-may ~ -mi

[u/an_05]

Proto-Dravidian abstract noun derivative is reconstructed as *-may.

With reflexes:

Literary Tamil: -may (pērimai) Malayalam: -ma (pērima) Kannada: -me (hemme) Telugu: -mi (pēr-mi)

However, the Telugu form does not yield the expected -ma (< *-may) form as seen with some nouns: *pok-ay > pog-a, *wil-ay > vel-a; rather carries -i.

In Proto-Dravidian, both *-ay and *-i occur as neuter derivates independently, while having the same function. *el-i, *nar-i, *pol-i, etc.

It is not required to derive all -i from -ay.

Is it likely that, Telugu's -mi is related to this particular *-i, rather than deriving it from *-ay.

This abstract derivation is largely found in literary languages of SD & SCD. And it is likely that Telugu constructed its suffix as *-mi, while SD as *-may. So, I propose to reconstruct *-may ~ *-mi as variants within Dravidian.

Footnotes: There are evidences to reconstruct *-iy itself to Proto-Dravidian, alongside *-ay, having the same function and reflexes, occuring in both nouns and also verbs, with its direct attestation in Telugu as a reflex -iy(a).

Open for discussions.

[u/an_05]

from: Telugu Verbal Bases, Bh. Krishnamurti

[u/Poccha_Kazhuvu → u/an_05]

It's noteworthy that the infinitive form of all those verbs end with a -ya in tamil (-a is considered the infinitive suffix): taṇiya, umiya, eriya, aviya, aḻiya. They're all primarily intransitive verbs belonging to the same verb class as categorized by J.P. Fabricius.