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{{Dravidian}}
'''Dravidian studies''' (also '''Dravidology''') is the academic field devoted to the [[Dravidian languages]], literature and [[Dravidian culture|culture]]. It is a superset of [[Tamil studies]] and a subset of [[South Asian studies]].

==Early missionaries==

The 16th to 18th century missionaries who wrote Tamil grammars or lexica include [[Henrique Henriques]], [[Bartholomaeus Ziegenbalg]] and [[Constantino Giuseppe Beschi]].

{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! Dravidologist !! Photo !! Period !! Work
|-
| [[Henrique Henriques]] || || 1520–1600 || [[Portuguese people|Portuguese]] [[Jesuit]] priest and [[missionary]]. After his initial days in [[Goa]] he moved to [[Tuticorin]]. As a missionary he strongly believed that books of religious doctrines should be in local languages. He is considered to be the first European Tamil scholar. He set up the first [[Printing in Tamil language|Tamil press]] and got books printed in Tamil script. The first book printed in Tamil script was "''Thambiran Vanakkam''" (தம்பிரான் வணக்கம்) (1578), a 16-page translation of the Portuguese "[[Doctrina Christiana|''Doctrina Christam'']]". Thereby, Tamil became the first non-European language to be printed on a printing press.{{citation needed|date=February 2014}}
|-
| [[Constantine Beschi]] also called Vīramāmunivar (Tamil: வீரமாமுனிவர்)|| [[File:Beschi Tamil literature.jpg|center|75px]] || 1680 –1742 || Italian Jesuit priest and renowned poet in Tamil language. Authored several Tamil dictionaries: including the "''Chaturakarati''" (சதுரகராதி), a Tamil-Latin and Latin-Tamil-Portuguese dictionary. He translated the famous [[Thirukkural]] epic poem of [[Thiruvalluvar]] (1730) in Latin. His greatest poetical work is the "''[[Thembavani]]''" (தேம்பாவணி) (the Unfading Garland), a poem on the life of [[Saint Joseph]].
|-
| [[Bartholomaeus Ziegenbalg]] || [[File:Ziegenbalg.png|center|75px]] || 1682–1719 || [[Lutheran]] clergy member and the first [[Pietist]] missionary to India. He was among the first Protestant missionaries to arrive in India at the Danish colony of [[Tranquebar]] in 1706. He translated the [[Old Testament|Old]] and the [[New Testament]] into Tamil. In 1708 he compiled "''Bibliothece Malabarke''", listing the 161 Tamil books he had read and described their content.
|-
|}

==Dravidian language hypothesis==
The recognition that the Dravidian languages were a phylogenetic unit separate from Indo-European dates to 1816, and was presented by [[Francis Whyte Ellis|F. W. Ellis]], Collector of Madras, at the College of Fort St. George.

==Nineteenth-century experts==
The 19th century contributors to the field of Dravidology were:

{| class="wikitable sortable"
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! Dravidologist !! Photo !! Period !! Work
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| [[Francis Whyte Ellis]] || || 1777-1819 || Civil servant. First to propose a Dravidian family of languages
|-
| [[C. P. Brown|Charles Phillip Brown]] || || 1798–1884 || Collected 2,106 hand written books in South Indian Languages (now with Chennai Library). He provided three services for the Telugu language: he produced his own works in Telugu; he recovered and discovered old Telugu works; and he printed books in Telugu. He authored numerous translations of Telugu works into English.
|-
| [[Robert Caldwell]] || [[File:Robert Caldwell.jpg|center|75px]] || 1814-1891 || Research into the languages and the history of the Dravidian region.
|-
| [[Hermann Gundert]] || [[File:Gundert, Hermann (1814-1893).jpg|center|75px]] || 1814 – 1893 || Authored Malayalam grammar book, "''Malayalabhaasha Vyakaranam"'' (1859) and a Malayalam-English dictionary (1872). Published thirteen Malayalam books including Bible translations.
|-
| [[Ferdinand Kittel]] || [[File:Kittel, Ferdinand (1832-1903).jpg|center|75px]] || 1832–1903 || Kannada language and the first Kannada-English dictionary of about 70,000 words in 1894.
|-
| [[B. L. Rice|Benjamin Lewis Rice]] || || 1837-1927 || Renowned for his work [[Epigraphia Carnatica]] which contains his study of about 9000 inscriptions found in the Old Mysore area. He published twelve volumes over ten years between 1894 and 1905. He authored "''The History of Mysore and Coorg''" from inscriptions included in the Epigraphia Carnatica.
|-
| [[U. V. Swaminatha Iyer]] || || 1855–1942 || 91 books related to classical Tamil literature. Collected 3,067 paper and palm-leaf manuscripts.
|-
| [[T. R. Sesha Iyengar]] || || 1887-1939 || Dravidologist renowned for his book "''Dravidian India''".
|-
| [[K. A. Nilakanta Sastri]] || [[File:KAN Sastri.jpg|center|75px]] || 1892–1975 || Renowned Dravidologist and prolific historian. Authored 25 historical works mostly on the history of South India.
|-
| [[P. T. Srinivasa Iyengar]] || || 1863–1931 || Noted Dravidologist of the 20th century. Authored numerous works on Tamil and Indian history.
|-
| [[S. Krishnaswami Aiyangar|Sakkottai Krishnaswami Aiyangar]] || || 1871–1946 || Noted for his work in turning around and running the "''Journal of Indian History''" in the 1920s. He authored many historical works on South Indian and Indian history.
|-
| [[V. R. Ramachandra Dikshitar]] || || 1896–1953 || Known for authoring numerous works on Tamil and Indian history.
|-
|}

