Dhivehi language - Citizendia

See also: Dhivehi Writing Systems

Dhivehi
Spoken in:	Maldives; Lakshadweep (India)
Total speakers:	300,000+
Language family:	Indo-European Indo-Iranian Indo-Aryan Insular Indo-Aryan Dhivehi
Official status
Official language in:	Maldives
Regulated by:	http://www.qaumiyyath.gov.mv/
Language codes
ISO 639-1:	`dv`
ISO 639-2:	`div`
ISO 639-3:	`div`
Note: This page may contain IPA phonetic symbols in Unicode. The Dhivehi or Divehi Writing systems are the different scripts used by Maldivians during their history. The Maldives ( or, or Maldive Islands) officially the Republic of Maldives, is an Island nation consisting of a group of atolls stretching Lakshadweep ( (ലക്ഷദ്വീപ്,) the smallest Union territory of India, is a group of islands 200 to 300 km off of the coast of India, officially the Republic of India (भारत गणराज्य inc-Latn Bhārat Gaṇarājya; see also other Indian languages) is a country List of language familiesA language family is a group of Languages related by descent from a common ancestor called the Proto-language of that family The Indo-Iranian language group constitutes the easternmost extant branch of the Indo-European family of languages The Indo-Aryan languages (within the context of Indo-European studies also Indic) are a branch of the Indo-European language family The Indo-Aryan languages include some 210 ( SIL estimate languages and dialects spoken by many people in Asia; this language family is a part of the The Maldives ( or, or Maldive Islands) officially the Republic of Maldives, is an Island nation consisting of a group of atolls stretching This is a list of bodies that regulate Standard languages Natural languages Auxiliary languages Interlingua The auxiliary language ISO 639-1 is the first part of the ISO 639 international-standard language-code family ISO 639-2 is the second part of the ISO 639 standard, which lists codes for the representation of the names of languages ISO 639 -3 (ISO 639-32007 is an international standard for Language codes The standard describes three‐letter codes for identifying languages In Computing, Unicode is an Industry standard allowing Computers to consistently represent and manipulate text expressed in most of the world's

Dhivehi (or Divehi) is an Indo-Aryan language spoken by more than about 300,000 people in the Republic of Maldives where it is the official language of the country and in the island of Minicoy (Maliku) in neighbouring India where it is known as Mahl. The Indo-Aryan languages (within the context of Indo-European studies also Indic) are a branch of the Indo-European language family The Maldives ( or, or Maldive Islands) officially the Republic of Maldives, is an Island nation consisting of a group of atolls stretching Minicoy Island or Maliku is the only inhabited island of the Maliku Atoll and is located at. India, officially the Republic of India (भारत गणराज्य inc-Latn Bhārat Gaṇarājya; see also other Indian languages) is a country Mahal (މަހަލް or Mahl, also known locally as Maliku Bas, is an Indo-Aryan language spoken by the people of Minicoy Island ( Maliku Dhivehi is closely related to Sinhala. Sinhalese or Sinhala (සිංහල ISO 15919: siṁhala ˈsiŋhələ earlier referred to as Singhalese) is the language of the Sinhalese Many languages have influenced the development of Dhivehi through the ages, most importantly Arabic. Arabic (ar الْعَرَبيّة (informally ar عَرَبيْ) in terms of the number of speakers is the largest living member of the Semitic language Others include Malayalam, Hindi, French, Persian, Portuguese, and English. Not to be confused with the Malay language. Malayalam (മലയാളം malayāḷaṁ) is a Dravidian language used Hindi ( Devanāgarī: hi [[wiktहिन्दी हिन्दी]] or hi [[wiktहिंदी हिंदी]] IAST:, IPA:) is French ( français,) is a Romance language spoken around the world by 118 million people as a native language and by about 180 to 260 million people Portuguese ( or língua portuguesa) is a Romance language that originated in what is now Galicia (Spain and northern Portugal. English is a West Germanic language originating in England and is the First language for most people in the United Kingdom, the United States

H. C. P. Bell was one of the first transliterators of this tongue. Harry Charles Purvis Bell (1851-1937 was a British civil servant a commissioner in the Ceylon Civil Service. Bell called the language Divehi, which was consistent with Maldives, the name of the country, for the -dives of Maldives and the word Divehi have the same root which is dvīp ("island" in Sanskrit).

Wilhelm Geiger was a German linguist who undertook the first research on Divehi linguistics in the early 20th century. Wilhelm Ludwig Geiger (1856-1943 was a German Orientalist in the fields of Indian and Iranian languages Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany ( ˈbʊndəsʁepuˌbliːk ˈdɔʏtʃlant is a Country in Central Europe. Linguistics is the scientific study of Language, encompassing a number of sub-fields He called the Maldivian language Divehi, without an "h". In 1976, when a semi-official Latin transliteration was developed for the Maldive language, an "h" was added to the name of the language, but not to the name of the country. Dhivehi Latin or Maldivian Latin (known colloquially as Malé Latin or "Nasiri Latin" was an officially-enforced romanization scheme in the Maldives This inconsistency has yet to be resolved.

