Mara is a

Kuki-Chin The Kuki-Chin languages (also called Kuki-Chin-Mizo, Kukish or South-Central Tibeto-Burman languages) are a branch of 50 or so Sino-Tibetan languages spoken in northeastern India, western Myanmar and southeastern Bangladesh. Most speakers of the ...

language spoken by

Mara people The Mara are the native inhabitants of Mizoram in India, native to northeastern India, primarily in the Mara Autonomous District Council of the state of Mizoram, where they form the majority of the population. The Maras are related to Kuki and ...

, mostly the Tlosaih tribe living in 30 villages of Chhimtuipui district, southern

Mizoram Mizoram () is a state in Northeast India, with Aizawl as its seat of government and capital city. The name of the state is derived from "Mizo people, Mizo", the endonym, self-described name of the native inhabitants, and "Ram", which in the Mizo ...

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

and the adjacent villages in

Burma Myanmar, ; UK pronunciations: US pronunciations incl. . Note: Wikipedia's IPA conventions require indicating /r/ even in British English although only some British English speakers pronounce r at the end of syllables. As John Wells explai ...

. The Mara (Tlosaih) languages belong to the

branch of the

Sino-Tibetan language family Sino-Tibetan, also cited as Trans-Himalayan in a few sources, is a family of more than 400 languages, second only to Indo-European in number of native speakers. The vast majority of these are the 1.3 billion native speakers of Chinese languages. ...

. The speakers of the languages are also known as Mara (Tlosais). Mara is a recognised language in the

Mara Autonomous District Council Mara Autonomous District Council (MADC) is one of the three Autonomous District Councils within Mizoram state of India. It covers Siaha subdivision and Tipa subdivision of Siaha district. Primarily, an autonomous administrative government me ...

(MADC) school curriculum. Mara is a compulsory subject for all schools up to class VII (middle school) under the Board of School Education, MADC.

Demographics

*Population: 56,574 in

Saiha district Siaha District is one of the eleven districts of Mizoram state in India. The district is bounded on the northwest by Lunglei district, on the north and west by Lawngtlai District and on the south and east by Myanmar. The district occupies an ...

(2011), 37,000 in

(2007). *Region:

Saiha District Siaha District is one of the eleven districts of Mizoram state in India. The district is bounded on the northwest by Lunglei district, on the north and west by Lawngtlai District and on the south and east by Myanmar. The district occupies an ...

(

), Indo-Burma Border *Alternate names:

Lakher The Mara are the native inhabitants of Mizoram in India, native to Northeast India, northeastern India, primarily in the Mara Autonomous District Council of the state of Mizoram, where they form the majority of the population. The Maras are rel ...

, Mara, Maram, Mira, Zao, Shendu, Khawngsai, Khyeng. *Languages: Tlôsaih, Sizo (Chapi/Saby/Ngiaphia), Hlaipao (Vahapi, Heima and Lelai), Lyvaw (Nohro & Notlia), Lochei ochebi, Zophei (Ahnai/Vytu, Bawipa and Asah/Leita), Senthang (Khuapi/Saith a), Lautu (Awhsa/Kahno) & Saté *Tribes: Zophei, Lautu, Senthang, Tlosai, Hlaipao and Haw Thai

Phonology

Consonants

* A glottal stop �may occur in onsets as a result of morphological combinations. * /t/ can be dental as ̪before /ɑ/ or /i/. * /k/ can also be heard as uvular before /ɑ/ or /i/. * /s, z/ when preceding /i/ can be heard as alveolo-palatal �, ʑ * Pre-aspiration can also be heard among nasals as �m, ʱn

Vowels

* Sounds /o/ and /ɑ̝/ can be heard in free variation as �, ɐʊand �

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, i.e., ua

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

References

External links

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 The Internet Archive is an American digital library with the stated mission of "universal access to all knowledge". It provides free public access to collections of digitized materials, including websites, software applications/games, music, ...

) {{Authority control Kuki-Chin languages Languages of Mizoram Endangered languages of India