Thaana

The Thaana script is used for writing the Maldivian language, also known as Dhivehi, spoken by about 370,000 people in the Maldives and in Maldivian communities in India. The script is unique to this language. The language is also called Mahl, particularly on the island of Minicoy in the Indian territory of Lakshadweep. The Maldivian language has been written in its own script, it is thought, for over two millennia, when it was developed by Maldivian Buddhist monks translating the Buddhist scriptures.

The Thaana script is broadly considered an alphabet as all vowels are written, although it also contains characteristics of an abugida, for example the use of a vowel-killer symbol to indicate a consonant with no following vowel. It is one of the few alphabets in the world which does not have its roots in the Proto-Canaanite script. Rather, the first nine letters are derived from the shapes of the numerals used in Arabic writing, and the next nine from earlier forms of Maldivian letters.

The alphabet comprises two main types of signs. The twenty-four consonant letters, including a \\\null consonant\\\" alifu form the base line of writing. These do not contain an inherent vowel