Proto-Dravidian language
Proto-Dravidian is the linguistic reconstruction of the common ancestor of the Dravidian languages.[1] It is thought to have differentiated into Proto-North Dravidian, Proto-Central Dravidian, and Proto-South Dravidian, although the date of diversification is still debated.[2]
| Proto-Dravidian | |
|---|---|
| Reconstruction of | Dravidian languages |
| Region | possibly Northwestern India or West Central India |
| Era | ca. 3rd–4th m. BCE |
| Lower-order reconstructions | |
| Part of a series on |
| Dravidian culture and history |
|---|
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| Portal:Dravidian civilizations |
History
As a proto-language, Proto-Dravidian is not itself attested in historical records. Its modern conception is based solely on reconstruction. It is suggested that the language was spoken in the 4th millennium BCE, and started disintegrating into various branches around 3rd millennium BCE.[3]
The origin and territory of the Proto-Dravidian speakers is uncertain, but some suggestions have been made based on the reconstructed Proto-Dravidian vocabulary. The reconstruction has been done on the basis of cognate words present in the different branches (Northern, Central and Southern) of the Dravidian language family.[4]
According to Dorian Fuller (2007), the botanical vocabulary of Proto-Dravidian is characteristic of the dry deciduous forests of central and peninsular India. This region extends from Saurashtra and Central India to South India. It thus represents the general area in which the Dravidians were living before separation of branches.[4]
According to Franklin Southworth (2005), the Proto-Dravidian vocabulary is characteristic of a rural economy based on agriculture, animal husbandry and hunting. However, there are some indications of a society more complex than a rural one:[5]
- Words for an upper storey and beam
- Metallurgy
- Trade
- Payment of dues (possibly taxes or contributions to religious ceremonies)
- Social stratification
This evidence is not sufficient to determine with certainty the territory of the Proto-Dravidians. These characteristics can be accommodated within multiple contemporary cultures, including:[5]
- 2nd and 3rd millennium BCE Neolithic-Chalcolithic cultures of present-day western Rajasthan, Deccan and other parts of the peninsula.
- Indus Valley civilization sites in Saurashtra (Sorath) area of present-day Gujarat.
- Asko Parpola identifies Proto-Dravidians with the Indus Valley Civilization (IVC) and the Meluhha people mentioned in Sumerian records. According to him, the word "Meluhha" derives from the Dravidian words mel-akam ("highland country"). A few loan words identified in Sumerian such as the words for ivory and sesame are considered to be derived from Proto-Dravidian and spread from IVC to Mesopotamia due to trade.[6][7]
Phonology
Vowels
Proto-Dravidian contrasted between five short and long vowels: *a, *ā, *i, *ī, *u, *ū, *e, *ē, *o, *ō. The sequences *ai and *au are treated as *ay and *av (or *aw)[8]
Consonants
Proto-Dravidian has been reconstructed as having the following consonant phonemes (Subrahmanyam 1983:p40, Zvelebil 1990, Krishnamurthi 2003):
| Labial | Dental | Alveolar | Retroflex | Palatal | Velar | Glottal | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nasal | *m | *n̪ | *n | *ɳ | *ɲ | (*ŋ) | |
| Plosive | *p | *t̪ | *t | *ʈ | *c | *k | |
| Fricative | *ɭ (*ṛ, *r̤) | (*h) | |||||
| Flap | *ɾ | ||||||
| Approximant | *ʋ | *l | *ɭ | *j |
The alveolar stop *ṯ developed into an alveolar trill /r/ in many daughter languages. The stop sound is retained in Kota and Toda (Subrahmanyam 1983). Malayalam still retains the original (alveolar) stop sound in gemination (ibid). In Old Tamil it took the enunciative vowel like the other stops. In other words, *ṯ (or *ṟ) did not occur word-finally without the enunciative vowel (ibid).
Velar nasal */ŋ/ occurred only before *k in Proto-Dravidian (as in many of its daughter languages). Therefore, it is not considered a separate phoneme in Proto-Dravidian. However, it attained phonemic status in languages like Malayalam, Gondi, Konda and Pengo because the original sequence *ṅk was simplified to *ṅ. (Subrahmanyam 1983)
The glottal fricative *h has been proposed by Bh. Krishnamurthi to account for the Old Tamil Aytam (Āytam) and other Dravidian comparative phonological phenomena (Krishnamurthi 2003).
