The
Mari language (Mari: ,
marij jəlme; ,
mariyskiy yazyk), spoken by approximately 400,000 people, belongs to the
Uralic language family. It is spoken primarily in the
Mari Republic (Mari: ,
Marii El, i.e., 'Mari land') of the
Russian Federation as well as in the area along the
Vyatka river basin and eastwards to the
Urals. Mari speakers, known as the
Mari are found also in the
Tatarstan,
Udmurtia, and
Perm regions.