Mara (, ; , ) is a Kuki-Chin language spoken by Mara people, mostly the Tlosai tribe living in 30 villages of Chhimtuipui district, southern Mizoram, India; 9 villages in Thantlang District, Chin State, Burma; and several more in Matupi District, Chin State, Burma.
The Mara (Tlosai) languages belong to the Kuki-Chin branch of the Sino-Tibetan language family. The speakers of the languages are also known as Mara (Tlosais). Shendu is a colonial name.
Mara is a recognised language in the Mara 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.
Written script A written script for Mara was first created in 1852 by Captain S.R. Tickell. Further scripts were invented in 1869 by Captain T.H. Lewin, in 1908 by Rev. F.W. Savidge and by R.A. Lorain.
Mara alphabet (capital letters) A, AW, Y, B, CH, D, E, F, H, I, K, L, M, N, NG, O, Ô, P, R, S, T, U, V, Z
Mara alphabet (lowercase letters) a, aw, y, b, ch, d, e, f, h, i, k, l, m, n, ng, o, ô, p, r, s, t, u, v, z
Mara diphthongs ao, yu, ai, ei, ia, ie, ua.In the Mara language, ie is a diphthong and should not be changed to i.e., which is an English abbreviation.
Grammar Plurals 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.
Interrogative words in Mara
Pronouns
Singular 1st person: , - I 2nd person: , - you 3rd person: , or - he, she, it Plural 1st person: - we 2nd person: - you 3rd person: - they
Possessive Pronouns Singular - my - mine - thy (you) - thine (yours) - him, her, it - his, hers, its
Plural - our - ours - your - anyone - someone, a certain one - some . . . others - another, others - all
Phonology
Consonants LabialDental/Alveolar(Alveolo-)palatalVelarGlottalPlosive/Affricatevoiceless()aspiratedvoicedFricativevoicelessvoicedNasalplainmurmuredTrillvoicedvoicelessLateralvoicedvoicelessApproximant
A glottal stop may occur in onsets as a result of morphological combinations. can be dental as before or . can also be heard as uvular before or . when preceding can be heard as alveolo-palatal . Pre-aspiration can also be heard among nasals as .
Vowels FrontCentralBackCloseMidOpen
Sounds and can be heard in free variation as and .
References
External links
Mara Autonomous District Council (MADC) Official Website Mara Language Preservation (MLP) The Mara people Maraland: The Home of the Maras on the internet A grammar and dictionary of the Lakher language, by Fred W. Savidge (1908) (Scanned at Internet Archive) Mara language on Ethnologue Mara Keyboard on Keyman Mara Art & Culture Official Website under Mara Autonomous District Council (MADC)