ABOUT MALDIVES

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Dhivehi
Throughout the Maldives Dhivehi is spoken, which is the national language. It is a language with roots in old South Asian languages, mixed with Arabic, Hindi and English words.

The literacy rate of the Maldives is very high - 98%. Since the early 1960s English has become the medium of education in most schools, while Dhivehi is still the language used for the overall administration and daily conversations among Maldivians.

The Script
After defeating the Portuguese, about 4 centuries ago, the Thaana script, which is a refinement of older scripts, was introduced. The script, as in Arabic, is written from right to left.

It is a very phonetic language with the vowels below and above the letters in the form of dashes. There is no exact correlation between the Thaana and Roman script, which leads to the same word or name being spelt in many different ways. In the 1940s, the 20 administrative units, which are also known as atolls, were each assigned a letter of the Dhivehi alphabet. For example North Maalhosmadulu is usually referred to as Raa atoll according to the alphabetic assignment.

Different dialects
Due to the widespread distribution of the islands, differences in pronunciation and vocabulary have developed, especially between the north and south atolls. People in Malé cannot understand for example the dialect used by the people of Addu or Seenu Atoll.

The class-system in Dhivehi
Inherent in the Dhivehi language is a form of class distinction expressed through three levels.
The first level, the “reethi bas” or nice language, was and is still used to address members of the upper class, but is now more often used on national radio and TV. To show respect for elders, officials and strangers, the second level is used. Most people use the more informal last level in every day life.

Peculiarities of Dhivehi
It’s interesting to hear how English words have been “Dhivehinized” by adding the ending “U”, e.g. computer becomes computaru. Recently committees have been established to reintroduce Dhivehi words and to create new ones.

“Hello” and “Good bye” are not used in Dhivehi, instead someone might greet you with a smile or the raising of the eyebrow and just ask “kihineh?” (how are you?). Or they might just ask you where you are going, “kon thaakah dhanee?”, since they already know how you are, as is often the case in such close communities.

Goodbyes are usually expressed by announcing “dhanee!” (I’m going). Last but not least the often-overused word “thank you” is not really part of the language, but has been introduced recently through the Indian word “shukuriyya”. Maldivians are naturally a hospitable and generous people and consider a “thank you” unnecessary.

ABOUT MALDIVES

Facts - The Maldives - History - Geography - People - Island life - Language - Weather - National Symbols
Festivals and ceremonies - Handicrafts - Dhonis - Fishing

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