The
Dravidian languages are a
language family spoken mainly in
southern India and parts of
eastern and central
India as well as in northeastern
Sri Lanka,
Pakistan,
Nepal,
Bangladesh, and overseas in other countries such as
Malaysia and
Singapore. The Dravidian languages with the most speakers are
Telugu,
Tamil,
Kannada and
Malayalam. There are also small groups of Dravidian-speaking
scheduled tribes, who live beyond the mainstream communities, such as the
Kurukh and
Gond tribes. It is often considered that Dravidian languages are native to India.
Epigraphically the Dravidian languages have been attested since the 2nd century
BCE. Only two Dravidian languages are exclusively spoken outside India:
Brahui in
Pakistan and
Dhangar, a dialect of
Kurukh, in
Nepal.