Alternate Names: Cheremis, Eastern Mari, Low Mari, Lugovo Mari, Mari, Mari-Woods
Dialects: Grassland Mari (Meadow Mari, Sernur-Morkin, Volga, Yoshkar-Olin). A member of macrolanguage Mari ,.
Genealogy:
Demographics: 470,000 in Russian Federation (2012 T. Salminen). Population total all countries: 479,090. Ethnic population: 548,000 (2010 census).
Language Use: Many children learn the language but only those in remote rural areas continue to use it actively. In eastern diaspora areas in Bashkortostan practically all children learn the language (Salminen 2007). Also use Russian [rus]. Used as L2 by Hill Mari [mrj].
Language Development: Taught in primary schools. Newspapers. Radio programs. NT: 1986–2007.
Writing System: Cyrillic, Latin
Nation of Origin: Russian Federation
Other Comments: In many publications the term, Eastern Mari, is reserved for the diaspora groups outside the Republic. Christian, traditional religion.