Bharatpedia

Malayalam: Difference between revisions

Article Talk

Malayalam (edit)

Revision as of 08:25, 19 February 2021

93,186 bytes added ,  19 February 2021
Rectified a mistake.
No edit summary
 
>AARYA SAJAYAN
(Rectified a mistake.)
Line 1: Line 1:
{{Short description|Dravidian language}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2013}}{{EngvarB|date=May 2017}}
{{Distinguish|Malay language}}
{{Infobox language
{{Infobox language
| name = Malayalam
| name             = Malayalam
| nativename = {{lang|ml|മലയാളം}} {{transl|ml|ISO|malayāḷam}}<br />{{lang|ml|മലയാണ്മ}} {{transl|ml|ISO|malayāṇma}}
| nativename       = മലയാളം, ''Malayalam''
| states = Primarily in the Indian state of [[Kerala]]
| pronunciation    = {{IPA-ml|mɐlɐjäːɭɐm|}}; {{Audio|Malayalam.ogg|pronunciation|help=}}
| region = [[Kerala]], [[Lakshadweep]], [[Mahé, India|Mahé]] (Puducherry)
| states           = [[India]]
| speakers = 38 million
| region           = [[Kerala]] with border communities in the Nilgiris, Kanyakumari, and Coimbatore, Tenkasi, Theni districts of Tamil Nadu, Kodagu, Dakshina Kannada districts of Karnataka, [[Lakshadweep]] and [[Mahé district|Mahé]] ([[Puducherry (union territory)|Puducherry]])
| date = 2007
| ethnicity        = [[Malayali]]
| ref = <ref>[[Nationalencyklopedin]] "Världens 100 största språk 2007" The World's 100 Largest Languages in 2007</ref>
| speakers         = {{sigfig|45|2}} million
| ethnicity = [[Malayali]]
| date             = 2011–2019
| familycolor = Dravidian
| ref             = <ref>https://web.archive.org/web/20131020100448/http://media.johnwiley.com.au/product_data/excerpt/47/04706745/0470674547-196.pdf</ref><ref name="Ethnologue_mal">{{e22|mal}}</ref><ref>Statement 1: Abstract of speakers' strength of languages and mother tongues – 2011". www.censusindia.gov.in. Office of the Registrar General & Census Commissioner, India. [http://www.censusindia.gov.in/2011Census/Language-2011/Statement-1.pdf] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181114073426/http://www.censusindia.gov.in/2011Census/Language-2011/Statement-1.pdf |date=14 November 2018 }}</ref>
| fam2 = [[Southern Dravidian languages|Southern]]
| speakers2        = [[Second language|L2 speakers]]: {{sigfig|695,000|2}}<ref name="Ethnologue_mal"/>
| fam3 = [[Tamil–Kannada languages|Tamil–Kannada]]
| familycolor     = Dravidian
| fam4 = [[Tamil–Kodagu languages|Tamil–Kodagu]]
| fam2             = [[Southern Dravidian languages|Southern Dravidian]]<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.ethnologue.com/subgroups/dravidian|title=Dravidian |website=[[Ethnologue]]|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170416125646/https://www.ethnologue.com/subgroups/dravidian |archive-date=16 April 2017}}</ref>
| fam5 = [[Tamil–Malayalam languages|Tamil–Malayalam]]
| fam3             = [[Tamil–Kannada languages|Tamil–Kannada]]
| fam6 = [[Malayalam languages]]
| fam4             = [[Tamil–Kodagu languages|Tamil–Kodagu]]
| script = [[Malayalam alphabet]] ([[Brahmic scripts|Brahmic]])<br>[[Malayalam Braille]]
| fam5             = [[Middle Tamil|Tamil-Malayalam]]
| nation = {{flag|India}}n states:[[Kerala]] <small>(State)</small>,<ref name="india_os">{{Citation |url=http://portal.unesco.org/education/en/ev.php-URL_ID=22495&URL_DO=DO_TOPIC&URL_SECTION=201.html|title=Official languages |accessdate=2007-05-10 |work=UNESCO}}</ref>[[Lakshadweep]] <small>([[States and territories of India|Territory]])</small>, [[Puducherry]] <small>([[States and territories of India|Territory]])</small>
| dia1            = [[Jeseri dialect|Jeseri]] ([[Lakshadweep]]), [[Mappila dialect|Mappila]], [[Suriyani Malayalam|Suriyani]], [[Judeo-Malayalam]], [[Beary dialect|Beary]]
| agency = [[Kerala Sahitya Akademi|Academy for Malayalam literature]], [[Government of Kerala]]
| script           = [[Malayalam script]] ([[Brahmic scripts|Brahmic]])<br />[[Malayalam Braille]]<br /> [[Vatteluttu alphabet|Vattezhuth]] (historical)<br /> [[Kolezhuthu]] (historical)<br /> [[Malayanma]] (historical)<br /> [[Grantha alphabet|Grantha]] (historical)<br /> [[Arabi Malayalam script|Arabi Malayalam]] (historical/rarely used now)<br /> [[Syriac script]] (historical)<br /> [[Hebrew script]]<br/> [[Latin script]] (informal)
| image = Word Malayalam.svg
| nation           = {{flag|India}}
| imagesize = 130px
* [[Kerala]]<ref name="india_os">{{Citation |url=http://portal.unesco.org/education/en/ev.php-URL_ID=22495&URL_DO=DO_TOPIC&URL_SECTION=201.html |archive-url=https://wayback.archive-it.org/all/20050928184458/http://portal.unesco.org/education/en/ev.php-URL_ID=22495&URL_DO=DO_TOPIC&URL_SECTION=201.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=28 September 2005 |title=Official languages |access-date=10 May 2007 |publisher=UNESCO}}</ref>
| imagecaption = ''Malayalam'' in Malayalam script
* [[Lakshadweep]]
| iso1 = ml
* [[Puducherry (union territory)|Puducherry]] ([[Mahé, Puducherry|Mahé]])
| iso2 = mal
| agency           = [[Kerala Sahitya Akademi]], [[Government of Kerala]]
| iso3 = mal
| iso1            = ml
| map = Malayalamspeakers.png
| iso2            = mal
| mapcaption = Malayalam-speaking area
| iso3            = mal
| notice = Indic
| lingua          = 49-EBE-ba
| map              = IN-KL.svg
| imagesize       = 220px
| imagecaption     = ''Malayalam'' in [[Malayalam script]]
| glotto          = mala1464
| glottorefname    = Malayalam
| image            = Word Malayalam.svg
| notice          = Indic
| notice2          = IPA
| fam6            = [[Malayalam languages]]
}}
}}
{{InterWiki|code=ml}}
{{Malayalam transliteration}}
[[File:WIKITONGUES- Netha speaking Malayalam.webm|thumb|A Malayalam speaker, recorded in [[South Africa]].]]
'''Malayalam''' ({{IPAc-en|ˌ|m|æ|l|ə|ˈ|j|ɑː|l|ə|m}};<ref>Laurie Bauer, 2007, ''The Linguistics Student's Handbook'', Edinburgh, p. 300.</ref> {{indic|lang=ml|indic=മലയാളം|trans=Malayāḷam|showlang=true}}, {{IPA-ml|mɐlɐjäːɭɐm||Malayalam.ogg}}) is a [[Dravidian languages|Dravidian language]]<ref name=":0" />  spoken in the Indian state of [[Kerala]] and the union territories of [[Lakshadweep]] and [[Puducherry (union territory)|Puducherry]] ([[Mahé district]]) by the [[Malayali]] people. It is one of 22 [[Languages with official status in India|scheduled languages]] of India spoken by 2.88% of Indians. Malayalam has [[official language]] status in the state of [[Kerala]] and in the union territories of [[Lakshadweep]] and [[Puducherry (union territory)|Puducherry]] ([[Mahé, Puducherry|Mahé]])<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.kerala.gov.in/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=2877&Itemid=2330 |title=Official Language (Legislative) Commission |access-date=5 April 2015 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150325003422/http://kerala.gov.in/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=2877&Itemid=2330 |archive-date=25 March 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.kerala.gov.in/index.php?option=com_content&view=category&layout=blog&id=1337&Itemid=3311 |title=P&ARD Official Languages |access-date=5 April 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150401153821/http://kerala.gov.in/index.php?option=com_content&view=category&layout=blog&id=1337&Itemid=3311 |archive-date=1 April 2015 |url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.mapsofindia.com/lakshadweep/languages.html |title=Languages in Lakshadweep |access-date=5 April 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150411215005/http://www.mapsofindia.com/lakshadweep/languages.html |archive-date=11 April 2015 |url-status=live}}</ref> and is spoken by 34 million people worldwide.<ref>https://web.archive.org/web/20131020100448/http://media.johnwiley.com.au/product_data/excerpt/47/04706745/0470674547-196.pdf</ref> Malayalam is also spoken by linguistic minorities in the neighbouring states; with significant number of speakers in the [[Nilgiris District|Nilgiris]], [[Kanyakumari district|Kanyakumari]], and [[Coimbatore district|Coimbatore]], [[Tenkasi district|Tenkasi]], [[Theni District|Theni]] districts of [[Tamil Nadu]] and [[Kodagu]] and [[Dakshina Kannada]] districts of [[Karnataka]]. Due to Malayali expatriates in the [[Persian Gulf]], malayalam is also widely spoken in the [[Gulf countries]].


