Editing Mari language (section)

{{about|the Uralic language spoken in Russia|other uses|Mari language (disambiguation)}}
{{short description|Uralic language}}
{{more footnotes|date=January 2015}}
{{Infobox language
| name             = Mari
| nativename       = {{lang|chm|марий йылме}} {{tlit|chm|marij jylme}}
| pronunciation    = {{IPA|chm|mɑˈɾij ˈjəlme|}}
| region           = [[Russian Federation]]: [[autonomous republic]]s [[Mari El]], [[Bashkortostan]], [[Tatarstan]], [[Udmurtia]]; [[oblast]]i [[Nizhny Novgorod Oblast|Nizhny Novgorod]], [[Kirov Oblast|Kirov]], [[Sverdlovsk Oblast|Sverdlovsk]], [[Orenburg Oblast|Orenburg]]; [[Perm Krai]]
| ethnicity        = 548,000 [[Mari people|Mari]] (2010 census)<ref>{{e25|mhr|Mari, Meadow}}</ref>
| speakers         = {{sigfig|318495|2}}
| date             = 2020
| ref              = <ref>{{Cite web |title=Итоги Всероссийской переписи населения 2020 года. Таблица 6. Население по родному языку.|trans-title=Results of the All-Russian population census 2020. Table 6. population according to native language. |url=https://rosstat.gov.ru/vpn_popul |access-date=2023-01-03 |website=rosstat.gov.ru}}</ref>
| familycolor      = Uralic
| nation           = {{Flag|Russia}}
*{{Flag|Mari El}}
| dia1             = [[Meadow Mari language|Eastern Mari]]{{Indent|1}}{{*}}Eastern proper{{Indent|1}}{{*}}Meadow
| dia2             = Western Mari{{Indent|1}}{{*}}[[Hill Mari language|Hill]]{{Indent|1}}{{*}}[[Northwestern Mari language|Northwestern]]
| dia3             = ?[[Merya language|Merya]] {{extinct}} (unattested)
| iso2             = chm
| iso3             = chm
| lc1              = mhr
| ld1              = [[Meadow Mari language|Eastern and Meadow Mari]] (Eastern Mari)
| lc2              = mrj
| ld2              = [[Hill Mari language|Hill Mari]] (Western Mari)
| glotto           = mari1278
| glottorefname    = Mari
| map              = Mari beginning of 20th century.png
| mapcaption       = Geographic distribution of Mari languages at the beginning of the 20th century<ref name=map1>{{Cite journal |last1=Rantanen |first1=Timo |last2=Tolvanen |first2=Harri |last3=Roose |first3=Meeli |last4=Ylikoski |first4=Jussi |last5=Vesakoski |first5=Outi |date=2022-06-08 |title=Best practices for spatial language data harmonization, sharing and map creation—A case study of Uralic |journal=PLOS ONE |language=en |volume=17 |issue=6 |pages=e0269648 |doi=10.1371/journal.pone.0269648|doi-access=free |pmid=35675367 |pmc=9176854 |bibcode=2022PLoSO..1769648R }}</ref><ref name=map2>Rantanen, Timo, Vesakoski, Outi, Ylikoski, Jussi, & Tolvanen, Harri. (2021). ''Geographical database of the Uralic languages'' (v1.0) [Data set]. Zenodo. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.4784188</ref>
| notice           = IPA
| altname          = Cheremiss
}}
{{Infobox ethnonym|root=|person= |people= [[Mari people|Mari]]|language= [[Mari language|Marij]]|country=[[Mari El]]}}
The '''Mari language''' ({{lang|chm|марий йылме}}, {{IPA|chm|mɑˈɾij ˈjəlme|IPA}}; {{lang-rus|марийский язык|p=mɐˈrʲijskʲɪj jɪˈzɨk}}), formerly known as the '''Cheremiss language''', spoken by approximately 400,000 people, belongs to the [[Uralic languages|Uralic]] language family. It is spoken primarily in the [[Mari Republic]] of the [[Russian Federation]], as well as in the area along the [[Vyatka River|Vyatka river]] basin and eastwards to the [[Ural Mountains|Urals]]. Mari speakers, known as the [[Mari people|Mari]], are found also in the [[Tatarstan]], [[Bashkortostan]], [[Udmurtia]], and [[Perm Krai|Perm]] regions.

Mari is the titular and official language of its republic, alongside [[Russian language|Russian]].

The Mari language today has three standard forms: [[Hill Mari language|Hill Mari]], [[Northwestern Mari language|Northwestern Mari]], and [[Meadow Mari language|Meadow Mari]]. The latter is predominant and spans the continuum Meadow Mari to Eastern Mari from the Republic into the Ural dialects of [[Bashkortostan]], [[Sverdlovsk Oblast]] and [[Udmurtia]]), whereas the former, Hill Mari, shares a stronger affiliation with the Northwestern dialect (spoken in the [[Nizhny Novgorod Oblast]] and parts of the [[Kirov Oblast]]). Both language forms use modified versions of [[Cyrillic script]]. For the non-native, Hill Mari, or Western Mari, can be recognized by its use of the special letters "ӓ" and "ӹ" in addition to the shared letters "ӱ" and "ӧ", while Eastern and Meadow Mari utilize a special letter "ҥ".

The use of two "variants", as opposed to two "languages", has been debated: Maris recognize the unity of the ethnic group, and the two forms are very close, but distinct enough to cause some problems with communication.{{Citation needed|date=April 2011}}