View source for Malayalam script

{{Short description|Brahmic script used commonly to write the Malayalam language}}
{{Distinguish|Jawi script{{!}}Malay script}}
{{Expand Malayalam|മലയാളലിപി|date=April 2023}}
{{use dmy dates |date=March 2024}}
{{Infobox Writing system
| name        = Malayalam script
| languages   = [[Malayalam]]<br />[[Sanskrit]]<br />[[Tulu language|Tulu]]<br />[[Jeseri]]<br />[[Konkani language|Konkani]]<br />[[Paniya]] <br /> [[Betta Kurumba]] <br /> [[Ravula language|Ravula]] and other minor languages
| type        = [[Abugida]]
| time        = {{abbr|c.|Circa}} 830 – present<ref name="Omniglot"/><ref name="Vazhapally Temple">{{Cite web|title=Vazhapally Temple|url=http://www.vazhappallytemple.org/history.html|publisher=Vazhappally Sree Mahadeva Temple|access-date=2009-10-31|url-status=usurped|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110109014543/http://www.vazhappallytemple.org/history.html|archive-date=2011-01-09}}</ref>
| fam1        = [[Egyptian hieroglyphs|Egyptian]]
| fam2        = [[Proto-Sinaitic]]
| fam3        = [[Phoenician script|Phoenician]]
| fam4        = [[Aramaic script|Aramaic]]
| fam5        = [[Brahmi script]]
| fam6        = [[Tamil-Brahmi]]
| fam7        = [[Pallava script]]
| fam8        = [[Grantha script]] (with Vattezhuthu influence)
| sisters     = [[Tigalari script]] <br />[[Thirke script]]<br />[[Dhives Akuru]] <br />[[Saurashtra script]]
| unicode     = [https://www.unicode.org/charts/PDF/U0D00.pdf U+0D00–U+0D7F]
| iso15924    = Mlym
| sample      = Malayalam script sample.jpg
| imagesize   = 250px
}}

{{Contains special characters|Indic}}
{{Malayalam transliteration}}
{{brahmic}}

'''Malayalam script''' ({{transliteration|ml|ISO|Malayāḷa lipi}}; {{IPA|ml|mɐlɐjaːɭɐ liβ̞i|IPA}}<ref name="Ref_a"/><ref name="Grammatical Sketch">{{Cite web |url=http://www.owlnet.rice.edu/~hj3/pub/Malayalam.pdf |title=Malayalam: a Grammatical Sketch and a Text |access-date=2020-12-22 |archive-date=2012-09-11 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120911225521/http://www.owlnet.rice.edu/~hj3/pub/Malayalam.pdf |url-status=dead }}</ref> / {{langx|ml|മലയാളലിപി}}) is a [[Brahmic scripts|Brahmic script]] used to write [[Malayalam]],  the principal language of [[Kerala]], [[India]], spoken by 45 million people. It is a [[Dravidian language]] spoken in the Indian state of Kerala and the union territories of [[Lakshadweep]] and Puducherry (Mahé district) by the [[Malayali]] people. It is one of the [[official scripts of the Indian Republic]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://media.johnwiley.com.au/product_data/excerpt/47/04706745/0470674547-196.pdf |title=Chapter 1: Global Religious Populations 1910–2010 |website=media.johnwiley.com.au |access-date=11 January 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131020100448/http://media.johnwiley.com.au/product_data/excerpt/47/04706745/0470674547-196.pdf |archive-date=20 October 2013 |url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name="Ref_2009">{{Cite book|editor-last=Lewis|editor-first=M. Paul|contribution=Malayalam|title=Ethnologue: Languages of the World|edition=16th|publisher=[[SIL International]]|year=2009|contribution-url=http://www.ethnologue.com/show_language.asp?code=mal|url=http://www.ethnologue.com/|access-date=2009-10-31}}</ref> 

The Malayalam script resembles [[Tulu script]] and [[Tigalari script]], used to write the [[Tulu language]], spoken in [[Tulu Nadu|coastal Karnataka]] ([[Dakshina Kannada]] and [[Udupi district|Udupi]] districts) and the northernmost [[Kasargod district]] of Kerala.<ref name="Tulu Unicode 2017">{{cite web |author1=Vaishnavi Murthy K Y |author2=Vinodh Rajan |title= L2/17-378 Preliminary proposal to encode Tigalari script in Unicode |url=https://www.unicode.org/L2/L2017/17378-tigalari.pdf |website=www.unicode.org |access-date=28 June 2018}}</ref> Like many Indic scripts, it is an alphasyllabary ([[abugida]]), a writing system that is partially "alphabetic" and partially syllable-based. The modern Malayalam alphabet has 15 vowel letters, 42 consonant letters, and a few other symbols. The Malayalam script is a [[Vatteluttu alphabet]] extended with symbols from the [[Grantha alphabet]] to represent [[Indo-Aryan languages|Indo-Aryan loanwords]].<ref>{{cite book|last=Krishnamurti|first=Bhadriraju|title=The Dravidian Languages|year=2003|publisher=Cambridge University Press|pages=85|isbn=9781139435338|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=54fV7Lwu3fMC&q=grantha+script}}</ref>
The script is also used to write several minority languages such as [[Paniya language|Paniya]], [[Betta Kurumba language|Betta Kurumba]], and [[Ravula language|Ravula]].<ref name="Ref_">''Ethnologue'' (16th ed.): [http://www.ethnologue.com/show_language.asp?code=pcg "Paniya"], [http://www.ethnologue.com/show_language.asp?code=xub "Kurumba, Betta"], and [http://www.ethnologue.com/show_language.asp?code=yea "Ravula"].</ref> The Malayalam language itself has been historically written in several different scripts.

==History==
Malayalam was first written in [[Vattezhuthu script]], an ancient script of [[Tamil language|Tamil]] and [[Malayalam language|Malayalam]] languages. Modern Malayalam script evolved from the [[Grantha alphabet]], and [[Vattezhuthu]], both of which evolved independently from [[Tamil-Brahmi script]].

Vatteluttu ({{langx|ml|വട്ടെഴുത്ത്|Vaṭṭeḻuttŭ|translit-std=ISO|round writing}}) is a script that had evolved from Tamil-Brahmi and was once used extensively in the southern part of present-day [[Tamil Nadu]] and in [[Kerala]]. The [[Vazhappally]] inscription issued by [[Rajashekhara Varman]] is the earliest example, dating from about 830 CE.<ref name="Omniglot">{{Cite web|title=Malayalam alphabet, pronunciation and language|first=Simon|last=Ager|work=Omniglot|url=http://www.omniglot.com/writing/malayalam.htm|year=1998|access-date=2009-09-08}}</ref><ref name="Vazhapally Temple">{{Cite web|title=Vazhapally Temple|url=http://www.vazhappallytemple.org/history.html|publisher=Vazhappally Sree Mahadeva Temple|access-date=2009-10-31|url-status=usurped|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110109014543/http://www.vazhappallytemple.org/history.html|archive-date=2011-01-09}}</ref> During the medieval period, the [[Tigalari script]] that was used for writing [[Tulu language|Tulu]] in [[South Canara]], and [[Sanskrit]] in the adjacent [[Malabar District|Malabar region]], was very similar to the modern Malayalam script.<ref name="Tulu Unicode 2017"/> In the Tamil state, the modern [[Tamil script]] had supplanted Vattezhuthu by the 15th century, but in the [[Malabar Coast|Malabar]] region, Vattezhuthu remained in general use up to the 17th century,<ref name="Ref_b">Burnell (1874), p. 39.</ref> or the 18th century.<ref name="s">{{Cite web|title=The Script|url=http://www.malayalamresourcecentre.org/Mrc/Tutor/evol_lang.htm#The%20Script|access-date=2009-11-20|publisher=Malayalam Resource Centre|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110725044626/http://www.malayalamresourcecentre.org/Mrc/Tutor/evol_lang.htm#The%20Script|archive-date=2011-07-25|url-status=dead}}</ref> A variant form of this script, [[Kolezhuthu]], was used until about the 19th century mainly in the [[Malabar District|Malabar]]-[[Kingdom of Cochin|Cochin]] area.<ref name="l">{{Cite web|title=Alphabets|publisher=Government of Kerala|url=http://www.kerala.gov.in/language%20&%20literature/alphabets.htm|access-date=2009-10-29|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091109222758/http://www.kerala.gov.in/language%20%26%20literature/alphabets.htm|archive-date=2009-11-09}}</ref> Another variant form, [[Malayanma]], was used in the south of [[Thiruvananthapuram]].<ref name="l"/>

According to [[Arthur Coke Burnell]], one form of the Grantha alphabet, originally used in the [[Chola dynasty]], was imported into the southwest coast of India in the 8th or 9th century, and then modified in course of time in this secluded area, where communication with the east coast was very limited.<ref name="b35">Burnell (1874), p. 35.</ref> It later evolved into Tigalari-Malayalam script was used by the [[Malayali]], Havyaka Brahmins and Tulu Brahmin people, but was originally only used to write [[Sanskrit]]. This script split into two scripts: Tigalari and Malayalam. While Malayalam script was extended and modified to write vernacular language Malayalam, the Tigalari was written for Sanskrit only.<ref name="b35"/><ref name="Ref_2009a">{{Cite encyclopedia|title=Grantha alphabet|encyclopedia=[[Encyclopædia Britannica]] Online|publisher=[[Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc|Encyclopædia Britannica]]|url=https://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/241814/Grantha-alphabet|year=2009|access-date=2009-10-28}}</ref> In Malabar, this writing system was termed Arya-eluttu ({{lang|ml|ആര്യ എഴുത്ത്}}, ''Ārya eḻuttŭ''),<ref name="Ref_c">{{Cite web|title=EPIGRAPHY - Inscriptions in Grantha Script|url=http://www.tnarch.gov.in/epi/ins3.htm|access-date=2009-11-11|publisher=Department of Archaeology, [[government of Tamil Nadu]]|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100111183842/http://www.tnarch.gov.in/epi/ins3.htm|archive-date=2010-01-11|url-status=dead}}</ref> meaning "Arya writing" (Sanskrit is [[Indo-Aryan languages|Indo-Aryan language]] while Malayalam is a [[Dravidian languages|Dravidian language]]).

