Malayalam in Pondicherry

Upholding the rich traditional ancestry and cultural legacy of the Union Territory, a vast section of the local inhabitants of Pondicherry speak Malayalam. Malayalam is an officially recognized language of Pondicherry. An important language of the Dravidian family, Malayalam is taught at the school level to encourage the students to converse in the vernacular medium.

To retain the traditional cultural patterns, Pondicherry encourages the native population to speak the vernacular language of Malayalam, rather than resort to English as a medium of communication. The adoption of Malayalam as one of the official languages reaffirms the intense devotion and dedication of the indigenous local population to their strong root.

Malayalam is widely taught at the school level as an important subject. The acceptance of the vernacular language of Malayalam has led to the proliferation of literary creativity in the field of art and literature.

One of the oldest languages of the Indian sub- continent, Malayalam language does not bear any resemblance to Sanskrit. The Malayalam language has a rich historical past. Keeping in tune with the enriched cultural heritage of the ancient times, Malayalam language has proved to be a major vehicle of propagating knowledge about the bygone golden era.

One can amass a wide gamut of knowledge about traditional social and cultural life of the South Indians by going through the literary creations of the Malayalam language. The vernacular language of Malayalam is spoken mostly by the indigenous local inhabitants of Mahe and Yanam. The adoption of Malayalam language as one of the main languages of Pondicherry has strengthened the strong traditional culture of the region.