🇮🇳 Malayalam Interpreter

You need a Malayalam interpreter when a document issued in Kerala or Lakshadweep has to be submitted in Georgia, when a Georgian paper has to be sent to a family living in Kerala or to a local authority there, or when personal and business correspondence has to pass accurately between the two languages. TARGMANEBI prepares translations from Malayalam into Georgian and from Georgian into Malayalam and, where needed, for notarization.

What makes a Kerala document special is that one sheet brings together two languages, the name of the local self-government body, a registration number, a QR code or security code, and a form of the family name that may be written quite differently in the passport. That is why the work starts with a look at the structure of the sheet, not with copying the text straight away.

From Malayalam into Georgian and from Georgian into Malayalam

The first direction is needed most often for the papers of students, workers and families who have come from Kerala: a birth or marriage certificate, a school certificate, a village office certificate, a property deed or a medical record. The second direction is used when a text drawn up in Georgia has to be read by a person living in Kerala in their native language - for example, the contents of a power of attorney, a doctor's report or a letter from an educational institution.

The style is determined by the function of the document. In a civil certificate the main thing is to carry over the fields and numbers unchanged, in a legal text - the exact wording of the obligations, and in a personal letter - natural, clear language that will not seem foreign to a Malayalam-speaking reader.

Malayalam: Kerala, Lakshadweep and the Malayali diaspora

Malayalam is a Dravidian language and is used mainly in the state of Kerala. Kerala's Official Languages Act of 1969 provides for Malayalam and English in the state's official business, which explains why a large share of the certificates issued there are bilingual. Tamil-speaking and Kannada-speaking minorities also live in some districts of the state; if a document contains Tamil text, see also the Tamil interpreter page.

On most of the Lakshadweep islands a local variety of Malayalam, Jeseri, is widespread, while on Minicoy island people speak a separate language, Mahl, which is close to Dhivehi of the Maldives. Many Keralites work or study outside the state, especially in the Persian Gulf countries, so a Kerala document often reaches Georgia by way of another country and may already bear traces of certification by another state.

The Malayalam script: chillu letters and the old orthography

Malayalam has its own script. It belongs to the Brahmic family of scripts, but visually it is completely different from Devanagari: it has no top line, the letters are rounded, and the joining of consonants creates many ligatures. Special signs are the so-called chillu letters - ൻ ർ ൽ ൾ ൺ - forms of a consonant without a vowel, which often occur at the end of a word and directly affect the correct reading of a name.

Old handwritten records and old printed forms use the traditional orthography, in which some vowel signs merge with the consonant, while newer texts write the same signs separately. Misreading a single sign on a faded copy can change a name or the name of a village, so on such a sheet a word is checked against its whole context and against the parallel English entry. In modern certificates the numerals are, as a rule, the ordinary ones, although in old papers you may also come across Malayalam numerals.

A bilingual certificate: when English is enough and when Malayalam is needed

India's nationwide documents - the passport, the PAN and many university diplomas - are issued mainly in English or in an English-Hindi form. For such a document a translation from English is enough, which we explain in detail on the English interpreter page, while the specifics of text filled in in Devanagari are described on the Hindi interpreter page.

Knowledge of Malayalam becomes decisive for state-level and local-level papers: a panchayat or municipality certificate, a village office certificate, an old property deed, a handwritten register extract, a letter from a religious institution. On such a sheet the English part sometimes contains only the field headings, while the actual data - the address, the house name, a note - is written in Malayalam. Translating only the English part would then lose important information.

Which Kerala documents are translated?

General information on individual document types is given on the birth certificate translation, school certificate translation and transcript of grades translation pages. Below are the details that set Kerala forms apart.

Birth and death certificates: K-SMART and Sevana

In Kerala, births and deaths are registered by the local self-government body - the grama panchayat (ഗ്രാമ പഞ്ചായത്ത്), the municipality or the corporation, where the function of registrar is performed by the relevant official. The legal basis is India's Registration of Births and Deaths Act of 1969 and Kerala's corresponding Rules of 1999. In samples issued by panchayats, the name of the issuing body, the fields and the data are written in Malayalam and English together.

Digital services in Kerala changed in stages. Old records were kept in the Sevana system, and from 1 January 2024 K-SMART came into operation - a platform created by the Information Kerala Mission for the Local Self Government Department, whose first modules include the registration of births, deaths and marriages. A digitally signed PDF may have a verification number or a QR code; in the translation these elements are reflected by a description, while the code itself must remain uncovered.

Separate attention is needed for a birth that was registered without the child's name, with the name added later, and for notes on delayed registration. The translation repeats exactly what is written on the sheet and does not fill an empty field from another document.