The origin of Malayalam remains a matter of dispute among scholars. The mainstream view holds that Malayalam descends from early [[Middle Tamil]] and separated from it sometime after the {{circa|9th century}} AD.<ref>{{cite book |last=Ayyar |first=Ramaswami |url=https://archive.org/stream/TheEvolutionOfMalayalamMorphology/The-Evolution-of-Malayalam-Morphology|page=1-37 | title=The Evolution of Malayalam Morphology|year=1936 |publisher=Cochin government press |location=Cochin, Kerala |edition=1st}}</ref> A second view argues for the development of the two languages out of "Proto-Dravidian" or "Proto-Tamil-Malayalam" in the prehistoric era,{{sfn|Asher|Kumari|1997|p=xxiv}} although this is generally rejected by historical linguists.<ref>S.V. Shanmugam (1976). "Formation and Development of Malayalam", ''Indian Literature'', Vol. 19, No. 3 (May–June 1976), pp. 5–30. {{jstor|24157306}} "Yet, some scholars of Malayalam still believe that Malayalam should have originated independently from the Proto-Dravidian at a very early stage [...] The native scholars are unwilling to accept Malayalam as an ''ausbau'' language; instead they take it to be an ''abstand'' language 'language by distance' contrary to historical evidence (pp.9–10)".</ref> Designated a "[[Classical Language in India]]" in 2013,<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-national/classical-status-for-malayalam/article4744630.ece |title='Classical' status for Malayalam |work=[[The Hindu]] |date=24 May 2013 |access-date=25 May 2013 |location=Thiruvananthapuram, India |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130927134256/http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-national/classical-status-for-malayalam/article4744630.ece |archive-date=27 September 2013 |url-status=live}}</ref> it developed into the current form mainly by the influence of the poet [[Thunchaththu Ezhuthachan]] in the 16th century.<ref>Freeman, Rich (2003). "Genre and Society: The Literary Culture of Premodern Kerala". In Literary Cultures in History: Reconstructions from South Asia</ref> The oldest documents written in Malayalam and still surviving are the [[Vazhappally copper plate|Vazhappally Copper plates]] from 832 AD and [[Quilon Syrian copper plates|Tharisapalli Copper plates]] from 849 AD.
The earliest script used to write Malayalam was the [[Vatteluttu alphabet|Vatteluttu script]].<ref name=":0" /> The current [[Malayalam script]] is based on the Vatteluttu script, which was extended with [[Grantha script]] letters to adopt [[Indo-Aryan languages|Indo-Aryan]] loanwords.<ref name=":0">{{cite book|last=Krishnamurti|first=Bhadriraju|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=54fV7Lwu3fMC&q=grantha+script|title=The Dravidian Languages|publisher=Cambridge University Press|year=2003|isbn=978-1-139-43533-8|location=}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |title=Guide to OCR for Indic Scripts: Document Recognition and Retrieval – Advances in Pattern Recognition |author=Venu Govindaraju |author2=Srirangaraj Setlur |publisher=Springer |year=2009 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=WdSR9OJ0kxYC |page=126 |isbn=978-1-84800-329-3 |access-date=15 November 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160429090130/https://books.google.com/books?id=WdSR9OJ0kxYC |archive-date=29 April 2016 |url-status=live|author-link=Venu Govindaraju }}</ref> The oldest literary work in Malayalam, distinct from the Tamil tradition, is dated from between the 9th and 11th centuries.{{sfn|Asher|Kumari|1997|p=xxiv}} The first book of history written in Malayalam is [[Niranam Grandhavari]], which was begun before 1773 and comprises 179 palm leaves with writing on both sides.<ref>{{cite book |authors= The State Editor, Kerala Gazetteers|date= 1997|title= Kerala Society Papers, Vol. I & II | language= Malayalam|location= Trivandrum|publisher= Gazetteers Department| page = 255|isbn= }}</ref> The first travelogue in any Indian language is the Malayalam ''[[Varthamanappusthakam]]'', written by [[Paremmakkal Thoma Kathanar]] in 1785.<ref>{{cite book |last=Menon |first=A. Sreedhara |title=The legacy of Kerala |year=2008 |publisher=D C Books |location=Kottayam, Kerala |isbn=978-81-264-2157-2 |edition=1st DCB}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://nasrani.net/2010/08/23/the-varthamanappusthakam-cathanar-paremmakkal/ |title=August 23, 2010 Archives |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130427073541/http://nasrani.net/2010/08/23/the-varthamanappusthakam-cathanar-paremmakkal/ |archive-date=27 April 2013}}</ref>
==Etymology==
The word ''Malayalam'' originated from the words ''mala'', meaning "[[mountain]]", and ''alam'', meaning "[[region]]" or "-ship" (as in "township"); ''Malayalam'' thus translates directly as "the [[mountain]] region." The term originally referred to the [[land]] of the [[Chera dynasty]], and only later became the name of its language.<ref name="Clad" /> The language Malayalam is alternatively called ''Alealum'', ''Malayalani'', ''Malayali'', ''Malean'', ''Maliyad'', and ''Mallealle''.<ref name="ethnologue.com">{{cite web |url=https://www.ethnologue.com/language/mal |title=Ethnologue report for language code: mal |publisher=Ethnologue.com |access-date=20 February 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130628195627/http://www.ethnologue.com/language/mal |archive-date=28 June 2013 |url-status=live}}</ref>
The earliest extant [[literary]] works in the regional [[language]] of present-day [[Kerala]] probably date back to as early as the [[12th century]]. However, the named identity of this [[language]] appears to have come into existence only around the [[16th century]], when it was known as "Malayayma" or "Malayanma"; the words were also used to refer to the [[Writing system|script]] and the [[region]]. The word "Malayalam" was coined in the later period, and the local [[people]] referred to their [[language]] as both "[[Tamil language|Tamil]]" and "Malayalam" until the [[British Raj|colonial period]].<ref>{{cite book |author1=Sheldon Pollock |author2=Arvind Raghunathan Professor of South Asian Studies Sheldon Pollock |title=Literary Cultures in History: Reconstructions from South Asia |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ak9csfpY2WoC&pg=PA442 |date=19 May 2003 |publisher=University of California Press |isbn=978-0-520-22821-4 |pages=441–442 |access-date=18 May 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161226111650/https://books.google.com/books?id=ak9csfpY2WoC&pg=PA442 |archive-date=26 December 2016 |url-status=live}}</ref>
Malayalam is the only language in the world whose name is a [[palindrome]] (at least in the [[English alphabet]]). Despite having similar names, Malayalam has no relationship whatsoever with the [[Malay language]].
==Evolution==
The generally held view is that Malayalam was the western coastal dialect of [[Middle Tamil|Medieval Tamil]]<ref name="eb">{{cite web |url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/Dravidian-languages |title=Dravidian languages – History, Grammar, Map, & Facts |access-date=22 May 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170709173402/https://www.britannica.com/topic/Dravidian-languages |archive-date=9 July 2017 |url-status=live}}</ref> and separated from [[Middle Tamil]] sometime between the 9th and 13th centuries.{{sfn|Karashima|2014|loc=p. 6|ps=: Other sources date this split to the 7th and 8th centuries.}}{{sfnp|Gopinathan Nair|2009|p=682|ps=: "[...] Malayalam emerged from Proto-Tamil–Malayalam; divergence occurred over a period of four or five centuries, from the 8th century onward".}}
Some scholars however believe that both [[Tamil language|Tamil]] and Malayalam developed during the prehistoric period from a common ancestor, 'Proto-Tamil-Malayalam', and that the notion of Malayalam being a 'daughter' of [[Tamil language|Tamil]] is misplaced.{{sfn|Asher|Kumari|1997|p=xxiv}} This is based on the fact that Malayalam and several [[Dravidian languages]] on the western coast have common archaic features which are not found even in the oldest historical forms of literary Tamil.<ref>A. Govindankutty (1972) – From proto-Tamil-Malayalam to West Coast dialects. Indo-Iranian Journal, Vol. 14 No. (1/2), pp. 52–60</ref>
Despite this Malayalam shares many common innovations with Tamil that emerged during the early [[Middle Tamil]] period, thus making independent descent untenable.<ref>{{cite book |last=Ayyar |first=Ramaswami |url=https://archive.org/stream/TheEvolutionOfMalayalamMorphology/The-Evolution-of-Malayalam-Morphology|page=1-37 | title=The Evolution of Malayalam Morphology|year=1936 |publisher=Cochin government press |location=Cochin, Kerala |edition=1st}}</ref> For example, [[Old Tamil]] lacks the first and second person plural pronouns with the ending ''{{IAST|kaḷ}}''. It is in the Early Middle Tamil stage that ''{{IAST|kaḷ}}'' first appears:<ref>{{cite book |last=Ayyar |first=Ramaswami |url=https://archive.org/stream/TheEvolutionOfMalayalamMorphology/The-Evolution-of-Malayalam-Morphology|page=35-37 | title=The Evolution of Malayalam Morphology|year=1936 |publisher=Cochin government press |location=Cochin, Kerala |edition=1st}}</ref> 
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Language
! Plural Pronouns
|-
| [[Old Tamil]]
| yārn, nām, nīr, nīyir
|-
| [[Middle Tamil]]
| nānkaḷ, nām, nīnkaḷ, enkaḷ
|-
| Malayalam
| ñaṅṅaḷ, nām, niṅṅaḷ, nammaḷ
|}
Indeed, most features of Malayalam morphology are derivable from a form of speech corresponding to early Middle Tamil.<ref>{{cite book |last=Ayyar |first=Ramaswami |url=https://archive.org/stream/TheEvolutionOfMalayalamMorphology/The-Evolution-of-Malayalam-Morphology|page=2 | title=The Evolution of Malayalam Morphology|year=1936 |publisher=Cochin government press |location=Cochin, Kerala |edition=1st}}</ref>
Malayalam also borrowed some of its vocabulary from other European languages, such as [[Arabic]], [[Dutch language|Dutch]], and [[Portuguese language|Portuguese]], due to  trade and colonization. For example:
{| class="wikitable"
|+Examples of vocabulary from various origins
{{Main|List of loanwords in Malayalam}}
!Word
!Original word
!Language of origin
!Meaning
!Notes
|-
|ജനാല or ജനൽ (janaala or janal)
|Janela
|[[Portuguese language|Portuguese]]
|Window
|
|-
|മോഹബത്ത് (Mohabath)
|मोहब्बत (Mohabbat)
|[[Hindi]] and [[Arabic]]
|Love
|Used in the Northern dialects and [[Lakshwadeep]]
|-
|കക്കൂസ് (Kakkoos)
|Kakhuis
|[[Dutch language|Early Modern Dutch]]
|Toilet
|Used mainly in the dialects of [[Kochi]], Central Travancore, and South Travancore
|}
[[Robert Caldwell]], in his 1856 book "''A Comparative Grammar of the Dravidian or South-Indian Family of Languages"'', opined that Malayalam branched from ''Classical Tamil'' and over time gained a large amount of [[Sanskrit]] vocabulary and lost the personal terminations of verbs.<ref name="Clad">Caldwell, Robert (1875). [https://archive.org/stream/comparativegramm00caldrich#page/ii/mode/2up ''A Comparative Grammar of the Dravidian or South-Indian Family of Languages''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160316104706/http://archive.org/stream/comparativegramm00caldrich#page/ii/mode/2up |date=16 March 2016 }}, second edition. London: Trübner & Co.</ref> As the language of scholarship and administration, Old-Tamil, which was written in [[Tamil-Brahmi]] and the Vatteluttu alphabet later, greatly influenced the early development of Malayalam. The Malayalam script began to diverge from the Tamil-Brahmi script in the 8th and 9th centuries. And by the end of the 13th century a written form of the language emerged which was unique from the Tamil-Brahmi script that was used to write Tamil.{{sfn|Mahapatra|1989|p=307}}
{{clear}}
Malayalam has shared similarities to some [[Sri Lankan Tamil dialects]], and the two are often mistaken by native Indian Tamil speakers.<ref>Indrapala, K The Evolution of an ethnic identity: The Tamils of Sri Lanka, p.45</ref><ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.empowerlingua.com/tamil-translators-of-indian-tamil-and-sri-lankan-tamil-dialects/ |title=Tamil Translators of Sri Lanka and India |date=26 October 2015 |work=Empowerlingua |access-date=31 July 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171011122443/https://www.empowerlingua.com/tamil-translators-of-indian-tamil-and-sri-lankan-tamil-dialects/ |archive-date=11 October 2017 |url-status=dead}}</ref>
{{clear}}
==Dialects==
{{refimprovesection|date=January 2021}}
Variations in [[Intonation (linguistics)|intonation]] patterns, vocabulary, and distribution of grammatical and [[phonology|phonological]] elements are observable along the parameters of region, religion, community, occupation, social stratum, style and register.
According to the Dravidian Encyclopedia, the regional [[dialect]]s of Malayalam can be divided into thirteen dialect areas.<ref>Subramoniam, V. I. (1997). Dravidian encyclopaedia. vol. 3, Language and literature. Thiruvananthapuram: International School of Dravidian Linguistics.
Cit-P-487. [http://worldcat.org/isbn/818569222X Dravidian Encyclopedia] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070929131000/http://worldcat.org/isbn/818569222X |date=29 September 2007 }}</ref> They are as follows:
{| class="wikitable"
|-
| South Travancore
| Central Travancore
| West Vempanad
|-
| North Travancore
| Kochi-Thrissur
| [[South Malabar]]
|-
| South Eastern Palghat
| North Western Palghat
| Central Malabar
|-
| Wayanad
| [[North Malabar]]
| Kasaragod
|-
| Lakshadweep
|
|
|}
According to Ethnologue, the dialects are:<ref name="ethnologue.com" /> Malabar, Nagari-Malayalam, South Kerala, Central Kerala, North Kerala, Kayavar, [[Namboodiri]], [[Nair]], [[Arabi Malayalam|Mappila]], Pulaya, Nasrani, and [[Kasargod]]. The community dialects are: [[Nambudiri|Namboodiri]], [[Nair]], [[Arabi Malayalam]], Pulaya, and Nasrani.<ref name="ethnologue.com" /> Whereas both the [[Nambudiri|Namboothiri]] and Nair dialects have a common nature, the [[Arabi Malayalam]] is among the most divergent of dialects, differing considerably from literary Malayalam.<ref name="ethnologue.com" />[[Jeseri]] is a dialect of Malayalam spoken mainly in the Union territory of [[Lakshadweep]] which is nearer to Kerala.
Concerning the geographical dialects of Malayalam, surveys conducted so far by the Department of Linguistics, University of Kerala restricted the focus of attention during a given study on one specific caste so as to avoid mixing up of more than one variable such as communal and geographical factors. Thus for example, the survey of the [[Ezhava]] dialect of Malayalam, results of which have been published by the Department in 1974, has brought to light the existence of twelve major dialect areas for Malayalam, although the isoglosses are found to crisscross in many instances. Sub-dialect regions, which could be marked off, were found to be thirty. This number is reported to tally approximately with the number of principalities that existed during the pre-British period in [[Kerala]]. In a few instances at least, as in the case of Venad, Karappuram, Nileswaram, and Kumbala, the known boundaries of old principalities are found to coincide with those of certain dialects or sub-dialects that retain their individuality even today. This seems to reveal the significance of political divisions in [[Kerala]] in bringing about dialect differences.{{citation needed|date=June 2017}}
Divergence among dialects of Malayalam embraces almost all aspects of language such as phonetics, phonology, grammar and vocabulary. Differences between any two given dialects can be quantified in terms of the presence or absence of specific units at each level of the language. To cite a single example of language variation along with the geographical parameter, it may be noted that there are as many as seventy-seven different expressions employed by the [[Ezhavas]] and spread over various geographical points just to refer to a single item, namely, the flower bunch of coconut. 'Kola' is the expression attested in most of the panchayats in the [[Palakkad]], [[Ernakulam]] and [[Thiruvananthapuram]] districts of [[Kerala]], whereas 'kolachil' occurs most predominantly in [[Kannur]] and [[Kochi]] and 'klannil' in [[Alappuzha]] and [[Kollam]]. 'Kozhinnul' and 'kulannilu' are the forms most common in [[Trissur]] [[Idukki]] and [[Kottayam]] respectively. In addition to these forms most widely spread among the areas specified above, there are dozens of other forms such as 'kotumpu' (Kollam and Thiruvananthapuram), 'katirpu' ([[Kottayam]]), krali ([[Pathanamthitta]]), pattachi, gnannil ([[Kollam]]), 'pochata' ([[Palakkad]]) etc. referring to the same item.{{Citation needed|date=January 2021}}
Labels such as "Brahmin Dialect" and "Syrian Caste Dialect" refer to overall patterns constituted by the sub-dialects spoken by the subcastes or sub-groups of each such caste.{{Citation needed|date=January 2021}} The most outstanding features of the major communal dialects of Malayalam are summarized below:
* Lexical items with phonological features reminiscent of Sanskrit (e.g., ''viddhi'', meaning "fool"), ''bhosku'' ("lie"), ''musku'' ("impudence"), ''dustu'' ("impurity"), and ''eebhyan'' and ''sumbhan'' (both meaning "good-for-nothing fellow") abound in this dialect.{{Citation needed|date=January 2021}}
* The dialect of the [[Nair]] said to be proper [[Malayalam]] dialect . The [[Sanskrit]] educated stratum among the [[Nairs]] resembles the [[Brahmin]] dialect in many respects. The amount of [[Sanskrit]] influence, however, is found to be steadily decreasing as one descends along with the parameter of time.{{Citation needed|date=January 2021}}
* One of the striking features differentiating the [[Nair]] dialect from the [[Ezhava]] dialect is the phonetic quality of the word-final: an enunciative vowel unusually transcribed as "U". In the Nair dialect, it is a mid-central unrounded vowel whereas in the Ezhava dialect it is often heard as a lower high back unrounded vowel.{{Citation needed|date=January 2021}}
* The Syrian Christian dialect of Malayalam is quite close to the [[Nair]] dialect, especially in [[phonology]]. The speech of the educated section among Syrian Christians and that of those who are close to the church are peculiar in having a number of assimilated as well as unassimilated [[List of loanwords in Malayalam#Aramaic or East Syriac|loan words]] from [[English language|English]] and [[Syriac language|Syriac]]. The few loan words which have found their way into the Christian dialect are assimilated in many cases through the process of de-aspiration.{{Citation needed|date=January 2021}}
* The Muslim dialect shows maximum divergence from the literary Standard Dialect of Malayalam. It is very much influenced by [[Arabic]] and [[Urdu]] rather than by Sanskrit or by English. The retroflex continuant ''zha'' of the literary dialect is realised in the Muslim dialect as the palatal ''ya''.{{Citation needed|date=January 2021}}
* Tamil spoken in the Kanyakumari district has many Malayalam words.{{Citation needed|date=January 2021}}
=== External influences and loanwords ===
Malayalam has incorporated many elements from other languages over the years, the most notable of these being [[Sanskrit]] and later, English.{{sfn|Asher|Kumari|1997|pp=xxiv, xxv}} According to [[Sooranad Kunjan Pillai]] who compiled the authoritative Malayalam lexicon, the other principal languages whose vocabulary was incorporated over the ages were [[Pali]], [[Prakrit]], [[Urdu]], [[Hindi]], [[Chinese language|Chinese]], [[Arabic]], [[Syriac language|Syriac]], [[Dutch language|Dutch]], and [[Portuguese language|Portuguese]].<ref>S. Kunjan Pillai (1965) – Malayalam Lexicon, pg xxii-xxiv</ref>
Many medieval [[liturgical]] texts were written in an admixture of [[Sanskrit]] and early Malayalam, called [[Manipravalam]].<ref>[http://www.prd.kerala.gov.in/manipravalam.htm ''Manipravalam''] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110610042443/http://www.prd.kerala.gov.in/manipravalam.htm |date=10 June 2011 }} The Information & Public Relations Department, [[Government of Kerala]].</ref> The influence of [[Sanskrit]] was very prominent in formal Malayalam used in literature. Malayalam has a substantially high amount of Sanskrit loanwords but these are seldom used.<ref>"Dravidian languages." ''Encyclopædia Britannica''. Ultimate Reference Suite. Chicago: Encyclopædia Britannica, 2008.</ref> Loanwords and influences also from [[Hebrew language|Hebrew]], [[Syriac language|Syriac]], and [[Ladino language|Ladino]] abound in the [[Judeo-Malayalam|Jewish Malayalam dialects]], as well as [[English language|English]], [[Portuguese language|Portuguese]], [[Syriac language|Syriac]], and [[Greek language|Greek]] in the Christian dialects, while [[Arabic]] and Persian elements predominate in the [[Muslim]] dialects. The Muslim dialect known as [[Mappila Malayalam]] is used in the Malabar region of Kerala. Another Muslim dialect called [[Beary bashe]] is used in the extreme northern part of Kerala and the southern part of Karnataka.
For a comprehensive list of loan words, see [[Loan words in Malayalam]].
==Geographic distribution and population==
{{See also|Kerala Gulf diaspora|States of India by Malayalam speakers}}
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Rank || State/Union Territory || Malayalam speakers 2011<ref>http://www.censusindia.gov.in/2011census/C-16.html</ref> || State's proportion 2011
|-
| — || '''[[India]]''' || '''34,838,819''' || 2.88%
|-
| 1 || [[Kerala]] || 32,413,213 || 97.03%
|-
| 2 || [[Lakshadweep]] || 54,264 || 84.17%
|-
| 3 || [[Andaman and Nicobar Islands]] || 27,475 || 7.22%
|-
| 4 || [[Puducherry (union territory)|Puducherry]] || 47,973 || 3.84%
|-
| 5 || [[Karnataka]] || 726,096 || 1.27%
|-
| 6 || [[Tamil Nadu]] || 774,057 || 1.01%
|-
|}
Malayalam is a language spoken by the native people of southwestern India (from [[Kasaragod]] to [[Kanyakumari]]). According to the Indian census of 2011, there were 32,299,239 speakers of Malayalam in Kerala, making up 93.2% of the total number of Malayalam speakers in India, and 96.74% of the total population of the state. There were a further 701,673 (1.14% of the total number) in [[Karnataka]], 957,705 (2.7%) in [[Tamil Nadu]], and 406,358 (1.2%) in [[Maharashtra]]. The number of Malayalam speakers in [[Lakshadweep]] is 51,100, which is only 0.15% of the total number, but is as much as about 84% of the population of Lakshadweep. In all, Malayalis made up 3.22% of the total Indian population in 2011. Of the total 34,713,130 Malayalam speakers in India in 2011, 33,015,420 spoke the standard dialects, 19,643 spoke the ''Yerava'' dialect and 31,329 spoke non-standard regional variations like ''Eranadan''.<ref name="Censusedia">{{cite web |url=http://www.censusindia.gov.in/Census_Data_2001/Census_Data_Online/Language/data_on_language.html |title=Census Of India – Data on Language |publisher=Censusindia.gov.in |access-date=30 March 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120110230245/http://www.censusindia.gov.in/Census_Data_2001/Census_Data_Online/Language/data_on_language.html |archive-date=10 January 2012 |url-status=live}}</ref> As per the 1991 census data, 28.85% of all Malayalam speakers in India spoke a second language and 19.64% of the total knew three or more languages.
Large numbers of Malayalis have settled in [[Chennai]], [[Bengaluru]], [[Mangaluru]], [[Hyderabad, Telangana|Hyderabad]], [[Mumbai]], [[Navi Mumbai]], [[Pune]], [[Mysuru]] and [[Delhi]]. Many Malayalis have also emigrated to the [[Middle East]], the United States, and Europe. There were 179,860 speakers of Malayalam in the United States, according to the 2000 census, with the highest concentrations in [[Bergen County, New Jersey]], and [[Rockland County, New York]].<ref>[http://40days.homestead.com/Day_22_-_People.pdf] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304073622/http://40days.homestead.com/Day_22_-_People.pdf |date=4 March 2016 }}. Retrieved 22 November 2014.</ref> There are 344,000 of Malayalam speakers in [[Malaysia]].{{cn|date=July 2020}} There were 11,687 Malayalam speakers in Australia in 2016.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.sbs.com.au/news/census/ |title=Census 2011 Australia &#124; ABS Population Income &#124; SBS Census Explorer |publisher=Sbs.com.au |date= |access-date=10 July 2013}}</ref>The 2001 [[Canadian census]] reported 7,070 people who listed Malayalam as their mother tongue, mainly in [[Toronto]]. The 2006 New Zealand census reported 2,139 speakers.<ref name="NZ">[https://wayback.archive-it.org/all/20130309165040/http://www.stats.govt.nz/ServicePages/NotFound.aspx Statistics New Zealand:Language spoken (total responses) for the 1996–2006 censuses (Table 16)], ''stats.govt.nz''</ref> 134 Malayalam speaking households were reported in 1956 in [[Fiji]]. There is also a considerable [[Malayali]] population in the [[Persian Gulf]] regions, especially in [[Dubai]] and [[Doha]]. The faster growth of languages spoken in the southern parts of [[India]], like Malayalam, compared to those spoken in the [[north India|north]] of the country, like [[Hindi]], shows exactly which regions Indian immigrants to the US are coming from.<ref>https://qz.com/1719427/south-asian-languages-malayalam-and-bengali-among-fastest-growing-in-us/</ref> Malayalam is 8th in the list of top ten fastest-growing foreign first languages spoken in English schools in [[UK]], according to a report. <ref>https://www.deccanchronicle.com/140316/lifestyle-offbeat/article/malayalam-among-fastest-growing-foreign-first-languages-uk-report</ref>
==Phonology==
[[File:Kureepuzha sreekmar.ogg|thumb|Spoken Malayalam]]
[[File:Kureepuzha sreekmar.ogg|thumb|Spoken Malayalam]]
For the consonants and vowels, the [[International Phonetic Alphabet]] (IPA) symbol is given, followed by the Malayalam character and the [[ISO 15919]] transliteration.<ref name="phono">{{Cite web |url=http://www.owlnet.rice.edu/~hj3/pub/Malayalam.pdf |title=Archived copy |access-date=30 March 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120911225521/http://www.owlnet.rice.edu/~hj3/pub/Malayalam.pdf |archive-date=11 September 2012 |url-status=dead }}</ref>


