Island habour

Dhivehi, the unique language of the Maldives has traits of South Indian languages, Arabic and Persian. The language must have originated from the first settlers of the Maldives and evolved over time with the influence of different visitors who frequented the Maldives. The script thaana is written from right to the left.

Even though Dhivehi is the official language, English is widely spoken and is used intensively in business and government sector. With its deep-rooted Islamic traditions, Arabic is also a familiar language to the majority while not many are fluent in it. Some Maldivians working in the tourism sector converse in other languages such as Italian, German and Japanese.