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Concept
Maldivian language
Summary
Maldivian, also known by its endonym Dhivehi or Divehi (dɪˈveɪhi ; ދިވެހި, diʋehi), is an Indo-Aryan language spoken in the South Asian island country of Maldives and on Minicoy Island, Lakshadweep, a union territory of India.
The Maldivian language has four notable dialects. The standard dialect is that of the capital city of Malé. The greatest dialectal variation exists in the southern atolls of Huvadhu, Addu and Fuvahmulah. Each of these atolls has its own distinct dialect often thought to be interconnected with each other while being widely different from the dialect spoken in the northern atolls. The southern dialects are so distinct that those only speaking northern dialects cannot understand them.
The ethnic endonym for the language, Divehi, is occasionally found in English as Dhivehi (spelled according to the locally used Malé Latin for the romanisation of the Maldivian language), which is the official spelling as well as the common usage in the Maldives. Dhivehi is written in Thaana script.
Dhivehi is a descendant of Elu Prakrit and is closely related to Sinhalese, but not mutually intelligible with it. Many languages have influenced the development of Dhivehi through the ages. They include Arabic, Urdu/Hindustani, Persian, Tamil, French, Portuguese, and English. The English words atoll (a ring of coral islands or reefs) and dhoni (a vessel for inter-atoll navigation) are anglicised forms of the Maldivian words atoḷu and dōni. Before European colonization of the Southern Hemisphere, it was the southernmost Indo-European language.
The origin of the word "Divehi" is from older divu+vesi, meaning "island dwelling". Vesi came from Sanskrit vāsin and later became vehi. Divu (from Sanskrit dvīpa) later became the suffix -dū, which is currently present in many names of Maldivian islands, such as Hanimādū, Mīdū, and Dāndū. Bas (from Sanskrit bhāṣā) means "language", so Dhivehi bas (ދިވެހިބަސް) means "islanders' language".
Wilhelm Geiger, a German linguist who undertook the first research on Maldivian linguistics in the early 20th century, also called the language Divehi.
Official source
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