Mari today has a unified standard form with two variants (Hill and Meadow AKA Western and Eastern, with the Eastern variant prevailing in everyday usage), using a modified version of Cyrillic script, and is the titular and official language of its republic, alongside Russian. The use of two "variants", as opposed to two "languages", has been hotly debated: Maris recognize the unity of the ethnic group, and the two forms are very close, but distinct enough to cause some problems with communication.
Mari: марий йылме, marii jylme, Russian: марийский язык