Malayalam

Malayalam is a Dravidian language spoken in the Indian state of Kerala and the union territories of Lakshadweep and Puducherry (Mahé District) by the Malayali people. It is one of 22 scheduled languages of India and was designated a Classical Language in India in 2013. Malayalam has official language status in the state of Kerala and in the union territories of Lakshadweep and Puducherry (Mahé District). It is spoken by 38 million people worldwide. Malayalam is written using the Malayalam script, which is an abugida. The script is also used to write several minority languages in Kerala, including Paniya, Betta Kurumba, and Ravula. The script is also used to write the Sanskrit-based Maithili language in Kerala. The Malayalam script is derived from the Grantha script, which was used to write the Sanskrit language. The Grantha script was also used to write the Tamil language. The Malayalam script was standardized in the 18th century. The Malayalam script is written from left to right. It has 18 consonant letters, which are divided into three groups: The first group consists of nine letters which are pronounced with an inherent vowel: ക ഖ ഗ ഘ ങ ച ഛ ജ The second group consists of nine letters which are pronounced without an inherent vowel: ഞ ട ഠ ഡ ഢ ണ ത ഥ ദ ധ ന The third group consists of nine letters which are used only in conjunction with other letters and are not pronounced independently: യ ര ല വ ശ ഷ സ ഹ There are also three modifier letters which are used to change the pronunciation of the preceding letter: ാ ി ീ ു ൂ ൃ െ േ ൈ ൊ ോ ൌ ൗ There are two types of vowels in Malayalam: short vowels and long vowels. Short vowels are written with a single letter, while long vowels are written with two letters. There are also several digraphs which are used to represent certain sounds: അച്ച – ആ ഇച്ച – ഈ ഉച്ച – ഊ എച്ച – ഏ ഒച്ച – ഓ ക്കുച്ച – കു ങ്ങുച്ച – ങു The Malayalam alphabet also has a number of diacritical marks which are used to change the sound of the letter they are placed on. The following marks are used: ാ – അവിശ്വാസം ി – ഇവിശ്വാസം ീ – ഈവിശ്വാസം ു – ഉവിശ്വാസം ൂ – ഊവിശ്വാസം ൃ – ഋവിശ്വാസം െ – എവിശ്വാസം േ – ഏവിശ്വാസം ൈ – ഐവിശ്വാസം ൊ – ഒവിശ്വാസം ോ – ഓവിശ്വാസം ൌ – ഔവിശ്വാസം ൗ – ക്കുവിശ്വാസം The Malayalam script is also used to write the Sanskrit-based Maithili language in Kerala.