Introduction to the Dravidian languages

The majority of the Dravidian languages are concentrated in southern and central India, spreading south from the Vindhya Mountains across the Deccan Plateau all the way to Cape Cormorin. Tamil, the best known of the Dravidian languages, belongs to the South Dravidian subgroup. It is first recorded in a lithic inscription in a form of Asokan Brahmi script conservatively dated to c.254 bce. Modern Telugu has four regional dialects in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, northern, southern, eastern and central. It is also spoken in Karnataka, Orissa, Tamil Nadu and as far away as Kerala. The North Dravidian languages include Brahui, Malto and Kurux. Spoken by nearly 2 million people, Kurux comprises several dialects spoken in India, Bangladesh and, recently, in…