This lesson speaks about the common features underlying the Dravidian languages. It also discusses the features of Tholdravidam or Mooladravidam which is acclaimed to be the source of all Dravidian languages. The lesson explores the close link between Tholdravidam and Tamil.

Dravidian languages are linked by certain common characteristic features. All Dravidian languages are Agglutinative Languages (Ottu Mozhigal). The morphemes (Urubangal) combine with various suffixes (Ottugal) to form new words. The basic vocabulary is common to all Dravidian languages. The pronouns (Moovidapeyargal) are almost similar in all Dravidian languages. Unlike many European languages Tamil and other Dravidian languages do not have relative pronouns (Idapeyargal) such as “who”, “which” and “where”. Again in Tamil and other Dravidian languages Vowels (Uyiroli) are independent phonemic units and rarely do two vowels combine.

Compared to other Dravidian languages, Tamil is relatively pure and has the least number of words from north Indian languages. Tamil is not only the most ancient of Dravidian languages but also abounds in written literature of the highest order. It has a vast vocabulary and retains its originality even today. Tholdravidam which is considered to be the source of all Dravidian languages resembles Tamil in many respects. Most of the phonological, morphological and syntactic features of Tholdravidam have been retained in Tamil. Tamil is therefore hailed as the most important language in the Dravidian family of languages.