Divehi

Divehi, also known as Dhivehi or Maldivian, is an Indo-Aryan language spoken in the Maldives. It is closely related to Sinhalese and is written in a script derived from the Arabic alphabet. Divehi is the national language of the Maldives and is spoken by around 350,000 people. It is also spoken by Maldivian communities in Sri Lanka, India and the United Kingdom. The Maldives have a long history of trade and cultural exchange with South Asia and the Middle East, and this is reflected in the language. Divehi has borrowed words from both Sanskrit and Arabic, as well as from English and other European languages. The grammar of Divehi is similar to that of other Indo-Aryan languages, but it has some unique features. For example, it uses the particle aa to mark the subject of a sentence, and it has a system of honorifics which show respect to the listener or reader. Divehi is a tonal language, which means that the pitch of a word can change its meaning. For example, the word 'dhon' can mean 'house' or 'person', depending on the tone it is spoken with. The Maldives are a popular tourist destination, and many visitors to the country learn some Divehi in order to communicate with the locals. However, the language is not widely taught outside of the Maldives.