The Northern Dravidian languages Kurukh, Malto and Brahui cannot easily be derived from the traditional Proto-Dravidian phonological system. McAlpin (2003)[9] proposes that they branched off from an earlier stage of Proto-Dravidian than the conventional reconstruction, which would apply only to the other languages. He suggests reconstructing a richer system of dorsal stop consonants:
| Early Proto-Dravidian | Late Proto-Dravidian (Proto-Non-North Dravidian) | Proto-Kurukh-Malto | Brahui |
|---|---|---|---|
| *c | *c | *c | |
| *kʲ | *c | *k | k |
| *k | *k | *k | k |
| *q | *k | *q | x k / _i(ː) |
Numerals
Vocabulary
Crop plants
Below are some crop plants that have been found in the Southern Neolithic complex of Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh, along with their Proto-Dravidian or Proto-South Dravidian reconstructions by Franklin Southworth (2005). In some cases, the proto-form glosses differ from the species identified from archaeological sites. For example, the two Southern Neolithic staples Brachiaria ramosa and Setaria verticillata respectively correspond to the reconstructed Proto-Dravidian forms for Sorghum vulgare and Setaria italica as early Dravidian speakers shifted to millet species that were later introduced to South India.[10]
Pulses Common name Scientific name Reconstruction level Proto-form Gloss of proto-form horsegram Macrotyloma uniflorum Late Proto-Dravidian *koḷ horsegram mung bean Vigna radiata Late Proto-Dravidian *pac-Vt/Vl mung bean urad Vigna cf. mungo; Vigna trilobata Late Proto-Dravidian *uẓ-untu, *min(t) urad hyacinth bean Lablab purpureus Proto-Tamil *ava-rai Dolichos lablab pigeonpea Cajanus cajan Late Proto-Dravidian *tu-var pigeonpea
Millets and related grasses Common name Scientific name Reconstruction level Proto-form Gloss of proto-form browntop millet Brachiaria ramosa Late Proto-Dravidian *conna-l sorghum bristly foxtail Setaria verticillata Late Proto-Dravidian *kot-V Setaria italica sawa millet Echinochloa cf. colona yellow foxtail Setaria pumila little millet Panicum sumatrense kodo millet Paspalum scrobiculatum Proto-South Dravidian *(v)ār/ar-Vk pearl millet millet Pennisetum glaucum Proto-South Dravidian *kam-pu bulrush millet finger millet Eleusine coracana Proto-South Dravidian *ira(k) ragi
Large cereals Common name Scientific name Reconstruction level Proto-form Gloss of proto-form barley Hordeum vulgare wheat Triticum Late Proto-Dravidian ? *kūli wheat/rice rice Oryza sp. Late Proto-Dravidian ? *(v)ar-iñci rice
Other food/crop plants Common name Scientific name Reconstruction level Proto-form Gloss of proto-form jujube Zizyphus sp. Late Proto-Dravidian *irak- jujube fig Ficus sp. Late Proto-Dravidian *cuv- fig java plum cf. Syzygium cumini Late Proto-Dravidian *ñēr-al jambu globe cucumber Cucumis cf. prophetarum luffa cf. Luffa cylindrica Late Proto-Dravidian *pīr flax Linum usitatissimum Proto-South Dravidian *ak-V-ce cotton Gossypium sp. Proto-South Dravidian *par-utti okra Abelmoschus sp. parenchyma fragments Early Proto-Dravidian *kic-ampu
Not identified archaeologically in the Southern Neolithic Common name Scientific name Reconstruction level Proto-form Gloss of proto-form onion/garlic Allium sp. Early Proto-Dravidian *uḷḷi eggplant Solanum sp. Early Proto-Dravidian *vaẓ-Vt sesame sesame Sesamum indicum Late Proto-Dravidian *nū(v)- sugarcane Saccharum sp. Early Proto-Dravidian *cet-Vkk hemp Cannabis sp. Late Proto-Dravidian ? *boy-Vl
Basic vocabulary
Basic vocabulary of Proto-Dravidian selected from Krishnamurti (2003):[11]
