North Dravidian language
- noun
- Specialized
:
idioma dravídico del norte
- The North Dravidian language group includes lesser-known tongues like Kurukh and Malto.
Examples
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Brahui is a prominent North Dravidian language spoken in Pakistan.
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Revitalization efforts are underway to preserve several North Dravidian language dialects.
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Linguists study how the North Dravidian language family differs from its southern counterparts.
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The North Dravidian languages include several unique dialects.
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Linguists study how the North Dravidian language family differs from its southern counterparts.
-
Revitalization efforts are underway to preserve several North Dravidian language dialects.
-
The North Dravidian language group includes lesser-known tongues like Kurukh and Malto.
Synonyms
A group of Dravidian languages spoken in eastern India, like Kurukh and Malto
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning is directly compositional: 'north' (geographic modifier) + 'Dravidian' (language family) + 'language' yields a Dravidian language spoken in the northern subgroup or region. This geographic + family-name + language pattern is regular and cross-linguistically common, so a B1 learner who knows the constituents can infer the meaning.
Etymology
The name North Dravidian language may come from a simple image: a small group of Dravidian speakers who lived farther north than most of their family, like relatives who moved away but kept the same speech. So today it means the 'northern' part of the Dravidian language family, including languages such as Brahui, Kurukh and Malto.