'''Malayalam''' is a [[language]]. Most people that speak Malayalam live in [[Kerala]], in [[India]]. A speaker of Malayalam is called a ''Malayali''.
===Vowels===
[[File:malayalam.svg|thumb|The first letter in Malayalam]]
{|class=wikitable
|-
!rowspan=2|
!colspan=3|[[Vowel length|Short]]
!colspan=3|Long
|-
![[Front vowel|Front]]
![[Central vowel|Central]]
![[Back vowel|Back]]
![[Front vowel|Front]]
![[Central vowel|Central]]
![[Back vowel|Back]]
|-
![[Close vowel|Close]]
|align="center"|{{IPA|/i/}} {{lang|ml|ഇ}} i
|align="center"|{{IPA|/ɨ̆/}} * ŭ
|align="center"|{{IPA|/u/}} {{lang|ml|ഉ}} u
|align="center"|{{IPA|/iː/}} {{lang|ml|ഈ}} ī
|
| align="center"|{{IPA|/uː/}} {{lang|ml|ഊ}} ū
|-
![[Mid vowel|Mid]]
|align="center"|{{IPA|/e/}}{{lang|ml|എ}} e
|align="center"|{{IPA|/ə/}} * a
|align="center"|{{IPA|/o/}} {{lang|ml|ഒ}} o
|align="center"|{{IPA|/eː/}} {{lang|ml|ഏ}} ē
|
|align="center"|{{IPA|/oː/}} {{lang|ml|ഓ}} ō
|-
![[Open vowel|Open]]
|
|align="center"|{{IPA|/a/}} {{lang|ml|അ}} a
|
|
|align="center"|{{IPA|/aː/}} {{lang|ml|ആ}} ā
|
|}
* *{{IPA|/ɨ̆/}} is the ''saṁvr̥tōkāram'', an [[epenthesis|epenthentic vowel]] in Malayalam. Therefore, it has no independent vowel letter (because it never occurs at the beginning of words) but, when it comes after a consonant, there are various ways of representing it. In medieval times, it was just represented with the symbol for {{IPA|/u/}}, but later on it was just completely omitted (that is, written as an inherent vowel). In modern times, it is written in two different ways – the Northern style, in which a [[chandrakkala]] is used ⟨ക്⟩, and the Southern or [[Travancore]] style, in which the diacritic for a {{IPA|/u/}} is attached to the preceding consonant and a chandrakkala is written above ⟨കു്⟩. According to one author, this alternative form ⟨കു്⟩ is historically more correct, though the simplified form without a vowel sign ''u'' is common nowadays.<ref name="N3126">{{Cite web|last=Muller|first=Eric|title=Malayalam cillaksarams|work=JTC1/SC2/WG2 N3126 L2/06-207|url=http://std.dkuug.dk/jtc1/sc2/wg2/docs/N3126.pdf|year=2006|access-date=2009-09-10}}</ref>
* <nowiki>*</nowiki>{{IPA|/a/}} (phonetically central: {{IPA|[ä]}}) and {{IPA|/ə/}} are both represented as basic or "default" vowels in the [[Abugida]] script (although {{IPA|/ə/}} never occurs word-initially and therefore does not make use of the letter {{lang|ml|അ}}), but they are distinct vowels.


Malayalam (/malayALam/) is the main language of the South Indian state of Kerala and also of the Lakshadweep Islands (Laccadives) of the west coast of India.
Malayalam has also borrowed the [[Sanskrit]] diphthongs of {{IPA|/äu/}} (represented in Malayalam as {{lang|ml|ഔ}}, au) and {{IPA|/ai/}} (represented in Malayalam as {{lang|ml|ഐ}}, ai), although these mostly occur only in Sanskrit loanwords. Traditionally (as in Sanskrit), four vocalic consonants (usually pronounced in Malayalam as consonants followed by the ''saṁvr̥tōkāram'', which is not officially a vowel, and not as actual vocalic consonants) have been classified as vowels: vocalic r ({{lang|ml|ഋ}}, {{IPA|/rɨ̆/}}, r̥), long vocalic r ({{lang|ml|ൠ}}, {{IPA|/rɨː/}}, r̥̄), vocalic l ({{lang|ml|ഌ}}, {{IPA|/lɨ̆/}}, l̥) and long vocalic l ({{lang|ml|ൡ}}, {{IPA|/lɨː/}}, l̥̄). Except for the first, the other three have been omitted from the current script used in Kerala as there are no words in current Malayalam that use them.


