The letter Shaviyani (ށ - formerly ''Rhaviyani'') is the second letter of the
Thaana
Thaana, Taana or Tāna ( ) is the present writing system of the Maldivian language spoken in the Maldives. Thaana has characteristics of both an abugida (diacritic, vowel-killer strokes) and a true alphabet (all vowels are written), ...
abugida - the writing system used in the
Dhivehi
Dhivehi, also spelled Divehi, may refer to:
*Dhivehi people, an ethnic group native to the historic region of the Maldive Islands.
*Dhivehi language, an Indo-Aryan language predominantly spoken by about 350,000 people in the Republic of Maldives
...
language of the
Maldives
Maldives (, ; dv, ދިވެހިރާއްޖެ, translit=Dhivehi Raajje, ), officially the Republic of Maldives ( dv, ދިވެހިރާއްޖޭގެ ޖުމްހޫރިއްޔާ, translit=Dhivehi Raajjeyge Jumhooriyyaa, label=none, ), is an archipelag ...
and
Minicoy Island
Minicoy, locally known as Maliku (), is an island in Lakshadweep, India. Along with Viringili, it is on ''Maliku atoll'', the southernmost atoll of Lakshadweep archipelago. Administratively, it is a census town in the Indian union territory of ...
.
Phonological significance
The Shaviyani sound () is a voiceless retroflex fricative. The same sound can be found in other languages such as
Sanskrit
Sanskrit (; attributively , ; nominally , , ) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in South Asia after its predecessor languages had diffused there from the northwest in the late ...
and
Russian.
Wilhelm Geiger
Wilhelm Ludwig Geiger (; ; 21 July 1856 – 2 September 1943) was a German Orientalist in the fields of Indo-Iranian languages and the history of Iran and Sri Lanka. He was known as a specialist in Pali, Sinhala language and the Dhivehi language o ...
in his Maldivian Linguistic Studies states about its pronunciation:
"''The sound is very difficult to describe and to imitate. It varies between r, h and s: is rather soft,; and is, so far as I could observe uttered by putting the tip of the tongue in the highest part of the palate, and letting the breath escape sideways between the teeth''".
Anthropological and historic significance
In the earliest work on Maldivian history written by a Maldivian, (the ''Kitab fi Athaari Meedoo el-Qadimiyyah'' by Allama Ahmed Shihabuddine of
Meedhoo) Shaviyani is considered a unique characteristic of the language of the first Maldivian settlers still reminiscent in the Dhivehi language today. It is said that these first settlers, the , came from ''Kalibanja'' (possibly
Kalinga Kalinga may refer to:
Geography, linguistics and/or ethnology
* Kalinga (historical region), a historical region of India
** Kalinga (Mahabharata), an apocryphal kingdom mentioned in classical Indian literature
** Kalinga script, an ancient writin ...
) in
India
India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...
several centuries before the
Kingdom of Malik Aashooq and settled in Isduva island (
Isdhoo) of Isduvammathi (
Haddhunmathi Atoll
Haddhunmathi or Laamu Atoll (Dhivehi: ހައްދުންމަތި އަތޮޅު) is an administrative division of the Maldives. The administrative capital is Fonadhoo Island. It corresponds to the natural atoll of the same name.
It is mostly rimmed ...
). By the time the late-
Aryan
Aryan or Arya (, Indo-Iranian *''arya'') is a term originally used as an ethnocultural self-designation by Indo-Iranians in ancient times, in contrast to the nearby outsiders known as 'non-Aryan' (*''an-arya''). In Ancient India, the term ' ...
settlers came to settle the Maldives in 600 B.C., the original language of the Dheyvis had been mixed with that of later settlers the ''Redhins'' and the ''Kunibeens'' to form the Dheyvis language; but the unique Shaviyani sound had survived. The letter was described as that letter pronounced between the letter "r" and "sh". In fact the letter was called ''Rhaviyani'' until much later.
Linguistic usage
In modern Dhivehi, the letter Shaviyani has two different usage.
[''A Concise Etymological Vocabulary of Dhivehi Language''. Hasan A. Maniku. Speedmark. Colombo 2000.
]
* As a consonant in words such as - (banana inflorescence), - (coconut shells), - (fishing rod) and - (to dance) .
* Accompanying the diacritic
sukun (ށް). It can be at the final position of a word where the end is abrupt and the value .
Other notes
Shaviyani is also the name designated to the administrative division of the Maldives comprising the 51 islands of the
Northern Miladhunmadulhu Atoll
Shaviyani Atoll, which is known by its abbreviated name (also known as Northern Miladhunmadulu Atoll or Miladhunmadulu Uthuruburi), is an Administrative division of the Maldives. It corresponds to the northern section of the natural Miladhunmadulu ...
.
See also
*
Maldivian language
Maldivian, also known by its endonym Dhivehi or Divehi ( ; '' dv, links=no, ދިވެހި'', ), is an Indo-Aryan language spoken in the South Asian island country of Maldives and on Minicoy Island, Lakshadweep, union territory of India.
The M ...
*
Dhivehi writing systems
Several Dhivehi scripts have been used by Maldivians during their history. The early Dhivehi scripts fell into the abugida category, while the more recent Thaana has characteristics of both an abugida and a true alphabet. An ancient form of Nagar ...
*
The Thaana alphabet
*
History of the Maldives
The history of the Maldives is intertwined with the history of the broader Indian subcontinent and the surrounding regions, comprising the areas of South Asia and Indian Ocean; and the modern nation consisting of 26 natural atolls, comprising 11 ...
References
{{Reflist
Culture of the Maldives