Bhasha (Oct 2022)
Proto-Dravidian Origins of the Kuṛux-Malto Past Stems
Abstract
In the closely related Dravidian languages Kuṛux and Malto, the verbs have lexically determined past stems, formed from the verb bases with various suffixes such as -y, -c, -j, -s, -t, -ṭ and -ḍ. There are also past stems with zero, with or without gemination of the final consonant. The past suffixes *-t, *-tt, *-i, *-c, *-cc and *-nt are reconstructed for Proto-Dravidian, and we examined if the Kuṛux-Malto past stems are explainable from them. We found that some past stems are derived from affixation of Proto-Dravidian *-t. The close distributional resemblance of Kuṛux-Malto -y to South Dravidian *-i(ṉ) suggests their common origin. We also confirmed that the suffixes *-c and *-cc need to be posited for Proto-Kuṛux-Malto, while there are no clear reflexes of the suffixes *-tt and *-nt. Since *-c and *-cc are also found in the converb formation of South-Central Dravidian, they might be a shared innovation. The geminating past, which is probably an innovation of Kuṛux-Malto, gave rise to the new, productive past stem class with zero.
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