http://www.lokmat.com
Devanagari script tutor
http://www.avashy.com/hindiscripttutor.htm
Free Devanagari fonts
http://www.kiranfont.com