Proto-Dravidian Origin Of South Indian Languages

South Indian languages, particularly Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Malayalam, share a number of common root words due to their common Dravidian linguistic ancestry. These languages have evolved from Proto-Dravidian, leading to words with shared origins.

Examples in general vocabulary:

"Water": nīr in Tamil and also in Malayalam, nīru in Kannada and also in Telugu.

"Eye": kaṇ in Tamil and also in Malayalam, kaṇṇu in Kannada and also in Telugu.

"Stone": kal in Tamil and also in Malayalam, kallu in Kannada and also in Telugu.

"Hand": kai in Tamil and also in Malayalam, kai in Kannada and also in Telugu.

"Dog": nāy in Tamil, nāyi in Malayalam, Kannada and Telugu.

"Horse": kudirai in Tamil, kudure in Kannada, kudira in Malayalam and also in Telugu.

Words related to nature and environment:

"Forest": kāṭu in Tamil and also in Malayalam, kāḍu in Kannada and also in Telugu.

"Sea": kaḍal in Tamil and also in Malayalam, kaḍal in Kannada, and kaḍali in Telugu.

"Moon/Month": tingaḷ in Tamil and Malayalam, tingaḷu in Kannada and also in Telugu.

Words related to human relationships:

"Son": magan in Tamil and Malayalam, magan in Kannada, magan in Telugu.

"Daughter": makal in Tamil and also in Malayalam, magalu in Kannada, and also in Telugu.

Words related to actions and concepts:

"To protect": kāpāṭru in Tamil, kāpāḍu in Malayalam, kāpāḍu in Kannada, and kāpāḍu in Telugu.

"Decision": tīrpu in Tamil, tīrpu in Malayalam, tīrpu in Kannada, and also in Telugu.

The core meaning and structure of these root words are recognisable across the languages.

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