Kerala is 590 km of coastline, a lagoon system behind it and 44 rivers. Fish is not a food category here. It is the food category. And the fish market is the loudest, fastest, most linguistically dense classroom available to you. The names are not translations — a Malayali will not recognise the English word for a fish they have eaten all their life. മത്തി (matthi) sardine, called ചാള (chaala) in the north — which name you use marks where you are from അയല (ayala) mackerel നെയ്മീൻ (neymeen) seer fish, the prestige fish, served when guests come കരിമീൻ (karimeen) pearl spot, the state fish of Kerala കൊഞ്ച് (konchu) prawns · ഞണ്ട് (njandu) crab · കണവ (kanava) squid കല്ലുമ്മക്കായ (kallummakkaaya) mussels, literally stone-breast-fruit Then the transactional language: മീൻ എത്രയാണ്? (meen ethrayaanu) how much for the fish? ഇന്നത്തെ മീനാണോ? (innathe meenaano) is this today's fish? വൃത്തിയാക്കി താ (vrutthiyaakki thaa) clean it and give it ഇന്ന് ഏതാണ് നല്ലത്? (innu ethaanu nallathu) which is good today? — the best question in the market In this class: • Twenty fish names, with the northern and southern variants • Buying, weighing, cleaning, cutting, bargaining • The four freshness checks a Malayali does in front of the seller • The sea, the boat, the net and the people who work them Quizzes below. Dr. Reshmi R Nair — SpeakMalayalam.