Indian Antiquary Vol 62

Author(s): Richard Carnac Temple, Charles E A W Oldham, S Krishnaswami Aiyangar, Devadatta Ramkrishna Bhandarka
Publisher: Swati Publications

Page 167

AUGUST, 1933 )
INITIAL FRICATIVES AND AFFRICATES OF DRAVIDIAN -
155
II.
THE LIP-FRICATIVE V[A] Distribution.
A marked cleavage is noticeable among the dialects. While Tamil, Malayalam, Kúi, Telugu and Gôndi show almost exclusively the fricative v. initially, the other dialects, Kannada, Tuļu, Kurukh and Bråhui, show b- instead of v. in initial positions of corresponding words.
Tamil and Malayalam completely fight shy of initial b- in native words. In KV and Telugu, the usual rule favours v., but in a very small number of words 6. appears on agcount of the influence of certain phonetic factors capable of being defined in each case. Initial b. in Gôndi native words is confined to a few interrogatives, where b. is a secondary development.
[B] The phonotic values of the Dravidian fricative v-.
Though the old Tam. grammars describe the sound as a lip-teeth one, in Tamil and Malayalam the usual value given to it is only that of a bilabial, where the lips remain far moro apart than for [w] and make only a slight movement towards each other. There is a slight rounding of the lips also, though never to the extent that we find in the enunciation of English (w).
While the uneducated masses use only v. in Kannada and Telugu, educated speakers sometimes bring out the lip-teeth sound [v] by raising the lower lip towards the upper row of teeth. This [v] does not however possess the tenseness associated with English [v]
The voiceless varieties [F] and [f] are not heard in Dravidian except in Toda and in Cochin State Böya.
The fricative v should be distinguished from the dorsal glide 0, which characteristically appears in connection with dorsal vowels in Dravidian. While there is an appreciable forward and upward movement of the lips in the production of the full bilabial v, this movement is only very slight in the production of the glide.
This glide appears in initial and medial positions of Dravidian words in connection with the dorsal vowels a, u, o.
[C] Occurrence of v..
Tamil v- appears only before the front vowels - and -e and before the vowel - with a front tonality,
Words beginning with vu- or vo- are absent in Tamil, though words beginning with u or (and a also have the dorsal glide o. incorporated initially in actual speech.
Malayaļam : The remarks made above are true of Malayalam also.
These two dialects have so great an aversion to initial 6- that Sanskrit words with initial b. are adapted with initial u. or more commonly p-. For example:-Mal. vályam for Skt. bályam (childhood); Tam. válamma! for Skt. balamba, a name ; Tam. putpudam for Skt. budbuda, etc.
Telugu : This dialect shows v. in most cases where v- appears in Tamil and Malayalam. In few a instances b. appears - Tel.
Tam.-Mal. bandi (cart)
vandi benga (sorrow)
Base veg. belanku (brightness) Base ve! Whether these words are borrowings from Kannada or not, one cannot say owing to the uncertainty surrounding the chronological history of many Dr. forms like these. If they are really native in Telugu, one can only suggest that the nasal sounds in these words