The Cambridge History of India, Vol. I: Ancient India v1.c15.169

v1.c15.169

It would seem probable, then, that the original speakers of the Dravidian languages were invaders, and that the ethnographical Dravidians are a mixed race. In the more habitable regions the two elements have fused, while representatives of the aborigines are still to be found in the fastnesses to which they retired before the encroachments of the newcomers. If this view be correct, we must suppose that these aborigines have, in the course of long ages, lost their ancient languages and adopted those of their conquerors. The process of linguistic transformation, which may still be observed in other parts of India, would seem to have been carried out more completely in the South than elsewhere.