Maldives Languages

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Maldives

Languages

Description

The official and common language of Maldives is Dhivehi or Maldivian, an Indo-Aryan language closely related to the Sinhala language of Sri Lanka. The first known script used to write Dhivehi is the eveyla akuru script, which is found in the historical recording of kings (raadhavalhi). Later a script called dhives akuru was used for a long period. The present-day script is called Thaana and is written from right to left. Thaana is said to have been introduced by the reign of Mohamed Thakurufaanu.

English is widely spoken by the locals of the Maldives. Following the nation's opening to the outside world, the introduction of English as a medium of instruction at the secondary and tertiary levels of education, and its government's recognition of the opportunities offered through tourism, English has now firmly established itself in the country.

Arabic is the religious language of Muslims as well as the language of the Quran and Sunnah. Arabic is taught in schools and mosques, as Sunni Islam is the state religion. The Maldivian population has formal or informal education in the reading, writing and pronunciation of the Arabic language, as part of religious education.

Word List(s)

Dhivehi or Maldivian

• Useful Maldivian phrases (Omniglot)
• Dhivehi phrasebook (Wikivoyage)

Arabic

• Arabic Genealogical Word List
• Useful Arabic phrases (Omniglot)

Alphabet and Pronunciation

Dhivehi or Maldivian

• Maldivian phonology (Wikipedia)
• Maldivian Alphabet and Pronunciation (Omniglot)

Arabic

• Arabic phonology (Wikipedia)
• Classical Arabic phonology (Wikipedia)
• Arabic alphabet (Wikipedia)
• Arabic Alphabet and Pronunciation (Omniglot)

Language Aids and Dictionaries

Dhivehi or Maldivian

• English to Dhivehi Dictionary (Glosbe)
• Manik, Loajehi Ibrahim. Dhivehi-English dictionary. Male: Loajehi Publications, 2011. Available at: WorldCat.
• Reynolds, Christopher Hanbie Baillie. A Maldivian dictionary. London: RoutledgeCurzon, 2003. Available at: WorldCat.
• The Sound of the Dhivehi/Maldivian language (YouTube)

Arabic

• Arabic dictionary (Lexilogos)
• English to Arabic Dictionary (Glosbe)
• Learn Arabic (duolingo)
• Learn Arabic (ArabicPod101)

Additional Resources

• What Languages Are Spoken In Maldives? (WorldAtlas)
• Maldives Language (Travelonline)
• Gnanadesikan, Amalia E, and Anne David. Dhivehi : the Language of the Maldives. Berlin/Boston: De Gruyter, 2017. Available at: WorldCat.