North Dravidian languages


The North Dravidian languages are a branch of the Dravidian languages that includes Brahui, Kurukh and Malto. It is further divided into Kurukh–Malto and Brahui.

Phonological features

Northern Dravidian is characterized by the retraction of Proto Dravidian *k to /q/ before vowels other than /i/ and later spirantizing in Brahui and Kurukh, in return the *c also retracted to /k/ in the same environment.
Initial *w became b likely due to influence from Eastern Indo-Aryan languages. Brahui also has a voiceless lateral which formed after the merge of *ḷ to *l as there are words from both of them but the conditions of the split are not clear.

Classification

The Dravidian languages form a close-knit family. Most scholars agree on four groups, North Dravidian being one of them:
  • North Dravidian
  • *Kurukh–Malto
  • **Kurukh 2.28 million
  • **Malto 159,215
  • *Brahui 2,640,000

    Brahui

Kurukh

is a North Dravidian language spoken by the Kurukh and Kisan people of East India. It is spoken by about two million people in the Indian states of Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, Odisha, West Bengal, Assam, Bihar and Tripura, as well as by 65,000 in northern Bangladesh, 28,600 of a dialect called Uranw in Nepal and about 5,000 in Bhutan. The most closely related language to Kurukh is Malto; together with Brahui, all three languages form the North Dravidian branch of the Dravidian language family.