Evolution of script and languages in India
Course Code: 313, BTech Final year
Course Instructor: Dr. A. Suneetha Rajesham PhD(Psy)
India is a diverse nation, and this diversity is reflected in
the country's numerous scripts and languages.
The Indian subcontinent has a plethora of scripts, including Brahmi,
Kharosthi, Devanagari, Tamil, Kannad, Malyalam, Telugu and others,
that contribute to its rich linguistic heritage.
The Indus script, the oldest of the early Indian scripts, was
primarily pictographic. The Indus Valley Civilization, which flourished
around 2600 BCE, is the source of this script. However, scholars are
still attempting to comprehend the meaning and purpose of the Indus
script, which has yet to be deciphered
Brahmi script is one of the oldest writing systems, having been used
in the Indian subcontinent and Central Asia during the final centuries
BCE and the early centuries CE.
Some believe that Brahmi was derived from the modern Semitic
script, while others believe it was Indus script.
The Brahmi is the ancestor of all surviving Indic scripts in South East
Asia. It is mostly written from left to right. Brahmi is India's earliest
deciphered script. It started in the third century BCE and was utilized
to compose Prakrit, the language of the ordinary citizens.
The majority of the subsequent Indian scripts are influenced by
Brahmi.
Kharosthi was yet another significant script that emerged
during this time.
It was used to write Gandhari, which was a language spoken
in India's northwest. The Kushan Empire, which ruled over a
vast territory that included parts of India, Central Asia, and
China, also wrote in Kharosthi.
The Nagari, Sharada, and Siddham scripts all descended
from the Gupta script, which descended from Brahmi.
Gupta Script
These scripts gave rise to many of India's most important
scripts, including Devanagari, Gurmukhi script for Punjabi,
Assamese script, Bengali script, and Tibetan script.
All of these descendants of the Brahmi script are referred to
as Brahmic scripts.
◈ The Indian scripts got better over time, and new scripts came
into existence. The development of the Devanagari script is regarded as one
of the most significant developments.
◈ Devanagari started in the eleventh century CE and was basically used to
compose Sanskrit, the old language of the Hindu sacred writings.
◈ However, it later evolved into the script of choice for Hindi, Marathi, and
Nepali, among other Indian languages.
◈ The Tamil script, which is one of India's oldest scripts, is
another significant script. Since at least the third century BCE, Tamil
literature has been rich. The Tamil content is one of a kind in that it has a
different arrangement of characters for each consonant-vowel mix. Because
of this, it is more difficult to master than other scripts and is more complex.
Languages
Indian language development has also been
fascinating. There are numerous languages spoken in
India, each with its own distinct history and
development.
The Indo-Aryan and Dravidian languages of India can be
broadly divided into two groups.
Hindi, Bengali, Punjabi, Gujarati, and other Indo-Aryan
languages are among them.
Malayalam, Tamil, Telugu, and Kannada are the
Dravidian languages.
Other languages such as Koya, Konkini, Gondi, Brahui,
Lambadi are spoken by lesser number of people
Languages
Indian language development has also been fascinating.
There are numerous languages spoken in India, each with its
own distinct history and development.
The Indo-Aryan and Dravidian languages of India can be broadly
divided into two groups.
The Indo-Aryan languages are a branch of the Indo-Iranian
languages in the Indo-European language family. As of the early
21st century, they have more than 800 million speakers, primarily
concentrated in India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Nepal
and Maldives.
It constitutes some of the major languages of northern and
western India such as Hindi, Bengali, Marathi, Gujarati, Punjabi,
Sindhi, Rajasthani, Assamese, Oriya, Pahari, Bihari, Kashmiri,
Urdu, and Sanskrit.
The Dravidian languages are a family of languages spoken by
250 million people, mainly in southern India, north-east Sri
Lanka, and south-west Pakistan.
Dravidian language family is 4,500 years old based on new
linguistic analyses by an international team, including
researchers from the Max Planck Institute for the Science of
Human History in Germany
Dravidian is first attested in the 2nd century BCE, as
inscriptions in Tamil-Brahmi script on cave walls in the
Madurai and Tirunelveli districts of Tamil Nadu.
Four of the Dravidian languages are among the major literary
languages of southern India—Telugu, Tamil, Kannada, and
Malayalam. These all have independent scripts and long
documented histories.
The earliest Indo-Aryan language that was recorded was Sanskrit, the
ancient language of the Hindu scriptures.
It was the language of the old Indian stories like the Mahabharata and the
Ramayana.
The ancient Indian scholars who wrote treatises on a Astronomy,
Mathematics and Medicine and various other topics, also wrote in Sanskrit.
The evolution and history of the Dravidian languages are distinct. Tamil, for
instance, has a long literary history that probably goes back to the third
century BCE. Sangam literature, composed of Tamil poets' poems and songs,
is included in Tamil literature.
On the other hand, Telugu has a long tradition of poetry and literature and
is one of the few Indian languages with its own literary awards.
◈ The emergence of regional scripts is one significant
development in the evolution of Indian scripts. Numerous
Indian dialects have their own contents, for example, the
Gurmukhi script for Punjabi, the Bengali content for Bengali,
and the Gujarati script for Gujarati. These provincial
contents have their novel qualities and are a basic piece of
the social and phonetic personality of the separate locales.
◈ Another significant development is the influence of foreign
languages and scripts on Indian languages. During the
Islamic rule of India, Arabic and Persian scripts were
introduced, and many Indian languages, like Sindhi and
Urdu, were written in these scripts. English, which was
presented during the pilgrim time frame, fundamentally
affects Indian dialects, particularly regarding jargon and
language structure.
◈ The rise of vernacular literature is yet another noteworthy development
in the development of Indian scripts and languages. Literature was
originally written primarily in Sanskrit, the language of the educated
class.
◈ With the ascent of territorial dialects, there was a shift towards forming
writing in these dialects.
◈ This prompted the development of vernacular writing, which in
corporates works like the Tamil incredible Silappatikaram, the Bengali
novel Devdas, and the Marathi play Sangeet Saubhadra.
The standardization and preservation of ancient
texts is another significant development in the
evolution of Indian scripts and languages.
The ancient texts known as the Vedas, Upanishads, and
Mahabharata, all of which were written in Sanskrit, are
among India's literary treasures. The protection of these
texts has been vital for researchers, and endeavors have
been made to normalize their elocution, language
structure, and jargon.
As a result, standardized Sanskrit dictionaries and
grammar books have been developed, which are utilized
in classrooms and universities for language instruction.
THANK YOU
Dr. A. Suneetha Rajesham. PhD.(Psy),
MPhil(Psy); PGDPsyclCoun; PGDNut&Dietetics, Reiki IIIA
Phone: 8008464885
email: suneetharajesham@[Link]