Marathi (मराठी) (; ) is an Indo-Aryan language. It is the official language of Maharashtra state of India and is one of the 23 official languages of India. There were 73 million speakers in 2001; Marathi has the fourth largest number of native speakers in India. Marathi has some of the oldest literature of all modern Indo-Aryan languages, dating from about 1000 AD. The major dialects of Marathi are called Standard Marathi and Warhadi Marathi. There are a few other sub-dialects, such as Ahirani, Dangi, Vadvali, Samavedi, Khandeshi, and Malwani. Standard Marathi in Devnagari Script is the official language of the State of Maharashtra.