Vatteluttu was in general use, but was not suitable for literature where many Sanskrit words were used. Like Tamil-Brahmi, it was originally used to write [[Tamil language|Tamil]], and as such, did not have letters for voiced or aspirated consonants used in Sanskrit but not used in Tamil. For this reason, Vatteluttu and the Grantha alphabet were sometimes mixed, as in the [[Manipravalam]]. One of the oldest examples of the Manipravalam literature, ''Vaishikatantram'' ({{lang|ml|വൈശികതന്ത്രം}}, ''Vaiśikatantram''), dates back to the 12th century,<ref name="Ref_d">Nampoothiri, N. M. (1999), [http://malabarandkeralastudies.net/downloadingfiles/pdffiles/culturaltraditionsinmedeivalkerala.pdf "Cultural Traditions in Medieval Kerala"]{{Dead link|date=March 2020 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }} (PDF) in Cherian, P. J., ''Perspectives on Kerala History: The Second Millennium'', Kerala Council for Historical Research, {{ISBN|81-85499-35-7}}, retrieved 2009-11-20.</ref><ref name="Ref_e">{{Cite web|title=Development of Literature|url=http://www.malayalamresourcecentre.org/Mrc/Tutor/devliterature.htm|access-date=2009-11-20|publisher=Malayalam Resource Centre|archive-url=https://archive.today/20130704044944/http://www.malayalamresourcecentre.org/Mrc/Tutor/devliterature.htm|archive-date=2013-07-04|url-status=dead}}</ref> where the earliest form of the Malayalam script was used, which seems to have been systematised to some extent by the first half of the 13th century.<ref name="Omniglot"/><ref name="s"/>

[[Thunchaththu Ezhuthachan]] is credited with developing Malayalam script into its current form through the intermixing and modification of  of ''[[Vatteluttu]]'', ''[[Kolezhuthu]]'', and [[Grantha script]], which were used to write the inscriptions and literary works of Old and Middle Malayalam.<ref name="mlm"/> He further eliminated excess and unnecessary letters from the modified script.<ref name="mlm">{{cite book |title=A Short History of Malayalam Literature |author=K. Ayyappa Panicker |url=https://archive.org/details/ASHORTHISTORYOFMALAYALAMLITERATURE |year=2006 |location=Thiruvananthapuram |publisher=Department of Information and Public Relations, Kerala}}</ref> Hence, Ezhuthachan is also known as ''The Father of modern Malayalam''.<ref name="mlm"/> The development of modern Malayalam script was also heavily influenced by the [[Tigalari script]], which was used to write the [[Tulu language]], due to the influence of [[Tuluva Brahmin]]s in Kerala.<ref name="mlm"/>

Thunchaththu Ezhuthachan, a poet from around the 16th century,<ref name=":10">{{Cite book|title=The Blackwell Companion to Hinduism|publisher=Blackwell Publishing, Wiley India|year=2003|isbn=9780470998694|editor-last=Flood|editor-first=Gavin|location=New Delhi|pages=173–74|chapter=The Literature of Hinduism in Malayalam|doi=10.1002/9780470998694}}</ref> used Arya-eluttu to write his Malayalam poems based on Classical Sanskrit literature.<ref name="b35"/> For a few letters missing in Arya-eluttu (''ḷa'', ''ḻa'', ''ṟa''), he used Vatteluttu. The popularity of his works caused the Malayali people to call him the father of the Malayalam language, which also popularised Arya-eluttu as a script to write Malayalam. Grantha did not have distinctions between ''e'' and ''ē'', and between ''o'' and ''ō'', as it was as an alphabet to write a Sanskrit language. The Malayalam script as it is today was modified in the middle of the 19th century when [[Hermann Gundert]] invented the new vowel signs to distinguish them.<ref name="b35"/>

By the 19th century, old scripts like Kolezhuthu had been supplanted by Arya-eluttu – that is the current Malayalam script. It is now widely used in the Malayali press in Kerala.<ref name="Ref_f">Andronov, Mikhail Sergeevich. ''A Grammar of the Malayalam Language in Historical Treatment''. Wiesbaden : Harrassowitz, 1996.</ref>

==Orthography reform==
In 1971, the [[Government of Kerala]] reformed the [[orthography]] of Malayalam by a government order to the education department.<ref name="Ref_1971">{{Cite web|url=https://www.unicode.org/L2/L2008/08039-kerala-order.pdf|title=Malayalam Script—Adoption of New Script for Use—Orders Issued|year=1971|publisher=Government of Kerala|access-date=2009-10-25}}</ref><ref name="Ref_g">{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=uFQG2DCaIsIC&pg=PR26|title=Malayalam by R. E. Asher, T. C. Kumari|isbn=9780415022422|last1=Asher|first1=R. E.|last2=Kumari|first2=T. C.|year=1997|publisher=Psychology Press }}</ref> The objective was to simplify the script for print and typewriting technology of that time, by reducing the number of glyphs required. In 1967, the government appointed a committee headed by [[Sooranad Kunjan Pillai]], who was the editor of the Malayalam Lexicon project. It reduced number of glyphs required for Malayalam printing from around 1000 to around 250. Above committee's recommendations were further modified by another committee in 1969.

This proposal was later accepted by major newspapers in January 1971. The reformed script came into effect on 15 April 1971 (the [[Kerala New Year]]), by a government order released on 23 March 1971.

=== Recommendations by the committees ===

==== Use non-ligating vowel signs for ''u'', ''ū'', and ''r̥''  ====
In the traditional orthography that had been taught in the primary education system before the reforms, any consonant or consonant ligature followed by the vowel sign ''u'', ''ū'', or ''r̥'' were represented by a cursive consonant-vowel ligature. The glyph of each consonant had its own way of ligating with these vowel signs. This irregularity was simplified in the reformed script.<ref>Manohar, Kavya & Thottingal, Santhosh. (2018). [https://thottingal.in/documents/Malayalam%20Orthographic%20Reforms_%20Impact%20on%20Language%20and%20Popular%20Culture.pdf "Malayalam Orthographic Reforms: Impact on Language and Popular Culture"]. Presented at the ''Graphematik 2018''.</ref> Thus, a vowel sign or consonant sign would always have a disconnected symbol that did not fuse with the base consonant.

Examples:
* ''ku:'' → {{lang|ml|കു}} 
* ''kū:'' → {{lang|ml|കൂ}}
* ''kr̥:'' → {{lang|ml|കൃ}}
* ''nu:'' → {{lang|ml|നു}}
* ''śu:'' → {{lang|ml|ശു}}

==== Split uncommon conjuncts with ''Chandrakkala'' ====
Also, most of traditional consonant-consonant ligatures, especially the less common ones only used to write words of Sanskrit origin, were split into non-ligated forms with explicit ''chandrakkala''. For example:
* {{lang|ml|ഗ്}} ''g'' + {{lang|ml|ദ}} ''da'' = ''gda:'' -> {{lang|ml|ഗ്‌ദ}}
* {{lang|ml|ല്‌}} ''l'' + {{lang|ml|ത}} ''ta'' = ''lta:'' -> {{lang|ml|ല്‌ത}}
* {{lang|ml|ശ്}} ''ś'' + {{lang|ml|ന}} ''na'' = ''śna:'' -> {{lang|ml|ശ്‌ന}}
* {{lang|ml|ശ്}} ''ś'' + {{lang|ml|മ}} ''ma'' = ''śma:'' -> {{lang|ml|ശ്‌മ}}

# The ligature ('''{{lang|ml|ശ്മ}}''') ''śma'' is required as an additional letter. For examples, '''{{lang|ml|ശ്മശാനം}}''', ''śmaśanam'', is the word for [[cemetery]].

==== Use non-ligating sign for conjoining ''ra'' ====
Any consonant or consonant ligature followed by the conjoining ''ra'' is represented by a cursive tail attached to the consonant or the consonant-ligature. In the reformed script, this consonant sign would be disconnected from the base and represented as a left-bracket like symbol placed on the left side of the cluster.
* ''kra:''{{lang|ml| ക‍്ര}} → {{lang|ml|ക‌്ര}}
* ''kru:'' {{lang|ml|ക‍്ര‍ു}} → {{lang|ml|ക‌്ര‌ു}}

=== Current status ===
Today the reformed orthography, is commonly called ''put̪iya lipi'' ({{langx|ml|പുതിയ ലിപി}}) and  traditional system, ''pazhaya lipi'' ({{langx|ml|പഴയ ലിപി}}).<ref name="John">{{Cite web|url=http://www.jaimalayalam.com/lipi.htm|title=The Concept of ലിപി (Lipi)|last=John|first=Vijay|work=Learn Malayalam Online!|access-date=2009-09-08}}</ref> Current print media almost entirely uses reformed orthography. The state run primary education introduces the Malayalam writing to the pupils in reformed script only and the books are printed accordingly. However, the digital media uses both traditional and reformed in almost equal proportions as the fonts for both the orthographies are commonly available.

