Editing Marathi language (section)

== Writing ==
[[File:Dnyaneshwari_Verse_In_Modi_Script.png|thumb|[[Modi script]] was used to write Marathi]]
{{Main|Devanagari|Balbodh|Modi script}}
[[File:Marathi Modi script stamp.png|thumb|An effort to conserve the "Modi Script" under [[India Posts|India Post]]'s My Stamp scheme. Here, the word 'Marathi' is printed in the "[[Modi alphabet|Modi Script]]".]]

The [[Kadamba alphabet|Kadamba script]] and its variants have been historically used to write Marathi in the form of inscriptions on stones and copper plates.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Sohoni|first1=Pushkar|title=Marathi of a single type: the demise of the Modi script|journal=Modern Asian Studies|date=May 2017|volume=51|issue=3|pages=662–685|doi=10.1017/S0026749X15000542|s2cid=148081127}}</ref> The Marathi version of [[Devanagari]], called ''Balbodh'', is similar to the Hindi Devanagari alphabet except for its use for certain words. Some words in Marathi preserve the [[schwa]], which has been omitted in other languages which use Devanagari. For example, the word 'रंग' (colour) is pronounced as 'ranga' in Marathi & 'rang' in other languages using Devanagari, and 'खरं' (true), despite the [[anuswara]], is pronounced as 'khara'. The anuswara in this case is used to avoid [[Schwa deletion in Indo-Aryan languages|schwa deletion]] in pronunciation; most other languages using Devanagari show schwa deletion in pronunciation despite the presence of schwa in the written spelling. From the 13th century until the beginning of British rule in the 19th century, Marathi was written in the [[Modi script]] for administrative purposes but in Devanagari for literature. Since 1950 it has been written in the Balbodh style of Devanagari. Except for Father Thomas Stephens' [[Krista Purana]] in the [[Latin script]] in the 1600s, Marathi has mainly been printed in Devanagari because [[William Carey (missionary)|William Carey]], the pioneer of printing in Indian languages, was only able to print in Devanagari. He later tried printing in Modi but by that time, Balbodh Devanagari had been accepted for printing.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Rao|first1=Goparaju Sambasiva|title=Language Change: Lexical Diffusion and Literacy|date=1994|publisher=Academic Foundation|location=Delhi|isbn=81-7188-057-6|page=49|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8Ben0lE61msC&q=marathi+print+carey+script&pg=PA27}}</ref>

=== Devanagari ===
Marathi is usually written in the ''[[Balbodh]]''<ref>{{Cite book|title = The Indian Languages|last = Masica|first = Colin P.|publisher = Cambridge University Press|year = 1993|isbn = 9780521299442|page = 437|url = https://books.google.com/books?id=Itp2twGR6tsC|author-link = Colin Masica|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20141207082658/https://books.google.com/books?id=Itp2twGR6tsC|archive-date = 7 December 2014}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|title = Language Change: Lexical Diffusion and Literacy|last = Rao|first = Goparaju Sambasiva|publisher = Academic Foundation|year = 1994|isbn = 9788171880577|pages = 48 and 49|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20141207082805/https://books.google.com/books?id=8Ben0lE61msC|archive-date = 7 December 2014|url = https://books.google.com/books?id=8Ben0lE61msC}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal|url = http://research.ijcaonline.org/ncipet/number10/ncipet1078.pdf|title = A Comparative Study of Handwritten Marathi Character Recognition|last1 = Ajmire|first1 = P.E.|date = 22 March 2013|journal = International Journal of Computer Applications|first2 = RV|last2 = Dharaskar|first3 = V M|last3 = Thakare|at = Introduction|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20141207081847/http://research.ijcaonline.org/ncipet/number10/ncipet1078.pdf|archive-date = 7 December 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url = http://www.typoday.in/2014/spk_papers14/rajendrathakre-typo14.pdf|title = Reviving the Modi Script|date = 28 February 2014|website = Typoday|last = Bhimraoji|first = Rajendra|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20141207082007/http://www.typoday.in/2014/spk_papers14/rajendrathakre-typo14.pdf|archive-date = 7 December 2014}}</ref> version of [[Devanagari]] script, an [[abugida]] consisting of 36 [[consonant]] letters and 16 initial-[[vowel]] letters. It is written from left to right. The Devanagari alphabet used to write Marathi is slightly different from the Devanagari alphabets of Hindi and other languages: there are additional letters in the Marathi alphabet and Western punctuation is used.

