The Power of Sukun

Coming soon


The Power of Sukun



alifu combination,

consonants alone,

thaa special,

shaviyani dreams.

Alifu Magic

- vowels carried - consonants doubled - sukun support Alifu has three uses in Dhivehi thaana script. Its role with vowels is explained in the next paragraph. Combined with a sukun, alifu can either double (or stress) the next consonant, or add a light "h" sound. These two roles are explained on the right. Alifu can carry vowels and indicates they are pronounced alone. The examples below show the silent alifu consonant with each of the vowels.

When alifu carries a sukun, it has two possible meanings. Occurring within a word it usually indicates that the next consonant is doubled (or stressed) when pronounced. The two examples below use the Dhivehi words for sweet potato kattala, and problem massala. The other meaning of the alifu sukun combination occurs when it appears at the end of a word, indicating a light "h" sound added to the vowel sound "e". The two examples below use the Dhivehi words for an island rasheh, and the number three thineh.

Thaana Vowels

Thaana vowels The list below contains all the Dhivehi language vowels. The letter b is used as an example consonant. Dhivehi vowels have close English equivalent sounds, and a pronunciation guide (in brackets) has been included when necessary. The English script spelling for the vowels, shown in the centre column below, was introduced during the mid-1970s in Mal&eacute.

When a vowel is pronounced alone, it is written with the special consonant described on the consonants page as a 'silent vowel carrier' and known in Dhivehi as 'alifu'. The power of alifu is explained here. A small circle sometimes written above a consonant is often mistaken for a vowel by new thaana readers. It is another clever indicator, called a 'sukun'. The power of the sukun is explained here.

WRITING THAANA FOR BEGINNERS

Writing thaana for beginners Dhivehi language thaana script letters are listed below in thaana alphabet order. Letters in the left column are placed against a horizontal line to show their position on a ruled page. Letters in the centre column are the English roman equivalents. The right column shows the printed letter style. Letters in the left column were scanned from Writing Thaana Book:1 published by Novelty Press, Malé 1994

Thaana is a simplified Arabic-style script, unique to the Dhivehi language, adopted by the Maldivian government over 400 years ago. Thaana is not difficult to learn because it is written as separate letters. Writing thaana is a pleasure. You can use it for other languages, like English, as well! Practise writing the letters for a while, and note how they appear in print. An adult's writing would look more like the thaana print version. Thaana is written from right to left, so the letters are written from the right.