Malayalis (speakers of Malayalam), who - males and females alike - are almost totally literate, constitute 4 percent of the population of India and 96 percent of the population of Kerala (29.01 million in 1991).  
===Consonants===
{|class=wikitable
|-
!colspan=2|
!colspan=2|[[Bilabial consonant|Labial]]
!colspan=2|[[Dental consonant|Dental]]
!colspan=2|[[Alveolar consonant|Alveolar]]
!colspan=2|[[Retroflex consonant|Retroflex]]
!colspan=2|[[Post-alveolar consonant|Postalveolar]]/<br>[[Palatal consonant|Palatal]]
!colspan=2|[[Velar consonant|Velar]]
![[Glottal consonant|Glottal]]
|-
!colspan=2|[[Nasal stop|Nasal]]
|colspan=2|{{IPA|m}} {{lang|ml|മ}} {{angbr|m}}
|colspan=2|{{IPA|n̪}} {{lang|ml|ന}} {{angbr|n}}
|colspan=2|{{IPA|n}} {{lang|ml|ന}} {{angbr|ṉ}}
|colspan=2|{{IPA|ɳ}} {{lang|ml|ണ}} {{angbr|ṇ}}
|colspan=2|{{IPA|ɲ}} {{lang|ml|ഞ}} {{angbr|ñ}}
|colspan=2|{{IPA|ŋ}} {{lang|ml|ങ}} {{angbr|ṅ}}
|
|-
!rowspan=2|[[Stop consonant|Stop]]/<br>[[Affricate]]
!{{small|plain}}
|{{IPA|p}}<br>{{lang|ml|പ}}<br>{{angbr|p}}
|{{IPA|b}}<br>{{lang|ml|ബ}}<br>{{angbr|b}}
|{{IPA|t̪}}<br>{{lang|ml|ത}}<br>{{angbr|t}}
|{{IPA|d̪}}<br>{{lang|ml|ദ}}<br>{{angbr|d}}
|{{IPA|t}}<br>{{lang|ml|റ്റ}}<br>{{angbr|ṯ}}
|({{IPA|d}})<ref>Only occurs when (ṟ) is prenasalized often transcribed as (ṯ)</ref><br>{{lang|ml|ന്റ}}<br>{{angbr|ḏ}}
|{{IPA|ʈ}}<br>{{lang|ml|ട}}<br>{{angbr|ṭ}}
|{{IPA|ɖ}}<br>{{lang|ml|ഡ}}<br>{{angbr|ḍ}}
|{{IPA|t͡ɕ~t͡ʃ}}<br>{{lang|ml|ച}}<br>{{angbr|c}}
|{{IPA|d͡ʑ~d͡ʒ}}<br>{{lang|ml|ജ}}<br>{{angbr|j}}
|{{IPA|k}}<br>{{lang|ml|ക}}<br>{{angbr|k}}
|{{IPA|ɡ}}<br>{{lang|ml|ഗ}}<br>{{angbr|g}}
|
|-
!{{small|[[Aspiration (phonetics)|aspirated]]}}
|{{IPA|pʰ}}<br>{{lang|ml|ഫ}}<br>{{angbr|ph}}
|{{IPA|bʱ}}<br>{{lang|ml|ഭ}}<br>{{angbr|bh}}
|{{IPA|t̪ʰ}}<br>{{lang|ml|ഥ}}<br>{{angbr|th}}
|{{IPA|d̪ʱ}}<br>{{lang|ml|ധ}}<br>{{angbr|dh}}
|colspan=2|
|{{IPA|ʈʰ}}<br>{{lang|ml|ഠ}}<br>{{angbr|ṭh}}
|{{IPA|ɖʱ}}<br>{{lang|ml|ഢ}}<br>{{angbr|ḍh}}
|{{IPA|t͡ɕʰ~t͡ʃʰ}}<br>{{lang|ml|ഛ}}<br>{{angbr|ch}}
|{{IPA|d͡ʑʱ~d͡ʒʱ}}<br>{{lang|ml|ഝ}}<br>{{angbr|jh}}
|{{IPA|kʰ}}<br>{{lang|ml|ഖ}}<br>{{angbr|kh}}
|{{IPA|ɡʱ}}<br>{{lang|ml|ഘ}}<br>{{angbr|gh}}
|
|-
!colspan=2|[[Fricative]]
|colspan=2|{{IPA|f}} {{lang|ml|ഫ}} {{angbr|f}}
|colspan=2|
|colspan=2|{{IPA|s}} {{lang|ml|സ}} {{angbr|s}}
|colspan=2|{{IPA|ʂ}} {{lang|ml|ഷ}} {{angbr|ṣ}}
|colspan=2|{{IPA|ɕ~ʃ}} {{lang|ml|ശ}} {{angbr|ś}}
|colspan=2|
|colspan=2|{{IPA|h}} {{lang|ml|ഹ}} {{angbr|h}}
|-
!rowspan=2|[[Approximant consonant|Approx.]]
!{{small|central}}
|colspan=2|{{IPA|ʋ}} {{lang|ml|വ}} {{angbr|v}}
|colspan=2|
|colspan=2|
|colspan=2|{{IPA|ɻ}} {{lang|ml|ഴ}} {{angbr|ḻ}}<ref>Often transcribed as "zh" by Malayalis and Tamils</ref>
|colspan=2|{{IPA|j}} {{lang|ml|യ}} {{angbr|y}}
|colspan=2|
|
|-
!{{small|[[Lateral consonant|lateral]]}}
|colspan=2|
|colspan=2|
|colspan=2|{{IPA|l}} {{lang|ml|ല}} {{angbr|l}}
|colspan=2|{{IPA|ɭ}} {{lang|ml|ള}} {{angbr|ḷ}}
|colspan=5|
|-
!colspan=2|[[Tap consonant|Tap]]
|colspan=2|
|colspan=2|
|colspan=2|{{IPA|ɾ}} {{lang|ml|ര}} {{angbr|r}}
|colspan=7 rowspan=2|
|-
!colspan=2|[[Trill consonant|Trill]]
|colspan=2|
|colspan=2|
|colspan=2|{{IPA|r}} {{lang|ml|റ}} {{angbr|ṟ}}
|}
* Like in other Dravidian languages the retroflex series are true sub apical retroflex ie its the bottom part of the tongue which contacts the roof.<ref>{{cite thesis |last=Hamann|first=Silke |year=2003 |title=The Phonetics and Phonology of Retroflexes |location=Utrecht, Netherlands |url=https://dspace.library.uu.nl/bitstream/handle/1874/627/full.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y}}</ref>
* All of the alveolars (except /s/) are apical.<ref name="phono"/>
* /ca cha ja jha/ can either be postalveolar<ref name="phono"/> or alveolo-palatal depending upon the speaker, dialect and the word, they are allophones.<ref name="CPIM">{{cite thesis| first=Savithry |last=Namboodiripad |year=2016 |title=Malayalam (Namboodiri Dialect) |publisher=Cambridge University Press
|url=https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/journal-of-the-international-phonetic-association/article/malayalam-namboodiri-dialect/19CBF6E9E1CE65A84928F7C9C2286A9B#}}</ref>
* The [[alveolar nasal]] once had a separate character ⟨ഩ⟩ that is now obsolete (it can be seen in the {{angbr|ṉ}} row here [https://web.archive.org/web/20060714032632/http://homepage.ntlworld.com/stone-catend/trimain3.htm]) and the sound is now almost always represented by the symbol that was originally used only for the [[dental nasal]]. However, both sounds are extensively used in current colloquial and official Malayalam, and although they were allophones in Old Malayalam, they now occasionally contrast in gemination – for example, ''eṉṉāl'' ("by me", first person singular pronoun in the instrumental case) and ''ennāl'' ("if that is so", elided from the original ''entāl''), which are both written ''ennāl''.
* The unaspirated alveolar stop also had a separate character ⟨ഺ⟩ but it has become obsolete, as the sound only occurs in geminate form (when geminated it is written with a {{lang|ml|റ}} below another {{lang|ml|റ}} ⟨റ്റ⟩) or immediately following other consonants (in these cases, {{lang|ml|റ}} or {{lang|ml|ററ}} are usually written in small size underneath the first consonant). The archaic letter can be found in the {{angbr|ṯ}} row here [https://web.archive.org/web/20060714032632/http://homepage.ntlworld.com/stone-catend/trimain3.htm].
*The alveolar stop *ṯ developed into an alveolar trill /r/ in many of the [[Dravidian languages]]. The stop sound is retained in Kota and Toda (Subrahmanyam 1983). Malayalam still retains the original (alveolar) stop sound in gemination (ibid).<ref name=":0"/>
* The alveolar trill (ṟ) is pronounced as a [d] when its prenasalized. For example, in the word എന്റെ [ende] ‘my’, often transcribed as (ṯ).<ref name="CPIM"/>
* All non geminated voiceless stops and affricate (except for the alveolar one which is often geminated) become voiced at the intervocalic position like most other Dravidian languages.<ref name="phono"/>
* The geminated velers /k:/ and /ŋ:/ are sometimes but not always palatalized in word medial and coda positions like in the words കിടക്കുക /kiɖɐk:ugɐ/ vs ഇരിക്കുക /iɾikʲ:ugɐ/ and മങ്ങൽ /mɐŋ:ɐl/ vs മത്തങ്ങ /mɐt̪:ɐŋʲ:ɐ/. Although some of the northern dialects might pronounce them as the same.<ref name="CPIM"/><ref name="phono"/>
* The letter ഫ represents both {{IPA|/pʰ/}}, a phoneme occurring in Sanskrit loanwords, and {{IPA|/f/}}, which is mostly found in comparatively recent borrowings from European languages. Though nowadays there is a increase in the number of people (especially youngsters) who pronounce {{IPA|/pʰ/}} as {{IPA|/f/}} like in the word "ഫലം" /falam/.<ref name="phono"/>
* Words can only end with either /m/ /n/ /ɳ/ /l/ /ɭ/ or /r/ (represented with the Chillŭ letters). Words will never being or end with a germinated consonant. /ɻ/ /ɭ/ /ʂ/ /ŋ/ /ɳ/ /t/ /t̪ʰ/ /t͡ɕʰ/ and /d͡ʑʱ/ never occur word initially. All consonants appear word medially.<ref name="phono"/>
* The plain stops, affricates, nasals, laterals, the fricatives /s/ and /ɕ/ and approximates other than /ɻ/ can be geminated and gemination can sometimes change the meaning of the word for eg കളം /kaɭam/ 'cell' കള്ളം /kaɭ:am/ 'lie'.<ref name="phono"/>
* The retroflex lateral is clearly retroflex, but may be more of a flap <span style="font-family:Gentium Plus, Charis SIL, Doulos SIL, serif">[{{PUA|}}]</span> (= {{IPA|[ɺ̢]}}) than an approximant {{IPA|[ɭ]}}. The approximant {{IPA|/ɻ/}} has both rhotic and lateral qualities, and is indeterminate between an approximant and a fricative, but is [[laminal consonant|laminal post-alveolar]] rather than a true retroflex. The articulation changes part-way through, perhaps explaining why it behaves as both a rhotic and a lateral, both an approximant and a fricative, but the nature of the change is not understood.<ref>Scobbie, Punnoose & Khattab (2013) "Articulating five liquids: a single speaker ultrasound study of Malayalam". In ''Rhotics: New Data and Perspectives.'' BU Press, Bozen-Bolzano.</ref>
* In a few dialects consonants are no longer aspirated and have merged with the modal voice.


In terms of the number of speakers, Malayalam ranks eighth among the 18 major languages of India.  
====Chillu letters====
A ''chillu'' ({{lang|ml|ചില്ല്}}, ''cillŭ''), or a ''chillaksharam'' ({{lang|ml|ചില്ലക്ഷരം}}, ''cillakṣaram''), is a special consonant letter that represents a pure consonant independently, without help of a [[virama]]. Unlike a consonant represented by an ordinary consonant letter, this consonant is never followed by an inherent vowel. [[#Anusvaram|Anusvara]] and [[#Visargam|visarga]] fit this definition but are not usually included. ISCII and Unicode 5.0 treat a ''chillu'' as a glyph variant of a normal (“base”) consonant letter.<ref name="TUS50">{{Cite web|publisher=Unicode, Inc|title=South Asian Scripts-I|work=The Unicode Standard 5.0 — Electronic Edition|url=https://www.unicode.org/versions/Unicode5.0.0/ch09.pdf|pages=42–44|year=1991–2007|access-date=2009-09-08}}</ref> In Unicode 5.1 and later, ''chillu'' letters are treated as independent characters, encoded atomically.