William Carey in 1807 Observed that as with other parts of India, a traditional [[Digraphia|duality]] existed in script usage between Devanagari for religious texts, and [[Modi script|Modi]] for commerce and administration. {{blockquote|Although in the ''Mahratta'' country the ''Devanagari'' character is well known to men of education, yet a character is current among the men of business which is much smaller, and varies considerably in form from the ''Nagari'', though the number and power of the letters nearly correspond.<ref>Carey, William. "Memoir Relative to the Translations" 1807: Serampore Mission Press.</ref>}}

====Vowels====

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align: center;"
|-
! Devanagari !! Transliterated !! IPA !! Pronunciation
|-
| अ ||  a || {{IPA|/ə/}} || {{Multi-listen item small|filename=MRv01-a.ogg|title=a|description=|format=[[Ogg]]}}
|-
| आ || ā || {{IPA|/a(ː)/}} || {{Multi-listen item small|filename=MRv02-aa.ogg|title=aa|description=|format=[[Ogg]]}}
|-
| इ || i || {{IPA|/i/}} || {{Multi-listen item small|filename=MRv03-i.ogg|title=i|description=|format=[[Ogg]]}}
|-
| ई || ī || {{IPA|/i(ː)/}} || {{Multi-listen item small|filename=MRv04-ee.ogg|title=ee|description=|format=[[Ogg]]}}
|-
| उ || u || {{IPA|/u/}} || {{Multi-listen item small|filename=MRv05-u.ogg|title=u|description=|format=[[Ogg]]}}
|-
| ऊ || ū || {{IPA|/u(ː)/}} || {{Multi-listen item small|filename=MRv06-oo.ogg|title=oo|description=|format=[[Ogg]]}}
|-
| ऋ || ṛ || {{IPA|/ru/}} || {{Multi-listen item small|filename=MRv13-ru.ogg|title=ru|description=|format=[[Ogg]]}}
|-
| ए || e || {{IPA|/e/}} || {{Multi-listen item small|filename=MRv07-e.ogg|title=a|description=|format=[[Ogg]]}}
|-
| ऐ || ai || {{IPA|/əi/}} || {{Multi-listen item small|filename=MRv08-aii.ogg|title=aii|description=|format=[[Ogg]]}} 
|-
| ओ || o || {{IPA|/o/}} || {{Multi-listen item small|filename=MRv09-o.ogg|title=o|description=|format=[[Ogg]]}}
|-
| औ || au || {{IPA|/əu/}} || {{Multi-listen item small|filename=MRv10-ouu.ogg|title=ouu|description=|format=[[Ogg]]}} 
|-
| अं || aṃ || {{IPA|/əm/}} || {{Multi-listen item small|filename=MRv11-um.ogg|title=um|description=|format=[[Ogg]]}}
|-
| अः || aḥ || {{IPA|/əɦə/}} || {{Multi-listen item small|filename=MRv12-aha.ogg|title=aha|description=|format=[[Ogg]]}} 
|}