gloss Proto-Dravidian ‘one’ *on-ṯu ‘one’ (adj.) *ōr-/*or-V- ‘two’ *īr/*ir-V ‘three’ (adj.) *muH-/*mū- ‘four’ (adj.) *nāl/*nal-V- ‘five’ (adj.) *cay-m- ‘six’ (adj.) *caṯ-V ‘seven’ (adj.) *eẓ-V ‘eight’ (adj.) *eṇ ‘nine, 9/10’ *toḷ-/*toṇ- ‘ten minus one’ *on-patV ‘ten’ (adj.) *paH- ‘head, hair, top’ *tal-ay ‘cheek’ *kap-Vḷ ‘eye’ *kaṇ ‘eyeball’ *kuṭ-V/*kuṇṭ-V ‘ear’ *kew-i ‘nose, beak’ *mū-nk(k)u/-nc- ‘tooth’ *pal ‘mouth’[12] *wāy ‘hand, arm’ *kay ‘leg, foot’ *kāl ‘heart, kidney’ *kuṇṭV ‘liver’ *taẓ-Vnk-/-nkk ‘milk, breast’ *pāl ‘bone’ *el-V-mp/-nk ‘bone marrow’ *mūḷ-V- ‘excrement’ *piy/*pī ‘house’ *il ‘husband’ *maẓc-a- ‘man, husband’ *māy-tt-/*mā-cc- ‘woman’ *peṇ ‘name’ *pin-cc-Vr ‘sky’ *wān-am ‘sun’ *en-ṯ- ‘sun’ *pōẓ/*poẓ-u-tu ‘moon, moonlight’ *nel-a-nc/-ncc ‘month’ *nel-V- ‘star’ *cukk-V ‘star’ *miHn ‘cloud’ *muy-il ‘water’ *nīr ‘river, stream’ *yĀtu ‘lake’ *kuḷ-am/-Vnc- ‘sea, ocean’ *kaṭ-al ‘stone’ *kal ‘wind’ *waḷi ‘day’ *nāḷ ‘night’ *nāḷ/*naḷ-V- ‘year’ *yAṇṭ-u ‘tree’ *mar-am/-an ‘fruit, pod’ *kāy ‘forest’ *kā(-n), kā-ṭu ‘grass’ *pul ‘thatched grass’ *pīr ‘dog’ *naH-ay/-att/-kuẓi ‘animal, beast, deer’ *mā ‘deer’ *kur-V-c- ‘tiger’ *pul-i ‘rat’ *el-i ‘snake’ *pāmpu ‘meat’ *iṯ-ay-cci ‘meat’ *ū/*uy ‘oil, ghee’ *ney ‘fish’ *mīn ‘louse’ *pēn ‘mosquito’ *nuẓ-Vḷ/-nk- ‘wing’ *ceṯ-ank-/-ankk- ‘black’ *cir- ‘white’ *weḷ/*weṇ ‘red’ *kem ‘sweet’ (adj./n.) *in- ‘sour’ *puḷ- ‘bitter; bitterness’ *kac (> kay) ‘to eat, drink’ *uHṇ-/*ūṇ- ‘to eat’ *tiHn- ‘to come’ *waH-/*waH-r ‘to walk’ *naṭ-a ‘to give’ *ciy-/*cī- ‘to die’ *caH- ~ *ceH- ‘to sleep’ *kū-r- ‘to sleep’ *tuñc- ‘to count’ *eṇ
Notes
- Andronov 2003, p. 299.
- Bhadriraju Krishnamurti (16 January 2003). The Dravidian Languages. Cambridge University Press. p. 492. ISBN 978-1-139-43533-8.
- History and Archaeology, Volume 1, Issues 1-2 p.234, Department of Ancient History, Culture, and Archaeology, University of Allahabad
- McIntosh 2008, p. 353.
- McIntosh 2008, p. 353-354.
- McIntosh 2008, p. 354.
- Mukhopadhyay, Bahata Ansumali. "Proto-Dravidian Languages in Indus Valley Civilization: An Ultraconserved Tooth-word Reveals Deep Linguistic Ancestry, Supports Genetics". Retrieved 18 January 2021.
- Baldi, Philip (1990). Linguistic Change and Reconstruction Methodology. Walter de Gruyter. p. 342. ISBN 3-11-011908-0.
- McAlpin, David W. (2003). "Velars, Uvulars and the Northern Dravidian hypothesis". Journal of the American Oriental Society. 123:3: 521–546.
- Southworth, Franklin C. 2005. Proto-Dravidian Agriculture. Paper presented at the 7th ESCA Round Table Conference, Kyoto, June 2005.
- Krishnamurti, Bhadriraju (2003). The Dravidian Languages. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-1-139-43533-8.
- Note: also edge, beak, mouth of vessel, aperture, blade of sword
References
- Krishnamurti, B., The Dravidian Languages, Cambridge University Press, 2003. ISBN 0-521-77111-0
- Subrahmanyam, P.S., Dravidian Comparative Phonology, Annamalai University, 1983.
- Zvelebil, Kamil., Dravidian Linguistics: An Introduction", PILC (Pondicherry Institute of Linguistics and Culture), 1990
- McIntosh, Jane R. (2008). The Ancient Indus Valley : New Perspectives. Santa Barbara, California: ABC-CLIO. ISBN 9781576079072.
- Andronov, Mikhail Sergeevich (2003). A Comparative Grammar of the Dravidian Languages. Otto Harrassowitz Verlag. ISBN 978-3-447-04455-4.
See also
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Wiktionary has a list of reconstructed Proto-Dravidian forms at Appendix:Proto-Dravidian reconstructions |
External links
- T. Burrow (1984). Dravidian Etymological Dictionary, 2nd Edition. Oxford: Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-864326-5. Retrieved 2008-10-26.