Malyalam language has 52 [[phoneme]]s. A few of the phonemes are unique for Malayalam.
{|class="wikitable" style="margin-left:30px"
|+''Chillu'' letters
!Letter!!Unicode name!!Base!!Remarks!!Examples
|-
!{{lang|ml|ൺ}}
|<tt>CHILLU NN</tt>||''ṇa'' {{lang|ml|ണ}}||||കൂൺ
|-
!{{lang|ml|ൻ}}
|<tt>CHILLU N</tt>||''na'' {{lang|ml|ന}}||Chillu of alveolar nasal ''na''.||അവൻ
|-
!{{lang|ml|ർ}}
|<tt>CHILLU RR</tt>||''ṟa'' {{lang|ml|റ}}||Historically stood for<br>''ra'' ര, not ''ṟa'' {{lang|ml|റ}}.||അവർ
|-
!{{lang|ml|ൽ}}
|<tt>CHILLU L</tt>||''la'' {{lang|ml|ല}}||||കാൽ
|-
!{{lang|ml|ൾ}}
|<tt>CHILLU LL</tt>||''ḷa'' {{lang|ml|ള}}||||അവൾ
|-
!{{lang|ml|ൿ}}
|<tt>CHILLU K</tt>||''ka'' {{lang|ml|ക}}||Not in modern use||വാൿചാതുരി<br>(doesnt occur word finally.)
|-
!{{lang|ml|ൔ}}
|<tt>CHILLU M</tt>||''ma'' {{lang|ml|മ}}||Not in modern use||
|-
!{{lang|ml|ൕ}}
|<tt>CHILLU Y</tt>||''ya'' {{lang|ml|യ}}||Not in modern use||
|-
!{{lang|ml|ൖ}}
|<tt>CHILLU LLL</tt>||''ḻa'' {{lang|ml|ഴ}}||Not in modern use||
|}


The word /malayALam/ originally meant mountainous country (/mala/- mountain + /aLam/-place). Tamil Nadu is its neighbour on the south and east and Karnataka on the north and east.
===Number system and other symbols===
{|class="wikitable"style="width:80%;margin-left:30px;"
|-
!Praślēṣam
|{{lang|ml|ഽ}}|| Corresponds to [[Devanagari]] [[avagraha]], used when a Sanskrit phrase containing an ''avagraha'' is written in Malayalam script. The symbol indicates the [[elision]] of the word-initial vowel ''a'' after a word that ends in ''ā'', ''ē'', or ''ō'', and is transliterated as an apostrophe ('), or sometimes as a colon + an apostrophe (:').<br />({{indic|lang=ml|indic=പ്രശ്ലേഷം|trans=praślēṣam}})
|-
!Malayalam date mark
|{{lang|ml|൹}}
|Used in an abbreviation of a date.
|-
![[Danda]]
|{{lang|ml|।}}
|rowspan="2"|Archaic punctuation marks.
|-
!Double danda
|{{lang|ml|॥}}
|}
 
====Numerals====
Malayalam numbers and fractions are written as follows. These are archaic and no longer used. Instead, the common [[Hindu–Arabic numeral system|Hindu-Arabic numeral system]] is followed. Note that there is a confusion about the glyph of Malayalam digit zero. The correct form is oval-shaped, but occasionally the glyph for {{frac|1|4}} ({{lang|ml|൳}}) is erroneously shown as the glyph for 0.
{| class="wikitable" style="margin-left:30px;"
|-
! 0 !! 1 !! 2 !! 3 !! 4 !! 5 !! 6 !! 7 !! 8 !! 9 !! 10 !! 100 !! 1000 !! {{frac|1|4}} !! {{frac|1|2}} !! {{frac|3|4}}
|- style="font-size:medium;" lang="ml"
| ൦ || ൧ || ൨ || ൩ || ൪ || ൫ || ൬ || ൭ || ൮ || ൯ || ൰ || ൱ || ൲ || ൳ || ൴ || ൵
|}
 
Number "11" is written as "൰൧" and not "൧൧". "32" is written as "൩൰൨" similar to the [[Tamil numerals|Tamil numeral system]].
 
{|class="wikitable" style="margin-left:30px"
!11!!20!!21!!30!!110!!10,099
|-style="font-size:medium"lang="ml"
|൰൧||൨൰
|൨൰൧||൩൰||൱൰
|൰൲൯൰൯
|}
For example, the number "2013" is read in Malayalam as "'''രണ്ടായിരത്തി പതിമൂന്ന്'''" (raṇḍāyiratti padimūnnŭ). It is split into:
 
* രണ്ട് (raṇḍŭ) : 2 - '''൨'''
* ആയിരം (āyiram) : 1000 - '''൲'''
* പത്ത് (pattŭ) : 10 - '''൰'''
* മൂന്ന് (mūnnŭ) : 3 - '''൩'''
 
Combine them together to get the Malayalam number "'''൨൲൰൩'''".<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://shijualex.in/malayalam-numerals-old-system/|title=മലയാള അക്കങ്ങൾ|last=Alex|first=Shiju|date=2013-08-22|website=ഗ്രന്ഥപ്പുര|language=en-US|access-date=2020-04-12}}</ref>
 
And 1,00,000 as "൱൲" = hundred(൱), thousand(൲) (100×1000), 10,00,000 as "൰൱൲" = ten(൰), hundred(൱), thousand(൲) (10×100×1000) and 1,00,00,000 as "൱൱൲" = hundred(൱), hundred(൱), thousand(൲) (100×100×1000).
 
Later on this system got reformed to be more similar to the Hindu-Arabic numerals so 10,00,000 in the reformed numerals it would be ൧൦൦൦൦൦൦. <ref>{{Cite web|url=https://shijualex.in/malayalam-numerals-old-system/|title=മലയാള അക്കങ്ങൾ|last=Alex|first=Shiju|date=2013-08-22|website=ഗ്രന്ഥപ്പുര|language=en-US|access-date=2020-04-12}}</ref>
 
====Fractions====
In Malayalam you can transcribe any fraction by affixing (-il) after the denominator followed by the numerator, so a fraction like {{frac|7|10}} would be read as '''"പത്തിൽ ഏഴ്'''" (pattil ēḻŭ) "out of ten, seven" but fractions like {{frac|1|2}} {{frac|1|4}} and {{frac|3|4}} have distinct names (ara, kāl, mukkāl) and {{frac|1|8}} (arakkāl) "half quarter".<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://shijualex.in/malayalam-numerals-old-system/|title=മലയാള അക്കങ്ങൾ|last=Alex|first=Shiju|date=2013-08-22|website=ഗ്രന്ഥപ്പുര|language=en-US|access-date=2020-04-12}}</ref>
 
==Grammar==
{{Main|Malayalam grammar}}
Malayalam has a canonical word order of [[subject–object–verb|SOV]] (subject–object–verb), as do other [[Dravidian languages]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://wals.info/languoid/lect/wals_code_mym |title=Wals.info |publisher=Wals.info |access-date=20 February 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110520015202/http://wals.info/languoid/lect/wals_code_mym |archive-date=20 May 2011 |url-status=live}}</ref> A rare [[subject–object–verb|OSV]] word order occurs in interrogative clauses when the interrogative word is the subject.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Jayaseelan |first1=Karattuparambil |title=IP-internal topic and focus phrases |date=2001 |page=40}}</ref> Both [[adjective]]s and [[possessive adjective]]s precede the [[noun]]s they modify. Malayalam has 6<ref>Asher, R. E. and Kumari, T. C. (1997). Malayalam. Routledge Pub.: London.</ref> or 7<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.jaimalayalam.com/papers/socialCaseMalayalam05.pdf |title=The Samyojika Vibhakthi and Its Unique Application in Malayalam Grammar |access-date=20 February 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120731141301/http://www.jaimalayalam.com/papers/socialCaseMalayalam05.pdf |archive-date=31 July 2012 |url-status=dead }}</ref>{{unreliable source?|date=June 2017}} [[grammatical case]]s. Verbs are conjugated for tense, mood and aspect, but not for person, gender nor number except in archaic or poetic language.
 
===Nouns===
The [[declension]]al paradigms for some common nouns and pronouns are given below. As Malayalam is an agglutinative language, it is difficult to delineate the cases strictly and determine how many there are, although seven or eight is the generally accepted number. [[Alveolar plosive]]s and [[Alveolar nasal|nasals]] (although the modern [[Malayalam script]] does not distinguish the latter from the [[dental nasal]]) are underlined for clarity, following the convention of the [[National Library at Kolkata romanization]].
 
===Personal pronouns===
[[Vocative case|Vocative]] forms are given in parentheses after the [[nominative]], as the only pronominal vocatives that are used are the third person ones, which only occur in compounds.
 
{| class="wikitable"
|-
!
! colspan="4" | Singular
! colspan="4" | Plural
|-
!  Case
!  First person
!  Second person
!  Third person (masculine)
!  Third person (feminine)
!  First person ([[Clusivity|exclusive]])
!  First person (inclusive)
!  Second person
!  Third person
|-
! Nominative
| ñāṉ || nī || avaṉ (voc. avaṉē) || avaḷ (voc. avaḷē) || ñaṅṅaḷ || nām/nammaḷ || niṅṅaḷ || avar (voc. avarē)
|-
! [[Accusative case|Accusative]]
| eṉṉe || niṉṉe || avaṉe || avaḷe || ñaṅṅaḷe || namme || niṅṅaḷe || avare
|-
! [[Genitive case|Genitive]]
| eṉṯe (also eṉ, eṉṉuṭe) || niṉṯe (also niṉ, niṉṉuṭe) || avaṉṯe (also avaṉuṭe) || avaḷuṭe || ñaṅṅaḷuṭe (also ñaṅṅuṭe) || nammuṭe || niṅṅaḷuṭe || avaruṭe
|-
! [[Dative case|Dative]]
| eṉikku || niṉakku || avaṉu || avaḷkku || ñaṅṅaḷkku || namukku || niṅṅaḷkku || avaṟkku
|-
! [[Instrumental case|Instrumental]]
| eṉṉāl || niṉṉāl || avaṉāl || avaḷāl || ñaṅṅaḷāl (also ñaṅṅāl) || nammāl || niṅṅaḷāl (also niṅṅāl) || avarāl
|-
! [[Locative case|Locative]]
| eṉṉil (also eṅkal) || niṉṉil (also niṅkal) || avaṉil (also avaṅkal) || avaḷil (also avaḷkal) || ñaṅṅaḷil || nammil || niṅṅaḷil || avaril (also avaṟkal)
|-
! [[Sociative case|Sociative]]
| eṉṉōṭu || niṉṉōṭu || avaṉōṭu || avaḷōṭu || ñaṅṅaḷōṭu || nammōṭu || niṅṅaḷōṭu || avarōṭu
|}
 
===Other nouns===
The following are examples of some of the most common declension patterns.
 
{| class="wikitable"
|-
!  Word (translated)
! colspan="2" | "Tree"
! colspan="2" | "Elephant"
! colspan="2" | "Human"
! colspan="2" | "Dog"
|-
!  Case
!  Singular
!  Plural
!  Singular
!  Plural
!  Singular
!  Plural
!  Singular
!  Plural
|-
! Nominative
| മരം
''maram''
| മരങ്ങ​ൾ
''maraṅṅaḷ''
| ആന
''āṉa''
| ആനക​ൾ
''āṉakaḷ''
| മനുഷ്യൻ
''maṉuṣyaṉ''
| മനുഷ്യർ
''maṉuṣyaṟ''
| പട്ടി
''paṭṭi''
| പട്ടികൾ
''paṭṭikaḷ''
|-
! Vocative
| മരമേ
''maramē''
| മരങ്ങളേ
''maraṅṅaḷē''
| ആനേ
''āṉē''
| ആനക​ളേ
''āṉakaḷē''
| മനുഷ്യാ
''maṉuṣyā''
| മനുഷ്യരേ
''maṉuṣyarē''
| പട്ടീ
''paṭṭī''
| പട്ടികളേ
''paṭṭikaḷē''
|-
! Accusative
| മരത്തെ
''maratte''
| മരങ്ങളെ
''maraṅṅaḷe''
| ആനയെ
''āṉaye''
| ആനക​ളെ
''āṉakaḷe''
| മനുഷ്യനെ
''maṉuṣyaṉe''
| മനുഷ്യരെ
''maṉuṣyare''
| പട്ടിയെ
''paṭṭiye''
| പട്ടികളെ
''paṭṭikaḷe''
|-
! Genitive
| മരത്തിൻ്റെ
''marattiṉṯe''
| മരങ്ങളുടെ
''maraṅṅaḷuṭe''
| ആനയുടെ
''āṉayuṭe''
| ആനക​ളുടെ
''āṉakaḷuṭe''
| മനുഷ്യൻ്റെ
''maṉuṣyaṉṯe''
| മനുഷ്യരുടെ
''maṉuṣyaruṭe''
| പട്ടിയുടെ
''paṭṭiyuṭe''
| പട്ടികളുടെ
''paṭṭikaḷuṭe''
|-
! Dative
| മരത്തിന്
''marattinŭ''
| മരങ്ങൾക്ക്
''maraṅṅaḷkkŭ''
| ആനയ്ക്ക്
''āṉaykkŭ''
| ആനക​ൾക്ക്
''āṉakaḷkkŭ''
| മനുഷ്യന്
''maṉuṣyaṉŭ''
| മനുഷ്യർക്ക്
''maṉuṣyaṟkkŭ''
| പട്ടിയ്ക്ക്
''paṭṭiykkŭ''
| പട്ടികൾക്ക്
''paṭṭikaḷkkŭ''
|-
! Instrumental
| മരത്താൽ
''marattāl''
| മരങ്ങളാൽ
''maraṅṅaḷāl''
| ആനയാൽ
''āṉayāl''
| ആനക​ളാൽ
''āṉakaḷāl''
| മനുഷ്യനാൽ
''maṉuṣyaṉāl''
| മനുഷ്യരാൽ
''maṉuṣyarāl''
| പട്ടിയാൽ
''paṭṭiyāl''
| പട്ടികളാൽ
''paṭṭikaḷāl''
|-
! Locative
| മരത്തിൽ
''marattil''
| മരങ്ങളിൽ
''maraṅṅaḷil''
| ആനയിൽ
''āṉayil''
| ആനക​ളിൽ
''āṉakaḷil''
| മനുഷ്യനിൽ
''maṉuṣyaṉil''
| മനുഷ്യരിൽ
''maṉuṣyaril''
| പട്ടിയിൽ
''paṭṭiyil''
| പട്ടികളിൽ
''paṭṭikaḷil''
|-
! Sociative
| മരത്തോട്
''marattōṭŭ''
| മരങ്ങളോട്
''maraṅṅaḷōṭŭ''
| ആനയോട്
''āṉayōṭŭ''
| ആനക​ളോട്
''āṉakaḷōṭŭ''
| മനുഷ്യനോട്
''maṉuṣyaṉōṭŭ''
| മനുഷ്യരോട്
''maṉuṣyarōṭŭ''
| പട്ടിയോട്
''paṭṭiyōṭŭ''
| പട്ടികളോട്
''paṭṭikaḷōṭŭ''
|}
 