{{clear}}

==Description==

===Characteristics===
The basic characters can be classified as follows:
* [[Vowel]]s ({{lang|ml|സ്വരം}}, ''svaram'')
*# Independent vowel letters
*# Dependent vowel signs ({{lang|ml|സ്വരചിഹ്നം}},''svarachinnam'')
* [[Consonant]] letters ({{lang|ml|വ്യഞ്ജനം}}, ''vyañjanam'')

An independent vowel letter is used as the first letter of a word that begins with a vowel. A consonant letter, despite its name, does not represent a pure consonant, but represents a consonant + a short vowel /a/ by default. For example, {{lang|ml|ക}} is the first consonant letter of the Malayalam alphabet, which represents /ka/, not a simple /k/. A vowel sign is a [[diacritic]] attached to a consonant letter to indicate that the consonant is followed by a vowel other than /a/. If the following vowel is /a/, no vowel sign is needed. The [[phoneme]] /a/ that follows a consonant by default is called an [[inherent vowel]]. In Malayalam, its phonetic value is [[Roundedness|unrounded]] {{IPAblink|ɐ}},<ref name="Ref_a">Canepari (2005), pp. 396, 140.</ref> or {{IPAblink|ə}} as an [[allophone]]. To denote a pure consonant sound not followed by a vowel, a special diacritic ''[[virama]]'' is used to cancel the inherent vowel. The following are examples where a consonant letter is used with or without a diacritic.
* {{lang|ml|ക്}} /k/ = /k/ which is a consonant sound
*{{lang|ml|ക}} ''ka'' = {{lang|ml|ക്}} /k/ + {{lang|ml|അ}} vowel sign a
*{{lang|ml|കി}} ''ki'' = {{lang|ml|ക്}} /''k/'' + {{lang|ml|ഇ}} vowel sign ''i''
* {{lang|ml|കു}} ''ku'' = {{lang|ml|ക്}} /''k/'' + {{lang|ml|ഉ}} vowel sign ''u''
* {{lang|ml|കൈ}} ''kai'' = {{lang|ml|ക്}} /''k/'' + {{lang|ml|ഐ}} vowel sign ''ai''

Malayalam alphabet is [[unicase]], or does not have a [[letter case|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. In the word {{lang|ml|കേരളം}} ([[Kerala|''Kēraḷam'']]), the vowel sign {{lang|ml| േ}} (''ē'') visually appears in the leftmost position, though the vowel ''ē'' logically follows the consonant ''k''.

===Malayalam letters===
====Vowels====
=====Vowel letters and vowel signs=====
The following tables show the independent vowel letters and the corresponding dependent vowel signs (diacritics) of the Malayalam script, with '''romanizations''' in [[ISO 15919]], transcriptions in the [[International Phonetic Alphabet]] (IPA).
{|class="wikitable" style="margin-left:30px"
|+[[Monophthong]]s
!rowspan="3" style="width:4em"|&nbsp;!!colspan="3"|[[Vowel length|Short]]!!colspan="3"|Long
|-
!rowspan="2"|Independent!!colspan="2"|Dependent!!rowspan="2"|Indep.!!colspan="2"|Dependent
|-
!Vowel sign!!Example!!Vowel sign!!Example
|-
!''a''
|<big>{{lang|ml|[[അ]]}}</big> '''a'''<br />{{IPA|/a/}}
|''(none)''
|<big>{{lang|ml|പ}}</big> '''pa'''<br />{{IPA|/pa/}}
|<big>{{lang|ml|[[ആ]]}}</big> '''ā'''<br />{{IPA|/aː/}}
|<big>{{lang|ml|&nbsp;ാ}}</big><br />&nbsp;
|<big>{{lang|ml|പാ}}</big> '''pā'''<br />{{IPA|/paː/}}
|-
!''i''
|<big>{{lang|ml|ഇ}}</big> '''i'''<br />{{IPA|/i/}}
|<big>{{lang|ml|&nbsp;ി}}</big><br />&nbsp;
|<big>{{lang|ml|പി}}</big> '''pi'''<br />{{IPA|/pi/}}
|<big>{{lang|ml|ഈ}}</big> '''ī'''<br />{{IPA|/iː/}}
|<big>{{lang|ml|&nbsp;ീ}}</big><br />&nbsp;
|<big>{{lang|ml|പീ}}</big> '''pī'''<br />{{IPA|/piː/}}
|-
!''u''
|<big>{{lang|ml|ഉ}}</big> '''u'''<br />{{IPA|/u/}}
|<big>{{lang|ml|&nbsp;ു}}</big><br />&nbsp;
|<big>{{lang|ml|പു}}</big> '''pu'''<br />{{IPA|/pu/}}
|<big>{{lang|ml|ഊ}}</big> '''ū'''<br />{{IPA|/uː/}}
|<big>{{lang|ml|&nbsp;ൂ}}</big><br />&nbsp;
|<big>{{lang|ml|പൂ}}</big> '''pū'''<br />{{IPA|/puː/}}
|-
!''r̥''
|<big>{{lang|ml|ഋ}}</big> '''r̥'''<br />{{IPA|/rɨ/}}
|<big>{{lang|ml|&nbsp;ൃ}}</big><br />&nbsp;
|<big>{{lang|ml|പൃ}}</big> '''pr̥'''<br />{{IPA|/prɨ/}}
|style="background:#ddd"|<big>{{lang|ml|ൠ}}</big> '''r̥̄'''<br />{{IPA|/rɨː/}}
|style="background:#ddd"|<big>{{lang|ml|&nbsp;ൄ}}</big><br />&nbsp;
|style="background:#ddd"|<big>{{lang|ml|പൄ}}</big> '''pr̥̄'''<br />{{IPA|/prɨː/}}
|-style="background:#ddd"
!''l̥''
|<big>{{lang|ml|ഌ}}</big> '''l̥'''<br />{{IPA|/lɨ/}}
|<big style="margin-left:1em">{{lang|ml|&nbsp;ൢ}}</big><br />&nbsp;
|<big>{{lang|ml|പൢ}}</big> '''pl̥'''<br />{{IPA|/plɨ/}}
|<big>{{lang|ml|ൡ}}</big> '''l̥̄'''<br />{{IPA|/lɨː/}}
|<big style="margin-left:1em">{{lang|ml|&nbsp;ൣ}}</big><br />&nbsp;
|<big>{{lang|ml|പൣ}}</big> '''pl̥̄'''<br />{{IPA|/plɨː/}}
|-
!''e''
|<big>{{lang|ml|എ}}</big> '''e'''<br />{{IPA|/e/}}
|<big>{{lang|ml|&nbsp;െ}}</big><br />&nbsp;
|<big>{{lang|ml|പെ}}</big> '''pe'''<br />{{IPA|/pe/}}
|<big>{{lang|ml|ഏ}}</big> '''ē'''<br />{{IPA|/eː/}}
|<big>{{lang|ml|&nbsp;േ}}</big><br />&nbsp;
|<big>{{lang|ml|പേ}}</big> '''pē'''<br />{{IPA|/peː/}}
|-
!''o''
|<big>{{lang|ml|ഒ}}</big> '''o'''<br />{{IPA|/o/}}
|<big>{{lang|ml|&nbsp;ൊ}}</big><br />&nbsp;
|<big>{{lang|ml|പൊ}}</big> '''po'''<br />{{IPA|/po/}}
|<big>{{lang|ml|ഓ}}</big> '''ō'''<br />{{IPA|/oː/}}
|ോ<br />&nbsp;
|<big>{{lang|ml|പോ}}</big> '''pō'''<br />{{IPA|/poː/}}
|}

''r̥'', ''r̥̄'', ''l̥'', ''l̥̄'', used to write [[Sanskrit]] words, are treated as vowels. They are called semi-vowels and are phonetically closer to vowels in Malayalam and in Classical Sanskrit where [[Pāṇini|Panini]], the Sanskrit grammarian, groups them with vowel sounds in his sutras. (see ''[[Proto-Indo-European language]]'' and ''[[Vedic Sanskrit]]''). The letters and signs for ''r̥̄'', ''l̥'', ''l̥̄'' are very rare, and are not considered as part of the modern orthography.<ref name="K">{{Cite journal |date=December 18, 2001 |title=Report of the Committee on Malayalam Character Encoding and Keyboard Layout Standardisation |periodical=[[Kerala Gazette]] |publisher=Government of Kerala |volume=46 |issue=2023 |url=http://www.clickeralam.org/malayalam.html |access-date=2009-10-08 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091006202624/http://www.clickeralam.org/malayalam.html |archive-date=October 6, 2009 }} See also [http://www.cs.princeton.edu/~mp/malayalam/keyboard/malayalam%20standardization%20report.pdf the May 2001 version] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100131052558/http://www.cs.princeton.edu/~mp/malayalam/keyboard/malayalam%20standardization%20report.pdf |date=2010-01-31 }} (PDF).</ref>

The vowel signs ''ā'', ''i'', ''ī'' are placed to the right of a consonant letter to which it is attached. The vowel signs ''e'', ''ē'', ''ai'' are placed to the left of a consonant letter. The vowel signs ''o'' and ''ō'' consist of two parts: the first part goes to the left of a consonant letter and the second part goes to the right of it. In the reformed orthography, the vowel signs ''u'', ''ū'', ''r̥'' are simply placed to the right of the consonant letter, while they often make consonant-vowel ligatures in the traditional orthography.
{|class="wikitable" style="margin-left:30px"
|+[[Diphthong]]s
!rowspan="2" style="width:4em"|&nbsp;!!rowspan="2"|Independent!!colspan="2"|Dependent
|-
!Vowel sign!!Example
|-
!''ai''
|<big>{{lang|ml|ഐ}}</big> '''ai'''<br />{{IPA|/ai̯/}}
|<big>{{lang|ml|&nbsp;ൈ}}</big><br />&nbsp;
|<big>{{lang|ml|പൈ}}</big> '''pai'''<br />{{IPA|/pai̯/}}
|-
!rowspan="2"|''au''
|rowspan="2"|<big>{{lang|ml|ഔ}}</big> '''au'''<br />{{IPA|/au̯/}}
|style="background:#ddd"|<big>{{lang|ml|&nbsp;ൌ}}</big><br />''(archaic)''
|style="background:#ddd"|<big>{{lang|ml|പൌ}}</big> '''pau'''<br />{{IPA|/pau̯/}}
|-
|<big>{{lang|ml|&nbsp;ൗ}}</big><br />''(modern)''
|<big>{{lang|ml|പൗ}}</big> '''pau'''<br />{{IPA|/pau̯/}}
|}
It is important to note the vowel duration as it can be used to differentiate words that would otherwise be the same. For example, {{IPA|/kalam/}} means "earthenware pot" while {{IPA|/kaːlam/}} means "time" or "season".<ref name="Ref_h">Asher, R. E. ''Malayalam''. Ed. T. C. Kumari 1934-. London; New York : Routledge, 1997.</ref>

