Linguistic convergence: Indo-Aryanization of Dravidian languages

It is well known that over three millennia of language contact on the Indian sub-continent has resulted in the convergence of linguistic features of the four language families of the area. A major part of this ongoing process is the adaptation of Indo-Aryan characteristics by the twenty-three or so Dravidian languages. The present paper is an attempt to study the various aspects of this phenomenon in broad outline. Following the introduction, the language contact situation between Sanskrit, Prakrit, and the modern Indo-Aryan languages on the one hand, and the literary and non-literary Dravidian languages on the other, is described. Next, variation in the nature and extent of Indo-Aryanization both within and across the Dravidian languages is outlined. Section 4 deals with the impact of Indo-Aryan on Dravidian phonology, morphology, lexicon and syntax; this is followed by a discussion of the processes of nativization of borrowed elements. Section 6 describes the sociolinguistic implications of Indo-Aryanization, especially the emergence of the manipravala style, the reinforcement of caste dialects and diglossia, and language attitudes. The conclusion raises some issues concerning the role of Indo-Aryanization in the evolution of Dravidian languages.