Which Language Is Older: Kannada or Malayalam? Historical Origins Explained

Discover the historical origins of Kannada and Malayalam languages and learn which one is older based on documented evidence.

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Kannada is older than Malayalam. Kannada is one of the Dravidian languages with its origins dating back to the 3rd century BCE. The Kannada script evolved from the Kadamba script, which itself is derived from the ancient Brahmi script. Malayalam, on the other hand, diverged from Tamil around the 9th century CE and developed its own script during the 13th century. Thus, Kannada has a longer documented history.

FAQs & Answers

  1. Which is the oldest Dravidian language? Kannada is among the oldest Dravidian languages, with origins dating back to the 3rd century BCE, making it older than Malayalam.
  2. How did Malayalam language originate? Malayalam diverged from Tamil around the 9th century CE and developed its own script by the 13th century.
  3. From which script did Kannada evolve? Kannada script evolved from the Kadamba script, which was derived from the ancient Brahmi script.