As per the 1681 census, eleven languages mentioned in the Eighth Schedule of the Constitution are spoken as mother tongue in Lakshadweep. Out of which Malayalam and Mahl language, which is spoken by those in Minicoy are prominent. Bengali, Guajarati, Hindu, Kannada, Oriya, Tamil, Telegu, Konkoni, Urdu and English are also spoken by the migrants who are in employment in the Union Territory.
Minicoy and the modern Malayalam Grandha are the scripts that are in use in the islands. Vattezhuthu is the oldest script used in the islands. With the arrival of Islam, the Arabic script became eminent among the people, mainly for the study of Quran.
