ABSTRACT
The Dravidian language family, the world’s fourth largest, consists of twenty-five languages spread over the South Asian subcontinent. It has four branches: South Dravidian with Tamil, Malayāḷam, Iruḷa, Koḍagu, Kota, Toda, Badaga, Kuṟumba, Kannadḍa and and Tulu; South-Central Dravidian with Telugu, Goṇḍi, Koṇḍa, Pengo, Manḍa, Kūi and Kūvi; Central Dravidian with Kolami, Naiki, Parji, Ollari and Gadaba; and North Dravidian with Kũṛux, Malto and Brahui. Reports of other languages have appeared, but without without adequate grammars we cannot determine whether these are new independent languages or simply dialects of ones already knowṇ Indu and Āwē have been reported in South-Central Dravidian; Kuruba, Yerava, Yerukula, Kaikuḍi, Korava, Koraga, Bellari and Burgundi in South Dravidian. Certain dialects of Goṇḍi and Kūṛux may prove under closer inspection to be independent languages. The Dravidian languages are spoken by approximately 250,000,000 people.
