| Mara | |
|---|---|
| Mara (Tlosai) | |
| Pronunciation | [mərà] |
| Native to | Mizoram,India;Burma |
| Ethnicity | Mara people |
Native speakers | (ca. 400,000 cited 1994–2011)[1] |
| Latin | |
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-3 | mrh |
| Glottolog | mara1382 |
| ELP | Mara |
Mara (Mara reih;pronounced[məràreɪ],မရာဘာသာစကား;pronounced[məràbàθàzəɡá]) is aKuki-Chin language spoken byMara people, mostly theTlosai tribe living in 30 villages ofChhimtuipui district, southernMizoram,India; 9 villages inThantlang District,Chin State,Burma; and several more inMatupi District,Chin State,Burma.
The Mara (Tlosai) languages belong to theKuki-Chin branch of theSino-Tibetan language family. The speakers of the languages are also known as Mara (Tlosais).
Mara is a recognised language in theMara Autonomous District Council (MADC) school curriculum. Mara is a compulsory subject for all schools up to class VII (middle school) under the Board of School Education, MADC.
A written script for Mara was first created in 1852 by Captain S.R. Tickell.[2] Further scripts were invented in 1869 by Captain T.H. Lewin, in 1908 by Rev. F.W. Savidge and by R.A. Lorain.[2]
A, AW, Y, B, CH, D, E, F, H, I, K, L, M, N, NG, O, Ô, P, R, S, T, U, V, Z
a, aw, y, b, ch, d, e, f, h, i, k, l, m, n, ng, o, ô, p, r, s, t, u, v, z
ao, yu, ai, ei, ia, ie, ua
The plural form of a noun is formed by affixing one of the following terms to the end of the noun:
Today the Mara language has its own alphabet; words inside brackets show author N.E. Parry's transliterations from 1937.
Singular
Plural
Singular
Plural
| Labial | Dental/ Alveolar | (Alveolo-) palatal | Velar | Glottal | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Plosive/ Affricate | voiceless | p | t | tɕ | k | (ʔ) |
| aspirated | pʰ | tʰ | tɕʰ | kʰ | ||
| voiced | b | d | dʑ | |||
| Fricative | voiceless | f | s | h | ||
| voiced | v | z | ||||
| Nasal | plain | m | n | ŋ | ||
| murmured | mʰ | nʰ | ||||
| Trill | voiced | r | ||||
| voiceless | r̥ | |||||
| Lateral | voiced | l | ||||
| voiceless | l̥ | |||||
| Approximant | w | ɹ̥ | j | |||
| Front | Central | Back | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Close | i | y | ɨ | u |
| i̞ | u̞ | |||
| Mid | e | ø | o | |
| Open | ɑ̝ | |||
| ɑ | ||||
Sino-Tibetan branches | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| WesternHimalayas (Himachal, Uttarakhand,Nepal,Sikkim) |
|  | |||
| EasternHimalayas (Tibet,Bhutan,Arunachal) | |||||
| Myanmar and Indo- Burmese border |
| ||||
| East andSoutheast Asia |
| ||||
| Dubious (possible isolates,Arunachal) |
| ||||
| Proposed groupings | |||||
| Proto-languages | |||||
Italics indicates single languages that are also considered to be separate branches. | |||||
