Knowra Dravidian languages Dravidian languages A language family spoken chiefly in southern India, with communities in Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Nepal, and elsewhere. Its major languages include Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, and Malayalam.
South Dravidian languages : A major branch of the Dravidian family that includes Tamil, Kannada, Malayalam, and Tulu. Its languages form the best-known southern cluster within the family.
Proto-Dravidian : The reconstructed ancestral language from which the Dravidian languages descended. It is the common ancestor inferred by comparing the family’s languages.
Tamil language : A Dravidian language with a long literary history, spoken chiefly in Tamil Nadu, Sri Lanka, and diaspora communities. Tamil is a major member of the family with an exceptionally early literary record.
Dravidian movement : A social and political movement in South India associated with Dravidian identity, social reform, and opposition to caste hierarchy. Its name and ideology draw on linguistic and regional identities associated with the family.
South-Central Dravidian languages : A Dravidian branch that includes Telugu, Gondi, and several smaller languages. Telugu belongs to this branch rather than South Dravidian.
Dravidian etymological dictionary : A comparative reference work documenting cognates and reconstructed roots across Dravidian languages. Comparative etymology supplies evidence for shared ancestry and historical sound change.
Telugu language : A South-Central Dravidian language spoken chiefly in the Indian states of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana. Telugu is one of the family’s largest languages by number of speakers.
Anti-Hindi agitations of Tamil Nadu : Protests in Tamil Nadu against efforts to promote Hindi as India’s sole official language or an imposed medium of instruction. Language policy conflicts made linguistic identity politically consequential in southern India.
Central Dravidian languages : A branch of the Dravidian family whose languages include Kolami and Parji. It represents a distinct branch beyond the major southern languages.
Tamil-Brahmi : An early script used to write Tamil, attested in inscriptions from the last centuries BCE. Its inscriptions provide some of the earliest direct evidence for a Dravidian language.
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