Dravidian

Dravidian refers to a language family and to the ethnolinguistic groups that speak its languages. The Dravidian languages are primarily spoken in southern India, with smaller communities in parts of eastern and central India, Sri Lanka, and among the South Asian diaspora. The family is one of the oldest in the Indian subcontinent, and its speakers have a long history of literature and cultural tradition. Major Dravidian languages include Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, and Malayalam.

Geographic distribution and languages: The majority of Dravidian language speakers live in the Indian states of Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, and Kerala. Other Dravidian languages include Tulu, Kodava, Gondi, and Kui, among others. Tamil has a classical literary tradition dating to ancient Sangam literature, while Telugu, Kannada, and Malayalam also maintain rich literary histories.

Linguistic characteristics and classification: Dravidian languages are predominantly agglutinative and typically exhibit subject–object–verb order with postpositions. They share a number of phonological features, including a set of retroflex consonants. The family is commonly divided into several branches (for example Northern, Central, Southern, and South-Central Dravidian), though internal classifications are debated and continue to evolve with research.

History and culture: The Dravidian language family has contributed significantly to literature, education, film, and music in southern India. The term Dravidian was popularized in the 19th century by linguists; ongoing scholarly work investigates the origins and relationships of Dravidian languages within the wider context of South Asian linguistics.