Karnataka/KannaDa (was: Karave caste and Kurus)

[RM. Krishnan]

At 01:03 AM 1/11/01 +0000, you wrote:

>Until another example with an -amn > -ann exists, kannADu from
>kammitu- 'fragrance' remains doubtful (at least to me).
>Cf. Even though Tamil poets sang for millennia that
>tamil = 'sweetness', nobody accepts that's the origin of
>the name of the said language.
>
>Regards,
>N. Ganesan
I do not think the meanings of "sweetness" and "fragrance" are the primary
ones. They could be secondary derived ones through usage. To derive the
word "Tamil" or "kannaDa" through these meanings may not lead us anywhere
except to pamper the respective speakers. If these languages are naturally
evolved and not synthetic ones, then such etymologies do not give credit to
the respective speakers.

Looking at the geography of karnAtakA (large plateau with small hills and
raised places) and through early Tamil references, the derivation kal+nAdu
= kan2n2du > kan2n2Da has more plausibility. After all kal originally meant
precisely small hills.

With regards,
RM.Krishnan