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Glite Dictionary
South Dravidian language

South Dravidian language

9.9
A group of languages spoken in southern India, like Tamil or Kannada
  • noun
  • Specialized
translation icon : lengua dravídica del sur
  • The South Dravidian languages include Tamil and Kannada.

Examples

  • Tamil is one of the most widely spoken South Dravidian languages in India.

  • Linguists study how the South Dravidian languages have evolved over time.

  • Kannada and Malayalam are both classified as South Dravidian languages.

  • Is Malayalam a South Dravidian language?

  • Kannada and Malayalam are both classified as South Dravidian languages.

  • Linguists study how the South Dravidian languages have evolved over time.

  • Tamil is one of the most widely spoken South Dravidian languages in India.

Synonyms

South Dravidian
vsSouth Dravidian language
  • Specialized
9.5

A group of Dravidian languages spoken in southern India like Kannada, Malayalam, Tamil, and Tulu

is the full phrase that spells out the group rather than the shorter name

Surface Forms

South Dravidian language singular
South Dravidian languages plural

Morphology

South + Dravidian + language

The phrase is compositional: 'Dravidian' names a language family and 'South' simply marks the geographic subgroup, so a learner who knows 'Dravidian' and 'language' can infer it refers to the Dravidian languages of the southern region. Such region + family constructions are cross-linguistically common and follow transparent semantic composition, making the meaning predictable from the parts.

Etymology

South Dravidian language shows a language from the Dravidian group in the south of India, so imagine Tamil, Kannada, Malayalam and Tulu sitting close together at the bottom of a map. That's why it means 'a group of languages spoken in southern India'.