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Old Malayalam
Inscriptional language found in Kerala from c. 9th to c. 12th century CE / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Old Malayalam, the inscriptional language found in Kerala from c. 9th to c. 13th century CE,[1] is the earliest attested form of Malayalam.[2][3] The language was employed in several official records and transactions (at the level of the Chera Perumal kings as well as the upper-caste village temples).[2] Old Malayalam was mostly written in Vatteluttu script (with Pallava/Southern Grantha characters).[2] Most of the inscriptions were found from the northern districts of Kerala, those lie adjacent to Tulu Nadu.[2] The origin of Malayalam calendar dates back to year 825 CE.[4][5][6]
Old Malayalam | |
---|---|
പഴയ മലയാളം | |
![]() Old Malayalam (Vattezhuthu script) | |
Pronunciation | Paḻaya Malayāḷam |
Region | Kerala |
Era | Developed into Middle Malayalam by c. 13th century |
Dravidian
| |
Early forms | |
Vatteluttu script (with Pallava/Southern Grantha characters) | |
Language codes | |
ISO 639-3 | – |
Glottolog | None |
The existence of Old Malayalam is sometimes disputed by scholars.[7] They regard the Chera Perumal inscriptional language as a diverging dialect or variety of contemporary Tamil.[7]