KirkEvd85074933: cleanup

2026-03-20T17:52:56Z

cleanup

imported>Dqfuller1973: /* References */ added reference already mentioned in entry but not cited.

2021-08-23T11:43:49Z

References: added reference already mentioned in entry but not cited.

New page

{{short description|common ancestor of the Dravidian languages}}
{{infobox proto-language
|name=Proto-Dravidian
|familycolor=Dravidian
|target=[[Dravidian languages]]
|era=ca. 4th–3rd m. BCE
|region= possibly Northwestern India or West Central India
|child1=[[Proto-South Dravidian language|Proto-South Dravidian]]
}}
{{Dravidian}}

'''Proto-Dravidian''' is the [[linguistic reconstruction]] of the common ancestor of the [[Dravidian languages]].{{sfn|Andronov|2003|p=299}} 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.<ref>{{cite book |author=Bhadriraju Krishnamurti |title=The Dravidian Languages |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=54fV7Lwu3fMC&pg=PA492 |date=16 January 2003 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=978-1-139-43533-8 |page=492 }}</ref>

==History==
{{See also|Elamo-Dravidian languages}}

As a [[proto-language]], Proto-Dravidian is not itself attested in historical records. Its modern conception is based solely on [[Linguistic reconstruction|reconstruction]]. It is suggested that the language was spoken in the 4th millennium BCE, and started disintegrating into various branches around 3rd millennium BCE.<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=chvjAAAAMAAJ&q=the+proto-+Dravidian+linguistic+community+disintegrated+at+the+beginning+of+the+4th+millennium+B.+C&dq=the+proto-+Dravidian+linguistic+community+disintegrated+at+the+beginning+of+the+4th+millennium+B.+C&hl=en&sa=X&redir_esc=y History and Archaeology, Volume 1, Issues 1-2] p.234, Department of Ancient History, Culture, and Archaeology, University of Allahabad</ref>

The [[Dravidian people#Origins|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 Dravidian languages|Northern]], [[Central Dravidian Languages|Central]] and [[South Dravidian|Southern]]) of the Dravidian language family.{{sfn|McIntosh|2008|p=353}}

According to Dorian Fuller (2007), the botanical vocabulary of Proto-Dravidian is characteristic of the [[dry deciduous forest]]s of central and peninsular India. This region extends from [[Kathiawar-Gir dry deciduous forests|Saurashtra]] and [[Narmada Valley dry deciduous forests|Central India]] to [[South Deccan Plateau dry deciduous forests|South India]]. It thus represents the general area in which the Dravidians were living before separation of branches.{{sfn|McIntosh|2008|p=353}}

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:{{sfn|McIntosh|2008|p=353-354}}

* Words for an [[storey|upper storey]] and [[beam (structure)|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:{{sfn|McIntosh|2008|p=353-354}}

* 2nd and 3rd millennium BCE Neolithic-Chalcolithic cultures of present-day [[Ahar-Banas culture|western Rajasthan]], [[Deccan Plateau|Deccan]] and other parts of the peninsula.
* [[List of Indus Valley Civilisation sites|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 [[Sumer]]ian records. According to him, the word "Meluhha" derives from the Dravidian words ''mel-akam'' ("highland country").
*[[Loan words]] identified in [[Sumerian language|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.{{sfn|McIntosh|2008|p=354}}<ref name=Bahata>{{cite web | last1 = Mukhopadhyay | first1 = Bahata Ansumali |title = Ancestral Dravidian languages in Indus Civilization: ultraconserved Dravidian tooth-word reveals deep linguistic ancestry and supports genetics | url =https://www.nature.com/articles/s41599-021-00868-w}}</ref>

==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'')<ref>{{cite book | last = Baldi | first = Philip |author-link=Philip Baldi | title = Linguistic Change and Reconstruction Methodology | publisher = Walter de Gruyter | year = 1990 | isbn = 3-11-011908-0 | page = 342}}</ref>

