ABSTRACT
Marathi, a major modern Indo-Aryan language and the language of the Maharashtra state, is one of the eighteen official languages in India. The name Marathi is etymologically derived from Māhārāṣṭī ‘(the language) of the great (mahā) land/nation (rāṣtra). The state covers a large area of 118,758 square miles which includes thirty districts grouped in six sociolinguistic regions in Maharashtra where the following six major dialects are spoken:
Konkaṇī (see note 1, p. 726),
Konkaṇī Deśī in Konkan (the coastal area in the west),
Kkāndeśī in Khandesh (the northwestern region),
Deśī in Desh (Pune and the southwestern region next to Konkan), and in Marathwada (the eastcentral region),
Varhāḍī in Varhad (the north-central region),
Nāgpurī in Vidarbha (the northeastern region; Varhad, and Vidarbha are generally viewed as two divisions of Mahavidarbha).
