Linguistic Comparison

Toda is a language of the Dravidian family and can be traced to proto-Dravidian roots. It has been classified as belonging to the following lineage by Ethnologue: Dravidian, Southern, Tamil-Kannada, Tamil-Kodagu, Toda-Kota. However, the language is said to not have many similarities with that of Tamil, Malayalam, Kannada, or Telugu according to Sakthivel (Sakthivel 1976: 26). Neither does Toda have much of a similarity with Sanskrit according to Henry Harkness (Sakthivel 1976: 24).

Toda people are however said to be trilinguals who speak Tamil, Bagada, and Toda. Other authors also provide evidence for the derivation or borrowing of words from other languages like Kota and Bagada due to the proximity of those tribes. The three languages are said to be “mutually intelligible” by Sakthivel since these tribes have practically “lived together for centuries” (Sakthivel 1976: 26). Many authors have tried to show the similarities between the languages, but the closest related language to Toda is Kota (Ethnologue). Kota and Toda are most closely related with 26% similarity. There is evidence that Toda and Kota both share similar features like the lack of palatalization of k- before front vowels, which took place in these languages before the Tamil palatalization (Sakthivel 1976: 26).

According to Sathivel, one of the “most striking features of Toda is the loss of vowels in non-initial syllables” (Sakthivel 1976: 27). This along with the fact that the secondary stem (or S2) expresses the past and non-past tense in Toda are key differences between Toda and the other southern languages (Sakthivel 1976: 27). Toda is also said to be the “only language which retains full working order as part of the past tense formation, the sibilant suffix” (Sakthivel 1976: 27).

Although in many texts, Toda is claimed to be unrelated to Tamil, Tamil is the lingua franca of the region and has much influence on Toda. For example, the fact that Toda speakers are said to be trilinguals, who speak Tamil is fascinating and intriguing as to how Tamil phonology and morphology have influenced and changed Toda over time. Additionally, I hypothesize that perhaps Toda people used Tamil not only as a way to trade and barter, but to integrate into new communities and societies when migrating. Can it be that Toda people are leaving their own communities to seek opportunities elsewhere? Does technological advancement and globalization have an affect on which languages Toda people choose to utilize? Or is it context specific? Even with the existing research, there is still much knowledge to gain and further research to be conducted to ultimately understand more regarding the history of Toda and its relatedness with other languages like Tamil, especially in present day.

According to my knowledge and understanding of Tamil, I have listed a series of Toda vocabulary that are cognates in Tamil as well. I believe that this list provides evidence for the similarities between the sounds in Tamil and those in Toda.

Toda Vocabulary Words Transcribed in IPA with English Glosses and Tamil Equivalent

English	Tamil Equivalent	Toda in IPA
advocate	வக்கீல்	pakiːl
buttermilk	மோர்	moʐ
blue	நீலம்	niːlm
bravery	தைரியம்	toyïrm
brain	மூளை	muːl.y
brass	பித்தளை	pitaːl.
bridge	பாலம்	poːlm
city	பட்டினம்	pot.ïn.m
coconut oil	தேங்காய் எண்ணெய்	tögïnennöy
coffee	காபி	koːpy
cotton	பஞ்சு	ponj
crow	காக்கா	kaːk
curry	கறி	koːrm
drumstick	முருங்கை	murngoːy
earning	சம்பளம்	sambaːry
egg	முட்டை	mut.y
eight	எட்டு	öt.
flower	பூ	puːf
fruit	பழம்	pum
garland	மாலை	moːly
gate	கதவு	keːt.
ghee	நெய்	nïy
goat	ஆடு	oːd.
Goddress Mariamma	மாரியம்மா	moːramdöːw
grass	புல்	pul
green	பச்சை	poč
grey	நரை	nar
hair	முடி	miːr
hand	கை	koy
heel	பதம்	pïd̠es̠p
honey	தேன்	töːn
honey bee	தேனீ	töːnüry
hundred	நூறு	nuːr̠
Indian gooseberry	நெல்லிக்காய்	nis̠koːy
jacktree	பலா	pas̠of
jasmine flower	மல்லிகை	malyfuːf
key	சாவி	soːfy
king	ராஜா	roːʐn
ladder	ஏணி	öːn.y
lamp	விளக்கு	pöɫ.k
lakh	லட்சம்	lačm
knee	முட்டி	miːgmuː
laugh	சிரி	kar̠y
learn	கல்	kaɫ
length	நீளம்	niːl.m
lentil	பருப்பு	parp
life	உயிர்	usïr
lotus	தாமரை	tomïr
lower portion	கீழ்	kiːtal
maternal uncle	மாமா	mumma
minister	மந்திரி	motiːry
nail	ஆணி	oːn.y
name of the month	ஆடி	oːd.y
root	வேர்	pöːr
nest	கூடு	kuːd.
new	புது	puθun
nineteen	பத்தொன்பது	puːn.boθ
ocean	சமுத்திரம்	somduːrm
oil	எண்ணெய்	en.ïy
onion	உள்ளி	uːɫ.y
paddy	நெல்	nes̠
parrot	கிளி	kil.y
pepper	மிளகு	möɫ.x
picture	படம்	pad.m
plough	உழு	us.f
poor	ஏழை	eːly
push	தள்ளு	tol.
rabbit	முயல்	müːs̠
salt	உப்பு	up
sand	மணல்	mon.ïl
sandal wood	சந்தனம்	todon.m
saree	சேலை	seːly
Saturday	சனி	tony
to see	பார்	poːl.
scissors	கத்தரி	kotiryky
seseme oil	நல்ல எண்ணெய்	naɫen.oːy
ship	கப்பல்	kapïl
six	ஆறு	oːr̠
skull	மண்டை	mad.wïːr.
small pox	அம்மன்	amn
snake	பாம்பு	poːb
soil	மண்	mon.
spectacle	கண்ணாடி	kon.kon.od.y
sugar	சர்க்கரை	sokiːry
tablet	மாத்திரை	moːtïrm
tamarind	புளி	püɫ.y
tent	கூடாரம்	kwad.oːrm
the next day	மறுநாள்	mar̠noːɫ.
thief	கள்ளன்	kol.n.
thirteen	பதின்மூன்று	ponmuːd̠
thirty day	முப்பது நாள்	mupponoːɫ.
three-fourth	முக்கால்	mukoːl
ticket	டிக்கெட்	tikoːt.
tiger	புலி	püs̠y
toy	பொம்மை	pommy
wage	குழி	kuːly
water	நீர்	niːr
Wednesday	புதன்	puduːm
wheel	சக்கரம்	sokorm

*Toda in IPA with English Gloss from: Nara, Tsuyoshi and Bhasukararao, Peri. 2001. Toda Vocabulary: a preliminary list. Endangered Languages of the Pacific Rim: A3-002. Osaka: Kan Taiheiyo no gengo (ELPR).

Tamil Translation provided by Priyasundari Natarajan

 

REFERENCES:

Sakthivel, S. 1976. Phonology of Toda with vocabulary. Annamalainagar: Annamalai University. 382pp.