===Consonants===
Proto-Dravidian has been reconstructed as having the following consonant phonemes (Subrahmanyam 1983:p40, [[Kamil Zvelebil|Zvelebil]] 1990, [[Bhadriraju Krishnamurti|Krishnamurthi]] 2003):
{| class="wikitable"
|-
!
! [[Labial consonant|Labial]]
! [[Dental consonant|Dental]]
! [[Alveolar consonant|Alveolar]]
! [[Retroflex consonant|Retroflex]]
! [[Palatal consonant|Palatal]]
! [[Velar consonant|Velar]]
! [[Glottal consonant|Glottal]]
|- align=center
! [[Nasal stop|Nasal]]
| *m
| *n̪
| *n
| *ɳ
| *ɲ
| (*ŋ)
|
|- align=center
! [[Plosive consonant|Plosive]]
| *p
| *t̪
| *t
| *ʈ
| *c
| *k
|
|- align=center
! [[Fricative consonant|Fricative]]
|
|
|
| *ɭ (*ṛ, *r̤)
|
|
| (*h)
|- align=center
! [[Flap consonant|Flap]]
|
|
| *ɾ
|
|
|
|
|- align=center
! [[Approximant consonant|Approximant]]
| *ʋ
|
| *l
| *ɭ
| *j
|
|
|}

The alveolar stop ''*ṯ'' developed into an alveolar trill {{IPA|/r/}} in many daughter languages. The stop sound is retained in [[Kota language (India)|Kota]] and [[Toda language|Toda]] (Subrahmanyam 1983). [[Malayalam language|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''){{Explain|date=August 2021}}.

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 language|Gondi]], [[Konda language (Dravidian)|Konda]] and [[Pengo language|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 language|Kurukh]], [[Malto language|Malto]] and [[Brahui language|Brahui]] cannot easily be derived from the traditional Proto-Dravidian phonological system. McAlpin (2003)<ref>{{cite journal|first=David W.|last=McAlpin|title=Velars, Uvulars and the Northern Dravidian hypothesis|year=2003|journal=Journal of the American Oriental Society|volume=123:3|pp=521–546}}</ref> 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:
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Early Proto-Dravidian !! Late Proto-Dravidian<br>(Proto-Non-North Dravidian) !! Proto-Kurukh-Malto !! Brahui
|- align="center"
| *c || *c || *c ||
|- align="center"
| *kʲ || *c || *k || k
|- align="center"
| *k || *k || *k || k
|- align="center"
| *q || *k || *q || x<br/>k / _i(ː)
|}

==Numerals==
{{main|Dravidian languages#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 staple grasses ''[[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.<ref>Southworth, Franklin C. 2005. ''[https://www.sas.upenn.edu/~fsouth/from_ccat/Proto-DravidianAgriculture.pdf Proto-Dravidian Agriculture]''. Paper presented at the 7th ESCA Round Table Conference, Kyoto, June 2005.</ref>

:{| class="wikitable"
|+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 (bean)|urad]] || [[Vigna mungo|''Vigna'' cf. ''mungo'']]; ''[[Vigna trilobata]]'' || Late Proto-Dravidian || *uẓ-untu, *min(t) || [[urad (bean)|urad]]
|-
| [[hyacinth bean]] || ''[[Lablab purpureus]]'' || Proto-Tamil || *ava-rai || ''[[Dolichos lablab]]''
|-
| [[pigeonpea]] || ''[[Cajanus cajan]]'' || Late Proto-Dravidian || *tu-var || [[pigeonpea]]
|}

:{| class="wikitable"
|+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]]
|-
| [[Setaria verticillata|bristly foxtail]] || ''[[Setaria verticillata]]'' || Late Proto-Dravidian || *kot-V || ''[[Setaria italica]]''
|-
| [[sawa millet]] || [[Echinochloa colona|''Echinochloa'' cf. ''colona'']] || || ||
|-
| [[Setaria pumila|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) || [[finger millet|ragi]]
|}

:{| class="wikitable"
|+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]]
|}

