The language of Maldives is Dhivehi, which belongs to the Indro-Indian group of languages. Researches have proved that the Maldives language has close resemblance to the languages of North India, Sri Lanka and South East Asia.
Dhivehi is the official language of the country. The language has its roots in Sanskrit, the ancient language of India. 'Elu', an ancient form of Singhalese, was originally spoken by the people of this country in ancient times. The language however underwent extensive transformation and took the form of the present day Dhivehi. Dhivehi also has a strong Arabic influence.
Dhivehi is written from left to right. The people over here follow the Thaana Script, which was invented in the 16th century. The script bears resemblance with the Urdu script. Letters and vowels are written separately. The vowels are written on top or below the letters, based upon the sound. The Dhivehi script contains a large number of English, Arabic and Indian words. The Thaane alphabetical system consists of 24 letters.
The pronunciation and the vocabulary vary from island to island of this country. The difference in the dialect is much more prominent in the southern most atoll of the country.
The Maldives language gives one an insight into the country's history and cultural development also.
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