====Anusvaram====
{|class="wikitable" style="margin-left:30px"
|+''Anusvaram''
!style="width:4em"|''aṁ''
|<big>{{lang|ml|അം}}</big> '''aṁ'''<br />{{IPA|/am/}}
|<big>{{lang|ml|&nbsp;ം}}</big> m̐<br />{{IPA|/m/}}
|<big>{{lang|ml|പം}}</big> '''paṁ'''<br />{{IPA|/pam/}}
|}
An ''anusvaram'' ({{lang|ml|അനുസ്വാരം}} ''anusvāram''), or an ''[[anusvara]],'' originally denoted the [[nasalization]] where the preceding vowel was changed into a [[nasalised vowel]], and hence is traditionally treated as a kind of vowel sign. In Malayalam, however, it simply represents a consonant {{IPA|/m/}} after a vowel, though this {{IPA|/m/}} may be [[Assimilation (linguistics)|assimilated]] to another [[nasal stop|nasal consonant]]. It is a special consonant letter, different from a "normal" consonant letter, in that it is never followed by an inherent vowel or another vowel. In general, an ''anusvara'' at the end of a word in an Indian language is transliterated as ''ṁ'' in [[ISO 15919]], but a Malayalam ''anusvara'' at the end of a word is transliterated as ''m'' without a dot.

=====Visargam=====
{|class="wikitable" style="margin-left:30px"
|+''Visargam ഃ''
!style="width:4em"|''aḥ''
|<big>{{lang|ml|അഃ}}</big> '''aḥ'''<br />{{IPA|/ah/}}
|<big>{{lang|ml|&nbsp;ഃ}}</big> '''ḥ'''<br />{{IPA|/h/}}
|<big>{{lang|ml|പഃ}}</big> '''paḥ'''<br />{{IPA|/pah/}}
|}
A ''visargam'' ({{lang|ml|വിസർഗം}}, ''visargam''), or ''[[visarga]]'', represents a consonant {{IPA|/h/}} after a vowel, and is transliterated as ''ḥ''. Like the ''anusvara'', it is a special symbol, and is never followed by an inherent vowel or another vowel.

[[File:Malayalam vowel signs.svg|thumb|center|800px|Malayalam vowel signs combined with  letter <big>{{lang|ml|'''ക'''}}</big> (ka)]]

====Consonants====

=====Basic consonant letters=====
The following tables show the basic consonant letters of the Malayalam script, with '''romanizations''' in [[ISO 15919]], transcriptions in [[International Phonetic Alphabet|IPA]], and Unicode {{mono|CHARACTER NAMES}}. The character names used in the report of the Government of Kerala committee (2001) are shown in ''lowercase italics'' when different from Unicode character names.<ref name="K"/> Those alternative names are based on the traditional romanization used by the [[Malayali]] people. For example, ''tha'' in "[[Thiruvananthapuram|Thiruvanan''tha''puram]]" is neither ISO '''tha''' nor Unicode {{mono|THA}}, but ''tha'' in this sense ({{lang|ml|ത}}). The [[Indian Script Code for Information Interchange|ISCII]] (IS 13194:1991) character names are given in parentheses when different from the above.
{|class="wikitable" style="margin-left:30px"
|+''[[Shiksha#Pratishakhyas|Varga]]'' consonants
!rowspan="2"|&nbsp;!!colspan="2"|[[Voiceless]]!!colspan="3"|[[Voice (phonetics)|Voiced]]
|-
!Unaspirated!![[Aspiration (phonetics)|Aspirated]]!!Unaspirated!!Aspirated!![[Nasal stop|Nasal]]
|-
![[Velar consonant|Velar]]
| {{Letter|s=Mlym|ch=ക|ipa=/ka/|iso=ka|notes={{mono|KA}} }}
| {{Letter|s=Mlym|ch=ഖ|ipa=/kʰa/|iso=kha|notes={{mono|KHA}} }}
| {{Letter|s=Mlym|ch=ഗ|ipa=/ɡa/|iso=ga|notes={{mono|GA}} }}
| {{Letter|s=Mlym|ch=ഘ|ipa=/ɡʱa/|iso=gha|notes={{mono|GHA}} }}
| {{Letter|s=Mlym|ch=ങ|ipa=/ŋa/|iso=ṅa|notes={{mono|NGA}} }}
|-
![[Postalveolar consonant|Postalveolar]]<br />or<br />[[Alveolo-palatal consonant|Alveolo-palatal]]<br />
| {{Letter|s=Mlym|ch=ച|ipa=/t͡ʃa/|iso=ca|notes={{mono|CHA}} }}
| {{Letter|s=Mlym|ch=ഛ|ipa=/t͡ʃʰa/|iso=cha|notes={{mono|CHHA}} }}
| {{Letter|s=Mlym|ch=ജ|ipa=/d͡ʒa/|iso=ja|notes={{mono|JA}} }}
| {{Letter|s=Mlym|ch=ഝ|ipa=/d͡ʒʱa/|iso=jha|notes={{mono|JHA}} }}
| {{Letter|s=Mlym|ch=ഞ|ipa=/ɲa/|iso=ña|notes={{mono|NHA}} |note=(nja) }}
|-
![[Retroflex consonant|Retroflex]]
| {{Letter|s=Mlym|ch=ട|ipa=/ʈa/|iso=ṭa|notes={{mono|TTA}} |note=(hard ta) }}
| {{Letter|s=Mlym|ch=ഠ|ipa=/ʈʰa/|iso=ṭha|notes={{mono|TTHA}} |note=(hard tha) }}
| {{Letter|s=Mlym|ch=ഡ|ipa=/ɖa/|iso=ḍa|notes={{mono|DDA}} |note=(hard da) }}
| {{Letter|s=Mlym|ch=ഢ|ipa=/ɖʱa/|iso=ḍha|notes={{mono|DDHA}} |note=(hard dha) }}
| {{Letter|s=Mlym|ch=ണ|ipa=/ɳa/|iso=ṇa|notes={{mono|NNA}} |note=(hard na) }}
|-
![[Dental consonant|Dental]]
| {{Letter|s=Mlym|ch=ത|ipa=/t̪a/|iso=ta|notes={{mono|TA}} |note=(soft ta) }}
| {{Letter|s=Mlym|ch=ഥ|ipa=/t̪ʰa/|iso=tha|notes={{mono|THA}} |note=(soft tha) }}
| {{Letter|s=Mlym|ch=ദ|ipa=/d̪a/|iso=da|notes={{mono|DA}} |note=(soft da) }}
| {{Letter|s=Mlym|ch=ധ|ipa=/d̪ʱa/|iso=dha|notes={{mono|DHA}} |note=(soft dha) }}
| {{Letter|s=Mlym|ch=ന|ipa=/n̪a, na/|iso=na|notes={{mono|NA}} |note=(soft na) }}
|-
![[Labial consonant|Labial]]
| {{Letter|s=Mlym|ch=പ|ipa=/pa/|iso=pa|notes={{mono|PA}} }}
| {{Letter|s=Mlym|ch=ഫ|ipa=/pʰa/|iso=pha|notes={{mono|PHA}} }}
| {{Letter|s=Mlym|ch=ബ|ipa=/ba/|iso=ba|notes={{mono|BA}} }}
| {{Letter|s=Mlym|ch=ഭ|ipa=/bʱa/|iso=bha|notes={{mono|BHA}} }}
| {{Letter|s=Mlym|ch=മ|ipa=/ma/|iso=ma|notes={{mono|MA}} }}
|}

{|class="wikitable" style="margin-left:30px"
|+Other consonants
| {{Letter|s=Mlym|ch=യ|ipa=/ja/|iso=ya|notes={{mono|YA}} }}
| {{Letter|s=Mlym|ch=ര|ipa=/ɾa/|iso=ra|notes={{mono|RA}} }}
| {{Letter|s=Mlym|ch=ല|ipa=/la/|iso=la|notes={{mono|LA}} }}
| {{Letter|s=Mlym|ch=വ|ipa=/ʋa/|iso=va|notes={{mono|VA}} }}
|}

{|class="wikitable" style="margin-left:30px"
| {{Letter|s=Mlym|ch=ശ|ipa=/ɕa/|iso=śa|notes={{mono|SHA}} }}
| {{Letter|s=Mlym|ch=ഷ|ipa=/ʂa/|iso=ṣa|notes={{mono|SSA}} }}
| {{Letter|s=Mlym|ch=സ|ipa=/sa/|iso=sa|notes={{mono|SA}} }}
| {{Letter|s=Mlym|ch=ഹ|ipa=/ha/<ref name="Grammatical Sketch"/>|iso=ha|notes={{mono|HA}} }}
|}

