The Malayalam alphabet is not a list in historical order. It is a map of the mouth. This reference class walks the sound system in script order. The vowels come in short and long pairs where length changes meaning. The core consonants sit in a five-by-five grid: rows by where in the mouth the sound is made, columns by voicing, aspiration and the nasal. Then the semivowels, the sibilants, the Dravidian sounds ള, ഴ and റ, and the chillus, Malayalam's own letters for word-final consonants. It ends with which features carry meaning and which, like stress, do not. Words and phrases in this class: സ്വരങ്ങൾ (swarangal) – vowels വ്യഞ്ജനങ്ങൾ (vyanjanangal) – consonants ക ഖ ഗ ഘ ങ (ka kha ga gha nga) – the velar row, made at the soft palate പ ഫ ബ ഭ മ (pa pha ba bha ma) – the labial row, made with the lips ക ച ട ത പ (ka cha ta tha pa) – a column: voiceless, unaspirated ചില്ലുകൾ (chillukal) – chillus, letters for final consonants മഴ (mazha) – rain മല (mala) – mountain മാല (maala) – necklace അവൻ (avan) – he അവൾ (aval) – she മരം (maram) – tree കല്ല് (kallu) – stone In this class: • The vowels, in short and long pairs • The five-by-five consonant grid: a phonetic chart of the mouth • The Dravidian sounds ള, ഴ and റ, and Malayalam's chillus • What carries meaning (length, doubling, retroflex) and what does not (stress) Quizzes below. Dr. Reshmi R Nair — SpeakMalayalam.