Meadow Mari language

Last updated
Meadow–Eastern Mari
олык марий, olyk marij
Native to Russia
Region Mari El Republic
Ethnicity Meadow Mari, Eastern Mari
Native speakers
470,000 (2012) [1]
Uralic
  • Mari
    • Meadow–Eastern Mari
Cyrillic
Official status
Official language in
Russia
Language codes
ISO 639-3 mhr
Glottolog east2328
ELP Eastern Mari
Mari beginning of 20th century.png
  Meadow Mari
Lang Status 60-DE.svg
Eastern Mari is classified as Definitely Endangered by the UNESCO Atlas of the World's Languages in Danger [2]

Meadow Mari, also known as Meadow-Eastern Mari, or Eastern Mari, is a standardised dialect of the Mari language used by about half a million people mostly in European Russia. Meadow Mari, Hill Mari, and Russian are official languages in the republic of Mari El in the Russian Federation. [3]

Contents

Meadow Mari and Eastern Mari are distinct language varieties, which both use the Meadow Mari literary standard. [4] The main differences between Meadow Mari and Hill Mari are phonological, and to a lesser extent, morphological. [5]

Alphabet

А а Б б В в Г г Д д Е е Ё ё Ж ж
З з И и Й й К к Л л М м Н н Ҥ ҥ
О о Ӧ ӧ П п Р р С с Т т У у Ӱ ӱ
Ф ф Х х Ц ц Ч ч Ш ш Щ щ Ъ ъ Ы ы
Ь ь Э э Ю ю Я я     

Phonology

Consonants

Consonant Phonemes of Meadow Mari [6]
BilabialLabiodentalAlveolarPostalveolarPalatalVelar
Stop Voiceless p t k
Voiced b d g
Fricative Voiceless( f )
Voiced v ( x )
Sibilant Voiceless s ʃ
Voiced z ʒ
Affricate ( t͡s ) t͡ɕ
Nasal m n ɲ
Lateral l ʎ
Trill r
Approximate j

/f, x, ts/ primarily occur in Russian loanwords.

Vowels

Vowel Phonemes of Meadow Mari
FrontCentralBack
RoundedUnroundedUnroundedRoundedUnroundedRounded
Close i y u
Mid e ø ə o
Open ɑ

Meadow Mari has no diphthongs.

References

  1. Meadow–Eastern Mari at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015) (subscription required)
  2. "Western Mari in Russian Federation". UNESCO WAL. Retrieved 30 August 2024.
  3. University of Graz
  4. Bradley & Pischlöger 2021, p. 22–23.
  5. Saarinen 2022, p. 432.
  6. Riese, Timothy; Bradley, Jeremy; Yefremova, Tatiana (2022). Mari (марий йылме): An Essential Grammar for International Learners. Vienna: University of Vienna. p. 19.

Works cited