Old Marathi

Marathi ( mə-RAH-tee; मराठी, 𑘦𑘨𑘰𑘙𑘲, Marāṭhī, pronounced [məˈɾaːʈʰiː] ) is a classical Indo-Aryan language predominantly spoken by the Marathi people in the Indian state of Maharashtra. It is also widely spoken in Goa and the territory of Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu. A Marathi-speaking community also exists in Karachi, Pakistan.

It is the official language of Maharashtra, and an additional official language in the state of Goa.

Derived from Maharashtri Prakrit, it is one of the 22 scheduled languages of India, with 83 million speakers as of 2011. Marathi ranks 15th in the list of languages with the most native speakers in the world. Marathi has the third largest number of native speakers in India, after Hindustani (Hindi / Urdu) and Bengali. Marathi has some of the oldest literature of all modern Indian languages. The major dialects of Marathi are Standard Marathi and the Varhadi Marathi. Marathi was designated as a classical language by the Government of India in October 2024.

From Wikipedia · Marathi language · CC BY-SA 4.0