English words such as atoll (a ring of coral islands or reefs) and doni (a vessel for inter-atoll navigation) are anglicized forms of the Maldivian words Atolhu and Dhōni. An atoll (pronounced /ˈætʌl/ is an island of Coral that encircles a Lagoon partially or completely

1 Origin
2 Variants of the language
3 Levels of speech
4 Dhivehi scripts
5 Latin Transliteration of the Dhivehi language
6 References
7 Further reading

Origin

Divehi is an Indo-Aryan language closely related to the Sinhalese language of Sri Lanka. The Indo-Aryan languages (within the context of Indo-European studies also Indic) are a branch of the Indo-European language family Sinhalese or Sinhala (සිංහල ISO 15919: siṁhala ˈsiŋhələ earlier referred to as Singhalese) is the language of the Sinhalese Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka ( Sinhalese:, இலங்கை known as Ceylon before 1972 is an Island Divehi represents the southernmost Indo-Aryan language, and thus the southernmost Indo-European language. Together with Sinhala, Divehi represents a special subgroup within the Modern Indo-Aryan languages which is called Insular Indo-Aryan. The Indo-Aryan languages include some 210 ( SIL estimate languages and dialects spoken by many people in Asia; this language family is a part of the

Whereas earlier it was believed that Divehi was a descendant of the Sinhalese language, in 1969 Sinhalese philologist M. W. S. de Silva for the first time proposed that Dhivehi and Sinhalese have branched off from a common mother language (a Prakrit). Prakrit (also transliterated as Pracrit) ( Sanskrit: prākṛta प्राकृत (from pra-kṛti प्रकृति according to one He says that “the earliest Indic element in Maldivian is not so much a result of branching off from Sinhalese as a result of a simultaneous separation with Sinhalese from the Indic languages of the mainland of India”. India, officially the Republic of India (भारत गणराज्य inc-Latn Bhārat Gaṇarājya; see also other Indian languages) is a country S. Fritz has recently reached the same conclusion in a detailed study of the language. De Silva refers to the Dravidian influences seen in the Dhivehi language such as in the old place names. The Dravidian family of languages includes approximately 73 languages (including the four literary languages of Tamil, Telugu, Kannada De Silva’s theory is supported by the legend of Prince Vijaya as told in the Mahavamsa because if this legend is to be believed, the migration of Indo-Aryan colonists to the Maldives and Sri Lanka from the mainland (India) must have taken place simultaneously. Vijaya (c 543 BC - 504 BC) was the first king of Sri Lanka mentioned in the ancient Sri Lankan Pali chronicles The Mahavamsa, ("Great Chronicle " is a historical poem written in the Pali language of the kings of Sri Lanka.

Variants of the language

Due to the widespread distribution of the islands, differences in pronunciation and vocabulary have developed during the centuries. The mainstream form of Divehi is known as Malé Bas and is based on the variant spoken in the capital of the country. Overview Although Malé is geographically located in Male' Atoll Kaafu Atoll, administratively it is not considered part of it

The most important variants of the language are to be found in the southern atolls, namely Huvadu, Fua Mulaku and Addu. Huvadu ( H C P Bell) or Huvadhoo (also called Suvadiva) is sometimes referred to as the largest atoll of the Maldives. Gnaviyani Atoll is one of the administrative divisions of the Maldives. Addu Atoll (local administrative code Seenu) is the southernmost Atoll of the Maldives. Slighter variants are spoken in Haddummati and in Minicoy Island, the latter being known as Maliku Bas. Haddhunmathi Atoll or Laamu Atoll is an administrative division of the Maldives. Minicoy Island or Maliku is the only inhabited island of the Maliku Atoll and is located at. Mahal (މަހަލް or Mahl, also known locally as Maliku Bas, is an Indo-Aryan language spoken by the people of Minicoy Island ( Maliku Only Male Bas and Maliku Bas are used in writing. Mahal (މަހަލް or Mahl, also known locally as Maliku Bas, is an Indo-Aryan language spoken by the people of Minicoy Island ( Maliku The other variants are only used in spoken speech and in popular songs and poetry.

Moloki bas, is a dialect of Dhivehi which is spoken by the people of Fuvahmulah Island. Fuvammulah or Fua Mulaku ( Dhivehi: ފުވައްމުލައް is a large single Island in the Maldives. Moloki bas has Laamu sukun (ލް)which is absent from the official Male' dialect. This is a final 'l' without vowel sound, like the first letter 'L' in the word 'calculator'. Another characteristic of this variant of Dhivehi is the 'o' sound at the end of words, instead of the final 'u' common in all other forms of Dhivehi. Eg. 'fanno' instead of 'fannu'. Regarding pronunciation, the retroflex 'ş', which has almost a slight 'r' sound in mainstream Divehi, becomes š in Moloki bas, sounding like the Arabic letter 'sheenu'.

