A historical glimpse on the Dhivehi language

by Ali Naafiz As we mark the International Mother Language Day, it is quite important to delve into the origin and history of our mother language, Dhivehi, and look at the threats faced by it.

Since its origin, Dhivehi, like any other language, has seen a tremendous amount of change. While some of them may be, in fact, vital for its survival, some indeed contribute to the gradual extinction of our small, yet rich language. The need to preserve our language is much more than any time before.

Origin and history

Early researchers believed that Dhivehi branched from Sinhalese, a language spoken in neighboring Sri Lanka. The claim was later revealed inaccurate, as researchers found that the oldest elements of the language showed influence from Dravidian family of languages spoken in India and Sri Lanka, rather than Sinhalese.

Experts have recently proposed various theories concerning the origin of Dhivehi, the most precise of them claiming that the language descended from Maharashtri, a language spoken in ancient India. Linguists, however, agree that the language is an Indo-Aryan language, related to the languages spoken in both India and Sri Lanka.

While the language has a rich written history, linguists believe that the oldest inscription found to date is on a coral stone, which is estimated to be from around the 7th century. However, the earliest writings found were engraved on copperplate grants called Loamaafaanu, which date back to the 12th century.

Since Maldives embraced Islam in the end of 12th century, Arabic language has influenced Dhivehi. Many pronunciations of Arabic language have found their way into Dhivehi. The introduction of 'Thikijehi Thaana', a system of writing where dots are used with some of the letters, is one example how Arabic influenced the evolution of Dhivehi.

Though Thaana is now officially used as the writing system of Dhivehi, several other systems of writing were used in the history. Eveyla Akuru, which originated from Brahmi script used in different parts of Asia, was written from left to right. However, H. C. P. Bell, a modern linguist who studied the history of Dhivehi, separated Eveyla Akuru into two variants and named them as ‘Dives Akuru’ and ‘Eveyla Akuru’.

Dives Akuru descended from Eveyla Akuru, after Maldivians converted to Islam. The script can be found on the stone pillars of Friday Mosque in Male. The script, however, did not attain a true alphabetic form.

Thaana became the official writing system in 18th century. The script, written from right to left was highly influenced by Arabic alphabet. Experts believe that the first nine letters of Thaana were derived from the Arabic numerals.

A rich blend of dialects

As Maldives consists of islands scattered across 90,000 square kilometers, variations in pronunciations and vocabulary have occurred. The dialects of Dhivehi provide a unique blend and contribute to the development of the language.

While the dialects differ significantly between some islands, most islands adhere to the official Male' Dialect, which is also used in official documents. Most variations are seen in the Southern part of Maldives. Huvadhu, Fuvahmulah and Addu Atoll have developed rich accents, comprising words, sounds and letters native to the respective atolls.

Addu Bas, being the most widely spread of all dialects has fulfilled a position as a form of mutual communication, among the Southern atolls. Nearly all the educated people belonging to the three atolls of Southern Maldives use the dialect to communicate with each other. Several unique features are present in the dialect, which makes it difficult for Maldivians from other parts of the country to understand.

Fuvahmulah Dialect is another major accent, used by the people of Fuvahmulah. It has distinctive features such as ‘laamu sukun’ and an ‘o’ sound instead of ‘u’ at the end of words.

A slightly different sub-dialect, known as Huvadhoo Bas has emerged in Huvadhu Atoll. While the dialect shows similarity with both Addu Bas and Fuvahmulah Accent, it still contains some old Sinhala words. Some experts have argued that the dialect is much more related to Sinhalese than any other dialect of Dhivehi.

Modern Threats

Dhivehi, being a small language has faced many threats to its existence. Despite being a rich language that has highly influenced our culture and society, it is currently at risk of becoming extinct. Who are to be blamed for the threats Dhivehi has faced in our society?

The spread of English, as the instructional medium in the education system has fuelled the declining use of Dhivehi. While the curriculum consists mainly of subjects taught in English, a few classes are allocated for teaching Dhivehi and the related subjects. Students graduate from schools without much knowledge and practice of the language.

Not much work has also been done to make our language consistent with modern technology. Only a few websites with pure Dhivehi content exist and the number of software developed in Dhivehi is almost negligible. Despite the spread of technological awareness within the society, no reliable Dhivehi dictionaries were developed. While most languages have developed interactive methods, such as the use of multimedia to teach them, Dhivehi still lags behind them.

The day reminds us of our responsibility to preserve our language. We need to engage actively in developing and preserving our mother language.