Languages in Lakshadweep

Lakshadweep is the smallest union territory of India. It is located in the Arabian Sea and is formed of coral islands. The union territory is famous for its lagoon. From Cochin in Kerala, these islands can be reached by waterway or by airway. Kavaratti is headquarter of Lakshadweep islands. There are thirty six islands that form the archipelago of Lakshadweep. But only ten of the islands are inhabited by men. The population of the islands is mainly classified into Scheduled Tribes. The Scheduled Castes also form a part of the population. The main languages of Lakshadweep are Malayalam and Mahl.


The most common spoken language in Lakshadweep is Malayalam. But except in the island of Minicoy, Malayalam is spoken by the local people in all the islands of Lakshadweep. They use the modern script of Malayalam, known as Grandha. It replaced the older script of Vattezhuthu. The Arabic script gained popularity in the islands with the coming of religion of Islam. Among the languages of Lakshadweep, Mahl is another important language. Mahl is not only spoken in Lakshadweep but also in Maldives. The Mahl script is written like the Arabic one, from right to left. The modern Mahl language has been altered with time.

Since people from different parts of India came to this union territory, their local languages also got mingled to the languages of Lakshadweep. Besides Mahl and Malayalam the residents also speak Hindi, Bengali, Oriya, Tamil, Urdu. English is also prevalent in the islands. Besides Sanskrit, English has influenced the Malayalam language a lot.


Mahl

Among the languages of Lakshadweep, Mahl is spoken in the island of Minicoy. Except in the island of Minicoy, in the other islands of the smallest union territory of Lakshadweep, India Malayalam is used by the local people. Lakshadweep is an archipelago consisting of thirty six islands, of which the number of inhabited island is ten. The thirty six islands have a total area of thirty two square kilometers. The people of the islands of Lakshadweep is divided into Scheduled Tribes and Scheduled Castes. The local people of the islands, other than Minicoy, speak Malayalam. Mahl is also used in the Maldives islands. The script in which Mahl is written is known as Divehi. The script of Mahl like Arabic letters that has to be written from right side to the left. The language of Mahl consists of twenty four letters. The letters of Mahl resembles the alphabets of Arabic in sound. But it differs in writing from the Arabic letters. The language has been altered with time. Mainly Mahl in Lakshadweep has been modified with the influence of the religion of Islam.

Lakshadweep islands are home to a number of people who come from every part of the country. There are certain languages that are spoken by the migrating people in these islands that do not belong to these land. Many people in Lakshadweep, specially those coming to these islands seeking employment speak in languages like Hindi, Bengali, Tamil, Urdu, Gujrati, Oriya and others. English is also spoken by some of the inhabitants.


Malayalam

Lakshadweep is the smallest union territory of India. Out of the thirty six islands that form the archipelago of Lakshadweep, only ten of them are inhabited by men. The local men of Lakshadweep are classified into the Scheduled Castes and Schedule Tribes. But people from different parts of India have settled in these islands. Thus many of the languages spoken in Lakshadweep came with the migrants. Among the languages in Lakshadweep, the most commonly spoken language by the local people of the islands is Malayalam.

Malayalam in Lakshadweep is spoken by almost all the local people except the inhabitants of the island of Minicoy. There the people speak in Mahl. The modern script of Malayalam is known as Grandha. The modern script of Malayalam has replaced the older script of Vattezhuthu. With the coming of the religion of Islam, Arabic was more frequently used in Lakshadweep. The script of Arabic facilitated the reading of Koran among the inhabitants of the union territory of Lakshadweep.

The speakers of Malayalam language, are known as the Malayalis. Other than the inhabitants of Lakshadweep, Malayalam is a major language in Kerala, located in the Southern part of India. There are fifteen major languages in India. Out of these, the position of Malayalam language is eighth, on the basis of the number of speakers of the language. Malayalam belongs to the Dravidian group of language. A close resemblance with the Tamil language is noticed. Sanskrit and English have also influenced this language remarkably. Malayalam consists of fifty three letters. The number of short and long vowels is twenty and the rest of the alphabets are consonants.


Last Updated on : 30 April, 2025