Cheremis is a historical name for the Mari language (марий йылме, ISO 639-3: mhr) [1] , a Uralic language of the Republic of Mari El in the middle Volga region of Russia. The name was used in older Russian and comparative Uralic literature. Modern usage prefers "Mari", the self-designation of the people. Mari State University [1] and the Institute for Linguistic Studies (RAS) [2] use "Mari" in current materials, but "Cheremis" still appears in older scholarly works.

The Cheremis Alphabet — Historical Name for Mari, the Uralic Language of the Republic of Mari El, Russia

Q: Are Cheremis and Mari the same language?

Yes. Cheremis and Mari are the same language [1] , with ISO 639-3 code mhr. Both names refer to the Uralic language of the Republic of Mari El. "Cheremis" is simply the older name; all current academic work uses "Mari". Mari State University [1] , the Institute for Linguistic Studies (RAS) [2] and ELAR [3] catalogue their materials under "Mari". If you find "Cheremis" in older literature, it refers to the same Mari language .

Q: What alphabet does Cheremis (Mari) use?

Cheremis (Mari) is written in a Cyrillic alphabet [1] based on the Russian letters, extended with Ӱ (U with diaeresis), Ӧ (O with diaeresis) and Ҥ (velar nasal). The letter Ӱ is especially characteristic of Mari and rarely used in other Cyrillic scripts.

Q: What are the Meadow and Eastern varieties of Mari?

Mari (Cheremis) has two main literary varieties [1] : Meadow (and Hill) Mari, spoken west of the Volga, and Eastern Mari, spoken further east. They differ in phonology and vocabulary but share the same Cyrillic writing tradition. Some classifications treat Hill Mari as a separate language. Mari State University [1] and the Institute for Linguistic Studies (RAS) [2] document these varieties, important for teaching and publishing across the Mari-speaking area .

Q: Where is Cheremis (Mari) spoken?

Cheremis (Mari) is spoken chiefly in the Republic of Mari El [1] in the middle Volga region of Russia, with its capital Yoshkar-Ola, as well as in neighbouring Bashkortostan, Tatarstan and other regions where Mari communities live. It is a co-official language of the Republic of Mari El.

Q: What is the special letter Ӱ in Cheremis (Mari)?

The letter Ӱ (U with diaeresis) represents a front rounded vowel [1] , similar to the German ü. It is one of the signature letters of the Mari (Cheremis) alphabet and is rarely found in other Cyrillic-script languages, making it a distinctive marker of written Mari.

Q: How many people speak Cheremis (Mari)?

Mari (Cheremis) has roughly 400,000 speakers [1] , making it one of the larger indigenous minority languages of Russia. While speaker numbers have declined, Mari retains a strong literary and educational presence in the Republic of Mari El. Mari State University [1] supports Mari through research and teaching, while the Institute for Linguistic Studies (RAS) [2] and ELAR [3] contribute to the documentation and study of the language .

Q: What is the ISO code for Cheremis?

The main ISO 639-3 code for Cheremis is mhr [1] — the same as Mari (Meadow/Eastern Mari). Hill Mari, sometimes treated separately, has the code mrj. Both refer to the same Mari (Cheremis) language complex.

Q: How is Cheremis (Mari) being documented?

Mari (Cheremis) is supported by several institutions: Mari State University [1] in Yoshkar-Ola (dictionaries, grammars and teaching materials), the Institute for Linguistic Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences [2] (linguistic research), and the Endangered Languages Archive (ELAR) [3] (field documentation). As a co-official language of the Republic of Mari El with a substantial speaker base, Mari benefits from institutional support for education and publishing, keeping its Cyrillic writing system in active everyday and scholarly use .

Cheremis Alphabet at a Glance

Cheremis is a historical name for Mari (марий йылме, ISO 639-3: mhr), a Uralic language ^[1] of the Republic of Mari El in the middle Volga region of Russia, with roughly 400,000 speakers. The name "Cheremis" was used in older Russian and scholarly literature; modern usage prefers the self-designation "Mari"
The Cheremis/Mari alphabet is based on Cyrillic, extended with the distinctive letters Ӱ (U with diaeresis), Ӧ (O with diaeresis) and Ҥ (velar nasal). The letter Ӱ is especially characteristic of Mari among the Cyrillic-script Uralic languages ^[1]
Mari State University ^[1] in Yoshkar-Ola uses "Mari" in its current research and teaching, producing dictionaries, grammars and materials that maintain the standard orthography. "Cheremis" survives mainly in historical references
The Institute for Linguistic Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences ^[2] researches Mari and the Uralic languages of the Volga region, documenting Mari phonology, its literary varieties and its extended Cyrillic alphabet
The Endangered Languages Archive (ELAR) ^[3] at SOAS University of London holds Mari documentation under the "Mari / mhr" identifier, even where older materials use the "Cheremis" label
Mari (Cheremis) forms its own branch of Uralic ^[1], related to the Mordvinic languages, the Permic languages, the Finnic languages and — more distantly — Hungarian and the Samoyedic languages

Cheremis (Mari) Vowels

The Cheremis/Mari alphabet has a rich set of vowel letters including the front rounded vowels Ӱ (U with diaeresis) and Ӧ (O with diaeresis). Mari also has a reduced central vowel that is a hallmark of its phonology ^[1].

