Dhivehi is an Indo-Aryan Language which is also the official and the only native language of the Republic of the Maldives. Dhivehi Language is also being used as the official language of Minicoy (maliku)( a part of india) where they call it as "Mahl".
Dhivehi is an Indo-Aryan Language closely related to the language of Srilanka, the Singhalese Language. Divehi represents the southernmost Indo-Aryan language, and thus the southernmost Indo-Aryan Language.
it was believed that Divehi was a descendant of the Sinhalese language, in 1969 Sinhalese philologist M. W. S. de Silva for the first time proposed that Dhivehi and Sinhalese have branched off from a common mother language (a Prakrit). He says that “the earliest Indic element in Maldivian is not so much a result of branching off from Sinhalese as a result of a simultaneous separation with Sinhalese from the Indic languages of the mainland of India". S. Fritz has recently reached the same conclusion in a detailed study of the language. De Silva refers to the Dravidian influences seen in the Dhivehi language such as in the old place names. De Silva’s theory is supported by the legend of Prince Vijaya as told in the Mahavamsa because if this legend is to be believed, the migration of Indo-Aryan colonists to the Maldives and Sri Lanka from the mainland (India) must have taken place simultaneously.
Due to the widespread distribution of the islands, differences in pronunciation and vocabulary have developed during the centuries. The mainstream form of Divehi is known as Malé Bas and is based on the variant spoken in the capital of the country.
The most important variants of the language are to be found in the southern atolls, namely Huvadu, Fua Mulaku and Addu. Slighter variants are spoken in Haddummati and in Minicoy Island, the latter being known as Maliku Bas. Only Male Bas and Maliku Bas are used in writing. The other variants are only used in spoken speech and in popular songs and poetry.
Moloki bas, is a...