Dravidian languages
Dravidian Languages
Dravidian languages (/drəˈvɪdiən/; drə-VI-dee-ən) are a family of languages spoken mainly in southern India and parts of eastern and central India, as well as in northeastern Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Nepal, Bangladesh, and Bhutan, and overseas in other countries such as Malaysia and Singapore. The Dravidian languages with the most speakers are Telugu, Tamil, Kannada and Malayalam.
Etymology
The English word "Dravidian" was first employed by Robert Caldwell in his book of comparative Dravidian grammar based on the usage of the Sanskrit word drāviḍa in the work Tantravārttika by Kumarila Bhatta. The Sanskrit word drāviḍa is used to denote the geographical region of South India.
Classification
The Dravidian languages are classified in four groups:
- North Dravidian languages: Kurukh, Malto, Brahui
- Central Dravidian languages: Telugu, Kui, Kuvi, Kolami, Nayaki
- South-Central Dravidian languages: Kannada, Tulu, Kodava, Toda, Kota
- South Dravidian languages: Tamil, Malayalam, Irula, Kurumba, Kanniyakumari Malayalam, Bellari
Phonology
Dravidian languages are agglutinative and are known for the complex phonotactics possible in their structure. All Dravidian languages, with the exception of Kurukh and Malto, have a contrast between voiced and unvoiced stops.
Grammar
Dravidian languages are agglutinative languages, which means they use suffixes, prefixes and infixes to indicate grammatical relationships. Dravidian languages also use postpositions rather than prepositions to indicate spatial relationships.
Vocabulary
The Dravidian languages have a rich and varied vocabulary. Many words are derived from the root words by the application of grammatical rules.
Influence
The Dravidian languages have influenced many other language families including the Indo-Aryan languages, Munda languages, and Tibeto-Burman languages.
External links
- Medical encyclopedia article on Dravidian languages
- Wikipedia's article - Dravidian languages
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