Old Malayalam

Old Malayalam, inscriptional language found in Kerala from c. 9th to c. 12th century AD, is the earliest attested form of Malayalam.[1][2] The language was employed in several official records and transactions (at the level of the Chera Perumal kings as well as the upper-caste village temples).[1] Old Malayalam was mostly written in Vatteluttu script (with Pallava/Southern Grantha characters).[1]

Old Malayalam
പഴയ മലയാളം
Old Malayalam (Vattezhuthu script)
PronunciationPaḻaya Malayāḷam
RegionKerala
EraDeveloped into Middle Malayalam by c. 13th century
Early form
Vatteluttu script (with Pallava/Southern Grantha characters)
Language codes
ISO 639-3–
GlottologNone

The existence Old Malayalam is sometimes disputed by scholars.[3] They regard the Chera Perumal inscriptional language as a diverging dialect or variety of contemporary Tamil.[3]

History

The start of the development of Old Malayalam from a western dialect of contemporary Tamil can be dated to c. 7th - 8th century AD.[4][1][5] It remained a west coast dialect until c. 9th century AD or a little later.[6][4]

The formation of the language is mainly attributed to geographical separation of Kerala from the Tamil country[6] and the influence of immigrant Tulu-Canarese Brahmins in Kerala (who also knew Sanskrit and Prakrit).[1] Old Malayalam was called "Tamil" by the people of south India for many centuries.[7]

The later evolution of Old Malayalam is visible in the inscriptions dated to c. 9th to c. 12th century AD.[8][9]

Differences from contemporary Tamil

Although Old Malayalam closely resembles contemporary Tamil it also shows characteristic new features.[10] Major differences between Old Malayalam (the Chera Perumal inscriptional language) and contemporary inscriptional/literary Tamil of the Tamil country are[1]

  • Nasalisation of adjoining sounds
  • Substitution of palatal sounds for dental sounds
  • Contraction of vowels
  • Rejection of gender verbs

Old Malayalam was at first mistakenly described by scholars as "Tamil", then as "the western dialect of Tamil" or "mala-nattu Tamil" (a "desya-bhasa").[1][11]

Literary compositions

There is no Old Malayalam literature preserved from this period (c. 9th to c. 12th century AD).[3] Some of the earliest Malayalam literary compositions appear after this period.[8][9]

These include the Bhasa Kautiliya and the Ramacaritam.[12] The Bhasa Kautiliya is generally dated to a period after 11th century AD.[1] Ramacaritam, which was written by certain Ciramakavi who, according to poet Ulloor S. P. Iyer, was Sri Virarama Varman, a king of Travancore from AD 1195 to 1208.[12] Ramacaritam is regarded as "the first literary work in Malayalam".[6] According to Hermann Gundert, who compiled the first dictionary of the Malayalam language, Ramacaritam shows the 'ancient style' of the Malayalam language.[13]

References
  1. Narayanan, M. G. S. (2013). Perumals of Kerala. Thrissur: CosmoBooks. pp. 380–82.
  2. Ayyar, L. V. Ramaswami (1936). The Evolution of Malayalam Morphology (1st ed.). Trichur: Rama Varma Research Institute. p. 3.
  3. Freeman, Rich (2003). "The Literary Culture of Premodern Kerala". In Sheldon, Pollock (ed.). Literary Cultures in History. University of California Press. pp. 445–46.
  4. Karashima, Noburu, ed. (2014). A Concise History of South India: Issues and Interpretations. New Delhi: Oxford University Press. pp. 152–53.
  5. Krishnamurti, Bhadriraju. "Malayalam language". Encyclopædia Britannica.
  6. Krishnamurti, Bhadriraju. "Encyclopædia Britannica".
  7. Sheldon, Pollock (2003). "Introduction". Literary Cultures in History. University of California Press. p. 24.
  8. Menon, T. K. Krishna (1939). A Primer of Malayalam Literature. Asian Educational Services. ISBN 9788120606036.
  9. Baby, Saumya (2007). L. V. Ramaswami Aiyar's Contributions to Malayalam Linguistics: A Critical Analysis (PDF). Department of Malayalam, Sree Sankaracharya University of Sanskrit.
  10. Narayanan, M. G. S. (1972). Cultural Symbiosis in Kerala. Kerala: Kerala Historical Society. p. 18.
  11. Veluthat, Kesavan (2018). "History and Historiography in Constituting a Region: The Case of Kerala". Studies in People's History. 5 (1): 13–31. ISSN 2348-4489.
  12. Aiyer, Ulloor S. Parameshwara (1990). Kerala Sahitya Caritram. Trivandrum: University of Kerala.
  13. Gundert, Hermann (1865). Malayalabhasha Vyakaranam.


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