Marriage certificates in Kerala and religious certificates

Since 29 February 2008, a marriage concluded in Kerala, whatever the religious rite, is registered under the Kerala Registration of Marriages (Common) Rules, 2008 in the grama panchayat, municipality or corporation where the marriage took place. The certificate issued is Form IV of these Rules, and it can also be verified online. The certificate states the spouses' details, the date and place of the marriage, the registration number and the signature of the local registrar.

In addition, families often keep certificates issued by a church, a mosque committee or a temple, and sometimes a marriage is registered under the Special Marriage Act. These are different documents from different issuers, so in the translation their titles and the names of the bodies must be carried over in such a way that the receiving party does not confuse them. In Georgia, the state registration certificate, rather than a letter from a religious institution, is sometimes exactly what is asked for to confirm a marriage - clarify this in advance.

The village office and e-District: certificates typical of Kerala

In Kerala's revenue system, the village office (വില്ലേജ് ഓഫീസ്) and the taluk office issue certificates that are also processed through the e-District portal: the income certificate, the nativity certificate (certificate of native residence), the relationship certificate (certificate of kinship), the family membership certificate (certificate of family composition), the possession certificate and the legal heir certificate. Such a certificate has a number and a security code with which its authenticity is checked on the portal.

The Georgian title of these certificates has to be chosen carefully. For example, a nativity certificate is not a document proving citizenship, and a family membership certificate does not establish a right of inheritance. The translation conveys what the specific body confirms, without any additional legal conclusion. Such certificates are often needed in matters of inheritance, family reunification and financial checks.

Kerala names: initials, the house name and the passport

In Kerala, the way a name is built differs by community and by family. In some families the place of the surname is taken by the house name - വീട്ടുപേര് - elsewhere by the father's name, and some people do not use a surname at all. Initials before the name are common, standing for the house name or the father's name. After marriage, a woman may use her husband's name instead of a surname.

Because of this, one and the same person may be written with initials in a school certificate, in a spelled-out form in the passport, and differently again in the Aadhaar and the PAN. In the translation, initials are not expanded arbitrarily: if the document has only a letter, the letter stays in the translation as well. The Georgian form is based on the Latin spelling in the passport, so when ordering it is best to send the passport's biographical page as well. The 12-digit Aadhaar number, the alphanumeric PAN code and the passport number are carried over unchanged.

SSLC, Plus Two and documents of Kerala universities

In Kerala, the final examination of the tenth grade is called the SSLC (Secondary School Leaving Certificate) and is conducted by Kerala Pareeksha Bhavan, while the examinations of the twelfth grade, i.e. Plus Two, are conducted by the Directorate of Higher Secondary Education (DHSE). SSLC certificates have also been published in DigiLocker. A school certificate, as a rule, also states the pupil's date of birth and other personal data, which is reflected in full in the translation.

At university level, semester mark lists, a consolidated mark list, a provisional certificate and a degree certificate are issued. According to NORKA Roots, semester mark lists are accepted for attestation, while a consolidated sheet and a transcript are not. This affects which sheet should be translated from the attested original. For the general rules of diploma translation, see the diploma translation page.

Students from Kerala in Georgia and recognition of diplomas

Indian students study at Georgia's medical universities, including students from Kerala. During admission, residence or study you may need translations of the SSLC and Plus Two certificates, the NEET score sheet, the birth certificate and the passport. The university and the relevant agency decide themselves which document is required in the original, which with an apostille and which as a notarized translation.

In Georgia, questions of the recognition of foreign education are dealt with by the National Center for Educational Quality Enhancement (NCEQE). The translation is part of the recognition procedure, but it does not establish academic equivalence - that is decided by the competent body; for details, see the recognition of foreign diplomas page. After graduation the opposite direction is often needed as well: preparing a Georgian diploma and transcript of grades in English for Indian agencies.

Land and property: Encumbrance Certificate, thandaper and Kollavarsham

In the property matters of a Kerala family you often come across the Encumbrance Certificate issued by the sub-registrar's office of the Registration Department, which lists the registered transactions for a specific period, and the record of the Revenue Department's thandaper (തണ്ടപ്പേര്), which is linked to the land tax account. The functions of these two documents differ, and they must not be confused with each other in the translation.

Property deeds abound in registration numbers, survey numbers and re-survey numbers, the names of villages and taluks, and local units of area, for example the cent. In old family papers you may come across a date in Kollavarsham (കൊല്ലവർഷം), i.e. in the Malayalam calendar. The translation keeps the date of the original; a conversion to the Gregorian calendar may be added only at your request and as a separate note.

Medical documents: from the hospital to the Ayurvedic clinic

A medical package received from Kerala may combine a discharge summary drawn up in English, notes handwritten in Malayalam and a report from an Ayurvedic clinic containing Sanskrit or Malayalam names of traditional preparations and procedures. Such a package is often needed to continue treatment, for insurance, or to confirm a state of health during studies.