==Twentieth-century experts==

The noted Dravidologists from the twentieth century are:

{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! Dravidologist !! Photo !! Period !! Work
|-
| [[M. B. Emeneau|Murray Barnson Emeneau]] || || 1904-2005 || Renowned for his work the "''Dravidian Etymological Dictionary''" (1961), written with [[T. Burrow|Thomas Burrow]]. Emeneau studies lesser known languages of the Dravidian family - [[Toda language|Toda]], [[Badaga language|Badaga]], [[Kolami language|Kolami]] and [[Kota language (India)|Kota]]. Emeneau is also credited with the study of areal phenomena in linguistics, with his seminal article, "''India as a Linguistic Area''".
|-
| [[T. Burrow]] || || 1909-1986 || Renowned for his work the "''Dravidian Etymological Dictionary''" (1961), written with Murray Barnson Emeneau. Also known for his work in Sanskrit.
|-
| [[Kamil Zvelebil]] || || 1927–2009 || [[Czechs|Czech]] scholar in Indian literature and Dravidian linguistics. Author of numerous books on Dravidian linguistics and Tamil literature.
|-
| [[Bhadriraju Krishnamurti]] || [[File:Bhadriraju krishnamurti.jpg|center|75px]] || 1928–2012 || Eminent Dravidianist and one of the most respected Indian linguists of his generation. His work "''The Dravidian Languages''" is considered a landmark volume in the study of Dravidian linguistics. His work "''Telugu Verbal Bases''" (1961) is the first comprehensive account of comparative Dravidian [[phonology]]. He is also author of numerous works in Telugu and English on the subject.
|-
|[[Iravatham Mahadevan]]
|
|1930–2018
|Renowned for his work on the decipherment of the [[Tamil-Brahmi]] script. He also published a corpus of the [[Indus script]] and stood by the Dravidian hypothesis.
|-
|}

==Contemporary programs==

The [[Dravidian University]] at [[Kuppam]], [[Andhra Pradesh]]
has created Chairs in the names of Western and Dravidian scholars to encourage research in individual Dravidian languages as well as comparative Dravidian studies:<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20070930225900/http://www.hindu.com/2006/08/26/stories/2006082612880400.htm Dravidian University fellowships], [[The Hindu]], Saturday, Aug 26, 2006</ref>
* [[Robert Caldwell|Bishop Caldwell]]'s Chair for Dravidian Studies
* [[C. P. Brown]]'s Chair for [[Telugu language|Telugu]] Studies
* [[Ferdinand Kittel|Kittel]] Chair for [[Kannada]] Studies
* [[Constanzo Beschi|Constantine Beschi]] Chair for [[Tamil Studies]]
* [[Hermann Gundert|Gundert]] Chair for [[Malayalam]] Studies.

==See also==
* [[Indology]]
* [[Proto-Dravidian]]
* [[Elamo-Dravidian]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==Literature==
*[[Robert Caldwell]], ''Comparative Grammar of Dravidian Languages'' (1856; revised edition 1875).
*{{cite book|title=The Dravidian Languages |author= Bhadriraju Krishnamurti |author-link= Bhadriraju Krishnamurti |year= 2003|publisher=[[Cambridge University Press]]|isbn=0521771110|url= https://books.google.com/books?output=html&ie=ISO-8859-1&id=T7Wv4ncys88C&vid=ISBN0521771110&dq=%22Dravidian+studies%22+tamil&ots=qD_A1RM1T-&pg=RA2-PA17&lpg=RA2-PA17&sig=ptnU0JQTQRpCR44_1aZUzfkiTD0&q=%22Dravidian+studies%22+tamil}}
*Thomas R. Trautmann, ''Languages and nations: the Dravidian proof in colonial Madras'', University of California Press, 2006, ISBN University of California Press, 2006.
*{{cite book|title=Dravidian Studies: Selected Papers |author= Murray Barnson Emeneau |author-link= Murray Barnson Emeneau |year=1994|publisher=[[Motilal Banarsidass]] |isbn=8120808584}}

==External links==
*Dravidian studies in the Netherlands, IIAS newsletter (2005) [http://www.iias.nl/nl/36/IIAS_NL36_21.pdf][http://www.iias.nl/nl/37/IIAS_NL37_21.pdf]
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20070304081448/http://saxakali.com/southasia/dravidian_india.htm Extracts from T.R.Sesha Iyengar's "Dravidian India" by Dr. Samar Abbas, Bhubaneshwar, 4/8/2003]
*[http://www.tamilelibrary.org/teli/tschlr.html Literary Contributions of select list of Tamil Scholars from Overseas]
* [[Roja Muthiah Research Library]]
{{Portalbar|India}}

[[Category:Dravidian studies| ]]
[[Category:Indology]]

Dravidian studies - Revision history

>GreenC bot at 20:04, 21 April 2021