Naviyani
Encyclopedia
Letter Naviyani used to be the 19th letter of the Divehi alphabet. This letter's former position in the alphabet was between letters Daviyani and Zaviyani.
Naviyani is the retroflex "n" sound ([ɳ]) common to most Indic languages (Sinhala, Gujarati
, Hindi
, Tamil
, etc.).
Letter Naviyani was abolished from official documents around 1953 by Muhammad Amin
, the ruler of Maldives
at that time. The reason why this particular retroflex sound was abolished and not others, like Lhaviyani (ޅ), Daviyani (ޑ) or Taviyani (ޓ), is not known. Perhaps it was a mere whim of that charismatic Maldivian leader.
Letter Naviyani is still pronounced in the Dhivehi language
. Nouns like "onu" (bamboo) or verbs like "bunung" (to say), have this letter. Its sound is especially clear in the speech of southern Maldivians.
This letter is still seen in writing in reprints of traditional old books, written before the 1950s, like the Bodu Tartheebu, an ancient religious book. It is also used by Addu
people when writing songs or poetry in their language variant.
In 2000, when the Tāna script was put into Unicode
, certain Maldivian government officials didn't see the need to include this letter.
Now, however, there is a minor movement for the reinstating of this letter, especially among Addu intellectuals, whose goal is to bring letter Naviyani (ޱ) back into currency.
or Nyaviyani, the 16th consonant of the present-day Maldivian alphabet, after which an administrative atoll
was named.
Naviyani is the retroflex "n" sound ([ɳ]) common to most Indic languages (Sinhala, Gujarati
Gujarati language
Gujarati is an Indo-Aryan language, and part of the greater Indo-European language family. It is derived from a language called Old Gujarati which is the ancestor language of the modern Gujarati and Rajasthani languages...
, Hindi
Hindi
Standard Hindi, or more precisely Modern Standard Hindi, also known as Manak Hindi , High Hindi, Nagari Hindi, and Literary Hindi, is a standardized and sanskritized register of the Hindustani language derived from the Khariboli dialect of Delhi...
, Tamil
Tamil language
Tamil is a Dravidian language spoken predominantly by Tamil people of the Indian subcontinent. It has official status in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu and in the Indian union territory of Pondicherry. Tamil is also an official language of Sri Lanka and Singapore...
, etc.).
Letter Naviyani was abolished from official documents around 1953 by Muhammad Amin
Mohamed Amin Didi
Al Ameer Mohamed Amin Dhoshimeynaa Kilegefaanu , popularly known as Mohamed Amin Didi was a Maldivian political figure. He served as the first president of the Maldives and as the head of government between January 1, 1953 and August 21, 1953...
, the ruler of Maldives
Maldives
The Maldives , , officially Republic of Maldives , also referred to as the Maldive Islands, is an island nation in the Indian Ocean formed by a double chain of twenty-six atolls oriented north-south off India's Lakshadweep islands, between Minicoy Island and...
at that time. The reason why this particular retroflex sound was abolished and not others, like Lhaviyani (ޅ), Daviyani (ޑ) or Taviyani (ޓ), is not known. Perhaps it was a mere whim of that charismatic Maldivian leader.
Letter Naviyani is still pronounced in the Dhivehi language
Dhivehi language
Maldivian is an Indo-Aryan language predominantly spoken by about 350,000 people in the Maldives where it is the national language. It is also the first language of nearly 10,000 people in the island of Minicoy in the Union territory of Lakshadweep, India where the Mahl dialect of the Maldivian...
. Nouns like "onu" (bamboo) or verbs like "bunung" (to say), have this letter. Its sound is especially clear in the speech of southern Maldivians.
This letter is still seen in writing in reprints of traditional old books, written before the 1950s, like the Bodu Tartheebu, an ancient religious book. It is also used by Addu
Addu Atoll
Addu City is a city in Maldives consisting of the inhabited islands of the southernmost atoll of the archipelago....
people when writing songs or poetry in their language variant.
In 2000, when the Tāna script was put into Unicode
Unicode
Unicode is a computing industry standard for the consistent encoding, representation and handling of text expressed in most of the world's writing systems...
, certain Maldivian government officials didn't see the need to include this letter.
Now, however, there is a minor movement for the reinstating of this letter, especially among Addu intellectuals, whose goal is to bring letter Naviyani (ޱ) back into currency.
Avoiding confusion
This letter does not appear on Thaana tables printed after the 1950s and should not be confused with letter GnaviyaniGnaviyani
Gnaviyani can refer to:*Gnaviyani Atoll, an administrative division of the Maldives.*Gnaviyani , the 16th consonant of the Thaana alphabet used in Dhivehi. It is located between letters Gaafu and Seenu....
or Nyaviyani, the 16th consonant of the present-day Maldivian alphabet, after which an administrative atoll
Administrative divisions of the Maldives
The Administrative Divisions of the Maldives refers to the various units of government that provide local government services in the Maldives. According to the Decentralization Act 2010, the administrative divisions of the Maldives would consist of atolls, islands, and cities; each administered by...
was named.