Mara language

Mara is a Kuki-Chin language spoken by Mara people, mostly the Tlosai tribe living in 30 villages of Chhimtuipui district, southern Mizoram, India and the adjacent villages in Burma.

Mara
Mara (Tlosai)
Pronunciation	[məra]
Native to	Mizoram, India; Burma
Ethnicity	Mara people
Native speakers	(ca. 400,000 cited 1994–2011)
Language family	Sino-Tibetan Kuki-Chin Maraic Mara
Writing system	Latin
Language codes
ISO 639-3	mrh
Glottolog	mara1382
ELP	Mara Chin

Not to be confused with the Aboriginal Australian Marra language (also spelt Mara)

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).

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.

Mara is a Kuki-Chin language spoken by Mara people.

Orthography

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

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
	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

• 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].

Vowels

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

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

External links

• 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