:{| class="wikitable"
|+Other food/crop plants
! Common name !! Scientific name !! Reconstruction level !! Proto-form !! Gloss of proto-form
|-
| [[jujube]] || ''[[Zizyphus]]'' sp. || Late Proto-Dravidian || *irak- || [[jujube]]
|-
| [[Ficus|fig]] || ''[[Ficus]]'' sp. || Late Proto-Dravidian || *cuv- || [[Ficus|fig]]
|-
| [[java plum]] || cf. ''[[Syzygium cumini]]'' || Late Proto-Dravidian || *ñēr-al || [[Syzygium cumini|jambu]]
|-
| [[globe cucumber]] || [[Cucumis prophetarum|''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 ||
|}

:{| class="wikitable"
|+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):<ref name="Krishnamurti-2003">{{cite book |first=Bhadriraju |last=Krishnamurti |title=The Dravidian Languages |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=54fV7Lwu3fMC |date=2003 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=978-1-139-43533-8}}</ref>

:{| class="wikitable sortable" style="font-size: 85%"
! 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’<ref>Note: also ''edge, beak, mouth of vessel, aperture, blade of sword''</ref> || *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==
{{Reflist}}

==References==

*Krishnamurti, B., ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=54fV7Lwu3fMC&pg=PA492&dq=Proto+south+dravidian&hl=en&sa=X&ei=XFnFU-LaKdacugTosIGACQ&ved=0CBoQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=Proto%20south%20dravidian&f=false 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
*Ansumali Mukhopadhyay, B. Ancestral Dravidian languages in Indus Civilization: ultraconserved Dravidian tooth-word reveals deep linguistic ancestry and supports genetics. Humanit Soc Sci Commun 8, 193 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1057/s41599-021-00868-w
* {{cite book |first=Jane R. |last=McIntosh |title=The Ancient Indus Valley : New Perspectives |year=2008 |publisher=ABC-CLIO |location=Santa Barbara, California |isbn=9781576079072 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=1AJO2A-CbccC }}
* {{cite book |first=Mikhail Sergeevich |last=Andronov |title=A Comparative Grammar of the Dravidian Languages |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=vhB60gYvnLgC&pg=PA299 |year=2003 |publisher=Otto Harrassowitz Verlag |isbn=978-3-447-04455-4 }}
*Fuller, D. Q (2007). Non-human genetics, agricultural origins and historical linguistics in South Asia. In M. Petraglia and B. Allchin (eds.) ''The Evolution and History of Human Populations in South Asia''. Springer, Netherlands. Pp. 393-443 <ref>{{Citation|last=Fuller|first=Dorian Q.|title=Non-human genetics, agricultural origins and historical linguistics in South Asia|date=2007|url=https://doi.org/10.1007/1-4020-5562-5_18|work=The Evolution and History of Human Populations in South Asia: Inter-disciplinary Studies in Archaeology, Biological Anthropology, Linguistics and Genetics|pages=393–443|editor-last=Petraglia|editor-first=Michael D.|series=Vertebrate Paleobiology and Paleoanthropology Series|place=Dordrecht|publisher=Springer Netherlands|language=en|doi=10.1007/1-4020-5562-5_18|isbn=978-1-4020-5562-1|access-date=2021-08-23|editor2-last=Allchin|editor2-first=Bridget}}</ref>

==See also==
{{sister project |project=wiktionary |text=[[Wiktionary]] has a list of reconstructed Proto-Dravidian forms at '''''[[Wiktionary:Appendix:Proto-Dravidian reconstructions|Appendix:Proto-Dravidian reconstructions]]'''''}}
*[[Elamo-Dravidian languages]]
*[[Dravidian languages]]
*[[Sanskrit]]

==External links==
*{{cite book |url=https://dsal.uchicago.edu/dictionaries/burrow/index.html |title=Dravidian Etymological Dictionary, 2nd Edition |access-date=2008-10-26 |author=T. Burrow |publisher=Oxford University Press |location=Oxford |year=1984 |isbn=978-0-19-864326-5}}

{{Dravidian languages}}
{{Tamil language}}

[[Category:Dravidian languages|*]]
[[Category:Proto-languages|Dravidian]]
[[Category:Pre-Indo-Europeans]]

Proto-Dravidian language - Revision history

KirkEvd85074933: cleanup

imported>Dqfuller1973: /* References */ added reference already mentioned in entry but not cited.