{|class="wikitable" style="margin-left:30px"
| {{Letter|s=Mlym|ch=ള|ipa={{IPAslink|ɭ|ɭa}}|iso=ḷa|notes={{mono|LLA}} }}
| {{Letter|s=Mlym|ch=ഴ|ipa={{IPAslink|ɻ|ɻa}}|iso=ḻa|notes={{mono|LLLA}} }}
| {{Letter|s=Mlym|ch=റ|ipa=/ra, ta/|iso=ṟa|notes={{mono|RRA}}{{Refn|group=note|name=K|(1) Repetition of this letter ({{lang|ml|റ + റ}}) represents a [[gemination|geminated]] [[voiceless alveolar plosive]], {{IPA|/tːa/}}, it can also occur initially in loans where it can not be geminated; (2) ''[[#Chillus|chillu-n]]'' + this letter ({{lang|ml|ൻ + റ}}) often represents {{IPA|[nda]}}; (3) otherwise [[alveolar trill]] (apical) {{IPA|/ra/}}.}} }}
| {{Letter|s=Mlym|ch=ഩ|ipa=/na/|iso=ṉa|notes={{mono|NNNA}}{{refn|group=note|name=L|Corresponds to Tamil ''ṉa'' {{lang|ta|ன}}. Used rarely in scholarly texts to represent the alveolar nasal, as opposed to the dental nasal.<ref name="N3494">{{Cite web|title=Proposal to add two characters for Malayalam to the BMP of the UCS|first=Michael|last=Everson|work=ISO/IEC JTC1/SC2/WG2 N3494|url=http://std.dkuug.dk/jtc1/sc2/wg2/docs/n3494.pdf|year=2007|access-date=2009-09-09|author-link=Michael Everson}}</ref> In ordinary texts both are represented by ''na'' {{lang|ml|ന}}.}} }}
| {{Letter|s=Mlym|ch=ഺ|ipa=/ta/|iso=ṯa|notes={{mono|TTTA}}{{refn|group=note|name=M|Used rarely in scholarly texts to represent the voiceless alveolar plosive, as opposed to the [[voiceless dental plosive]] represented by ''ta'' {{lang|ml|ത}}. In ordinary texts this sound is represented by ''ṟṟa'' {{lang|ml|റ്റ}}.<ref name="N3494"/>}} }}
|}
{{reflist|group=note}}

====Chillus====
{{See also|#Chillus in Unicode}}
A ''chillu'', or a ''chillaksharam'' ({{lang|ml|ചില്ലക്ഷരം}}, ''cillakṣaram''), is a special consonant letter that represents a pure consonant independently, without help of a [[virama]]. Unlike a consonant represented by an ordinary consonant letter, this consonant is never followed by an inherent vowel. [[#Anusvaram|Anusvara]] and [[#Visargam|visarga]] fit this definition but are not usually included. ISCII and Unicode 5.0 treat a ''chillu'' as a glyph variant of a normal ("base") consonant letter.<ref name="TUS50">{{Cite web|publisher=Unicode, Inc|title=South Asian Scripts-I|work=The Unicode Standard 5.0 — Electronic Edition|url=https://www.unicode.org/versions/Unicode5.0.0/ch09.pdf|pages=42–44|year=1991–2007|access-date=2009-09-08}}</ref> In Unicode 5.1 and later, however, ''chillu'' letters are treated as independent characters, encoded atomically.<ref name="Unicode5.1.0"/>

Six independent chillu letters (0D7A..0D7F) had been encoded in Unicode 5.1.,<ref name="Unicode5.1.0"/> three additional chillu letters (0D54..0D56) were encoded with the publication of Unicode 9.0.<ref>[https://www.unicode.org/Public/12.1.0/ucd/DerivedAge.txt Unicode 12.1.0 Derived Age]. Published 2019-04-01, Retrieved 2019-09-15.</ref>

{|class="wikitable" style="margin-left:30px"
|+''Chillu'' letters
! scope="col" | Letter
! scope="col" | Unicode name
! scope="col" | Base
! scope="col" | Remarks
! scope="col" | Examples
|-
! scope="row" | {{lang|ml|ൺ}}
| {{mono|CHILLU NN}} || {{transliteration|ml|ṇa}} '''{{lang|ml|ണ}}'''|| || {{lang|ml|കൂൺ}} (kūṇ, "mushroom")
|-
! scope="row" | {{lang|ml|ൻ}}
| {{mono|CHILLU N}} || {{transliteration|ml|ṉa}} '''{{lang|ml|ന}}'''|| Chillu of alveolar nasal ''ṉa''.|| {{lang|ml|അവൻ}} (avaṉ, "he")
|-
! scope="row" | {{lang|ml|ർ}}
| {{mono|CHILLU RR}} || {{transliteration|ml|ṟa}} '''{{lang|ml|റ}}'''|| Historically stood for {{transliteration|ml|ra}} {{lang|ml|ര}}, not {{transliteration|ml|ṟa}} {{lang|ml|റ}}. || {{lang|ml|അവർ}} (avar̠, "they")
|-
! scope="row" | {{lang|ml|ൽ}}
| {{mono|CHILLU L}} || {{transliteration|ml|la}} '''{{lang|ml|ല}}'''|| || {{lang|ml|ഒടുവിൽ}} (oṭuvil, "finally")
|-
! scope="row" | {{lang|ml|ൾ}}
| {{mono|CHILLU LL}} || {{transliteration|ml|ḷa}} '''{{lang|ml|ള}}'''|| || {{lang|ml|അവൾ}} (avaḷ, "she")
|-
! scope="row" | {{lang|ml|ൿ}}
| {{mono|CHILLU K}} || {{transliteration|ml|ka}} '''{{lang|ml|ക}}'''|| Not in modern use || {{lang|ml|വാൿചാതുരി}} (does not occur word finally.)
|-
! scope="row" | {{lang|ml|ൔ}}
| {{mono|CHILLU M}} || {{transliteration|ml|ma}} '''{{lang|ml|മ}}'''|| Not in modern use ||
|-
! scope="row" | {{lang|ml|ൕ}}
| {{mono|CHILLU Y}} || {{transliteration|ml|ya}} '''{{lang|ml|യ}}'''|| Not in modern use ||
|-
! scope="row" | {{lang|ml|ൖ}}
| {{mono|CHILLU LLL}} || {{transliteration|ml|ḻa}} '''{{lang|ml|ഴ}}'''|| Not in modern use ||
|}

====Chandrakkala====
The virama in Malayalam is called candrakkala (chandrakkala), it has two functions:<ref>Cibu Johny; Shiju Alex; Sunil V S. (2015). L2/14-014R [https://www.unicode.org/L2/L2014/14014r-circular-virama.pdf ''Proposal to encode Malayalam Sign Circular Virama''].</ref><ref>Cibu Johny; Shiju Alex; Sunil V S. (2015). L2/14-015R [https://www.unicode.org/L2/L2014/14015r-vertical-virama.pdf ''Proposal to encode Malayalam Sign Vertical Bar Virama''].</ref>{{efn|Srinidhi A and Sridatta A made comments on the proposals of Cibu Johny et al.<ref>Srinidhi, A. & Sridatta, A. (2017). L2/17-207 [https://www.unicode.org/L2/L2017/17207-malayalam-candrakkala.pdf ''On the Origin of Malayalam Candrakkala''].</ref>}}
*As virama: used to suppress the inherent vowel
*As samvruthokaram: represent the "half-u" sound /ə̆/

=====As virama=====
''Chandrakkala'' <big>{{lang|ml|&nbsp;്}}</big> ({{lang|ml|ചന്ദ്രക്കല}}, ''candrakkala'') is a diacritic attached to a consonant letter to show that the consonant is not followed by an inherent vowel or any other vowel (for example, {{lang|ml|ക}} ''ka'' → {{lang|ml|ക്}} ''k''). This kind of diacritic is common in Indic scripts, generically called ''[[virama]]'' in Sanskrit, or ''halant'' in Hindi.

=====Half-u=====
At the end of a word, the same symbol sometimes represents a very short vowel, known as "half-u", or "samvruthokaram" ({{lang|ml|സംവൃതോകാരം}}, ''{{transliteration|ml|ISO|saṁvr̥tōkāram}}''), or ''{{transliteration|ml|ISO|kuṯṯiyal ukaram}}'' ({{lang|ml|കുറ്റിയൽ ഉകരം}}).<ref name="ChitrajakumarEtGangadharan2005">{{cite web|url=https://www.unicode.org/L2/L2005/05213-samvruktokaram.pdf|date=2005-08-07|title=Samvruthokaram and Chandrakkala|access-date=2010-08-23|first1=R|last1=Chitrajakumar|first2=N|last2=Gangadharan|publisher=[[Unicode Consortium]]|url-status=live|archive-date=2014-07-12|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140712144726/http://www.unicode.org/L2/L2005/05213-samvruktokaram.pdf}}</ref> The exact pronunciation of this vowel varies from dialect to dialect, but it is approximately {{IPA|[ɯ̽]}}<ref name="N3126"/> or {{IPA|[ɨ]}}, and transliterated as '''ŭ''' (for example, {{lang|ml|ന}} ''na'' → {{lang|ml|ന്}} ''nŭ''). Optionally, a vowel sign ''u'' is inserted, as in {{lang|ml|നു്}} (= {{lang|ml|ന}} + {{lang|ml|&nbsp;ു}} + {{lang|ml|&nbsp;്}}). According to one author, this alternative form is historically more correct, though the simplified form without a vowel sign ''u'' is common nowadays.<ref name="S"/> This means that the same spelling {{lang|ml|ന്}} may represent either ''n'' or ''nŭ'' depending on the context. Generally, it is ''nŭ'' at the end of a word, and ''n'' elsewhere; {{lang|ml|നു്}} always represents ''nŭ''.

