Malayalam is the language of Kerala, the southernmost state in India. Over 35,000,000 people speak this language. Malayalam, one of the Dravidian languages in India, has its own alphabet and grammar. It originally developed from Tamil and uses many Tamil words. It also has adapted many words from Sanskrit, other India languages and English.

Malayalam is extraordinarily rich in every genre of literature. Every year numerous books and publications are produced in Malayalam. In Kerala alone 170 daily papers, 235 weekly and 560 monthly periodicals are published in Malayalam. The most circulated daily paper in India is in Malayalam. This language is presently taught in many Universities outside Kerala including some in the United States.