4 Syntax and Grammatical Abbreviations
Gundert utilized an “incongruous nomenclature,” abandoning the standard European categories (like strictly defined adjectives) because Malayalam words often fluctuate between functions based on context. Instead, he aligned his dictionary with traditional Malayalam distinctions: Nouns, Verbs, and Indeclinables. This morphological flexibility is a hallmark of the Dravidian system.
§6. Doubling of Consonants in Malayalam Composition (Literal Extraction)
“a) In Malayāḷam Compound Nouns, as a rule, the consonant is doubled after the long vowels ā, ī, ū, ē, ei, palatal a, i, full u, the final consonants r, l, ḷ, ḻ, after m dropped in Mal. or Sanscr. Nouns (െരയത്താപ്പു M., ഭസ്മെക്കാട്ട S. and M.).
b) In Compounds of Nouns and verbs… reduplication is not required; it may however occur after Accusatives; with some adverbial participles.
c) In Compounds of Verbs with Verbs reduplication is necessary after the Infinitive, e.g. മവളുക്കയത്തച്ചു and the past tense in i, e.g. തിക്കിത്തിരക്കി etc.”
Common Grammatical Abbreviations
To facilitate the “portable volume” format, Gundert employed the following abbreviations for verbs:
- a. v.: active verb
- n. v.: neuter verb
- CV.: Causal Verb
- den V.: denominative Verb
- defV.: defective Verb (e.g., uḷḷu)
- aux. V.: auxiliary Verb (e.g., iḍuɤa)
With the grammatical framework established, we turn to the primary source data for the vowel “അ”.
