Hey there, folks! Big news coming out of Oxford University – they’re now offering a Marathi language course for the first time ever. That’s right, international students will now have the opportunity to dive into the world of Marathi, thanks to the Department of Asian and Middle Eastern Studies.
Prof. Ashwini Mokashi, the mastermind behind this initiative, shared that after successfully teaching Hindi last year, she expressed her interest in teaching Marathi. The idea sparked when she led a reading group on Sant Bahinabai’s Gatha, a 17th-century book. Students at the university were eager to learn an Indian language other than Hindi, and thus, the Marathi course was born.
In this course, students will learn basic academic Marathi, covering grammar, vocabulary, reading, listening, and speaking skills. By the end of the year, they’ll be able to speak and write simple Marathi and even read prose and verse. Prof. Mokashi mentioned that as far as she knows, this is the only Marathi language course in England. Although, she did recall a Marathi course being offered at the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS) in London many years ago.
With about 130 students from all over the world in the Department of Asian and Middle Eastern Studies, it’s clear that there’s a growing interest in learning Marathi. It’s always exciting to see universities broadening their language offerings, and this is definitely a step in the right direction. Who knows, maybe Marathi will become the next big language trend at Oxford!
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