===Words adopted from Sanskrit===
When words are adopted from Sanskrit, their endings are usually changed to conform to Malayalam norms:
 
====Nouns====
* Masculine [[Sanskrit]] nouns with a [[word stem]] ending in a short /a/ take the ending /an/ in the nominative singular. For example, [[Krishna|Kr̥ṣṇa]] → Kr̥ṣṇan. The final /n/ is dropped before masculine surnames, honorifics, or titles ending in /an/ and beginning with a consonant other than /n/ – e.g., "Krishna Menon", "Krishna Kaniyaan" etc., but "Krishnan Ezhutthachan". Surnames ending with /ar/ or /aḷ/ (where these are plural forms of "an" denoting respect) are treated similarly – "Krishna Pothuval", "Krishna Chakyar", but "Krishnan Nair", "Krishnan Nambiar", as are Sanskrit surnames such "Varma(n)", "Sharma(n)", or "Gupta(n)" (rare) – e.g., "Krishna Varma", "Krishna Sharman". If a name is a compound, only the last element undergoes this transformation – e.g., "Kr̥ṣṇa" + "dēva" = "Kr̥ṣṇadēvan", not "Kr̥ṣṇandēvan".
* Feminine words ending in a long /ā/ or /ī/ are changed to end in a short /a/ or /i/, for example "[[Sita|Sītā]]" → "Sīta" and "[[Lakshmi|Lakṣmī]]" → "Lakṣmi". However, the long vowel still appears in compound words, such as "Sītādēvi" or" Lakṣmīdēvi". The long ī is generally reserved for the [[vocative case|vocative]] forms of these names, although in Sanskrit the vocative actually takes a short /i/. There are also a small number of nominative /ī/ endings that have not been shortened – a prominent example being the word "strī" for "woman".
* Nouns that have a stem in /-an/ and which end with a long /ā/ in the masculine nominative singular have /vŭ/ added to them, for example "[[Brahmā]]" (stem "Brahman") → "Brahmāvŭ". When the same nouns are declined in the neuter and take a short /a/ ending in Sanskrit, Malayalam adds an additional /m/, e.g. "Brahma" (neuter nominative singular of "[[Brahman]]") becomes "Brahmam". This is again omitted when forming compounds.
* Words whose roots end in /-an/ but whose nominative singular ending is /-a-/ (for example, the Sanskrit root of "[[karma]]" is actually "karman") are also changed. The original root is ignored and "karma" (the form in Malayalam being "karmam" because it ends in a short /a/) is taken as the basic form of the noun when declining.<ref>{{cite book |last=Varma |first=A.R. Rajaraja |title=Keralapanineeyam |publisher=D C Books |year=2005 |location=Kottayam |page=303 |isbn=978-81-7130-672-5}}</ref> However, this does not apply to all consonant stems, as "unchangeable" stems such as "manas" ("mind") and "suhr̥t" ("friend") are identical to the Malayalam nominative singular forms (although the regularly derived "manam" sometimes occurs as an alternative to "manas").
* Sanskrit words describing things or animals rather than people with a stem in short /a/ end with an /m/ in Malayalam. For example,"[[Ramayana|Rāmāyaṇa]]" → "Rāmāyaṇam". In most cases, this is actually the same as the Sanskrit accusative case ending, which is also /m/ (or, allophonically, anusvara due to the requirements of the [[sandhi]] word-combining rules) in the neuter nominative. However, "things and animals" and "people" are not always differentiated based on whether or not they are sentient beings; for example, "[[Narasimha]]" becomes "Narasiṃham" and not "Narasiṃhan", whereas "[[Ananta Shesha|Ananta]]" becomes "Anantan" even though both are sentient. This does not strictly correspond to the Sanskrit neuter gender, as both "Narasiṃha" and "Ananta" are masculine nouns in the original Sanskrit.
* Nouns with short vowel stems other than /a/, such as "[[Vishnu|Viṣṇu]]", "[[Prajapati|Prajāpati]]" etc. are declined with the Sanskrit stem acting as the Malayalam nominative singular (the Sanskrit nominative singular is formed by adding a visarga, e.g., as in "Viṣṇuḥ")
* The original Sanskrit vocative is often used in formal or poetic Malayalam, e.g. "Harē" (for "[[Hari]]") or "Prabhō" (for "Prabhu" – "Lord"). This is restricted to certain contexts – mainly when addressing deities or other exalted individuals, so a normal man named Hari would usually be addressed using a Malayalam vocative such as "Harī". The Sanskrit genitive is also occasionally found in Malayalam poetry, especially the personal pronouns "mama" ("my" or "mine") and "tava" ("thy" or "thine"). Other cases are less common and generally restricted to the realm of Maṇipravāḷam.
* Along with these [[tatsama]] borrowings, there are also many [[tadbhava]] words in common use. These were incorporated via borrowing before the separation of Malayalam and Tamil. As the language did not then accommodate Sanskrit phonology as it now does, words were changed to conform to the Old Tamil phonological system, for example "Kr̥ṣṇa" → "Kaṇṇan".<ref>{{cite book |last=Varma |first=A.R. Rajaraja |title=Keralapanineeyam |publisher=D C Books |year=2005 |location=Kottayam |pages=301–302 |isbn=978-81-7130-672-5}}</ref> Most of his works are oriented on the basic Malayalam family and cultures and many of them were path-breaking in the history of Malayalam literature
 
==Writing system==
{{Main|Malayalam script|Malayalam braille}}
[[File:Malayalam Script (Aksharamala) letters - word colud.svg|thumb|Malayalam Script (Aksharamala) letters]]
[[File:Malpublicinfoboard.JPG|thumb|A public notice board written using [[Malayalam script]]. The Malayalam language possesses official recognition in the state of [[Kerala]], and the union territories of [[Lakshadweep]] and [[Puducherry (union territory)|Puducherry]]]]
[[File:Malayalam board with old style Malayalam letter (cropped).jpg|thumb|A Malayalam board with traditional style letter lla(ള്ള) from Thiruvananthapuram.]]
 
Historically, several scripts were used to write Malayalam. Among these were the Vatteluttu, [[Kolezhuthu]] and [[Malayanma]] scripts. But it was the [[Grantha script]], another [[Southern Brahmi]] variation, which gave rise to the modern [[Malayalam script]]. It is syllabic in the sense that the sequence of graphic elements means that syllables have to be read as units, though in this system the elements representing individual vowels and consonants are for the most part readily identifiable. In the 1960s Malayalam dispensed with many special letters representing less frequent conjunct consonants and combinations of the vowel /u/ with different consonants.
 
Malayalam script consists of a total of 578 characters. The script contains 52 letters including 16 vowels and 36 consonants, which forms 576 syllabic characters, and contains two additional diacritic characters named [[anusvāra]] and [[visarga]].<ref>{{Cite book |title=Malayalam Self-Taught |author=Don M. de Z. Wickremasinghe |author2=T.N. Menon |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=vX9Vk95OqNoC |page=7 |year=2004 |publisher=Asian Educational Services |isbn=978-81-206-1903-6 |access-date=15 November 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160528191159/https://books.google.com/books?id=vX9Vk95OqNoC |archive-date=28 May 2016 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://kerala.gov.in/language%20&%20literature/language.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071011052626/http://kerala.gov.in/language%20%26%20literature/language.htm |archive-date=11 October 2007 |title=Language |work=kerala.gov.in |access-date=28 May 2007 |url-status=dead |df=}}</ref> The earlier style of writing has been superseded by a new style as of 1981. This new script reduces the different letters for typesetting from 900 to fewer than 90. This was mainly done to include Malayalam in the keyboards of typewriters and computers.
 
In 1999 a group named "Rachana Akshara Vedi" produced a set of free [[typeface|fonts]] containing the entire character repertoire of more than 900 [[glyph]]s. This was announced and released along with a [[text editor]] in the same year at [[Thiruvananthapuram]], the capital of [[Kerala]]. In 2004, the fonts were released under the [[GNU GPL]] license by [[Richard Stallman]] of the [[Free Software Foundation]] at the [[Cochin University of Science and Technology]] in Kochi, Kerala.
 
Malayalam has been written in other scripts like [[Latin alphabet|Roman]], [[Suriyani Malayalam|Syriac]]<ref name="nf">[http://www.nasranifoundation.org/articles/SyriacMalayalam.html Suriyani Malayalam] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140611020933/http://www.nasranifoundation.org/articles/SyriacMalayalam.html |date=11 June 2014 }}, Nasrani Foundation</ref><ref name="thehin">[http://www.hindu.com/2008/08/11/stories/2008081164350500.htm A sacredlanguage is vanishing from State] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130710100809/http://www.hindu.com/2008/08/11/stories/2008081164350500.htm |date=10 July 2013 }}, The Hindu</ref><ref name="indtod">[http://indiatoday.intoday.in/story/tiny-village-in-kerala-one-of-the-last-bastions-of-syriac-in-the-world/1/276352.html Prayer from the Past] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140404193804/http://indiatoday.intoday.in/story/tiny-village-in-kerala-one-of-the-last-bastions-of-syriac-in-the-world/1/276352.html |date=4 April 2014 }}, India Today</ref> and [[Arabi Malayalam|Arabic]]. [[Suriyani Malayalam]] was used by [[Saint Thomas Christians]] (also known as Nasranis) until the 19th century.<ref name="nf" /><ref name="thehin" /><ref name="indtod" /> Arabic scripts particularly were taught in [[madrasah]]s in Kerala and the [[Lakshadweep Islands]].<ref>{{cite book |last=Gaṅgopādhyāẏa |first=Subrata |title=Symbol, Script, and Writing: From Petrogram to Printing and Further |publisher=Sharada Pub. House |year=2004 |page=158 |url=https://books.google.com/books? |access-date=15 November 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151108170235/https://books.google.com/books |archive-date=8 November 2015 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://lakshadweep.nic.in/depts/education/profile.htm |title=Education in Lakshadweep – Discovering the past chapters |access-date=24 June 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101005155923/http://lakshadweep.nic.in/depts/education/profile.htm |archive-date=5 October 2010 |url-status=dead}}</ref>
 
==Literature==
{{Main|Malayalam literature}}
[[File:Kerala Sahitya Akademy.JPG|thumb|Kerala Sahitya Akademy at [[Thrissur]]]]
 
According to [[Iravatham Mahadevan]], the earliest Malayalam inscription discovered until now is the Edakal-5 inscription (ca. late 4th century – early 5th century) reading 'ī pazhama' (English: this is old).<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.thehindu.com/features/friday-review/history-and-culture/the-earliest-inscription-in-malayalam/article3501408.ece |title=The earliest inscription in Malayalam |first=Iravatham |last=Mahadevan |date=7 June 2012 |work=The Hindu |access-date=28 August 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180619184807/http://www.thehindu.com/features/friday-review/history-and-culture/the-earliest-inscription-in-malayalam/article3501408.ece |archive-date=19 June 2018 |url-status=live}}</ref> Although this has been disputed by other scholars.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/kochi/Historians-contest-antiquity-of-Edakkal-inscriptions/articleshow/14789313.cms |title=Historians contest antiquity of Edakkal inscriptions|first=Gayathri |last=Sasibhooshan |date=12 July 2012 |work=The Hindu |access-date=21 October 2020|url-status=live}}</ref> The use of the pronoun 'ī' and the lack of the literary Tamil -ai ending are archaisms from Proto-Dravidian rather than unique innovations of Malayalam.{{refn|group=note|"*aH and *iH are demonstrative adjectives reconstructed for Proto-Dravidian, as they show variation in vowel length. When they occur in isolation they occur as ā, and ī but when they are followed by a consonant initial word then they appear as a- and i- as in Ta. appoẓutu 'that time'., : Te. appuḍu id. and Ta. ippoẓutu 'that time'., : Te.ippuḍu id. However, Modern Tamil has replaced ā, and ī with anda and inda but most Dravidian languages have preserved it."<ref name="Krishna">{{cite book|last=Krishnamurti|first=Bhadriraju|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=54fV7Lwu3fMC&q=grantha+script|title=The Dravidian Languages|publisher=Cambridge University Press|year=2003|isbn=978-1-139-43533-8|location=}}</ref>}}
 
