Nominations for siblings: Proto-Dravidian reconstruction and borrowability

Anna Smirnitskaya (Institute of Linguistics, Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow / Institute of Oriental Studies, Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow; nyushas@gmail.com)

Journal of Language Relationship, № 21/3-4, 2023 - p.201-223

Abstract: The paper represents a historical analysis of the lexical terms for siblings in Dravidian languages, with special emphasis on the factor of borrowability. It is concluded that borrowings within this lexical subsystem of Dravidian languages must have started primarily from terms for elder siblings (more precisely, from the meaning ‘elder brother’). The preferred scenario eventually resulted in borrowing the entire subsystem, with its following coexistence along with the original subsystem. However, words denoting younger siblings remained more resistant to borrowing; these were the ones that could, in particular, preserve within themselves some of the most archaic linguistic features, such as prefixes of inalienable possession. The evolution of the system of those prefixes is also explored: it is proposed to consider reconstructions *y- 1SG / *n- 2SG / *t- 3SG relevant for the Proto-Dravidian level, while in the North Dravidian subgroup of Kurukh-Malto these were replaced with the more productive oblique forms of personal pronouns (eng- 1SG / ning- 2SG / tang- 3SG).

Keywords: kinship terms, sibling terms, inalienable possession, borrowability, Dravidian languages, etymology, lexical borrowings

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