Introduction

New Elite Marathi (English; Latin: "Marhāṭī", /məˈrɦaʈi/; Dēvanāgarī: मऱ्हाटी; Mōḍī: 𑘦𑘨𑘿𑘮𑘰𑘘𑘲.) is the standard dialect of the Marathid languages accorded official status in the Indian State of Maharashtra, western India.

Description

It is an Indo-Aryan language of the Southern group, descending from Maharashtri Prakrit. It has a lot of historic influence from Kannada (dravidian), unknown Munda languages, Turkish and Persian (eroded due to purism efforts), and recently Hindi and English. Majorly, the vocabulary is Indo-Aryan, with minor inputs from Dravidian and Munda. The typological characteristics closely resemble the Indo-Aryan archetype. The adstratum effects from Gujarati and Konkani are especially strong due to the geographical proximity and recent migrations.

Demographics and Geography

According to the 2131 census of India, the language has a 64 million L1 speakers and 170 million total speakers; the speakers of other Marathid languages are not counted as L1 speakers. The native speakers are concentrated in and around the Mumbai Urban Agglomeration; or the भोंमुंबईम्हाणेर वसाहत ऐगठणी.

Official record

The official document through which it is maintained is called the Iron standard (Marhati: ल्होवी सरमाण​), itself updated every ten years, to keep up with the common speech of the state. Likewise, since its first edition in the 2063, it has been revised 6 times. Each successive edition adds and deletes whatever is considered necessary.
The current standard of New Elite Marathi is hence called the 7th Edition; "सातव्या आवो​टिची नोमऱ्हाटी".
The standard typically follows the language spoken in मुंब​ई. Other varieties are recognized but not explicitly supported as individual languages by the state.