What is the oldest language in Kerala?
Old Malayalam
Old Malayalam, inscriptional language found in Kerala from c. 9th to c. 13th century AD, is the earliest attested form of Malayalam.
How old Malayalam language is?
Malayalam was the west coast dialect of Tamil until about the 9th century ce. Geographically… Malayalam evolved either from a western dialect of Tamil or from the branch of Proto-Dravidian from which modern Tamil also evolved. The earliest record of the language is an inscription dated to approximately 830 ce.
When did Malayalam language originated?
Malayalam, one among the Dravidian languages, most likely originated as a split from Tamil in even more ancient times and became an independent language by AD 9th century. Today Malayalam is spoken by almost 38 million people. Different opinions exist on the script of Malayalam language.
Where did Malayalam language originated?
Among the four Dravidian languages, Malayalam was one of the last evolved languages and was derived from Tamil, which is one of the oldest languages known to the world. The majority of speakers come from the south Indian state of Kerala and from the Lakshadweep Islands (Laccadives) from the west coast of India.
Is Tamil older than Malayalam?
The Sangam works can be considered as the ancient predecessor of Malayalam. Some scholars however believe that both Tamil and Malayalam developed during the prehistoric period from a common ancestor, ‘Proto-Tamil-Malayalam’, and that the notion of Malayalam being a ‘daughter’ of Tamil is misplaced.
Is Malayalam older than Tamil?
The closest relative of Tamil is Malayalam. Until the 9th century, Malayalam was a dialect of Tamil. Later these two developed as separate languages, and the process of separation was completed sometime in 14th century. The Tamil language and its literature are as old as literature of the Sanskrit language.
Which language is closest to Malayalam?
Malayalam (മലയാളം), should not to be confused with Malay, a language spoken in Malaysia. It belongs to the Southern branch of the Dravidian language family. Although closely related to Tamil, Malayalam is more influenced by Sanskrit than Tamil.
Is Malayalam a rare language?
This low degree of perceptual difference is what makes this distinction quite rare cross linguistically; Dutta adds that only a handful of languages in the entire world feature this. Of these, Malayalam is the most widely spoken with over 35 million speakers, and the only one widely used for written purposes.
When did Malayalam language become a separate language?
Malayalam started to develop as a separate language from the 13th century onwards. It’s the major language of Kerala and Lakshadweep. While ‘Vattezhuthu Script’ was the script used for Malayalam from 9th century onwards, the modern script of Malayalam Language evolved from the ‘Grandha Script’ which came into existence by the 16th century.
Where does the origin of Malayalam come from?
One of the most conservative ideas in that Malayalam originated from Sanskrit. Some scholars believe that Malayalam developed from ancient Prakrit. There is another school of thought who says that tribes living in the forests spoke an independent language mixed with the Dravidian language and got transformed over the years to become Malayalam.
How many people speak Malayalam language in India?
Malayalam, one among the Dravidian languages, most likely originated as a split from Tamil in even more ancient times and became an independent language by AD 9th century. Today Malayalam is spoken by almost 38 million people. Different opinions exist on the script of Malayalam language.
Which is the first literary work in Malayalam?
Ramacaritam is regarded as “the first literary work in Malayalam”. According to Hermann Gundert, who compiled the first dictionary of the Malayalam language, Ramacaritam shows the ‘ancient style’ of the Malayalam language. For the first 600 years of the Malayalam calendar, Malayalam literature remained in a preliminary stage.
