Marma Dictionary

Zabarang, with the support of the PAWANKA Fund of RSF Social Finance (RSF), has been implementing a project titled ‘Sonjiban’ (Revitalization of Endangered Languages and Preparedness of Targeted Languages for the Government Education Program in Bangladesh). The project aims to facilitate the development of endangered indigenous languages in Bangladesh, protecting them from disappearance and decline. Additionally, it supports the preparedness of six indigenous languages for the next phase of the government’s education program.
A video documentary has been produced as a tool to raise awareness among indigenous peoples and policymakers about the decline of indigenous languages. The project also has published pictorial books in Khasi, Manipuri, Manipuri Bishnupriya, Tangchangya, Bawm, and Mro to support these languages' readiness for academic use in upcoming government initiatives. Dictionaries in Marma and Kokborok (Tripura) have been published through Android apps as part of this effort. The project aims to encourage scholars and writers from three endangered languages to document and publish their languages, ensuring their preservation.
Marma, spoken by around 350,000 people, is the second most spoken indigenous language in Bangladesh. Despite its rich literary heritage, there has been no dictionary for Marma in the country. To fill this gap, our project has developed and published a Marma-Bengali dictionary, accessible through Android apps. We believe this resource will greatly benefit both linguists and the Marma-speaking community.

Mathura Bikash Tripura
Executive Director, Zabarang