I am a native malayalam speaker from Kerala. I suggest you find some Malayali people and start chatting to them. The grammar is a bit tough, and so is the pronunciation. Certain sounds are really hard to make, let alone master. I am not discouraging you. In fact I am very happy that a foreigner is taking interest in my language. Malayalam is certainly a learnable language though complex. Which is exactly why you need a person to talk to over the net, to understand the accent and pronunciation. So don't give up. and good luck. :)

Thanks for my friends, Shan and Dijo ^^ I am so happy to get these answers. I will use these links and learn Malayalam soon..

Hi Aki, You have to learn the Malayalam aplphabets first. Then you can start using some basic words in Malayalam. The link which Shan shared is good. You can learn the alphabets here: http://www.pravasimalayalam.com/alphabets.shtml http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Malayalam_alphabet#Malayalam_letters Some basic usage in Malayalam: http://wikitravel.org/en/Malayalam_phrasebook If you have any doubts in Malayalam, you can ask me. I am from Kerala and happy to help you. I also want to know why you are so interested to learn Malayalam! Happy learning :)

OOps!! posted 3 times???? Crazy Internet or Italki, may be!!

Some online dictionaries might help you (e.g. www.dictionary9.com) for quick translation. Else, the best option is to get a hard copy of Eng - Malayalam (or Japanese - Malayalam) dictionary. You might get started with these basic lessons too... ( http://www.pravasimalayalam.com/part1/part1-1.shtml ), like I am doing of my own for my JLPT N5.... haha ^^. Many of the words used in Malayalam are pure Sanskrit words. Malayalam script (writing) is one of the most ancient ones in the subcontinent, very similar to Thai (Thailand) and Lao (Laos) scripts. In fact, its the other way round. Their scripts were derived from Malayalam script. ...... That's my two pence help for you :) Even I can't read or speak Malayalam although I am from India ...and it's quite natural and common across India. ^^ Wish you all the best in your effort.^^