The Dravidian languages

Author(s)

• Steever, Sanford B.

Bibliographic Information

The Dravidian languages

edited by Sanford B. Steever

（Routledge language family descriptions）

Routledge, 1998

• : HB
• : pbk

Note

Includes bibliographical references and index

Description and Table of Contents

Volume

: HB ISBN 9780415100236

Description

The Dravidian language family is the world's fourth largest with over 175 million speakers across South Asia from Pakistan to Nepal, from Bangladesh to Sri Lanka as well as having communities in Malaysia, North America and the UK. Four of the languages, Tamil, Kannada, Malayalam and Telugu are official national languages and the Dravidian family has had a rich literary and cultural influence. This authoritative reference source provides unique descriptions of 12 of these languages, covering their historical development alongside discussions of their specialised linguistic structures and features. Each chapter combines modern linguistic theory with traditional historical linguistics and a uniform structure allows for easy typological comparison between the individual languages. Two further chapters provide general information about the language family - the introduction, which covers the history, cultural implications and linguistic background, and a separate article on Dravidian writing systems. This volume includes languages from all 4 of the Dravidian family's subgroupings: South Dravidian e.g. Tamil, Kannada; South Central Dravidian e.g. Telugu, Konda; Central Dravidian e.g. Kolami; North Dravidian e.g. Brahui, Malto. Written by a team of expert contributors, many of whom are based in Asia, each language chapter offers a detailed analysis of phonology, morphology, syntax and followed by a list of the most relevant further reading to aid the independent scholar. The Dravidian Languages will be invaluable to students and researchers within linguistics and will also be of interest to readers in the fields of comparative literature, South Asian studies and Oriental studies.

Table of Contents

Introductory Chapter Sanford Steever, USA 1. Dravidian Scripts William Bright, USA 2. Old Tamil Thomas Lehmann, Germany 3. Modern Tamil E Annamalai, Tokyo University (visiting) and Sanford Steever, USA 4. Kannada Sanford Steever, USA 5. Old Telugu P Ramanarasimham, India 6. Telugu Bh Krishanmurti, India 7. Gondi Sanford Steever, USA 8. Konda Bh Krishnammurti, India and Brett A Benham, USA 9. Brahui Josef Elfenbein, Germany 10. Kolami P S Subramanyam, Annamalai University, India 11. Malto Sanford Steever, USA 12. Tulu DNS Bhat, India 13. Gadaba Peri Bhaskararao, Japan Index

Volume

: pbk ISBN 9780415412674

Description

The Dravidian language family is the world's fourth largest with over 220 million speakers. This authoritative reference is ideal both as an introduction to the language family and for linguists looking for new information, as well as for readers with a general interest in Dravidian and Indic culture. It contains twelve descriptions of the individual languages written by internationally recognized experts, as well as discussions about the internal structure of the language in relation to morphology, phonology, parts of speech, syntax and lexicon.

Table of Contents

Introductory 1. Dravidian Scripts 2. Old Tamil 3. Modern Tamil 4. Kannada 5. Old Telugu 6. Telugu 7. Gondi 8. Konda 9. Brahui 10. Kolami 11. Malto 12. Tulu 13. Gadaba Index

by "Nielsen BookData"

Details

• NCID: BA34129340
• ISBN:
  • 0415100232
  • 9780415412674
• LCCN: 97009133
• Country Code: uk
• Title Language Code: eng
• Text Language Code: eng
• Place of Publication: London ; New York
• Pages/Volumes: xvii, 436 p.
• Size: 25 cm
• Classification:
  • LCC : PL4601
  • DC21 : 494
  • NDC8 : 829.6
• Subject Headings:
  • LCSH : Dravidian languages
• Parent Bibliography ID:
  • BA20683431