8 Websites Every Learner of Marathi Should Bookmark
Like a lot of my fellow Indians, I grew up trilingual – I learned to speak Gujarati, English and Hindi as a child without conscious thought. Gujarati is my mother tongue, English my medium of instruction and most of my reading, and Hindi a language that I learned in school and also what I use for conversing with a significant proportion of Indians anywhere. However, at the age 15 I relocated to Pune in Maharashtra and found the need to learn Marathi.
This was in pre-internet times and I bumbled my way through the process of self-teaching via Marathi TV shows and trying out my Marathi on poor unsuspecting people around me. I wish I had access then, to some of the online resources available for Marathi learners today. Recently I have been looking to brush up on my rudimentary (at best) Marathi and I looked around for websites and other resources that I could use. Here are some websites and online Marathi learning resources that I think any learner of Marathi can benefit from bookmarking:
Online Marathi dictionary
A dictionary is always a basic requirement for anyone interested in becoming proficient at a language. It is also useful for reference and for clearing doubts for someone well-versed in the language. I could of course just ask Google to translate for me, however it thought it was a good idea to bookmark मराठी.भारत a multilingual Marathi dictionary for ready reference. This dictionary site provides a detailed explanation of the words and their use in different contexts. Marathi Words are connected to relevant Hindi and English words that makes it easy to use.
Marathi Dictionary app
While some of us prefer to use a good old desktop website, others prefer apps that can be used on the go. Since practically all of us are now equipped with smartphones, it is also a good idea to install one of several excellent Marathi-English dictionary apps for instant access. I find that the multilingual dictionary app from Amarkosh is a good option with a 4.8-star review rating on the Google Play store. Features of the app include pronunciation and voice search, synonyms and antonyms, history and word lists as well as a word game. The copy to search function and compact design make this a user-friendly dictionary app for Marathi learners.
Marathi for free
50languages.com is a useful free online language learning platform to start off with, if you want to learn Marathi (Marathi being one of 50 languages that the platform teaches). Someone completely unfamiliar with Marathi can really benefit from learning Marathi first words such as forms of greeting and farewell, how to carry on a conversation with a taxi driver, how to ask to buy something at a store and so on. The site also offers samples of simple Marathi conversations such as when asking for directions, in case of a car breakdown, vacation activities, eating out, sport, cleaning services, kitchen items and more. Learners can download files, buy phrase books and more via this platform.
Learn Marathi with Kaushik
Kaushik Lele is a Marathi teacher with a successful Marathi learning YouTube channel as well as a website that any learner of Marathi would find useful to bookmark. One can choose to learn Marathi from Hindi, English or Gujarati via this online resource. Each course teaches Marathi script writing and pronunciation, sentence formation rules, tenses, pronouns, conversation practice and other resources. Lele is now a well-known online Marathi tutor who finds mention in print publications and is also frequently seen to be interviewed for Marathi vlogs and other platforms.
Marathi Shala
The Bruhan Maharashtra Mandal of North America is the force behind Marathi Shala a resource that seems aimed principally at the expat Maharashtrian community. Many NRIs find that their children are unable to speak their mother tongue and this appears to be an initiative towards helping first generation Americans of Indian origin learn Marathi. The site has online Marathi courses and exams, and offers parents tips for how to start Marathi language learning classes for kids. Exams are conducted but are not compulsory. Other study materials and also updates people on various online and in-person projects are other resources available on the platform. Events such as Marathi speaking talent shows are organised to help kids living in non-Marathi speaking communities become conversant with Marathi.
Swati Banerjee
Speak Marathi
This is a website aimed at helping people fine-tune their conversational Marathi skills. Whether one is completely unfamiliar with the Marathi language or just rusty (like me) help with conversational Marathi can be very useful. This in particular helps people that have Maharashtrian roots but are unable to speak the language. For many Indians who live abroad, their language is something to be treasured; something they want their kids to know. It isn’t just that parents want their Indian origin kids born abroad to be able to connect with their extended family, knowing any language is a vitally important addition to any person’s overall skillset.
On this website, you can check out what people say about the platform: how effectively people learn, how a man with a Marathi speaking wife learned the language and so on. Learners can opt for group sessions or individual language tutoring as required.
Amarkosh
Amarkosh is an online learning platform for anyone looking to learn an Indian language from native speaker tutors. The platform promises to help one speak ‘the way natives do’. The platform acknowledges that there are some words and usages of a language that are untranslatable – we can translate the words but not the sense sought to be conveyed. This is where the insight and knowledge if a tutor with native speaker proficiency comes in. One on one lessons with a tutor who knows not only the language but also the cultural underpinnings of a civilization can make the learning experience all the more enriching and enjoyable. Learners can opt not just for Marathi tutors, but also Telugu tutors, Gujarati tutors, Hindi tutors and Sanskrit tutors here. The platform promises expert tutors with verified profiles at affordable prices.
Resource page for Marathi
This Marathi language resources and language links database is another useful page for any learner of Marathi to bookmark. It has information about the language Marathi – such as its antiquity, where it is spoken, how widely, and more. The page links to platforms that teach Marathi grammar, the alphabet, common phrases, vocabulary etc. Various ways of tutoring, such as via flashcards are also listed here. Marathi reading materials and dictionaries as well as listening and video resources are also some of the useful listings on this page.
Armed with all of these resources for Marathi learning, the student of the language will find the process much less intimidating and far more enjoyable.