The [[virama]] of [[Tigalari script]] behave similarly to Malayalam. Virama has three functions: to suppress the inherent vowel (as the halant of Devanagari); to form conjunct consonants; to represent the half-u.<ref>Murthy, Vaishnavi & Rajan, Vinodh. (2017). L2/17-378 [http://www.unicode.org/L2/L2017/17378-tigalari.pdf ''Preliminary proposal to encode Tigalari script in Unicode''] (pp. 12-15).</ref><ref>Srinidhi, A. & Sridatta, A. (2017). L2/17-182 [https://www.unicode.org/L2/L2017/17182-tigalari-cmt.pdf ''Comments on encoding the Tigalari script''] (pp. 9-11).</ref> [[Devanagari]] supports half-u for Kashmiri; for example {{lang|ml|നു്}} is written as {{lang|hi|नॖ}}.
{{notelist}}

====Ligatures====

=====Consonant ligatures=====
Like in other [[Brahmic family of scripts|Indic scripts]], a [[#Chandrakkala|virama]] is used in the Malayalam script to cancel—or "kill"—the [[inherent vowel]] of a consonant letter and represent a consonant without a vowel, so-called a "dead" consonant. For example,
# {{lang|ml|ന}} is a consonant letter ''na'',
# {{lang|ml| ്}} is a virama; therefore,
# {{lang|ml|ന്‌}} (''na'' + virama) represents a dead consonant ''n''.
If this ''n'' {{lang|ml|ന്‌}} is further followed by another consonant letter, for example, ''ma'' {{lang|ml|മ}}, the result may look like {{lang|ml|ന്‌മ}}, which represents ''nma'' as ''na'' + virama + ''ma''. In this case, two elements ''n'' {{lang|ml|ന്‌}} and ''ma'' {{lang|ml|മ}} are simply placed one by one, side by side. Alternatively, ''nma'' can be also written as a [[Typographic ligature|ligature]] {{lang|ml|ന്മ}}.

Generally, when a dead consonant letter C<sub>1</sub> and another consonant letter C<sub>2</sub> are conjoined, the result may be either:
# A fully conjoined ligature of C<sub>1</sub>+C<sub>2</sub>;
# Half-conjoined—
#* C<sub>1</sub>-conjoining: a modified form (half form) of C<sub>1</sub> attached to the original form (full form) of C<sub>2</sub>
#* C<sub>2</sub>-conjoining: a modified form of C<sub>2</sub> attached to the full form of C<sub>1</sub>; or
# Non-ligated: full forms of C<sub>1</sub> and C<sub>2</sub> with a visible virama.<ref name="Constable2004">{{Cite web|last=Constable|first=Peter|title=Clarification of the Use of Zero Width Joiner in Indic Scripts|work=Public Review Issue #37|url=https://www.unicode.org/review/pr-37.pdf|publisher=Unicode, Inc|year=2004|access-date=2009-09-10}}</ref>

If the result is fully or half-conjoined, the (conceptual) virama which made C<sub>1</sub> dead becomes invisible, only logically existing in a [[character encoding]] scheme such as Unicode. If the result is non-ligated, a virama is visible, attached to C<sub>1</sub>. The glyphs for ''nma'' has a visible virama if not ligated ({{lang|ml|ന്‌മ}}), but if ligated, the virama disappears ({{lang|ml|ന്മ}}). Usually the difference between those forms is superficial and both are semantically identical, just like the meaning of the English word ''palaeography'' does not change even if it is spelled ''palæography'', with the ligature [[æ]].

======Common consonant ligatures======
Several consonant-consonant ligatures are used commonly even in the new orthography.

{|class="wikitable" lang="ml" style="text-align:center; margin-left:30px"
|+{{lang|en|Common ligatures}}
|- lang="en"
!&nbsp;!!''kka''!!''ṅka''!!''ṅṅa''!!''cca''!!''ñca''!!''ñña''!!''ṭṭa''!!''ṇṭa''!!''ṇṇa''!!''tta''!!''nta''!!''nna''!!''ppa''!!''mpa''!!''mma''
|-
!{{lang|en|Non-ligated}}
|ക്‌ക||ങ്‌ക||ങ്‌ങ||ച്‌ച||ഞ്‌ച||ഞ്‌ഞ||ട്‌ട||ണ്‌ട||ണ്‌ണ||ത്‌ത||ന്‌ത||ന്‌ന||പ്‌പ||മ്‌പ||മ്‌മ
|-
!{{lang|en|Ligated}}
|ക്ക||ങ്ക||ങ്ങ||ച്ച||ഞ്ച||ഞ്ഞ||ട്ട||ണ്ട||ണ്ണ||ത്ത||ന്ത||ന്ന||പ്പ||മ്പ||മ്മ
|}

The ligature ''mpa'' {{lang|ml|മ്പ}} was historically derived from ''npa'' {{lang|ml|ന്‌പ}}. The ligatures ''cca'', ''bba'', ''yya'', and ''vva'' are special in that a doubled consonant is denoted by a triangle sign below a consonant letter.
{|class="wikitable" lang="ml" style="text-align:center;margin-left:30px"
|- lang="en"
!&nbsp;!!''cca''!!''bba''!!''yya''!!''vva''
|-
!{{lang|en|Non-ligated}}
|ച്‌ച||ബ്‌ബ||യ്‌യ||വ്‌വ
|-
!{{lang|en|Ligated}}
|ച്ച||ബ്ബ||യ്യ||വ്വ
|}

======Consonant + ''ya'', ''va'', ''la'', ''ra''======
# The consonant letter ''ya'' is generally C<sub>2</sub>-conjoining after a consonant in both orthographies. For example,
* ''k'' {{lang|ml|ക്}} + ''ya'' {{lang|ml|യ}} = ''kya'' {{lang|ml|ക്യ}}
* ''p'' {{lang|ml|പ്}} + ''ya'' {{lang|ml|യ}} = ''pya'' {{lang|ml|പ്യ}}

In ''kya'' {{lang|ml|ക്യ}}, a variant form of ''ya'' ({{lang|ml| ്യ}}) is placed after the full form of ''ka'' {{lang|ml|ക}}, just like ''ki'' {{lang|ml|കി}} is written ''ka'' {{lang|ml|ക}} followed by the vowel sign ''i'' {{lang|ml| ി}}. In other words, the variant form of ''ya'' ({{lang|ml| ്യ}}) used after a consonant letter can be considered as a diacritic. Since it is placed after the base character, it is sometimes referred to as a ''post-base'' form. An exception is ''yya'' {{lang|ml|യ്യ}} (see above).

# Similarly, ''va'' ({{lang|ml| ്വ}}) after a consonant takes a post-base form:
* ''k'' {{lang|ml|ക്}} + ''va'' {{lang|ml|വ}} = ''kva'' {{lang|ml|ക്വ}}
* ''p'' {{lang|ml|പ്}} + ''va'' {{lang|ml|വ}} = ''pva'' {{lang|ml|പ്വ}}
An exception is ''vva'' {{lang|ml|വ്വ}} (see above).

# The consonant letter ''la'' ({{lang|ml| ്ല}}) after a consonant traditionally takes a below-base form. These forms are used also in the new orthography, though some fonts do not support them.
* ''k'' {{lang|ml|ക്}} + ''la'' {{lang|ml|ല}} = ''kla'' {{lang|ml|ക്ല}}
* ''p'' {{lang|ml|പ്}} + ''la'' {{lang|ml|ല}} = ''pla'' {{lang|ml|പ്ല}}
* ''l'' {{lang|ml|ല്}} + ''la'' {{lang|ml|ല}} = ''lla'' {{lang|ml|ല്ല}}

# A consonant letter ''ra'' (്ര) after a consonant usually takes a pre-base form in the reformed orthography, while this combination makes a fully conjoined ligature in the traditional orthography.
* ''k'' {{lang|ml|ക്}} + ''ra'' {{lang|ml|ര}} = ''kra'' {{lang|ml|ക്ര}}
* ''p'' {{lang|ml|പ്}} + ''ra'' {{lang|ml|ര}} = ''pra'' {{lang|ml|പ്ര}}

======''nṯa'' and ''ṯṯa''======
The ligature ''nṯa'' is written as ''n'' {{lang|ml|ന്‌}} + ''ṟa'' {{lang|ml|റ}} and pronounced {{IPA|/nda/}}. The ligature ''ṯṯa'' is written as ''ṟ'' {{lang|ml|റ്}} + ''ṟa'' {{lang|ml|റ}}.
{|class="wikitable" lang="ml" style="text-align:center;margin-left:30px"
|- lang="en"
!&nbsp;!!''nṯa''!!''ṯṯa''
|-
!{{lang|en|Non-ligated}}
|ന്‌റ||റ്‌റ
|-
!{{lang|en|Ligated}}
|ന്റ||റ്റ
|-
!{{lang|en|Digraph}}
|ൻറ||ററ
|}
In those two ligatures, a small ''ṟa'' {{lang|ml|‌റ}} is written below the first letter (''chillu-n'' if it is a dead ''n''). Alternatively, the letter ''ṟa'' is sometimes written to the right of the first letter, making a [[Digraph (orthography)|digraph]] (just like {{lang|el|[[Iota adscript|ωι]]}} used instead of {{lang|el|[[Iota subscript|ῳ]]}} in Greek). The spelling {{lang|ml|ൻറ}} is therefore read either ''nṟa'' (two separate letters) or ''nṯa'' (digraph) depending on the word like in {{lang|ml|എൻറോൾ}} (en̠r̠ōḷ) 'enroll' or {{lang|ml|ഹെൻറി}} (hen̠r̠i) 'Henry' but {{lang|ml|ന്റ}} is always read ''nṯa''. Similarly, {{lang|ml|‌റ‌റ}} is read either ''ṟaṟa'' or ''ṯṯa''.<ref name="Unicode5.1.0"/>

=====Dot reph=====
In the traditional orthography, a dead consonant ''r'' before a consonant sometimes takes an above-base form, known as a ''dot reph'', which looks like a short vertical line or a dot. Generally, a ''chillu-r'' is used instead of a dot reph in the reformed orthography.