The early literature of Malayalam comprised three types of composition:
Malayalam Nada, Tamil Nada and Sanskrit Nada.
* Classical songs known as [[Music of Kerala|Nadan Pattu]]
* [[Manipravalam]] of the Sanskrit tradition, which permitted a generous interspersing of Sanskrit with Malayalam. [[Niranam poets]]<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.prd.kerala.gov.in/theniranampoets.htm |title=official website of INFORMATION AND PUBLIC RELATION DEPARTMENT |publisher=prd.kerala.gov.in |access-date=5 April 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141014202734/http://www.prd.kerala.gov.in/theniranampoets.htm |archive-date=14 October 2014 |url-status=dead}}</ref> Manipravalam Madhava Panikkar, Sankara Panikkar and Rama Panikkar wrote Manipravalam poetry in the 14th century.
* The folk song rich in native elements
 
[[Malayalam poetry]] to the late 20th century betrays varying degrees of the fusion of the three different strands. The oldest examples of Pattu and Manipravalam, respectively, are ''Ramacharitam'' and ''Vaishikatantram'', both from the 12th century.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.malayalamresourcecentre.org/Mrc/literature/champu.html |title=Archived copy |access-date=19 March 2014 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://archive.today/20130704062535/http://www.malayalamresourcecentre.org/Mrc/literature/champu.html |archive-date=4 July 2013}}</ref>{{unreliable source?|date=June 2017}}
 
The earliest extant prose work in the language is a commentary in simple Malayalam, ''Bhashakautalyam'' (12th century) on [[Chanakya]]'s ''[[Arthashastra]]''. [[Adhyathmaramayanam|Adhyatmaramayanam]] by [[Thunchaththu Ramanujan Ezhuthachan]] (known as the father of modern [[Malayalam literature]]) who was born in [[Tirur]], one of the most important works in Malayalam literature. [[Unnunili Sandesam]] written in the 14th century is amongst the oldest literary works in Malayalam language.<ref>{{cite book |author=Kamil Zvelebil |title=The Smile of Murugan: On Tamil Literature of South India |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=degUAAAAIAAJ&pg=PA155 |year=1973 |publisher=BRILL |isbn=978-90-04-03591-1 |page=3 |access-date=18 March 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190330135647/https://books.google.com/books?id=degUAAAAIAAJ&pg=PA155 |archive-date=30 March 2019 |url-status=live}}</ref>
 
By the end of the 18th century some of the [[Christian missionaries]] from Kerala started writing in Malayalam but mostly travelogues, dictionaries and religious books. [[Varthamanappusthakam]] (1778), written by [[Paremmakkal Thoma Kathanar]]<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.syromalabarchurch.in/museum.php |title=Syro Malabar Church |access-date=5 April 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150317013801/http://www.syromalabarchurch.in/museum.php |archive-date=17 March 2015 |url-status=dead }}</ref> is considered to be the first travelogue in an Indian language.
 
===Early period===
[[File:Travancore Rupee - Reverse.jpg|thumb|Malayalam letters on old [[Travancore Rupee]] coin]]
The earliest known poem in Malayalam, ''[[Ramacharitam]]'', dated to the 12th to 14th century, was completed before the introduction of the Sanskrit alphabet. It shows the same phase of the language as in [[Cochin Jews|Jewish]] and [[Saint Thomas Christians|Nasrani]] ''Sasanas'' (dated to mid‑8th century).<ref name="Clad" /> But the period of the earliest available literary document cannot be the sole criterion used to determine the antiquity of a language. In its early literature, Malayalam has songs, ''Pattu'', for various subjects and occasions, such as harvesting, love songs, heroes, gods, etc. A form of writing called ''Campu'' emerged from the 14th century onwards. It mixed poetry with prose and used a vocabulary strongly influenced by Sanskrit, with themes from epics and ''Puranas''.{{sfn|Mahapatra|1989|p=307}}[[File:Samkshepavedartham 1772.pdf|thumb|Cover page of ''Nasranikal okkekkum ariyendunna samkshepavedartham'' which is the first book to be printed in Malayalam in 1772.]]''Rama-charitam'', which was composed in the 14th century A.D., may be said to have inaugurated [[Malayalam literature]] just as Naniah's [[Mahabharatam]] did for [[Telugu language|Telugu]]. The fact is that dialectical and local peculiarities had already developed and stamped themselves in local songs and ballads. But these linguistic variations were at last gathered together and made to give a coloring to a sustained literary work, the ''Rama-charitam'', thereby giving the new language a justification and a new lease on life.
 
The Malayalam language, with the introduction of a new type of devotional literature, underwent a metamorphosis, both in form and content, and it is generally held that modernity in Malayalam language and literature commenced at this period. This change was brought about by Thunchathu [[Ezhuthachan]] (16th century) who is known as the father of modern [[Malayalam literature]]. Till this time Malayalam indicated two different courses of development depending on its relationship with either [[Sanskrit]] or [[Tamil–Kannada languages]].
 
The earliest literary work in Malayalam now available is a prose commentary on Chanakya's [[Arthashastra]], ascribed to the 13th century. The poetical works called ''Vaisikatantram'' are also believed to belong to the early 14th century. These works come under a special category known as [[Manipravalam]], literally the combination of two languages, the language of [[Kerala]] and Sanskrit. A [[grammar]] and rhetoric in this hybrid style was written sometime in the 14th century in Sanskrit and the work, called the ''Lilatikalam'', is the main source of information for a student of literary and linguistic history.
 
According to this book, the [[Manipravalam]] and Pattu styles of literary compositions were in vogue during this period. "Pattu" means "song" and more or less represents the pure Malayalam school of poetry. From the definition of the Pattu style given in the ''Lilatikalam'', it can be surmised that the language of Kerala during this period was more or less in line with Tamil, but this has misled many people to believe incorrectly that Malayalam was itself Tamil during this period and before. However, till the 13th century there is no hard evidence to show that the language of Kerala had a literary tradition except in folk songs.
 
The literary tradition consisted of three early Manipravalam Champus, a few [[Sandesa Kavya]]s and innumerable amorous compositions on the courtesans of [[Kerala]], which throb with literary beauty and poetical fancies, combined with a relishing touch of realism about them with regard to the then social conditions. Many [[prose]] works in the form of commentaries upon Puranic episodes form the bulk of the classical works in Malayalam.
 
The Pattu (a [[sutra]] devoted to define this pattern is termed a ''pattu'') school also has major works like the [[Ramacharitam]] (12th century), and the [[Bhagavad Gita]] (14th century) by a set of poets belonging to one family called the Kannassas. Some of them like Ramacharitam have a close resemblance to the Tamil language during this period. This is to be attributed to the influence of Tamil works on native poets belonging to areas that lie close to the Tamil country.
 
It was during the 16th and 17th centuries that later Champu kavyas were written. Their specialty was that they contained both Sanskritic and indigenous elements of poetry to an equal degree, and in that manner were unique.
 
Unnayi Varyar, whose Nalacharitan Attakkatha is popular even today, was the most prominent poet of the 18th century among not only the Kathakali writers, but also among the classical poets of Kerala. He is often referred to as the [[Kalidasa]] of Kerala. Although [[Kathakali]] is a dance drama and its literary form should more or less be modeled after the drama, there is nothing more in common between an Attakkatha and Sanskrit drama.
 
That is to say, the principles of dramaturgy to be observed in writing a particular type of Sanskrit drama are completely ignored by an author of Attakkatha. Delineation of a particular ''[[rasa (aesthetics)|rasa]]'' is an inevitable feature with Sanskrit drama, whereas in an Attakkatha all the predominant ''rasas'' are given full treatment, and consequently the theme of an Attakkatha often loses its integrity and artistic unity when viewed as a literary work.
 
Any Attakkatha fulfills its objective if it affords a variety of scenes depicting different types of characters, and each scene would have its own hero with the ''rasa'' associated with that character. When that hero is portrayed he is given utmost importance, to the utter neglect of the main sentiment (''rasa'') of the theme in general. However, the purpose of Attakkatha is not to present a theme with a well-knit emotional plot as its central point, but to present all approved types of characters already set to suit the technique of the art of [[Kathakali]].
 
The major literary output of the century was in the form of local plays composed for the art of [[kathakali]], the dance dramas of Kerala also known as Attakkatha. It seems the ''Gitagovinda'' of Jayadeva provided a model for this type of literary composition. The verses in Sanskrit narrate the story and the dialogue is composed in imitation of songs in the ''Gitagovinda'', set to music in appropriate ''[[ragas]]'' in the classical [[Karnataka]] style.
 
Besides the Raja of Kottarakkara and Unnayi Varyar referred to above, nearly a hundred plays were composed during this century by poets belonging to all categories and subscribing to all standards, such as Irayimman Tampi and Ashvati Raja, to mention just two.
 
Devotional literature in Malayalam found its heyday during the early phase of this period. Ezhuthachan referred to above gave emphasis to the ''[[Bhakti]]'' cult. The ''Jnanappana'' by Puntanam Nambudiri is a unique work in the branch of philosophical poetry. Written in simple language, it is a sincere approach to the [[advaita]] philosophy of [[Vedanta]].
 
It took nearly two centuries for a salutary blending of the scholarly Sanskrit and popular styles to bring Malayalam prose to its present form, enriched in its vocabulary by Sanskrit but at the same time flexible, pliable and effective as to popular parlance.
 
As regards literature, the leading figures were [[Irayimman Thampi]] and Vidwan Koithampuran, both poets of the royal court. Their works abound in a beautiful and happy blending of music and poetry. The former is surely the most musical poet of Kerala and his beautiful lullaby commencing with the line ''Omana Thinkalkidavo'' has earned him an everlasting name. But the prime reason why he is held in such high esteem in Malayalam is the contribution he has made to Kathakali literature by his three works, namely the ''Dakshayagam'', the ''Kichakavadham'' and the ''Uttara-svayamvaram''. The latter's [[Kathakali]] work ''Ravana Vijayam'' has made him immortal in literature.
 
====Impact of European scholars====
The first printed book in Kerala was ''Doctrina Christam'', written by [[Henrique Henriques]] in [[Lingua Malabar Tamul]]. It was transliterated and translated into Malayalam, and printed by the Portuguese in 1578.<ref name="First book printed in Kerala">[http://www.hindu.com/2005/10/14/stories/2005101407670300.htm# Copy of first book printed in Kerala released] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100327203823/http://www.hindu.com/2005/10/14/stories/2005101407670300.htm |date=27 March 2010 }} Publisher:The Hindu dated:Friday, 14 October 2005</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.tidsskrift.dk/visning.jsp?markup=&print=no&id=101382# |title=Flos Sanctorum in Tamil and Malaylam in 1578 |publisher=Tidsskrift.dk |access-date=20 February 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100328045823/http://www.tidsskrift.dk/visning.jsp?markup=&print=no&id=101382 |archive-date=28 March 2010 |url-status=dead }}</ref> In the 16th and 17th centuries, [[Thunchaththu Ramanujan Ezhuthachan]] was the first to substitute [[Grantha Script#Malayalam and Grantha|Grantha-Malayalam script]] for the Tamil Vatteluttu alphabet. Ezhuthachan, regarded as the father of the modern [[Malayalam literature]], undertook an elaborate translation of the ancient Indian epics ''Ramayana'' and ''Mahabharata'' into Malayalam. His ''[[Adhyatma Ramayana]]'' and ''Mahabharata'' are still read with religious reverence by the Malayalam-speaking Hindu community. Kunchan Nambiar, the founder of ''Tullal'', was a prolific literary figure of the 18th century.
 
The British printed [http://www.hindu.com/2005/10/14/stories/2005101407670300.htm Malabar English Dictionary] by Graham Shaw in 1779 was still in the form of a Tamil-English Dictionary.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.hindu.com/2005/10/14/stories/2005101407670300.htm |title=Kerala / Kozhikode News : Copy of first book printed in Kerala released |date=14 October 2005 |work=The Hindu |access-date=30 March 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100327203823/http://www.hindu.com/2005/10/14/stories/2005101407670300.htm |archive-date=27 March 2010 |url-status=live}}</ref> The [[Saint Thomas Christians|Syrian Christians]] of Kerala started to learn the Tulu-Grantha Bhasha of Nambudiris under the British Tutelage. [[Paremmakkal Thoma Kathanar]] wrote the first Malayalam travelogue called ''[[Varthamanappusthakam]]'' in 1789.
 
