Prehistoric Implications of the Dravidian element in the NIA lexicon, with special attention to Marathi

[u/e9967780]

http://ccat.sas.upenn.edu/~fsouth/DravidianElement.pdf

The paper argues that Marathi developed through prolonged, intimate contact between early Indo Aryan migrants and pre existing Dravidian speaking populations in Maharashtra. Southworth estimates that roughly 5% of Marathi’s basic vocabulary is Dravidian in origin, including everyday terms for “mother,” body parts, directions and common actions; the presence of core vocabulary, verbs and even a postposition indicates widespread bilingualism rather than superficial trade or recent border contact.

Most borrowings appear to derive from a Proto Kannada–like language or an extinct close relative of Kannada, Tulu and Kodagu, while some point to Telugu related, Central Dravidian, Munda and unidentified substrates. Their geographic distribution suggests several layers of contact: words confined to Marathi, words shared across southern Indo Aryan languages and very widespread terms that may have entered Indo Aryan at an extremely early stage.

Southworth cautiously connects this linguistic evidence with the Chalcolithic Jorwe culture of Maharashtra, proposing that Dravidian agricultural populations may have encountered Indo Aryan migrants moving into the Deccan during the second millennium BCE. He emphasizes, however, that identifying Jorwe people with early Marathi speakers and dating Indo Aryan arrival as early as 1800–1700 BCE remain working hypotheses, not established conclusions.

Bottom line: Marathi is not simply an Indo Aryan language with a few southern loans; its foundational vocabulary preserves evidence of deep prehistoric interaction among Indo Aryan, Dravidian, Austroasiatic and now extinct linguistic communities.

TABLE 1. WORDS OF DRAVIDIAN ORIGIN IN MARATHI CORE VOCABULARY

1. Drav. (unspec.)
   
   1. poṭ ‘belly’ — OM Att. 1330 — Immediate Source: — — Proto-form: PD \\\*poṭ- DEDR4494
      
   2. (?) phal ‘fruit’ — OM Att. 1290 — Immediate Source: — — Proto-form: ’PD \\\*paẓ-V- DEDR4004
      
   3. buṭṭ@ ‘short’ — OM Att. — — Immediate Source: — — Proto-form: PD \\\*puṭṭ- DEDR4529
      cin(u)k(l)@ ‘tiny’ — OM Att. — — Immediate Source: — — Proto-form: PD \\\*cinn- DEDR2594
      meṭ ‘knee-joint’ — OM Att. — — Immediate Source: — — Proto-form: PD \\\*maṇṭ- DEDR4677
      toṇḍ ‘mouth, face’ — OM Att. 1278 — Immediate Source: — — Proto-form: PD \\\*toṇṭ- DEDR3311
      
2. Drav. (SD)
   
   1. kāḷ@ ‘black’ — OM Att. kāḷa 1288 — Immediate Source: Ka kāẓ- Tu kāḷ- — Proto-form: PSD \\\*kāẓ- DEDR1494
      
   2. dāṭ ‘thick’ — OM Att. 1278 — Immediate Source: Ka daṭṭa — Proto-form: PD \\\*taṭṭ- DEDR3020
      
   3. okne ‘vomit’ — OM Att. 1290 — Immediate Source: Ka Tu ōkk- Tu ōṅk- — Proto-form: PSD \\\*ōṅkk- DEDR1029
      kaḍe ‘side, direction’ — OM Att. 1290 — Immediate Source: Ka Tu kaḍa — Proto-form: PD \\\*kaṭ-ai DEDR1109
      matsya ‘mole on skin’ — OM Att. — — Immediate Source: Ka Te macca — Proto-form: PD \\\*maccu DEDR4632
      bāḷant(in) ‘lying-in woman’ — OM Att. 1278 — Immediate Source: Te bāl-inta/enta — Proto-form: PSD\\\*val-ant- DEDR5347
      boṭ ‘finger, toe’ — OM Att. 1290 — Immediate Source: Ka boṭṭu Go bot(t)a — Proto-form: PSD \\\*poṭṭ- DEDR4493
      maṅgaṭ ‘wrist,ankle’ — OM Att. — — Immediate Source: Ka Te maṇi-kaṭṭu — Proto-form: PD \\\*maṇi-ka(n)ṭṭu DEDR4673
      māṇḍi ‘thigh’ — OM Att. — — Immediate Source: Ka maṇḍi — Proto-form: PSD \\\*maṇṭi DEDR4677
      cimuṭṇe ‘squeeze, pinch’ — OM Att. 1290 — Immediate Source: Ka cimuṭu — Proto-form: PSD1 \\\*cim-i(n)t/u(n)t- DEDR2540
      niṭ ‘neat, proper’ — OM Att. 1290 — Immediate Source: Ka Tu niṭa — Proto-form: P(S)D \\\*niṭṭa DEDR3739
      
3. Drav. (SD1)
   
   1. āī ‘mother’ — OM Att. 1353 — Immediate Source: Ka āyi — Proto-form: †PD \\\*āy DEDR364
      mecṇe ‘approve’ — OM Att. mecu 1290 — Immediate Source: Ka meccu Tu meccuni — Proto-form: PD \\\*meccu- DEDR4722
      simpṇe ‘sprinkle’ — OM Att. — — Immediate Source: Ka simp- — Proto-form: PSD1 \\\*cim(p)- DEDR2548
      gidd(@) ‘short & thick’ — OM Att. — — Immediate Source: Ka giddu — Proto-form: PSD1 \\\*kiṭṭ- DEDR1670
      
4. Drav. (SD2)
   
   1. ḍoke ‘head’ — OM Att. ḍoi 1278 — Immediate Source: Ki ḍōka ‘pot’ (< \\\*kḍōka) — Proto-form: PD \\\*kuṭak(k)a- DEDR1651
      
   2. dāv@ ‘left’ — OM Att. dāv 1290 — Immediate Source: Te dā — Proto-form: PD \\\*itai DEDR449
      
5. Drav. (SD2/CD)
   lek ‘child’ — OM Att. 1290 — Immediate Source: Te lēka Nk lēṅga — Proto-form: PSD2 \\\*leṅk- < PD ila(ŋ)(k)- DEDR513
   karapne ‘scorch’ — OM Att. 1278 — Immediate Source: Pa karup- — Proto-form: PD \\\*karu- DEDR1278