Language code: ml

Technical information about ISO 639 language code ml

The table below provides technical details for the Malayalam language, designated by the ml code from the ISO 639-1 standard.

Code

ml

Name

Official

Malayalam

Native

മലയാളം

Family
Southern
Text direction

Left-to-Right

Language varieties
Malabar (Northern Malayalam)Central KeralaTravancore (Southern Malayalam)NamboothiriNasrani (Syrian Christian Malayalam)Mappila (Moplah)
Related languages
TamilKannadaTuluKodava
Key facts
Uses its own Brahmic-derived script with 15 vowel signs and 36 consonant lettersExhibits strong diglossia between formal literary style and everyday colloquial speechClassical literature features Manipravalam, a deliberate blend of Malayalam and SanskritContains extensive loanwords from Arabic, Portuguese, Dutch, and English due to centuries of maritime tradeHolds one of the world’s longest single-word palindromes: ‘മലയാളമ’ (malayāḷam).
Sample phrase

നമസ്കാരം, നിങ്ങള്‍ സുഖമാണോ?

Character encodings

UTF-8, UTF-16, UTF-32

Supported in Localizely

Malayalam belongs to the Dravidian language family, specifically the Southern subgroup. It is one of the official languages of Kerala and the union territory of Lakshadweep in India. Malayalam is also commonly spoken in Mahe, which is part of the union territory of Puducherry. It is primarily written using the Malayalam script, with the Latin script also occasionally used for transliteration purposes. It is estimated that there are more than 37 million speakers worldwide.

Language presence globally

Speakers

*The graph shows a rough estimate of Malayalam speakers in countries where it is an official or minority language.

Related locale codes

ml-IN Malayalam (India)

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