Malayalam (മലയാളം malayāḷaṁ) is a Dravidian language used predominantly in the state of Kerala, in southern India. It is one of the 22 official languages of India, and it is used by around 36 million people.[1] Malayalam is also widely used in the union territories of Lakshadweep and Mahé, the Kanyakumari district of Tamil Nadu and the and Dakshina Kannada[citation needed] districts of Karnataka.[1] It is also used by a large population of Indian expatriates living in Arab States, the United Kingdom, the United States, and Canada.
Malayalam formed out of Tamil rather late and began developing a body of literature by the 9th century CE.[3] Before Malayalam came into being, Tamil and Sanskrit were used in literature and courts of a region called Tamilakam.
Malayalam uses a large proportion of Sanskrit vocabulary. Loans have also been made from Portuguese, Arabic and, in more recent times, English.
