Proto-Dravidian


Proto-Dravidian is the linguistic reconstruction of the common ancestor of the Dravidian languages. 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.

History

As a proto-language, the Proto-Dravidian language is not itself attested in the historical record. 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.

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

Consonants

Proto-Dravidian has been reconstructed as having the following consonant phonemes :
LabialDentalAlveolarRetroflexPalatalVelarGlottal
Nasal*m*n̪*n*ɳ*ɲ
Plosive*p*t̪*t*ʈ*c*k
Fricative*ɭ
Flap*r
Approximant*v*l*ɭ*j

The alveolar stop *ṯ developed into an alveolar trill in many daughter languages. The stop sound is retained in Kota and Toda. Malayalam still retains the original stop sound in gemination. In Old Tamil it took the enunciative vowel like the other stops. In other words, *ṯ did not occur word-finally without the enunciative vowel.
Velar nasal *ṅ occurred only before *k in Proto-Dravidian. 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.
The glottal fricative *h has been proposed by Bh. Krishnamurthi to account for the Old Tamil Aytam and other Dravidian comparative phonological phenomena.
The Northern Dravidian languages Kurukh, Malto and Brahui cannot easily be derived from the traditional Proto-Dravidian phonological system. McAlpin 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-DravidianLate Proto-Dravidian
Proto-Kurukh-MaltoBrahui
*c*c*c
*kʲ*c*kk
*k*k*kk
*q*k*qx
k / _i

Speakers

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 of the Dravidian language family.
According to Dorian Fuller, 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.
According to Franklin Southworth, 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:
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: