The Mari language reference article from the English Wikipedia on 24-Jul-2004 (provided by Fixed Reference: snapshots of Wikipedia from wikipedia.org)

Mari language

Mari, or Cheremis, is a language of the Uralic or Finno-Ugric family, which currently has more than half a million speakers.

Mari is an official language (together with Russian) of the Mari El republic of the Russian Federation, with speakers also in the Tatarstan, Udmurtia, and Perm regions. It is a literary language, using the Cyrillic alphabet.

There are two Mari languages: Hill Mari (in the minority) and Meadow Mari. Also, some Mari speak Tatar.

Russian and Tatar have strongly influenced Mari, especially Meadow Mari.

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