South Dravidian languages
Quick Summary
The South Dravidian languages are a branch of the Dravidian language family, spoken primarily in South Asia, particularly in India and Sri Lanka. This group includes major literary languages such as Tamil, Malayalam, and Kannada, which are official languages in their respective Indian states.1
These languages share historical linguistic developments, including sound changes and grammatical structures, influenced by contact with Indo-Aryan languages dating back to the 2nd millennium BCE. While some South Dravidian languages like Tulu have a growing modern literature, others, such as Toda, Kota, Irula, and Kurumba, are spoken by smaller tribal populations and are of significant interest to linguists for preserving ancient phonological distinctions.23
- Dravidian languages
- Dravidian languages - South-Central Dravidian phonological development
- Dravidian languages - The history of the Dravidian languages
- Dravidian languages - South-Central Dravidian languages
- Dravidian languages - South Dravidian languages
- Dravidian languages - South Dravidian phonological development
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Dravidian languagesSouth Dravidian languagesAmong the nonliterary South Dravidian languages, Tulu is spoken by the largest population, some 1.7 million people. Most reside in the Dakshina Kannada district of Karnataka and the Cannanore district of Kerala on the west coast. The Brahman dialect of Tulu isā¦
Read MoreAmong the nonliterary South Dravidian languages, Tulu is spoken by the largest population, some 1.7 million people. Most reside in the Dakshina Kannada district of Karnataka and the Cannanore district of Kerala on the west coast. The Brahman dialect of Tulu isā¦
Read More- Dravidian languagesHistorical development of Dravidian phonology
ā¦in this form in some South Dravidian and South-Central Dravidian languages, but in Tamil and Malayalam the vowel form was initially shifted back to *i and *uāand then shifted again, back to mid-vowels. The vacillation in form has caused the vowel pairs i/e and u/o to lose their audible distinctionā¦
Read Moreā¦in this form in some South Dravidian and South-Central Dravidian languages, but in Tamil and Malayalam the vowel form was initially shifted back to *i and *uāand then shifted again, back to mid-vowels. The vacillation in form has caused the vowel pairs i/e and u/o to lose their audible distinctionā¦
Read More - Dravidian languagesThe nominal system
In contrast, South Dravidian had a three-way distinction in the singular (masculine, feminine, neuter) and a two-way distinction in the plural (human, nonhuman). By innovating a feminine singular *aw-aįø· āsheā (female human), the South Dravidian languages thus restricted the meaning of *a-tu to āitā (nonhuman animate/thing). Inā¦
Read MoreIn contrast, South Dravidian had a three-way distinction in the singular (masculine, feminine, neuter) and a two-way distinction in the plural (human, nonhuman). By innovating a feminine singular *aw-aįø· āsheā (female human), the South Dravidian languages thus restricted the meaning of *a-tu to āitā (nonhuman animate/thing). Inā¦
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