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Malayalam was first written with the Vatteluttu alphabet (വട്ടെഴുത്ത് Vaṭṭeḻuttŭ), which means 'round writing' and developed from the Brahmi script. The oldest known writing in Malayalam is known as the Edakal-5 inscription, is in the Vatteluttu alphabet, and dates from late 4th century or the early 5th century AD ...
Malayalam alphabet is unicase, or does not have a case distinction. It is written from left to right, but certain vowel signs are attached to the left (the opposite direction) of a consonant letter that it logically follows.
Many Malayalam words are spelled with doubled consonants, two of the same consonant written together into one syllable. Doubled consonants are written both horizontally and vertically. The second consonant in the cluster often uses a shortened form of the full consonant.
Unlike many other alphabets, the Malayalam Aksharamala or script is syllabic, meaning each Malayalam letter represents a syllable rather than a single consonant or vowel sound. This distinctive feature gives Malayalam its melodic and rhythmic quality, making it one of the most captivating languages in the world.
The Malayalam written script is phonetic, meaning that you say it as you write it (mostly!), and syllabic, meaning that it’s based on an alphabet and the syllables you can make with an alphabet. Therefore, there is a good correspondence between written and spoken Malayalam, though colloquial speech often diverges from standard written forms.
The Malayalam alphabet, an integral part of the Dravidian language family, holds great significance in Kerala’s rich cultural and linguistic heritage. Understanding and mastering these alphabets open the door to a vast literary tradition and everyday communication in Kerala.
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Consonants, chillu. special consonant that represents an independant consonant. vowel 'a' is the default vowel. This page provides schemes of the Malayalam alphabet characters (vowels, consonants, etc.), their unicode representation, IPA notation and an approximate english pronunciation.