The letter Naviyani ޱ, which represented the retroflex "n" sound common to many Indic languages (Sinhala, Gujarati, Hindi, etc. Letter Naviyani ( ޱ) used to be the used to be the nineteenth letter of the Divehi alphabet. Sinhalese or Sinhala (සිංහල ISO 15919: siṁhala ˈsiŋhələ earlier referred to as Singhalese) is the language of the Sinhalese Gujarati (ગુજરાતી Gujǎrātī ? Hindi ( Devanāgarī: hi [[wiktहिन्दी हिन्दी]] or hi [[wiktहिंदी हिंदी]] IAST:, IPA:) is ), was abolished from official documents in 1950 by Muhammad Amin, the ruler of Maldives. The reason why this particular letter representing a retroflex sound was abolished and not others like Lhaviyani, Daviyani or Taviyani is not known. Perhaps it was a mere whim of the charismatic Maldivian leader of those times. ^[1]

Letter Naviyani's former position in the Thaana alphabet was between letters Daviyani and Zaviyani. It is still seen in reprints of traditional old books like the Bodu Tartheebu. It is also used by Addu people when writing songs or poetry in their language variant. Addu Atoll (local administrative code Seenu) is the southernmost Atoll of the Maldives.

Levels of speech

Inherent in the Dhivehi language is a form of elaborate class distinction expressed through three levels: The first level, the enme maa goiy (known colloquially as reethi bas), is used to address members of the upper class and of royal blood, but is now more often used on national radio and TV. To show respect for elders, officials and strangers the second level, maa goy is used. People use the more informal third level aadhaige goiy in everyday life and to talk about themselves. Even a nobleman or a high official does not use the high level to talk about himself.

Regarding salutations, there is no direct translation of the English "hello" or "good-bye" in Dhivehi. Instead, islanders greet each other with a smile or the raising of the eyebrow and just ask "where are you going?", followed by "what for?". Goodbyes were not traditionally expressed, except in highly formal speech or in poetry (Lhen).

Dhivehi scripts

Main article: Dhivehi writing systems

The Maldivian language has had its own script since very ancient times, most likely over two millennia, when Maldivian Buddhist monks translated and copied the Buddhist scriptures. The Dhivehi or Divehi Writing systems are the different scripts used by Maldivians during their history.

It used to be written in the earlier form (Evēla) of the Divehi Akuru (or Dives Akuru, "Dhivehi letters") which are written from left to right. See also Dhivehi Writing Systems Dhivehi language|History of the Maldives Divehi Akuru or Dhives Akuru (island letters is a script formerly used to write the Divehi Akuru were used in all of the islands between the conversion to Islam and until the 1700s. These ancient Maldivian letters were also used in official correspondence with Addu Atoll until the early 1900s. Perhaps they were used in some isolated islands and rural communities until the 1960s, but the last remaining native user died in the 1990s. Today Maldivians rarely learn the Divehi Akuru alphabet, for Arabic is being favoured as second script.

Divehi or Dhivehi is presently written using a different script, called Thaana or Tāna, written from right to left. See also Dhivehi writing systems Thaana, Taana or Tāna (written in Tāna script is the modern writing system of the This script is relatively recent.

The literacy rate of the Maldives is very high (98%) compared to other South Asian countries. Since the 1960s English has become the medium of education in most schools although they still have Dhivehi classes, but Dhivehi is still the language used for the overall administration.

Latin Transliteration of the Dhivehi language

Towards the mid 1970s, during President Ibrahim Nasir's tenure, Telex machines were introduced by the Maldivian Government in the local administration. The new telex equipment was viewed as a great progress, however the local Tāna script was deemed to be an obstacle because messages on the telex machines could only be written in the Latin script. A teleprinter ( Following this, "Dhivehi Letin", a new official Latin transliteration was swiftly approved by the Maldive government in 1976 and was quickly implemented by the administration. Booklets were printed and dispatched to all Atoll and Island Offices, as well as schools and merchant liners. This was seen by many as the effective demise of the Tāna script.

Clarence Maloney, the American anthropologist who was in the Maldives at the time of the change, lamented the inconsistencies of the "Dhivehi Letin" which ignored all previous linguistic research on the Maldivian language done by H. Dhivehi Latin or Maldivian Latin (known colloquially as Malé Latin or "Nasiri Latin" was an officially-enforced romanization scheme in the Maldives C. P. Bell and Wilhelm Geiger. He wondered why the modern Standard Indic transliteration had not been considered. Standard Indic is a consistent script system that is well adapted to writing practically all languages of South Asia. The International Alphabet of Sanskrit Transliteration ( IAST) is a popular Transliteration scheme that allows a lossless Romanization of Indic ^[2]

The Tāna script was reinstated by the Maldivian government shortly after President Maumoon took power in 1978. There was widespread relief in certain places, especially rural areas, where the introduction of Latin had been regarded with suspicion. However, the substandard Latin transcription of 1976 continues to be widely used.

References

^ Xavier Romero-Frias, The Maldive Islanders, A Study of the Popular Culture of an Ancient Ocean Kingdom
^ Clarence Maloney; People of the Maldive Islands

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