Can Beary, Tulu, Malayalam, and Kodava speakers understand each other and Dravidian languages such as Gondi, Brahui, Kurukh, Kui, Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, and others? In this episode we showcase some of the similarities and test the degree of mutual intelligibility between Tulu, Beary, Malayalam, and Kodava. Instead of a list of words and sentences, Abdul Rahiman (Beary speaker), Prithuesh (Kodava speaker), Mayoor (Tulu speaker), and Vivek (Malayalam speaker) will each read statements/paragraphs in their respective languages to see how well they can understand one another.
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Dravidian languages are primarily spoken in southern India and northern Sri Lanka, with smaller numbers elsewhere. There are many Dravidian languages and their roots go back to ancient times. Telugu (తెలుగు), Tamil (தமிழ்), Kannada (ಕನ್ನಡ) and Malayalam (മലയാളം) are the Dravidian languages with the most speakers. Other Dravidian languages with large populations include Tulu (ತುಳು / തുളു), Gondi (గోండీ), Brahui (براهوئی), which is spoken in the Balochistan region of Pakistan and Afghanistan, Kurukh (குடுக்கு / কুড়ুখ / କୁଡ଼ୁଖ), Beary (ಬ್ಯಾರಿ ಬಾಸೆ), Kui (କୁଇ), Kodava (ಕೊಡವ), Koya (కోయా / କୋୟା / कोया), and many others.
Just like their languages, the culture and history of Dravidian people is very ancient. Going back to the third century BCE, many Dravidian empires began to form and have a major amount influence outside the region linguistically and culturally. Empires such as the Chera, Chola, Pandyan, Chutu, Rashtrakuta, Vijayanagara, Pallava, Chalukya, Hoysala, and Kingdom of Mysore. The cultural influence extended to southeast Asia and locally developed scripts such as Grantha and Pallava script induced the development of many native scripts such as Khmer, Javanese Kawi, Baybayin, and Thai. Dravidian culture is unique and can be visibly noticed through traditional clothing, cuisine, music, architecture, literature, and much more. Although each region in South India will have it own distinct forms, there are similarities that can be found all across. For instance, similarities in the cuisines include the presence of rice as a staple food, the use of lentils and spices, dried red chilies and fresh green chilies, coconut, and native fruits and vegetables including tamarind, plantain, snake gourd, garlic, and ginger.
Dravidian languages have long literary traditions, with Tamil having the earliest recorded ones. Tamil literature has a classical tradition of its own which is very rich and spans more than two thousand years. Among the many historical works, the five Tamil epics Jivaka-chintamani, Cilappatikaram, Manimekalai, Kundalakesi and Valayapathi are together known as The Five Great Epics of Tamil Literature. The earliest known literary work in Malayalam is Ramacharitam, an epic poem written by Cheeraman. The Kannada language is usually divided into three linguistic phases: Old (450–1200 CE), Middle (1200–1700 CE) and Modern (1700–present) and its literary characteristics are categorized as Jain, Lingayatism and Vaishnava—recognizing the prominence of these three faiths in giving form to classical expression of the language, until the advent of the modern era. Telugu literature also contains many masterpieces, including historical ones such as Andhra Maha Bhagavatamu (Pothana Bhagavatam) by Pothana (బమ్మెర పోతన), Basava Purana, Panditaradhya charitra, Malamadevipuranamu and Somanatha Stava by Palkuriki Somanatha, Sumati Satakam by Baddena Bhupaludu, Kanyasulkam by Gurajada Apparao, Gayopakhyanam by Chilakamarti Lakshmi Narasimham, and many others!
All in all, Dravidian languages and people have a very rich history. The modern conception of the Proto-Dravidian language, which is based on reconstruction, is believed to have been spoken in the 4th millennium BCE, and began forming into various branches around the 3rd millennium BCE.
