The national language of the Maldives is called Dhivehi. There are varying dialects of Dhivehi language, especially in the southern parts of the country. However, formal Dhivehi is used in all the official and written communications. Similarly Dhivehi is spoken in the Indian administered territory of Minicoy.
Dhivehi anguage is an offshoot of the Indo-Aryan language family. Various languages in South Asia, Europe and Arabic language in particular has contributed greatly to the evolution of Dhivehi language.
The writing history of Dhivehi language can be traced back to over 800 years. Dhivehi language is written using Thaana script, which is written in the right to left direction. Previously DhivesAkuru script was used until the 18th century for writing.
Though Dhivehi is the official language, English language is widely spoken in the country. English is also used as the business language.
Foremost resort islands and hotels employee translators who can converse in different languages. Consequently speakers of renowned international languages like English, German, Russian, Italian, Spanish, Arabic, Hindi, Chinese and Japanese can easily be located in the Maldives tourist establishments.
The major dialects of Maldivian are Malé, Huvadhu, Mulaku, Addu, Haddhunmathee, and Maliku. The standard form of Maldivian is Malé, which is spoken in the Maldivian capital of the same name. The Maliku dialect spoken in Minicoy is officially referred to as Mahl by the Lakshadweep administration. This has been adopted by many authors when referring to Maldivian spoken in Minicoy.