====Consonants====

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align: center;"
! | {{lang|mr|क}} || {{lang|mr|ख}} || {{lang|mr|ग}} || {{lang|mr|घ}} || {{lang|mr|ङ}} ||
|-
| {{IAST|ka}}<br/>{{IPA|/kə/}}{{Multi-listen item small|filename=MR01-ka.ogg|title=ka|description=|format=[[Ogg]]}}
| {{IAST|kha}}<br/>{{IPA|/kʰə/}}{{Multi-listen item small|filename=MR02-kha.ogg|title=kha|description=|format=[[Ogg]]}}
| {{IAST|ga}}<br/>{{IPA|/ɡə/}}{{Multi-listen item small|filename=MR03-ga.ogg|title=ga|description=|format=[[Ogg]]}}
| {{IAST|gha}}<br/>{{IPA|/ɡʱə/}}{{Multi-listen item small|filename=MR04-gha.ogg|title=gha|description=|format=[[Ogg]]}}
| {{IAST|ṅa}}<br/>({{IPA|/ŋə/}}){{Multi-listen item small|filename=MR05-nga.ogg|title=nga|description=|format=[[Ogg]]}}
|
|-
! | {{lang|mr|च}} || {{lang|mr|छ}} || {{lang|mr|ज}} || {{lang|mr|झ}} || {{lang|mr|ञ}} ||
|-
| {{IAST|ca}}, {{Transliteration|mr|ċa}}<br/>{{IPA|/t͡ɕə/}} or {{IPA|/t͡sə/}} {{Multi-listen item small|filename=MR06-cha.ogg|title=cha|description=|format=[[Ogg]]}}
| {{IAST|cha}} <br/>{{IPA|/t͡ɕʰə/}} {{Multi-listen item small|filename=MR07-chha.ogg|title=chha|description=|format=[[Ogg]]}}
| {{IAST|ja}}, {{Transliteration|mr|j̈a}}<br/>{{IPA|/d͡ʑə/}} or {{IPA|/d͡zə/}} {{Multi-listen item small|filename=MR08-ja.ogg|title=ja|description=|format=[[Ogg]]}}
| {{IAST|jha}}, {{Transliteration|mr|j̈ha}}<br/>{{IPA|/d͡ʑʱə/}} or {{IPA|/d͡zʱə/}} {{Multi-listen item small|filename=MR09-jha.ogg|title=jha|description=|format=[[Ogg]]}}
| {{IAST|ña}} <br/>({{IPA|/ɲə/}}){{Multi-listen item small|filename=MR10-nya.ogg|title=nya|description=|format=[[Ogg]]}}
|
|-
! | {{lang|mr|ट}} || {{lang|mr|ठ}} || {{lang|mr|ड}} || {{lang|mr|ढ}} || {{lang|mr|ण}} ||
|-
| {{IAST|ṭa}}<br/>{{IPA|/ʈə/}} {{Multi-listen item small|filename=MR11-Ta.ogg|title=Ta|description=|format=[[Ogg]]}}
| {{IAST|ṭha}}<br/>{{IPA|/ʈʰə/}} {{Multi-listen item small|filename=MR12-Tha.ogg|title=Tha|description=|format=[[Ogg]]}}
| {{IAST|ḍa}}<br/>{{IPA|/ɖə/}} {{Multi-listen item small|filename=MR13-Da.ogg|title=Da|description=|format=[[Ogg]]}}
| {{IAST|ḍha}}<br/>{{IPA|/ɖʱə/}} {{Multi-listen item small|filename=MR14-Dha.ogg|title=Dha|description=|format=[[Ogg]]}}
| {{IAST|ṇa}}<br/>{{IPA|/ɳə/}}{{Multi-listen item small|filename=MR15-Na.ogg|title=Na|description=|format=[[Ogg]]}}
|
|-
! | {{lang|mr|त}} || {{lang|mr|थ}} || {{lang|mr|द}} || {{lang|mr|ध}} || {{lang|mr|न}} ||
|-
| {{IAST|ta}}<br/>{{IPA|/tə/}} {{Multi-listen item small|filename=MR16-ta.ogg|title=ta|description=|format=[[Ogg]]}}
| {{IAST|tha}}<br/>{{IPA|/tʰə/}} {{Multi-listen item small|filename=MR17-tha.ogg|title=tha|description=|format=[[Ogg]]}}
| {{IAST|da}}<br/>{{IPA|/də/}} {{Multi-listen item small|filename=MR18-da.ogg|title=da|description=|format=[[Ogg]]}}
| {{IAST|dha}}<br/>{{IPA|/dʱə/}} {{Multi-listen item small|filename=MR19-dha.ogg|title=dha|description=|format=[[Ogg]]}}
| {{IAST|na}}<br/>{{IPA|/nə/}}{{Multi-listen item small|filename=MR20-na.ogg|title=na|description=|format=[[Ogg]]}}
|
|-
! | {{lang|mr|प}} || {{lang|mr|फ}} || {{lang|mr|ब}} || {{lang|mr|भ}} || {{lang|mr|म}} ||
|-
| {{IAST|pa}}<br/>{{IPA|/pə/}} {{Multi-listen item small|filename=MR21-pa.ogg|title=pa|description=|format=[[Ogg]]}}
| {{IAST|pha}}<br/>{{IPA|/pʰə/}} or {{IPA|/fə/}} {{Multi-listen item small|filename=MR22-pha.ogg|title=pha|description=|format=[[Ogg]]}}
| {{IAST|ba}}<br/>{{IPA|/bə/}} {{Multi-listen item small|filename=MR23-ba.ogg|title=ba|description=|format=[[Ogg]]}}
| {{IAST|bha}}<br/>{{IPA|/bʱə/}} {{Multi-listen item small|filename=MR24-bha.ogg|title=bha|description=|format=[[Ogg]]}}
| {{IAST|ma}}<br/>{{IPA|/mə/}}{{Multi-listen item small|filename=MR25-ma.ogg|title=ma|description=|format=[[Ogg]]}}
|
|-
! | {{lang|mr|य}} || {{lang|mr|र}} || {{lang|mr|ल}} || {{lang|mr|व}} || {{lang|mr|श}} ||
|-
| {{IAST|ya}}<br/>{{IPA|/jə/}} {{Multi-listen item small|filename=MR26-ya.ogg|title=ya|description=|format=[[Ogg]]}}
| {{IAST|ra}}<br/>{{IPA|/ɾə/}}{{Multi-listen item small|filename=MR27-ra.ogg|title=ra|description=|format=[[Ogg]]}}
| {{IAST|la}}<br/>{{IPA|/lə/}} {{Multi-listen item small|filename=MR28-la.ogg|title=la|description=|format=[[Ogg]]}}
| {{IAST|va}}<br/>{{IPA|/ʋə/}}{{Multi-listen item small|filename=MR29-wa.ogg|title=wa|description=|format=[[Ogg]]}}
| {{IAST|śa}}<br/>{{IPA|/ʃə/}} {{Multi-listen item small|filename=MR30-sha.ogg|title=sha|description=|format=[[Ogg]]}}
|
|-
! | {{lang|mr|ष}} || {{lang|mr|स}} || {{lang|mr|ह}} || {{lang|mr|ळ}} || {{lang|mr|क्ष}} || {{lang|mr|ज्ञ}}
|-
| {{IAST|ṣa}}<br/>{{IPA|/ʂə/}}{{Multi-listen item small|filename=MR31-sha2.ogg|title=sha|description=|format=[[Ogg]]}}
| {{IAST|sa}}<br/>{{IPA|/sə/}} {{Multi-listen item small|filename=MR32-sa.ogg|title=sa|description=|format=[[Ogg]]}}
| {{IAST|ha}}<br/>{{IPA|/ɦə/}} {{Multi-listen item small|filename=MR33-ha.ogg|title=ha|description=|format=[[Ogg]]}}
| {{IAST|ḷa}}<br/>{{IPA|/ɭə/}} {{Multi-listen item small|filename=MR34-La.ogg|title=La|description=|format=[[Ogg]]}}
| {{IAST|kṣa}}<br/>{{IPA|/kɕə/}}{{Multi-listen item small|filename=MR35-ksha.ogg|title=ksha|description=|format=[[Ogg]]}}
| {{IAST|jña}}<br/>{{IPA|/dɲə/}}{{Multi-listen item small|filename=MR36-dnya.ogg|title=dnya|description=|format=[[Ogg]]}}
|}