The translator does not replace a traditional term with a modern pharmacological equivalent: the name is carried over by transliteration, with a short explanation where needed. Diagnoses, doses, units and the dates of examinations are checked against the original, and unclear handwriting is not filled in by guesswork - at such a place a better copy is requested or a note is made that the text is illegible.

Bank and employment papers and papers from work in the Gulf countries

The working history of many Keralites spans several countries, so one case may bring together a statement from a Kerala bank, an NRE or NRO account certificate, a letter from an employer in a Gulf country, a salary certificate and a KSFE chitty receipt. Each of them has its own terminology, and in the Georgian translation the type of account, the currency and the period must be shown exactly.

Indian amounts are often written with this grouping: 1,00,000 and not 100,000. During translation, the figures are checked for their meaning in the original, so that a comma in a different place does not distort the amount. Currency conversion is not part of the translation unless you order it separately.

Apostille: state certification, NORKA Roots and the MEA

India has been a party to the Hague Apostille Convention since 14 July 2005, and Georgia since 14 May 2007, so an Indian public document can be submitted in Georgia with an apostille if the receiving body asks for it. The apostille is issued by India's Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), but before that the document has to be certified by the competent state authority - the MEA relies on the signature of the state's designated signatory and is not responsible for the content of the document.

In Kerala, an important role in this process is played by NORKA Roots - the state company of the Department of Non-Resident Keralites' Affairs. According to NORKA Roots, non-educational documents, for example a birth or death certificate, are certified through the state Home Department, educational certificates through a separate authentication, and then the document is sent for the apostille. According to the MEA's official page, NORKA Roots is authorized to submit documents for attestation and apostille at the Thiruvananthapuram regional office. According to NORKA, only documents issued in Kerala are processed this way.

The procedure changes over time, so the current rule should be checked in official sources before submission. As a rule, the apostille is placed on the original first and the translation is prepared after it, so that the text of the apostille is translated too. For details, see the apostille page.

Notarized translation in Georgia

For the official use of a foreign-language document in Georgia, a translation is usually prepared on which a notary certifies the translator's signature. The notary confirms neither the authenticity of the Kerala document nor the content of the translation - the notary's act concerns the translator's signature. The origin of the document is confirmed by the apostille, while responsibility for the accuracy of the translation lies with the translator. For details of the procedure, see the notarized translation page.

In the case of a bilingual Kerala certificate, the notarial package binds the copy of the original, the translation and the translator's signature into a single document. If the original has an apostille, it becomes part of the package and is translated as well. In the case of a digital PDF, it has to be established in advance whether the receiving body will accept a printed copy.

Georgian documents for use in Kerala

When a Georgian certificate, court decision or real estate extract has to be submitted in India, first find out in which language the recipient needs it. Many Indian agencies and banks accept an English translation, while a Malayalam version is needed more often when the text has to be read by a family member, a local body or a private person.

When translating from Georgian into Malayalam, the names of Georgian agencies are carried over by transliteration, with the English form in brackets where needed, so that a reader in Kerala can identify the body. For a Georgian public document to be used in India, the apostille is obtained from the competent Georgian authority, and the translation is, as a rule, prepared after it.

Quality control and key terms

Before completion, the names, initials, house names, dates, numbers, amounts, addresses and seals are checked. If several documents belong to one case, a single list of names and places is created, so that one and the same village or family does not end up in different Georgian forms on different sheets. We work on the same principle with Bengali and Punjabi documents.

Turnaround time and the work process

At TARGMANEBI, the translation of a clear, standard document is usually ready the same or the next day. This is a typical turnaround time, not a guarantee: a handwritten property deed, a record drawn up in the old orthography or a multi-page medical package takes more time. Notarization and obtaining an apostille are separate stages, and the time for the apostille depends on the relevant authorities in India.

The work proceeds like this: first we establish which languages are on the sheet and for what purpose you need the translation, then we prepare the text, compare the names with the passport, and finally check the numbers and dates in a second reading.

How do I order a Malayalam translation?

Malayalam translation in Tbilisi and online

The office is located in Tbilisi, at 118 Davit Aghmashenebeli Avenue, but the review of the document and the start of the work are also possible online - it makes no difference whether you are in Georgia, in Kerala or in one of the Gulf countries. Sending the file in advance reduces waiting on site and lets us spot a defective copy or a missing page in time.

When taking a photo, place the sheet on a flat surface, in daylight, so that all four corners are visible and the fine lines of the chillu letters and ligatures do not blur. A multi-page package is best sent as one PDF file, in the correct order.

Frequently asked questions