Mappila dialects
Dialect of Malayalam used by Mappila Muslims
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Mappila Malayalam[1] (also called Moplah Malayalam) refers to the sociolects of the Malayalam language spoken by the Mappila Muslim community of Kerala, India. Rather than a single uniform dialect, the term encompasses a variety of regional speech patterns that differ significantly by district (e.g., Kasaragod, Malappuram, Kozhikode, Kannur). It is spoken by several million people, predominantly in the Malabar Coast of Kerala state, southern India.
| Mappila Malayalam | |
|---|---|
| Mappila dialect | |
| മാപ്പിളമലയാളം | |
| Native to | India |
Native speakers | Malabar Muslims |
Dravidian
| |
Early forms | |
| Malayalam script (currently) Arabi Malayalam script (historically) | |
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-3 | – |
| Glottolog | mopl1237 |
Linguistically, Mappila Malayalam is mutually intelligible with other standard dialects of Malayalam.[2][3] It is classified variously as a regional dialect of northern Kerala or as a sociolect of the Mappila community. It is also described as a vernacular or, particularly during the colonial era, as a provincial patois. A defining feature of Mappila Malayalam is its lexical admixture, which shows influence from Arabic and Persian.[3][4]
Writing system
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The Arabi Malayalam script is a modified version of the Arabic script. The script[5] is also known as Khatafunnani[6] or Ponnani script.[7][8] It is also used to write several minority languages such as Eranadan and Jesri.
Scholars debate the origins of the writing system. While some historians (e.g., O. Abu) argue Arabs developed it to bridge linguistic barriers, a prominent theory suggests it was developed by native Mappilas. Due to the belief that the Arabic script was divinely bestowed, early Mappilas considered it inappropriate to record sacred texts in local scripts like Vatteluttu, prompting the adaptation of the Arabic alphabet for Malayalam.[9]
Study center
The Thunchath Ezhuthachan Malayalam University in Tirur has established a centre dedicated to the study of the Arabi Malayalam literary tradition and the Mappila dialect.[10][11]