Kerala talk · Languages in Kerala
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Languages in Kerala
Languages in Kerala
The people of Kerala speak Malayalam (a palindrome when written in English). Most people understand Hindi and English. However visitors will find that everyone does not speak the same language or dialect. Though Kerala is often regarded as a highly literate state it doesn't mean that everyone can communicate in English. Literacy is considered to be the universal ability to read, write and speak in one's own mother tongue. Most of Kerala's urban dwelling population are able to communicate in English and 'broken' Hindi. Locals may understand spoken Tamil also with some difficulty. Almost all bus routes and other important signs including name boards are written in Malayalam and some are in English. Most City Bus destinations are prominently written in Malayalam, some having English signage represented in small fonts which is often difficult to read. Most of the bus conductors and ticket checkers do understand English. Long Distance and Inter-state buses do carry English signage. Railways and other central government establishments use signs written in Hindi, Malayalam and English. Highway signs are normally in Malayalam, Hindi and English. Most Kerala Government offices use only Malayalam signage and most Kerala Govt documents such as receipts and bills are only in Malayalam.
The Most Frequently Asked Travel Questions about Kerala
Where To Stay & Best Hotels in Kerala - updated Apr 2024
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WHERE TO TRAVEL NEXT IN 2020
Kerala Travel Guide from Wikitravel. Many thanks to all Wikitravel contributors. Text is available under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0, images are available under various licenses, see each image for details.