It is written from left to right. Devanagari used to write Marathi is slightly different from that of Hindi or other languages. It uses additional vowels and consonants that are not found in other languages that also use Devanagari.

==== Example of consonant–vowel combination ====
Combination of the vowels with K:
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align: center;"
! Script || Pronunciation (IPA)
|-
| क || {{IPA|/kə/}}
|-
| का || {{IPA|/kaː/}}
|-
| कि || {{IPA|/ki/}}
|-
| की || {{IPA|/kiː/}}
|-
| कु || {{IPA|/ku/}}
|-
| कू || {{IPA|/kuː/}}
|-
| कृ || {{IPA|/kru/}}
|-
| के || {{IPA|/ke/}}
|-
| कै || {{IPA|/kəi̯/}}
|-
| को || {{IPA|/ko/}}
|-
| कौ || {{IPA|/kəu̯/}}
|-
| कं || {{IPA|/kəm/}}
|-
| कः || {{IPA|/kəɦ(ə)/}}
|}

=== The Modi alphabet ===
{{See also|Modi alphabet}}
From the thirteenth century until 1950, Marathi, especially for business use, was written in the [[Modi alphabet]], a cursive script designed for minimising the lifting of pen from paper while writing.<ref>[http://marathimodi.tripod.com/home.html] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080516210222/http://marathimodi.tripod.com/home.html|date=16 May 2008}}</ref>

=== Consonant clusters in Devanagari ===
In Devanagari, consonant letters by default come with an inherent [[schwa]]. Therefore, {{lang|mr|तयाचे}} will be <nowiki>'təyāche'</nowiki>, not <nowiki>'tyāche'</nowiki>. To form <nowiki>'tyāche'</nowiki>, you will have to write it as {{lang|mr|त्}} + {{lang|mr|याचे}}, giving {{lang|mr|त्याचे}}.

