South Dravidian languages
| South Dravidian | |
|---|---|
| South Dravidian I | |
| Geographic distribution | South India, South Indian diaspora |
| Linguistic classification | Dravidian
|
| Proto-language | Proto-South Dravidian |
| Subdivisions |
|
| Glottolog | sout3138 |
South Dravidian is one of the four major branches of the Dravidian languages family. It includes the literary languages Tamil, Kannada, Malayalam and Tulu, as well as several non-literary languages such as Badaga, Irula, Kota, Kurumba, Toda and Kodava.[1]
Kannada, Tamil and Malayalam are recognized among the official languages of India and are spoken mainly in South India. All three are officially recognized as classical languages by the Government of India, along with Sanskrit, Telugu, and Odia.[2]
Phonological features
Tamil and Malayalam have both retroflex lateral (/ɭ/) and retroflex approximant (/ɻ/) sounds, whereas Kannada has retained only the retroflex lateral. Evidence shows that both retroflex approximant and the retroflex laterals were once (before the 10th century) also present in Kannada. However, all the retroflex approximants changed into retroflex laterals in Kannada later. In Kannada, the bilabial voiceless plosive (/p/) at the beginning of many words has disappeared to produce a velar fricative (/h/) or has disappeared completely. This change is unique to Kannada in the Dravidian family. Tamil does not show this change.
Tamil-Malayalam and Telugu show the conversion of Voiceless velar plosive (/k/) into Voiceless palatal plosive (/c/) at the beginning of the words (refer to comparative method for details). Kannada, however, is totally inert to this change and hence the velar plosives are retained as such or with minimum changes in the corresponding words.
Tulu is characterized by its r/l and s/c/t alternation, for e.g. sarɛ, tarɛ across Tulu dialects compare with Kannada tale. The alveolar plosives became post alveolar affricates or dental plosives, even some of the singular ones which usually becomes a trill in SD and SCD languages, e.g. Tamil oṉṟu, āṟu, Tulu oñji, āji. The retroflex approximant mostly became a /ɾ/ and also /ɭ, ɖ/, e.g. Tamil ēẓu, puẓu, Tulu {ēḷŭ, ēlŭ, ēḍŭ}, puru.[3]
Classification and terminology
The Dravidian languages form a close-knit family. Four subgroups are generally accepted: South Dravidian, South-Central Dravidian, Central Dravidian and North Dravidian.[4][5][6] Most scholars agree that the South Dravidian and South-Central Dravidian branches (called "Tamil-Tulu" and "Telugu-Kui" in Zvelebil 1990:56) are more closely related to each other than to the other branches of the Dravidian languages.[5] For this reason, Krishnamurti suggested the alternative terms South Dravidian I for the former branch and South Dravidian II for the latter.[7]
South Dravidian is classified internally into two subbranches: Tamil–Kannada and Tulu.[8] The languages that constitute the Tamil–Kannada branch are Tamil, Kannada, Malayalam, Irula, Toda, Kota, Kodava, and Badaga and the languages that constitute the Tulu branch are Tulu, Koraga, Kudiya, Bellari.
According to R. C. Hiremath, Director of International School of Dravidian Linguistics in Trivandrum, the separation of Tamil and Kannada into independent languages from the Tamil–Kannada inner branch started with the separation of Tulu in about 1500 BCE and completed in about 300 BCE.[citation needed]
- South Dravidian (Tamil–Tulu, or South Dravidian I)[9][8]
- Tamil–Kannada
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- Tamil languages, including Tamil
- Malayalam languages, including Malayalam
- Irula 11,870 (2011 census)
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- Kodava 113,857 (2011 census)
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- Toda 1,600 (2001 census)
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- Kota 930 (2001 census)
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- Kannada languages, including Kannada and Badaga
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- Tamil–Kannada
References
Citations
- ^ Steever (2019), pp. 5–7.
- ^ "Odia gets classical language status – The Hindu". The Hindu. 20 February 2014.
- ^ Krishnamurti (2003), pp. 127, 146.
- ^ Steever (2019), pp. 5–9, 12.
- ^ a b Kolichala (2016), p. 76.
- ^ Krishnamurti (2003), pp. 19–20.
- ^ Krishnamurti (2003), p. 58.
- ^ a b Zvelebil (1990), p. 56.
- ^ Krishnamurti (2003), p. 21.
Sources
- Kolichala, Suresh (2016). "Dravidian Languages". In Hans Henrich Hock; Elena Bashir (eds.). The Languages and Linguistics of South Asia: A Comprehensive Guide. Berlin/Boston: De Gruyter Mouton. pp. 73–107. ISBN 978-3-11-042715-8.
- Krishnamurti, B. (2003). The Dravidian Languages. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-521-77111-0.
- Steever, Sanford (2019). "Introduction to the Dravidian languages". In Steever, Sanford (ed.). The Dravidian Languages (2nd ed.). Routledge. pp. 1–44. ISBN 978-1-138-85376-8.
- Subrahmanyam, P.S. (1983). Dravidian Comparative Phonology. Annamalai University.
- Zvelebil, Kamil (1990). Dravidian Linguistics: An Introduction. PILC (Pondicherry Institute of Linguistics and Culture).