Indian Antiquary Vol 62

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

Page 60

DRAVIDIC PROBLEMS
[MARCH, 1933
This fact is, in my opinion, confirmed by (a) the phonetic features attending the production of the sound in Tamil, and (b) the existence in Gôndi of a parallel secondary growth of & genuine aspirate.
[E] PHONETIC PROCESSES INVOLVED IN THE PRODUCTION OF THE AYDAM.
We have already seen that the voiceless mouth-fricatives (involving a wide separation of the vocal chords) and the genuine glottal aspirate are very closely related, and that the former may easily change into the latter (through the incorporation of the breath-current from the glottal region) in circumstances favouring the tendency to confer upon the mouthfricatives an individuality and stability. We have seen above that the production of the secondary aspirate in different instances of different Dravidian dialects always involves a mouth-fricative stage. So far as the Tamil aydam is concerned, let us note that
(a) it occurs after short initial syllables only; (6) it crops up before surds only; (c) it is accompanied by a certain degree of higher accent in the syllable of which
it forms part, as Vinson has observed when he remarks that a definitely trochaic
or spondaic value is given to words containing the dydam. These facts are of particular significance in the explanation of the phonetic processes involved :--
(i) The initial generation (under the influence of accent) of an unstable mouth-fricative
corresponding to the surd and immediately before this surd. (ii) The conversion of this mouth-fricative into the aspirate as a result of the
tendency (under the influence of the strong accent) to stabilise the mouthfricative, whatever its original value may have been, i.e., whether it was [F]
before -p, or [0] before -t, or (o] before -c, or (x] before -k. [A] We shall take up the typical instance of you, ahdu (that). The common form of the word is adu; but where it is accented in the first syllablo as in ahladuppu that is an oven), etc., the approach to the surd - generates initially a corresponding mouth-fricative (6) immediately before t, which [6] under the influence of the accent assumes a secondary aspirate value through the incorporation of a current of breath issuing through the widely separated vocal chords.
It would be interesting in this connection to note that the structure of ancient disyllabic bases of Tamil is intimately connected with the matras of the several sourds, and with accent generally. Bases with short vowels in radical positions followed by geminated consonants or consonant groups have only a short enunciative vowel [u] at the end. This sound decribed as opplw geri kut't'riyalugaram by the Tamil grammarians has only the value of a half mátra. The instances of mut t'raydam given above come directly in this class ; for the terminal vowel has been described by the grammarians themselves as the short enunciative [ru]. In cases where the radical vowel, though short, is followed by a single consonant, the terminal vowel is not the enunciative lutt'riyalugaram (u), but the full [u] described as mut't'riyalugaram. When the radical vowel is long in old elementary Tamil bases, the immediately following consonant is single, and the final vocalic sound is only [u].
kattu (to join, attach together) → kat + fui shku (steel)
1. eh + ku adu (goat)
→ + du padu (to fall)
→ pad + [u] The distinct individuality of the dydam is thus made oloar.