Dhivehi (ދިވެހި, Dhivehi, [d̪iʋehi]), also known by its exonym Maldivian, is an Indo-Aryan language belonging to the Indo-Iranian branch of the Indo-European language family, primarily spoken by the Maldivian people native to the South Asian archipelagic state of the Maldives; as well as the neighbouring Minicoy Island within Lakshadweep, a union territory of India.
The Dhivehi language has four notable dialects. The standard dialect is that of the capital city of Malé. The greatest dialectal variation exists in the southern atolls of Huvadhu, Addu and Fuvahmulah. Each of these atolls has its own distinct dialect often thought to be interconnected with each other while being widely different from the dialect spoken in the northern atolls. The southern dialects are so distinct that those only speaking northern dialects cannot understand them.