The educational activities of the missionaries belonging to the Basel Mission deserve special mention. [[Hermann Gundert]], (1814–1893), a German missionary and scholar of exceptional linguistic talents, played a distinguishable role in the development of Malayalam literature. His major works are Keralolpathi (1843), Pazhancholmala (1845), Malayalabhaasha Vyakaranam (1851), ''Paathamala (1860) the first Malayalam school text book'', Kerala pazhama (1868), ''the first Malayalam dictionary (1872)'', Malayalarajyam (1879) – Geography of Kerala, ''Rajya Samacharam (1847 June) the first Malayalam news paper'', Paschimodayam (1879) – Magazine.<ref>[http://www.pressacademy.org/tags/rajyasamacharam Rajyasamacharam | Kerala Press Academy] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130712090109/http://www.pressacademy.org/tags/rajyasamacharam |date=12 July 2013 }}. Pressacademy.org. Retrieved 28 July 2013.</ref> He lived in [[Thalassery]] for around 20 years. He learned the language from well established local teachers Ooracheri Gurukkanmar from Chokli, a village near [[Thalassery]] and consulted them in works. He also translated the Bible into Malayalam.<ref>[http://www.pressacademy.org/content/herman-gundert Herman Gundert | Kerala Press Academy] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130514003031/http://pressacademy.org/content/herman-gundert |date=14 May 2013 }}. Pressacademy.org. Retrieved 28 July 2013.</ref><ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=TDCKdPpbFPAC |title=Land and people of Indian states and union territories |page=289 |quote=This Bungalow in Tellicherry ... was the residence of Dr. Herman Gundert .He lived here for 20 years |author=S. C. Bhatt and Gopal K. Bhargava |isbn=978-81-7835-370-8 |year=2005 |access-date=15 November 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160527102140/https://books.google.com/books?id=TDCKdPpbFPAC |archive-date=27 May 2016 |url-status=live}}</ref>
 
In 1821, the [[Church Mission Society]] (CMS) at [[Kottayam]] in association with the [[Syriac Orthodox Church]] started a seminary at [[Kottayam]] in 1819 and started printing books in Malayalam when Benjamin Bailey, an [[Anglican]] priest, made the first Malayalam types. In addition, he contributed to standardizing the prose.<ref>[http://www.hindu.com/2010/02/05/stories/2010020551770300.htm# "Banjamin Bailey"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100210130555/http://www.hindu.com/2010/02/05/stories/2010020551770300.htm |date=10 February 2010 }}, ''The Hindu'', 5 February 2010</ref> [[Hermann Gundert]] from [[Stuttgart]], Germany, started the first Malayalam newspaper, ''Rajya Samacaram'' in 1847 at [[Thalassery|Talasseri]]. It was printed at [[Basel Mission]].<ref>[http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:TRPopvqiezUJ:www.kerala.gov.in/kerala_callingoct/pg31-33.pdf+&cd=1&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=in# Rajya Samacaram, "1847 first Newspaper in Malayalam"], Kerala Government</ref> Malayalam and [[Sanskrit]] were increasingly studied by Christians of [[Kottayam]] and [[Pathanamthitta]]. The [[Marthomite]] movement in the mid-19th century called for replacement of [[Syriac language|Syriac]] by Malayalam for liturgical purposes. By the end of the 19th century Malayalam replaced [[Syriac language|Syriac]] as language of [[Liturgy]] in all Syrian Christian churches.
 
Thanks to the efforts of kings like [[Swathi Thirunal]] and to the assistance given by him to the Church Mission and London Mission Societies, a number of schools were started.
 
====1850–1904====
{{unreferenced section|date=July 2012}}
The establishment of the Madras University in 1857 marks an important event in the cultural history of [[Kerala]]. It is from here that a generation of scholars well versed in [[Western literature]] and with the capacity to enrich their own language by adopting Western literary trends came into being. [[Prose]] was the first branch to receive an impetus by its contact with English. Though there was no shortage of prose in Malayalam, it was not along Western lines. It was left to the farsighted policy of the [[Maharaja of Travancore]] (1861 to 1880) to start a scheme for the preparation of textbooks for use by schools in the state. Kerala Varma V, a scholar in Sanskrit, Malayalam and English was appointed Chairman of the Committee formed to prepare textbooks. He wrote several books suited for various standards.
 
The growth of journalism, too, helped in the development of prose. Initiated by missionaries for the purpose of religious propaganda, journalism was taken up by local scholars who started newspapers and journals for literary and political activities.
 
[[Vengayil Kunhiraman Nayanar]], (1861–1914) from [[Thalassery]] was the author of first Malayalam short story, Vasanavikriti. After him innumerable world class literature works by was born in Malayalam.
 
With his work ''[[Kundalatha]]'' in 1887, [[Appu Nedungadi]] marks the origin of prose fiction in Malayalam. Other talented writers were [[Chandu Menon]], the author of ''[[Indulekha (novel)|Indulekha]]'', a great [[social novel]], in 1889 and another called ''Sarada''. Also there was [[C V Raman Pillai]], who wrote the historical novel ''Marthandavarma'' in 1890 as well as works like Dharmaraja, and [[Ramaraja Bahadur]].{{citation needed|date=July 2012}}
 
[[File:Shakuntala RRV.jpg|thumb|Shakuntala writes to Dushyanta. Painting by [[Raja Ravi Varma]]. The poetry was translated by [[Kerala Varma Valiya Koil Thampuran|Kerala Varma]] as [[Abhijnanasakuntalam]]]]
 
In poetry there were two main trends, one represented by Venmani Nampoodiris (venmani Poets) and the other by [[Kerala Varma Valiya Koil Thampuran|Kerala Varma]]. The latter's poetry was modeled on the old [[Manipravalam]] style abounding in Sanskrit words and terms, but it had a charm of its own when adapted to express new ideas in that masterly way characteristic of himself. His translation of [[Kalidasa]]'s ''[[Abhijnanasakuntalam]]'' in 1882 marks an important event in the history of Malayalam drama and poetry. Also Kerala Varma's ''Mayura-sandesam'' is a ''Sandesakavya'' (messenger poem) written after the manner of Kalidasa's ''Meghadutam''. Though it cannot be compared with the original, it was still one of the most popularly acclaimed poems in Malayalam.
 
One of the notable features of the early decades of the 20th century was the great interest taken by writers in translating works from Sanskrit and English into Malayalam. Kalidasa's ''Meghaduta'' and ''Kumarasambhava'' by A. R. Raja Raja Varma and the ''Raghuvamsa'' by K. N. Menon must be mentioned. One of the most successful of the later translators was C. S. Subramaniam Potti who set a good model by his translation of the ''Durgesanandini'' of Bankim Chandra from an English version of it.
 
===Twentieth century===
{{unreferenced section|date=July 2012}}
The early decades of the 20th century saw the beginning of a period of rapid development of all branches of [[Malayalam literature]]. A good number of authors familiar with the latest trends in English literature came forward to contribute to the enrichment of their mother tongue. Their efforts were directed more to the development of prose than poetry.
[[File:Malayalam Wikipedia Mobile App.png|thumb|Malayalam language in mobile phone]]
 
====Prose====
Several [[Culture of Bengal|Bengali]] novels were translated during this period. C. S. S. Potti, mentioned above, also brought out the ''Lake of Palms'' of R. C. Dutt under the title ''Thala Pushkarani'', ''Kapalakundala'' by V. K. Thampi and ''Visha Vruksham'' by T. C. Kalyani Amma were also translations of novels by Bankimochandra Chatterji.
 
Among the original novels written at that time only a few are worth mentioning, such as ''Bhootha Rayar'' by Appan Thampuran, ''Keraleswaran'' by Raman Nambeesan and ''[[Cheraman Perumal]]'' by K. K. Menon. Although many social novels were produced during this period, only a few are remembered, such as ''Snehalatha'' by Kannan Menon, ''Hemalatha'' by T. K. Velu Pillai and ''Kambola-balika'' by N. K. Krishna Pillai. But by far the most inspiring work of that time was ''Aphante Makal'' by M. B. Namboodiri, who directed his literary talents towards the abolition of old worn-out customs and manners which had for years been the bane of the community.
 
Short stories came into being. With the advent of E. V. Krishna Pillai, certain marks of novelty became noticeable in the short story. His ''Keleesoudham'' proved his capacity to write with considerable emotional appeal.
 
[[C. V. Raman Pillai]] was a pioneer in prose dramas. He had a particular knack for writing dramas in a lighter vein. His ''Kurupillakalari'' of 1909 marks the appearance of the first original Malayalam prose drama. It is a satirical drama intended to ridicule the [[Malayali]] official classes who started imitating Western fashion and etiquette. There were other authors, less well-known, who wrote in this vein.{{citation needed|date=July 2012}}
 
Under the guidance of A. Balakrishna Pillai, a progressive school of authors appeared in almost all branches of literature, such as the novel, the short story, the drama, and criticism.
 
====Poetry====
{{unreferenced section|date=July 2012}}
Kumaran Asan's celebrated poem, ''[[Veena Poovu (poem)|Veena Poovu]]'' (''The Fallen Flower'') depicts in a symbolic manner the tragedy of human life in a moving and thought-provoking manner. Vallathol's ''Bandhanasthanaya Aniruddhan'', which demonstrates an exceptionally brilliant power of imagination and deep emotional faculties, depicts a situation from the Puranic story of Usha and Aniruddha. Ulloor S. P. Iyer was another veteran who joined the new school. He wrote a series of poems like ''Oru Mazhathulli'' in which he excelled as a romantic poet.
 
The three more or less contemporary poets [[Kumaran Asan]], [[Vallathol Narayana Menon]]
and [[Ulloor S. Parameswara Iyer]] considerably enriched Malayalam poetry. Some of their works reflect social and political movements of that time. Asan wrote about [[untouchability]] in Kerala; Ullor's writings reflect his deep devotion and admiration for the great moral and spiritual values, which he believed were the real assets of ancient social life of India. They were known as the trio of Malayalam poetry. After them there were others like K. K. Nair and [[K. M. Panikkar]] who contributed to the growth of poetry.
 
==See also==
{{Portal|India|Languages}}
<!-- Please respect alphabetical order -->
* [[Beary bashe]]
* [[Bible translations into Malayalam]]
* [[Malayali]]
** [[Arabi Malayalam]]
* [[Judeo-Malayalam]]
<!-- * [[Kasaragod Malayalam]] -->
* [[Malayalam calendar]]
* [[Malayalam literature]]
* [[Malayalam poetry]]
* [[Malayalam cinema]]
* [[Manipravalam]]
* [[Palindrome]]
* [[Suriyani Malayalam]]
* [[Tulu script]]


==References==
==References==
{{reflist}}
{{Reflist}}
 
==Sources==
* {{cite book |last=Gopinathan Nair |first=B. |year=2009 |chapter=Malayalam |editor1=Keith Brown |editor2=Sarah Ogilvie |title=Concise Encyclopedia of Languages of the World |pages=680–683}}
* {{cite book |last1=Karashima |first1=Noboru |authorlink1=Noboru Karashima |title=A Concise History of South India: Issues and Interpretations |date=2014 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-809977-2 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=fpdVoAEACAAJ |language=en |ref=harv}}
* {{cite book |last1=Mahapatra |first1=B. P. |title=Constitutional Languages |series=The Written Languages of the World: A Survey of the Degree and Modes of Use |volume=Volume 2: India. Book 1 |date=1989 |publisher=Presses Université Laval |isbn=978-2-7637-7186-1 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=yU8nq-C6wnoC |language=en |ref=harv}}
* {{cite book |last1=Asher |first1=R. E. |last2=Kumari |first2=T. C. |title=Malayalam |date=1997 |publisher=Psychology Press |isbn=978-0-415-02242-2 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=uFQG2DCaIsIC |language=en |ref=harv}}
* Govindankutty, A. "From Proto-Tamil-Malayalam to West Coast Dialects," 1972. Indo-Iranian Journal, Vol. XIV, Nr. 1/2, pp. 52 - 60.
== Further reading ==
* {{Cite book |publisher=[[VDM Publishing|VDM]] |isbn=978-3-639-21333-1 |last=Pillai |first=Anitha Devi |title=Singaporean Malayalam |location=Saarbrücken |year=2010}}
* Pillai, A.D. & Arumugam, P. (2017). From Kerala to Singapore: Voices of the Singapore Malayalee Community. Singapore: Marshall Cavendish International (Asia). Pte. Ltd. {{ISBN|9789814721837}}
 
==Notes==
{{notelist}}
{{reflist|group=note}}
 
==External links==
{{Wikiquote}}
{{interwiki|code=ml}}
{{sisterlinks|Malayalam|wikt=Category:Malayalam language|voy=Malayalam phrasebook}}
 
* {{DMOZ|Science/Social_Sciences/Linguistics/Languages/Natural/Dravidian/Malayalam/}}
* [https://www.britannica.com/topic/Malayalam-language Malayalam language] at ''[[Encyclopædia Britannica]]''
* [https://www.unicode.org/charts/PDF/U0D00.pdf Unicode Code Chart for Malayalam (PDF Format)]


{{Asia-stub}}
{{Languages of India}}
{{Languages of South Asia}}
{{Dravidian languages}}
{{Languages spoken in Kerala}}
{{Kerala topics}}
{{Authority control}}


[[Category:Dravidian languages]]
[[Category:Languages attested from the 9th century]]
[[Category:Languages of India]]
[[Category:Classical Language in India]]
[[Category:Kerala]]
[[Category:Official languages of India]]
[[Category:Subject–object–verb languages]]
[[Category:Malayalam language|*]]
[[Category:Ancient languages]]
Anonymous user
Retrieved from "https://en.bharatpedia.org/wiki/Special:MobileDiff/13673"