'Evolution of Malayalam' by Anantharamayyar Chandrasekhar (A.C. Sekhar) is an analysis of the grammatical structure of the earliest phase of the Malayalam language. Later half of the 9th C.E. to 12th century C.E. is treated here as the earliest phase represented chiefly by 34 inscriptions viz., 4 belongs to erstwhile Malabar, 5 from erstwhile Cochin state and the remaining are from Travancore state. It is the first linguistic treatise on Malayalam inscriptions. On the whole, this book is an attempt to contribute datas for a historical grammar of Malayalam language. The entire data consists approximately 7000 words which represent the language of nearly four centuries.
The content of this monograph is broadly divided into two parts having chapters on Phonology and Morphology along with an introductory chapter in Part I and Text of inscriptions in the second part. Under the title Phonology, chapters on Orthography, Early old Malayalam phonemes, Phonological features and Sandhi are seen treated. Analysis on Noun bases, Nominal inflexion, Pronoun, Adjectives, Numerals, Verbs, Adverbs, Post position and Syntax are seen in the chapter on Morphology. Appendix to nominal inflections and verbs follows subsequently. Thus 'Evolution of Malayalam' had 16 chapters dealing with different aspects of Malayalam linguistics.
A.C. Sekhar is of the opinion that Malayalam did exist in the speech of the west coast people even before 9th century C.E. Most of the observations arrived in this study concur with the views of L.V. Ramaswami Aiyar. To elucidate the points in discussion A.C. Sekhar is particular in quoting the views of prominent linguist like A.R. Rajaraja Varma, Robert Caldwell, L.V. Ramaswami Aiyar and Hermann Gundert. He is also not reluctant in quoting from ancient grammatical treatises like Tolkappiyam, Lilatilakam etc.
In the discussions on the origin and development of Malayalam language, the question of adding gender suffixes to verbs is a crucial issue even today. There are grammarians who maintained the view that by relinquishing the practice of adding gender suffixes with verbs, Malayalam became an independent language. Likewise, it is opined that Malayalam in its formative period never used gender - number suffixes with the verbs. The present study on inscriptions reveals the fact that there are instances of verbs without personal terminations in the formative period of the Malayalam language. A.C. Sekhar's observation goes like this: 'the evidence of the inscriptions proves that personal endings could not have been exotic in Malayalam and fully justify the view that Malayalam in its early stages had personal endings of the Middle Tamil type, the discarding of which was one of the important features of the evolution of Malayalam Morphology.
The analytical study of early old Malayalam inscription by A.C. Sekhar clearly exposes the linguistic fact that the Malayalam speech forms maintained an individuality of its own even before the period of early inscriptions in Malayalam.
Now International School of Dravidian Linguistics is publishing this dissertation by taking into account the linguistic value of the corpus collected and used. Initially the Decan College Post Graduate Institute, Pune published this book in 1951 along with certain articles of C.R. Sankaran and A.C. Sekhar. The present issue covers only the text of 'Evolution of Malayalam'.
Our sincere thanks to Mr. C. Anantaram, son of Prof. A. Chandrasekhar for giving us the consent for republishing the book 'Evolution of Malayalam'.
1. Scope and purpose of the study:
The following study attempts to present a picture of the Malayalam language as it was during its earliest known period. This period, which has been described as the Early Old Malayalam period, may be said to begin roughly in the last quarter of the ninth century of the Christian era (which coincides with the third quarter of the first century of the Kerala era known as the Kollam era), and end in the first quarter of the thirteenth century of the Christian era (or in the last quarter of the fourth century of the Kollam cra). During this period the speech of Kerala is characterised by a large number of forward developments, particularly in the fields of phonology and morphology. By the end of the fourth century of the Kollam era, the developed forms are so numerously represented as to justify the marking of definite stage in the development of Malayalam with the beginning of the the century. This study which pertains to the earliest phase of Malayalam, herefore, ends with the close of the fourth century of the Kollam era.
. History of Malayalam linguistic studies:
Reviewing the earlier linguistic studies in Malayalam, it should be stated here that GUNDERT, the pioneer of modern Malayalam linguistic studies, has brought together in his grammar published nearly a century ago, considerable material of value for an understanding of the growth and structure of the Malayalam language. Though the main purpose of his grammar is only descriptive, he has, with the scanty material at his disposal, attempted to envisage a few historical perspectives. In more recent times, A. R. Rajaraja VARMA, in his Kerala-paniniyam, has given us a fairly sound general picture of the Malayalam language both in its historical and descriptive aspects.
The discovery of a considerable body of new material, both inscriptional and textual, during the last three decades has enabled the student of language to tackle the evolution of Malayalam speech-forms from stage to stage. Also the rapid advancement of the linguistic and phonetic sciences has rendere necessary the revaluation and readumbration of some of the views expressed by GUNDERT and 'Keralapanini".
Prof. L. V. Ramaswami ATYAR in his numerous papers, and particularly in his monographs on the Phonology and Morphology of Malayalam and in hi masterly analysis and evaluation of the linguistic materials in Lilatilakam (the fourteenth century Sanskrit tract on Malayalam gramınar and poetics). has given us studies of the Malayajam language which are at once historical and descriptive, using most of the new materials available. Prof. K. GODA VARMA has opened up new vistas in the study of Malayalam linguistics by his contribution to the problem of Indo-Aryan loan-words in Malayalam, la while the numerous research papers which have been published in recent times on Malayalam themes and on related speeches, as well as on problems of Comparative Dravidian, have enabled us to understand the historical evolution and affiliation of the Malayalam language from the point of view of modern linguistics.
However, an intensive study of all the dated and definitely datable Malayalam inscriptions and texts is still a desideratum. Only by such a study can we put on a strictly chronological basis the changes which Malayalam has suffered in the course of its evolution since its separation from the parent speech.
The present study, which is intended to form part of such a scheme, was undertaken with a view to find out the exact state of the Malayalam language in its earliest stage to which we have access at present. Since there are no definitely datable texts in the Early Old Malayalam period, the study was confined to inscriptions. An examination of all the available west coast inscriptions revealed that it is only from the ninth century of the Christian era (i.e., from the first century of the Kollam era) that speech-forms which could be described as Malayalam (as distinguished from the inscriptional prose of the adjoining Tamil country) begin to appear in the inscriptions. This does not mean, however, that characteristically Malayalam forms did not exist in the speech of the west coast people before the ninth century: all that the inscriptions prove is that the dialectal forms had not, apparently, gained such currency as to become acceptable in writing.
The material:
34 inscriptions comprising copper and stone records and containing about 7000 words have been selected for the study. These inscriptions cover the whole of the Early Old Malayalam period, that is to say, they cover about four centuries beginning with the last quarter of the thirteenth century. The majority of the inscriptions pertain to temple affairs; but there are three records, viz., the two Kottayam plates of Sthanu Ravi and the Cochin plates of Bhaskara Ravivarman, which contain secular matter of an important nature. The inscriptions as a whole provide a fairly rich variety of linguistic data, though they are by no means enough to write a complete descriptive grammar of Early Old Malayalam.
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