No Malayalam On Rosetta Stone: 2 Awesome Alternatives

5 min readAug 28, 2022

Original blog post: https://ling-app.com/ml/no-malayalam-on-rosetta-stone/

We have some good news and some bad news for you. First, the bad news; there’s no Malayalam on Rosetta Stone. Second, the good news; we have some great alternative options for you today to learn the language!

Number 1 among them is Ling. Ling is an exciting company that you should be keeping an eye on. First launched in 2017, it has skyrocketed to the top of the most downloaded language apps list. Ling is constantly updating its products, and even this month has announced a brand new update to check out!

What Is Malayalam?

Malayalam is a Dravidian language spoken mainly in the Indian state of Kerala. Malayalam is one of 22 official Indian languages. The language has approximately 34 million speakers. Malayalam is also spoken in a few different areas of India, among them Tamil Nadu and Kodagu.

What Are Some Interesting Facts About Malayalam?

Malayalam is constructed by the words ‘mala’ and ‘alam.’ Mala means mountain, and Alam means region. This gives you a good idea of what the region’s geography is like.
The Malayalam alphabet is super complicated. It is written in Brahmic and has 15 vowels and 42 consonants.
The language has been heavily influenced by other Indian languages as well as international languages. The script was altered by a newspaperman called Benjamin Bailey, and a German called Herman Gundert developed the first Malayalam dictionary.
Malayalam has a lot of loan words. The history of these loan words speaks to the region’s economic history. There are many words borrowed from Portugal, Holland, and the Arabic world that are now used in everyday speech in the area. A great example of this is the word for toilet in Malayalam, which is kakkoos. In Dutch, only the spelling is different, ‘kakhuis.’
Malayalam is also a constantly evolving language, and social media and movies drive new words. Some recent additions to the dictionary have been something like ‘pani kitti,’ which used to mean get in trouble but now means get a job.

Alternative Apps To Study Malayalam Language Courses

As there is no Malayalam on Rosetta Stone, you can learn Malayalam On Preply (the best place to find native speakers).

The last few years have been particularly tumultuous for language learners(and teachers). In the first months of the pandemic, the education system was turned on its head, and nobody knew what the future held. Looking back now, it seems clear that the Coronavirus has been a tremendous boon to online language courses like Preply.

Preply is not a language learning app in the style of Rosetta Stone. Instead, it is an app that connects you with native language tutors to (mainly) improve your speaking. Tutors set their price, you do a trial, and if you like the tutor, you take online lessons with them. Preply is undeniably the market leader and teaches 100s of thousands of students per year.

Preply Pros For Students

Preply teachers teach not just English. The language for learning English is massive and dominates the market. However, this often means it can be challenging to study other lesser-spoken languages. Preply is different because its business model encourages teachers basically from every country. It is possible to learn not just a foreign language but other subjects like math or science(of course, if you really wanted to push yourself, you could learn physics in Malayalam).
It is straightforward to check tutor reviews. Teachers are accountable, and the cream rises to the top.
Both students and teachers can set their own schedules meaning nobody is disappointed.
Non-location dependent. You can learn Malayalam wherever you are in the world as long as you have an internet connection. It’s crazy to think you could be on a beach in Thailand, talking to a tutor in the U.K, learning a language from India.

Preply Cons For Students

(Although this list largely focuses on cons for students, it is worth mentioning that there are cons for teachers working for Preply, namely that they don’t get paid for trial lessons. This is a tremendous detriment to teachers who have to bear the financial strain(particularly if they’re new teachers and starting out at a low price).

You can’t pay for 1 class. Preply operates on a package basis, meaning you have to buy a certain amount of classes. Imagine if you buy 20 classes from a tutor and then realize that they aren’t a good match for you.
The software can be a little buggy, and Preply’s video system has problems. Tutors and students often agree to come off the platform and use Zoom instead.

Learn Malayalam With Ling!

Ling is the best interactive software for learning lesser-known languages in a standard language learning app form. Of course, Ling is not like Preply, but it is just as effective at helping you learn a new language and it’s a perfect and far more affordable option as there’s no Malayalam n Rosetta Stone.

Ling is best used for practicing Malayalam words and listening. With our SRS flashcards, new phrases and vocabulary will be retained in your long-term memory. There is also practice with Malayalam grammar as well as spoken Malayalam with our chatbot.

Note: There is also a program called Ling Live, which is very similar to Preply. However, at the moment, it is solely focused on students learning Thai. However, keep an eye out for possible expansion into different languages, including Malayalam.

If you enjoyed this blog and found to solutions to there being no Malayalam on Rosetta Stone, why not check out some others in our dedicated Malayalam language blog including names of vegetables in Malayalam and beautiful in Malayalam.

Learning Malayalam with Ling language lessons has never been as easy. See you next time.