*r {{lang|ml|ര്}} + ga {{lang|ml|ഗ}} = rga {{lang|ml|ൎഗ}} (Reformed: {{lang|ml|ർഗ}})
*r {{lang|ml|ര്}} + ja {{lang|ml|ജ}} = rja {{lang|ml|ൎജ}} (Reformed: {{lang|ml|ർജ}})

=====Consonant-vowel ligatures=====
In the pre-1971 orthography, consonant + the vowels u, ū, r̥ were written as ligatures, post-1971 they are written with symbols after the letter. They can be still seen in old signs and used by people who learned to write before 1971.

r̥̄ l̥ l̥̄ (which are not part of modern orthography) were also written as ligatures but there were not any words with l̥̄ even in Sanskrit; r̥̄ was only used grammatically instead of r̥ in Sanskrit so it was not used either; there is only one root with l̥ in Sanskrit {{lang|sa|कॢप्त}} which was loaned into Malayalam as {{lang|ml|കൢപ്തം}}.

=====Consonant-consonant ligatures=====
Although there are consonant-consonant ligatures used even now like {{lang|ml|ന്ത}} and {{lang|ml|ണ്ട}} almost all clusters were written as ligatures before 1971, most of the time the second consonant was written to the bottom right of the first consonant, in consonant + r clusters the {{lang|ml| ്ര}} was attached to the main consonant, now its detached and placed to the left.

====Archaic signs====
===={{lang|ml|ഺ}}====
{{lang|ml|ഺ}} was made by [[A. R. Raja Raja Varma]] and it was not used as a single letter, in his orthography {{lang|ml|റ്റ}} (ṯṯ) was written as {{lang|ml|ഺ്ഺ}} and {{lang|ml|ന്റ}} (ṉḏ) as {{lang|ml|ഩ്ഺ}}.

=====Archaic viramas=====
Before chandrakkala was made, there were two other viramas used simultaneously, the vertical bar virama {{lang|hi| ഻}} and circular virama {{lang|hi| ഼}}. The vertical bar virama was used exclusively for loanwords and circular virama just for native words. Before the vertical bar virama used to cut through the main consonant and it led to the creation of the chillu letters. It was sometimes confused with the dot reph {{lang|hi| ൎ }} since they look similar but both of them are used for different purposes (see above for dot reph).<ref>{{cite web |url=https://unicode.org/L2/L2014/14015r-vertical-virama.pdf |access-date=11 March 2024 |title=Proposal to encode Malayalam Sign: Vertical Bar Virama |date=19 January 2015 |website=Unicode}}</ref>

=====Chandrabindu=====
{{lang|hi| ഁ}} was like the chandrabindu from other scripts and was used to nasalise the vowel; it was only used for writing Sanskrit and Prakrits. It is archaic.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://unicode.org/L2/L2010/10392r2-chandrabindus.pdf|access-date=11 March 2024 |title=Request to encode South Indian CANDRABINDU-s |date=11 October 2010 |website=Unicode}}</ref>

=====Other Anusvaras=====
{{lang|hi|ഄ}} was used like the Devanagari {{lang|hi|ꣳ}} and contrasts with the normal anusvara.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.unicode.org/L2/L2017/17276r-malayalam-vedic.pdf |access-date=11 March 2024 |title=Proposal to encode 0D00 Malayalam Sign Combining Anusvara Above |date=30 December 2013 |website=Unicode}}</ref> {{lang|hi| ഀ}} was not really used in Malayalam but was used in the Grantha script, in it the normal anusvara {{lang|ml| ം}} represents gemination of the next consonant and this anusvara represents an actual linguistic anusvara. Both are archaic.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.unicode.org/L2/L2014/14003-malayalam-anusvara-above.pdf |access-date=11 March 2024 |title=Proposal to encode Malayalam Letter Vedic Anusvara |date=8 December 2017 |website=Unicode}}</ref>

=== Numeral system ===
{{Main|Malayalam numerals}}
Malayalam [[numeral system]] is archaic and no longer commonly used. Instead, the common [[Hindu–Arabic numeral system|Hindu-Arabic numeral system]] is followed.
{| class="wikitable" style="margin-left:30px"
!0!!1!!2!!3!!4!!5!!6!!7!!8!!9!!10!!100!!1000!!{{1/4}}!!{{1/2}}!!{{3/4}}
|- style="font-size:large" lang="ml"
|൦||൧||൨||൩||൪||൫||൬||൭||൮||൯||൰||൱||൲||൳||൴||൵
|}
Number "11" is written as "{{lang|ml|൰൧}}" and not "{{lang|ml|൧൧}}". "32" is written as "{{lang|ml|൩൰൨}}" similar to the [[Tamil numerals|Tamil numeral system]].

{| class="wikitable" style="margin-left:30px"
!11!!20!!21!!30!!110!!10,099
|- style="font-size:large" lang="ml"
|൰൧||൨൰
|൨൰൧||൩൰||൱൰
|൰൲൯൰൯
|}
Suppose the number is "2013". It is read in Malayalam as "'''{{lang|ml|രണ്ടായിരത്തി പതിമൂന്ന്}}'''" (raṇḍāyiratti padimūnnu). It is split into :

* {{lang|ml|രണ്ട്}} (raṇḍŭ) : 2 - '''{{lang|ml|൨}}'''
* {{lang|ml|ആയിരം}} (āyiram) : 1000 - '''{{lang|ml|൲}}'''
* {{lang|ml|പത്ത്}} (pattŭ) : 10 - '''{{lang|ml|൰}}'''
* {{lang|ml|മൂന്ന്}} (mūnnŭ) : 3 - '''{{lang|ml|൩}}'''

Combine them together to get the Malayalam number "'''{{lang|ml|൨൲൰൩}}'''".<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://shijualex.in/malayalam-numerals-old-system/|title=മലയാള അക്കങ്ങൾ|last=Alex|first=Shiju|date=2013-08-22|website=ഗ്രന്ഥപ്പുര|language=en-US|access-date=2020-04-12}}</ref>

===Other symbols===
{|class="wikitable" style="width:80%;margin-left:30px"
!Praslesham
|<big>{{lang|ml|ഽ}}</big>||Corresponds to [[Devanagari]] [[avagraha]], used when a Sanskrit phrase containing an ''avagraha'' is written in Malayalam script. The symbol indicates the [[elision]] of the word-initial vowel ''a'' after a word that ends in ''ā'', ''ē'', or ''ō'', and is transliterated as an apostrophe (’), or sometimes as a colon + an apostrophe (:’).<br />({{indic|lang=ml|indic=പ്രശ്ലേഷം|trans=praślēṣam}})
|-
!Malayalam date mark
|<big>{{lang|ml|൹}}</big>
|Used in an abbreviation of a date.
|-
![[Danda]]
|<big>{{lang|ml|।}}</big>
|rowspan="2"|Archaic punctuation marks used as full stops or for delimiting [[verse (poetry)|verses]].
|-
!Double danda
|<big>{{lang|ml|॥}}</big>
|}

==Sample text==
The following text is Article 1 of the [[Universal Declaration of Human Rights]].

===English===
All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood.

===Malayalam===
{{lang|ml|മനുഷ്യരെല്ലാവരും തുല്യാവകാശങ്ങളോടും അന്തസ്സോടും സ്വാതന്ത്ര്യത്തോടും കൂടി ജനിച്ചിട്ടുള്ളവരാണ്‌. അന്യോന്യം ഭ്രാതൃഭാവത്തോടെ പെരുമാറുവാനാണ്‌ മനുഷ്യന് വിവേകബുദ്ധിയും മനസാക്ഷിയും സിദ്ധമായിരിക്കുന്നത്‌}}.

===Romanisation (ISO 15919)===
man̠uṣyarellāvaruṁ tulyāvakāśaṅṅaḷōṭuṁ antassōṭuṁ svātantryattōṭuṅkūṭi jan̠icciṭṭuḷḷavarāṇ‌ŭ. an̠yōn̠yaṁ bhrātr̥bhāvattōṭe perumāṟuvān̠āṇ‌ŭ man̠uṣyan̠ŭ vivēkabuddhiyuṁ man̠asākṣiyuṁ siddhamāyirikkunnat‌ŭ.

===IPA===
/manuʂjaɾelːaːʋaɾum t̪uljaːʋakaːʃaŋːaɭoːʈum an̪t̪asːoːʈum sʋaːt̪an̪tɾjat̪ːoːʈuŋkuːʈi d͡ʒanit͡ʃːiʈːuɭːaʋaɾaːɳɨ̆ ǁ anjoːnjam bʱraːt̪rɨ̆bʱaːʋat̪ːoːʈe peɾumaːruʋaːnaːɳɨ̆ manuʂjanɨ̆ ʋiʋeːkabud̪ːʱijum manasaːkʂijum sid̪ːʱamaːjiɾikːun̪ːat̪ɨ̆ ǁ/

==Unicode==
Malayalam script was added to the [[Unicode]] Standard in October, 1991 with the release of version 1.0.