Mari State University ^[1] presents the Mari vowel system in its teaching materials, and the Institute for Linguistic Studies (RAS) ^[2] documents these vowels in its research into the Uralic languages of the Volga region.

[AH]

[YEH]

[YO]

[EE]

[OH]

[OO]

[UE]

[IH]

[EH]

[YOO]

[YAH]

[AH]

as in "father"

[YEH]

as in "yet"

[YO]

as in "yore"

[EE]

as in "see"

[OH]

as in "more"

[OO]

as in "moon"

[UE]

U with diaeresis — front rounded vowel, the signature letter of Mari

[IH]

back unrounded vowel, like a dark "i"

[EH]

as in "bed"

[YOO]

as in "you"

[YAH]

as in "yard"

Cheremis (Mari) Consonants

The Cheremis/Mari consonant letters include the distinctive Ҥ (velar nasal). Mari uses the Russian Cyrillic consonants plus this extra nasal letter, and its consonant system is shaped by vowel harmony and morphophonological alternations ^[2].

Mari State University ^[1] and the Institute for Linguistic Studies (RAS) ^[2] document the Mari consonant system, including differences between the Meadow and Eastern literary varieties.

[B]

[V]

[G]

[D]

[ZH]

[Z]

[Y]

[K]

[L]

[M]

[N]

[NG]

[P]

[R]

[S]

[T]

[KH]

[TS]

[CH]

[SH]

[SHCH]

[B]

as in "bat"

[V]

as in "van"

[G]

as in "go"

[D]

as in "dog"

[ZH]

as in "measure"

[Z]

as in "zoo"

[Y]

as in "yes"

[K]

as in "key"

[L]

as in "lamp"

[M]

as in "man"

[N]

as in "not"

[NG]

En with descender — velar nasal used in the Mari alphabet

[P]

as in "pen"

[R]

rolled r

[S]

as in "sun"

[T]

as in "top"

[KH]

as in Scottish "loch"

[TS]

as in "cats"

[CH]

as in "church"

[SH]

as in "ship"

[SHCH]

soft sh-ch cluster

[UE]

[OE]

[NG]

Cheremis (Mari) Digits

Cheremis/Mari uses Arabic numerals (0–9). Native Mari number words: нул (0), ик (1), кок (2), кум (3), ныл (4), вич (5), куд (6), шым (7), кандаш (8), индеш (9).

Mari numerals such as кум (3) and вич (5) preserve Uralic roots comparable with the Permic and Mordvinic languages, connections documented by Mari State University ^[1] and the Institute for Linguistic Studies (RAS) ^[2] in their comparative Uralic research.

[нул]

[ик]

[кок]

[кум]

[ныл]

[вич]

[куд]

[шым]

[кандаш]

[индеш]

[нул]

Mari: нул

[ик]

Mari: ик

[кок]

Mari: кок

[кум]

Mari: кум

[ныл]

Mari: ныл

[вич]

Mari: вич

[куд]

Mari: куд

[шым]

Mari: шым

[кандаш]

Mari: кандаш

[индеш]

Mari: индеш

[AH]

[B]

[V]

[G]

[D]

[YEH]

[YO]

[ZH]

[Z]

[EE]

[Y]

[K]

[L]

[M]

[N]

[NG]

[OH]

[OE]

[P]

[R]

[S]

[T]

[OO]

[UE]

[F]

[KH]

[TS]

[CH]

[SH]

[SHCH]

[IH]

[EH]

[YOO]

[YAH]

Expand All Collapse All

What is "Cheremis"?

Are Cheremis and Mari the same language?

What alphabet does Cheremis (Mari) use?

What are the Meadow and Eastern varieties of Mari?

Where is Cheremis (Mari) spoken?

What is the special letter Ӱ in Cheremis (Mari)?

How many people speak Cheremis (Mari)?

What is the ISO code for Cheremis?

How is Cheremis (Mari) being documented?

References:

[1] Mari State University (Марийский государственный университет), Yoshkar-Ola, Republic of Mari El. "Mari Language and Literature Studies" — the university is a leading centre for research on the Mari language (марий йылме, ISO 639-3: mhr), a Uralic language of the Republic of Mari El, Russia, documenting its Cyrillic alphabet with the unique letter Ӱ. Retrieved from Mari State University - https://www.marsu.ru/ (URL no longer accessible)
[2] Institute for Linguistic Studies, Russian Academy of Sciences (ILS RAS), St Petersburg. "Mari Language Research" — the institute researches the Mari language and other Uralic languages of the Volga region, analysing Mari phonology, its two literary varieties, and its extended Cyrillic alphabet. Retrieved from Institute for Linguistic Studies, RAS
[3] Endangered Languages Archive (ELAR), SOAS University of London. "Mari Language Documentation" — ELAR holds documentation of Mari (Cheremis), a Uralic language of the middle Volga region of Russia, including recordings illustrating its Cyrillic orthography. Retrieved from Endangered Languages Archive (ELAR)