When two or more consecutive consonants are followed by a vowel then a ''[[:mr:जोडाक्षरे|jodakshar]]'' (consonant cluster) is formed. Some examples of consonant clusters are shown below:

* {{lang|mr|'''त्या'''चे}} – ''tyāche'' – "his"
* {{lang|mr|'''प्रस्ता'''व}} – ''prastāva'' – "proposal"
* {{lang|mr|वि'''द्या'''}} – ''vidyā'' – "knowledge"
* {{lang|mr|'''म्या'''न}} – ''myān'' – "Sheath/scabbard"
* {{lang|mr|'''त्व'''रा}} – ''tvarā'' – "immediate/Quick"
* {{lang|mr|मह'''त्त्व'''}} – ''mahattva'' – "importance"
* {{lang|mr|फ'''क्त'''}} – ''phakta'' – "only"
* {{lang|mr|बाहु'''ल्या'''}} – ''bāhulyā'' – "dolls"
* क'''ण्हे'''री – ''kaṇherī'' – "[[Nerium|oleander]]" (known for its flowers)
* '''न्हा'''णे – ''nhāṇe'' – "bathing"
* '''म्ह'''णून – ''mhaṇūna'' – "therefore"
* त'''ऱ्हा''' – ''taṟhā'' – "different way of behaving"
* को'''ल्हा''' – ''kolhā'' – "fox"
* के'''व्हा''' – ''kevhā'' – "when"
In writing, Marathi has a few [[Digraph (orthography)|digraphs]] that are rarely seen in the world's languages, including those denoting the so-called "nasal aspirates" (ṇh (ण्ह), nh (न्ह) and mh (म्ह)) and liquid aspirates (rh, ṟh, lh ({{Lang|mr|ल्ह}}), and vh व्ह). Some examples are given above.

=== Eyelash reph/raphar ===
{{See also|Zero-width joiner|Virama}}The eyelash reph/raphar (रेफ/ रफार) (र्‍) exists in Marathi as well as Nepali. The eyelash reph/raphar (र्‍) is produced in Unicode by the sequence <big>[</big><big>ra</big> र <big>] </big>+ <big>[</big><big>virāma ्</big>] + <big>[ZWJ]</big> and <big>[</big><big>rra</big> ऱ <big>]</big>+ <big>[</big><big>virāma ्</big>] + <big>[ZWJ]</big>.<ref>{{cite web|url = http://unicode.org/~emuller/iwg/p8/utcdoc.html|title = Devanagari Eyelash Ra|date = 7 November 2004|website = The Unicode Consortium|last = Indic Working Group|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20140527105648/http://unicode.org/~emuller/iwg/p8/utcdoc.html|archive-date = 27 May 2014}}</ref> In Marathi, when 'र' is the first consonant of a [[consonant cluster]] and occurs at the beginning of a syllable, it is written as an eyelash reph/raphar.<ref>{{Cite book|title = Learning Marathi|last1 = Kalyan|first1 = Kale|publisher = Shri Vishakha Prakashan|year = 1986|location = Pune|page = 26|last2 = Soman|first2 = Anjali}}</ref> 
{| class="wikitable"
|-
!Examples
|-
|तर्‍हा
|-
|वाऱ्याचा
|-
|ऱ्हास
|-
|ऱ्हस्व
|-
|सुऱ्या
|-
|दोऱ्या
|}

==== Minimal pairs ====
Source:<ref>{{Cite book|title = Typography of Devanagari-1|last = Naik|first = B.S.|publisher = Directorate of Languages|year = 1971|location = Bombay}}</ref>
{| class="wikitable"
|-
!Using the (Simple) Reph/Raphar
!Using the Eyelash Reph/Raphar
|-
|आचार्यास (to the teacher)
|आचार्‍यास (to the cook)
|-
|दर्या (ocean)
|दर्‍या (valleys)
|}

=== Braille ===
In February 2008, [[Swagat Thorat]] published India's first Braille newspaper, the Marathi ''Sparshdnyan'', a news, politics and current affairs fort nightly magazine.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Menon |first1=Sudha |title=Marathi magazine to be launched in Feb is first Braille fortnightly |url=https://www.livemint.com/Politics/4vVRvrvpIu68VzrnvfDvwL/Marathi-magazine-to-be-launched-in-Feb-is-first-Braille-fort.html |access-date=18 November 2020 |work=mint |date=15 January 2008 |language=en}}</ref>