===Block===
{{Main|Malayalam (Unicode block)}}
The Unicode block for Malayalam is U+0D00–U+0D7F:

{{Unicode chart Malayalam}}

===Chillus in Unicode===
For example, ''avan'' {{lang|ml|അവൻ}} ("he") is written as ''a'' {{lang|ml|അ}} + ''va'' {{lang|ml|വ}} + ''chillu-n'' {{lang|ml|ൻ}}, where ''chillu-n'' represents the ''n'' sound without a vowel. In other Indic scripts, the same word would be possibly written as ''a'' + ''va'' + ''na'' + virama. However, in Malayalam script, that sequence represents a different word, ''avanŭ'' {{lang|ml|അവന്‌}} ("to him"), and is not interchangeable with ''avan''.<ref name="Johny2005">{{Cite web|last=Johny|first=Cibu C.|title=Unicode Public Review Issue #66: Encoding of Chillu Forms in Malayalam|url=http://varamozhi.sourceforge.net/chillu/issue66.htm|year=2005|access-date=2009-09-16}} See also [https://www.unicode.org/~emuller/iwg/p28/05085-pri66-fdbk-cibu.pdf L2/05-085] (PDF).</ref> This is because in modern Malayalam script, the sign for a virama also works as the sign for a [[#Half-u|vowel ''ŭ'']] at the end of a word, and is not able to cleanly "kill" the inherent vowel in this case.<ref name="N3126">{{Cite web|last=Muller|first=Eric|title=Malayalam cillaksarams|work=JTC1/SC2/WG2 N3126 L2/06-207|url=http://std.dkuug.dk/jtc1/sc2/wg2/docs/N3126.pdf|year=2006|access-date=2009-09-10}}</ref>

To differentiate a pure consonant (''chillu'') and a consonant with ''ŭ'', [[zero-width joiner]] (ZWJ) and [[zero-width non-joiner]] (ZWNJ) were used before Unicode 5.1.<ref name="TUS50"/> However, this system was problematic. Among other things, glyph variants specified by ZWJ or ZWNJ are supposed to be non-semantic, whereas a ''chillu'' (expressed as letter + virama + ZWJ) and the same consonant followed by a ''ŭ'' (expressed as letter + virama + ZWNJ) are often [[Semantics|semantically]] different. After a long debate,<ref name="N3126"/><ref name="S">{{Cite web|last1=Chitrajakumar|first1=R.|last2=Gangadharan|first2=N.|name-list-style=amp|title=Chandrakkala. Samvruthokaram. Chillaksharam.|work=L2/05-210|url=https://www.unicode.org/~emuller/iwg/p28/05210-malayalam.pdf|year=2005|access-date=2009-09-10}}</ref> Nine ''chillu letters'' now have their own [[code point]]s since Unicode 9.0 (though only 5 of them are used in modern Malayalam), though applications should also be prepared to handle data in the representation specified in Unicode 5.0.<ref name="Unicode5.1.0">{{Cite web|publisher=Unicode, Inc|title=Malayalam Chillu Characters|work=Unicode 5.1.0|url=https://www.unicode.org/versions/Unicode5.1.0/#Malayalam_Chillu_Characters|year=2008|access-date=2009-09-10}}</ref> This means, fonts should display chillus in both sequences; while an input method should output standard chillus.

The ligature ''nṯa'' {{lang|ml|ന്റ}} is very common and supported by most Malayalam fonts in one way or another, but exactly how it should be encoded was not clear in Unicode 5.0 and earlier, and two incompatible implementations are currently in use.<ref name="Ref_2005">{{Cite web|title=Encoding of Chillu Forms in Malayalam|work=Public Review Issue #66]|url=https://www.unicode.org/review/pr-66.html|publisher=Unicode, Inc|year=2005|access-date=2009-09-24}}</ref> In Unicode 5.1 (2008), the sequence to represent it was explicitly redefined as ''chillu-n'' + virama + ''ṟa'' ({{lang|ml|ൻ്റ|}}).<ref name="Unicode5.1.0"/> {{lang|ml|ന്റ}} ligature is often considered to be the correct form to represent n̠d̠ as {{lang|ml|ൻറ}} can also represent n̠r̠ but in many computers it is only shown with {{lang|ml|ൻ}} + {{lang|ml| ്}} + {{lang|ml|റ}} even though a chandrakkala cannot be after a chillu letter, other computers show it with {{lang|ml|ന}} + {{lang|ml| ്}} + {{lang|ml|റ}}. Some computers display {{lang|ml|ൻ്റ}} ({{lang|ml|ൻ}} + {{lang|ml| ്}} + {{lang|ml|റ}}) and {{lang|ml|ന്റ}} ({{lang|ml|ന}} + {{lang|ml| ്}} + {{lang|ml|റ}}) differently.

==Image gallery==
{{Gallery
|width=160 | height=170
|align=center
|File:Quilon Syrian copper plates (849 AD).jpg
 |The [[Quilon Syrian copper plates]] (849/850 CE) is the available oldest inscription written in [[Old Malayalam]].<ref name="adagadagudugudu">{{cite book|last=Narayanan|first=M. G. S.|year=2013|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0YDCngEACAAJ&q=Perumals+of+Kerala|title=Perumals of Kerala: Brahmin Oligarchy and Ritual Monarchy|publisher=CosmoBooks|isbn=9788188765072|location=Thrissur (Kerala)|pages=|orig-year=1972}}</ref> Besides [[Old Malayalam]], the copper plate also contains signatures in [[Arabic]] (Kufic script), [[Middle Persian]] (cursive Pahlavi script) and [[Judeo-Persian]] (standard square [[Hebrew]]) scripts.<ref name="cereti">{{Cite book|last=Cereti|first=C. G.|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=b3gOdaiXNKkC&q=Exegisti+Monumenta:+Festschrift+in+Honour+of+Nicholas+Sims-+Williams|title=Exegisti Monumenta: Festschrift in Honour of Nicholas Sims-Williams|publisher=Harrassowitz|year=2009|isbn=9783447059374|editor-last=Sundermann|editor-first=W.|location=Wiesbaden|pages=|chapter=The Pahlavi Signatures on the Quilon Copper Plates|editor-last2=Hintze|editor-first2=A.|editor-last3=de Blois|editor-first3=F.}}</ref>
|File:Tigalari-sanskrit-manuscript.jpg
 |A medieval [[Tigalari script|Tigalari]] manuscript (Bears high similarity with modern Malayalam script)
|File:Ckm.jpg
 |A [[bilingual sign]] in [[Malayalam]] and [[Latin script]] ([[English language|English]]) at [[Changaramkulam]], [[Malappuram district|Malappuram]], [[Kerala]]
|File:Copy of Ezhuthachan's Adhyathma ramayanam Kilippattu.jpg
  |Copy of [[Thunchaththu Ezhuthachan]]'s [[stylus]] and ''[[Adhyathmaramayanam|Adhyatma Ramayanam]]'' preserved at [[Thunchan Parambu, Tirur]]
|File:THUNCHAN MEMORIAL.jpg
  |The [[Thunchath Ezhuthachan Malayalam University]] is situated at [[Thunchan Parambu]], [[Tirur]], [[Malappuram district|Malappuram]]
|
  |
|
 |
|
  |
|
  |
|File:Kerala Sangeetha Nadaka Academy Trimmed.jpg
  |A Malayalam sign. Notice the word-initial ''a'' {{lang|ml|അ}} in '''akkādami''', and the vowel sign ''ē'' {{lang|ml| േ}} in '''Kēraḷa'''
|File:Mina hospital.jpg
  | A signboard including [[Malayalam]] at [[Mina, Saudi Arabia]]
|File:Travancore Rupee - Reverse.jpg
  |Malayalam letters on old [[Travancore Rupee]] coin
|File:St angelo fort Arakkal Museum.JPG
  |A Malayalam signboard from [[Kannur]], Kerala. Malayalam is official language in the [[India]]n state of [[Kerala]] and the union territories of [[Lakshadweep]] and [[Puducherry (union territory)|Puduchery]]
}}

==See also==
{{Div col}} 
* [[Arabi Malayalam script]]
* [[Coorgi–Cox alphabet]]
* [[Tigalari script]]
* [[Malabar script]]
* [[Malayalam Braille]]
* [[Mulabhadra]]
* [[Suriyani Malayalam]]
*[[Grantha script]]
*[[Sinhala script]]
*[[ISO 15919]]
{{div col end}}

==References==
{{Reflist|2}}

==Sources==
* {{Cite book|contribution=Malayalam Writing|last=Mohanan|first=K. P. |editor1-last=Daniels|editor1-first=Peter T.|editor1-link=Peter T. Daniels|editor2-last=Bright|editor2-first=William|editor2-link=William Bright|name-list-style=amp|title=The World's Writing Systems|contribution-url=https://archive.org/details/rosettaproject_mal_ortho-2|publisher=Oxford University Press|location=New York|year=1996}}
* [[Arthur Coke Burnell|Burnell, Arthur Coke]] (1874). [https://archive.org/details/elementssouthin00burngoog ''Elements of South-Indian Palæography from the Fourth to the Seventeenth Century A.D.''] Trübner & Co.
* {{Cite book|last=Canepari|first=Luciano|author-link=Luciano Canepari|title=A Handbook of Phonetics|chapter=19.29 Malayalam|publisher=LINCOM|year=2005|isbn=3-89586-480-3}}

==Further reading==
* {{cite book |title=A Short History of Malayalam Literature |author=K. Ayyappa Panicker |url=https://archive.org/details/ASHORTHISTORYOFMALAYALAMLITERATURE |year=2006 |location=Thiruvananthapuram |publisher=Department of Information and Public Relations, Kerala}}
* {{cite book|author=Menon, A. Sreedhara |title=A Survey of Kerala History|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=FVsw35oEBv4C|year=2007|publisher=DC Books|isbn=9788126415786}}
* {{Cite book|title=Mathrubhumi Yearbook Plus - 2019|publisher=P. V. Chandran, Managing Editor, Mathrubhumi Printing & Publishing Company Limited, Kozhikode|year=2018|location=Kozhikode|edition=Malayalam}}

==External links==
{{Commons}}
* [http://websitefor.info/learn/malayalam Website to help you read and write the Malayalam alphabet]
* [http://languagetype.com/malayalam/malayalam-fonts Malayalam Unicode Fonts]
{{list of writing systems}}
{{Malayalam Literature |state=collapsed}}
{{Portal bar|Language|Linguistics|Writing|Constructed languages}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Malayalam Script}}
[[Category:Malayalam script| ]]
[[Category:Brahmic scripts]]
[[Category:Malayalam language|Script, Malayalam]]
[[Category:Scripts with ISO 15924 four-letter codes]]