The vocabulary of the Kerala road, the sentences that actually get you off at the right stop, and one piece of advice about asking directions that will save you more time than everything else here. I am Dr. Reshmi R. Nair, an applied linguist from Kerala. I have taught hundreds of learners to speak Malayalam as it is actually spoken. THE ROAD റോഡ് - road; വഴി (vazhi) - way, path, route കവല (kavala) / ജംഗ്ഷൻ (junction) - in Kerala the junction is the basic unit of geography. Places are identified by their junctions and you will be told to get off at one. ബസ് സ്റ്റാൻഡ് - bus stand; പാലം (paalam) - bridge; വളവ് (valavu) - a bend കയറ്റം (kayattam) / ഇറക്കം (irakkam) - uphill / downhill കുഴി (kuzhi) - pothole; ബ്ലോക്ക് (block) - a traffic jam (ട്രാഫിക് ബ്ലോക്ക് ആണ്, traffic block aanu - there is a jam) THE VERBS കയറുക (kayaruka) - to board (literally to climb up) ഇറങ്ങുക (iranguka) - to get down, to alight നിർത്തുക (nirthuka) - to stop something തിരിയുക (thiriyuka) - to turn THE BUS The state corporation buses are affectionately called ആനവണ്ടി (aanavandi), the elephant vehicle, for their size and unhurried dignity. The കണ്ടക്ടർ (conductor) sells tickets from a seat near the door; you pay after boarding and the fare is calculated by stage. THE SENTENCES ഈ ബസ് എവിടേക്കാണ്? (ee bus evidekkaanu?) - where does this bus go? ഒരു ടിക്കറ്റ് തരണം (oru ticket tharanam) - give me one ticket എത്ര രൂപയായി? (ethra roopayaayi?) - how much has it come to? അടുത്ത സ്റ്റോപ്പിൽ ഇറങ്ങണം (adutha stoppil iranganam) - I need to get off at the next stop എനിക്ക് ഇറങ്ങണം (enikku iranganam) - I need to get down. Say this one clearly: it is the sentence that stops you ending up in the next district. The boards on the front of a bus are very often in Malayalam script only. A learner who can read കോഴിക്കോട് (kozhikode) on the front of a moving bus has just converted study into freedom. Which junction do you get off at? Comment below. #LearnMalayalam #Kerala #Malayalam