Mara language

Mara
Mara
Mara Reih (Tlosai)
Pronunciation	[mərà]
Native to	Mizoram, India; Burma
Ethnicity	Mara people
Native speakers	(Estimated over 100,000 (India, Myanmar, Malaysia, United States, and Australia) cited 1994–2026)
Language family	Sino-Tibetan Kuki-Chin Maraic Mara; ; ;
Writing system	Latin
Language codes
ISO 639-3	mrh – inclusive code; Individual code:; shl – Shendu
Glottolog	mara1382; shen1247 Shendu
ELP	Mara

Mara (Mara Chin: Mara reih, pronounced [mərà reɪ]; Burmese: မရာဘာသာစကား, pronounced [mərà bàθàzəɡá]) 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.^[4] Further scripts were invented in 1869 by Captain T.H. Lewin, in 1908 by Rev. F.W. Savidge and by R.A. Lorain.^[4]

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.^[5]

Grammar

Plurals

The plural form of a noun is formed by affixing one of the following terms to the end of the noun:

zy (zeu)
zydua (zeu-dua)
nawh
sahlao (sha-hlawh)

Today the Mara language has its own alphabet; words inside brackets show author N.E. Parry's transliterations from 1937.

Interrogative words in Mara

What: Khâpa, Khâpa e, Khâpa maw
Where: Khataih lâ, Khataih liata
How: kheihta, kheihawhta, Khatluta, Kheihta maw
How much?: Khazie?
How long?: Khachâ e, Khachâ maw?
When: Khatita, Khatita e, Khâpa nota, nota, tita, nahta, pata Conj. thlaita, khati nota
Why: Khazia, Khazia-e, Khazia maw, Khâpa vâta
Why not: Khazia a châ vei chheih aw
Whose: Kheihawhpa, Kheihawhpa he, Kheihawhpa-e, Kheihawhpa maw, ahy he maw
Which: Kheihawhpa, Kheihawhpa he, Kheihawhpa-e, Kheihawhpa maw, ahy he maw
Friend: Viasa
Male Friend: Viasa Paw
Female Friend: Viasa Nô
Walk/Go: Sie (Phei ta Sie)
Run: Arâ, â râ
Sleep: Amô, Azia, Apazawh, â mô, â zia, â pazawh
See: Mo, hmô
Sit: Â tyuh, atyuh
Stand: Â duah, aduah
Jump: Â pathluah, apathluah
Hit: Â chô, achô
Eat: Nie
Drink: Doh

Pronouns

Singular

1st person: keima, kei - I
2nd person: nâma, na - you
3rd person: ano, a or ama' - he, she, it

Plural

1st person: eima - we
2nd person: nâmo, nâma - you
3rd person: âmo - they

Possessive Pronouns

Singular

Keima, ei - my
Keima eih, kei eih - mine
Nâma, na - thy (you)
Nâma eih, na eih - thine (yours)
Ama, a - him, her, it
Ama eih, a eih - his, hers, its

Plural

Keimo - our
Keimo eih - ours
Nâmo - your
Ahyrai - anyone
Ahy tlyma - someone, a certain one
A tlâhpi - some . . . others
A hropa - another, others
Ama zydua ta - all

Phonology

Consonants

		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
Fricative	voiced	v	z
Nasal	plain	m	n		ŋ
Nasal	murmured	mʰ	nʰ
Trill	voiced		r
Trill	voiceless		r̥
Lateral	voiced		l
Lateral	voiceless		l̥
Approximant		w	ɹ̥	j

A glottal stop [ʔ] may occur in onsets as a result of morphological combinations.
/t/ can be dental as [t̪] before /ɑ/ or /i/.
/k/ can also be heard as uvular [q] before /ɑ/ or /i/.
/s, z/ when preceding /i/ can be heard as alveolo-palatal [ɕ, ʑ].
Pre-aspiration can also be heard among nasals as [ʱm, ʱn].^[6]

Vowels

	Front		Central	Back
Close	i	y	ɨ	u
Close	i̞			u̞
Mid	e	ø		o
Open				ɑ̝
Open			ɑ

Sounds /o/ and /ɑ̝/ can be heard in free variation as [ɔ, ɐʊ] and [ʌ].^[6]

References

↑ "Mizoram". 2011 Census of India. Registrar General and Census Commissioner of India. Retrieved 4 October 2024.
↑ Khaing, Ram Kyin; Khaivatha (July–September 2019). "Evolution of Dormitory Tradition in Mara Tribe" (PDF). International Journal of Social Science and Humanities Research. 7 (3). Research Publish Journals. ISSN 2348-3164. Retrieved 27 May 2026.
↑ Mara at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015) (subscription required)
Shendu at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015) (subscription required)
1 2 Lian, Salai Van Cung; Salem-Gervais, Nicolas (November 2020). "How Many Chin Languages Should Be Taught in Government Schools? Ongoing developments and structural challenges of language-in-education policy in Chin State". Parami Journal of Education. 1 (1).
↑ In the Mara language, ie is a diphthong and should not be changed to i.e., which is an English abbreviation.
1 2 Arden, Michelle J. (2010). A phonetic, phonological, and morphosyntactic analysis of the Mara language (MA thesis). San Jose State University. doi:10.31979/etd.v36r-dk3u.

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)

[1] "Mizoram". 2011 Census of India. Registrar General and Census Commissioner of India. Retrieved 4 October 2024.

[2] Khaing, Ram Kyin; Khaivatha (July–September 2019). "Evolution of Dormitory Tradition in Mara Tribe" (PDF). International Journal of Social Science and Humanities Research. 7 (3). Research Publish Journals. ISSN 2348-3164. Retrieved 27 May 2026.

[e18-3] Mara at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015) (subscription required)
Shendu at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015) (subscription required)

[:5-4] 1 2 Lian, Salai Van Cung; Salem-Gervais, Nicolas (November 2020). "How Many Chin Languages Should Be Taught in Government Schools? Ongoing developments and structural challenges of language-in-education policy in Chin State". Parami Journal of Education. 1 (1).

[5] In the Mara language, ie is a diphthong and should not be changed to i.e., which is an English abbreviation.

[Arden-6] 1 2 Arden, Michelle J. (2010). A phonetic, phonological, and morphosyntactic analysis of the Mara language (MA thesis). San Jose State University. doi:10.31979/etd.v36r-dk3u.

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