Linguistic groups and the Geology!

Regional geologies significantly differ from others in relation with rock

formations, geo-magnetism, local gravitation, topography, climate, flora and fauna
and overall mineral distribution in land etc., no matter even if they are
geographically closely connected. In this chapter, I desire to show the clear
relationship between regional geologies and language groups in general. The
problem of language distributions is not satisfactorily solved as yet. PIE speakers
migration theories are widely in circulation to explain the spread of the IE
languages. Genetics too has been used to show the population movements and thus
language spread with those movements. Without entering into that endless debate, I
wish to propose an alternative theory, which, in my opinion, explains the regional
languages and causes of their similarities and dissimilarities with others giving
rise to the suspicion whether such net of certain language has effected because of
the population movements.
I shall show that the population movement is not required for the emergence of
certain language, labeled as the grouping of certain languages, such as IE or
Dravidian or any other linguistic group for that matter. The hypothesis strongly
relies on the following assumptions to which I shall provide sufficient proofs in
support.
a) The language is an outcome of the psychological phenomenon. The group of
certain people constantly living in certain geographical limits tend to develop their
own unique language for general psychology which mostly possesses many
common features those reflect in their language and culture.
b) Boundaries of every language (dialect) are decided by specific geological
regions.
c) Genetics and language have the certain relationship, though as yet it is
undetermined whether language is inborn. It is possible in course of the evolution
faculty of language emerged most accidently in human being or may be due to the
sudden climatic changes.
d) Regional human genetics do vary. However, genetics just proves ability to learn,
develop and speak complex languages. It may not be a factor that determines
the origination of the language.
e) There is the influence of geomagnetism on human psychologies.

f) General mineral distribution in particular geographies is distinct that influence

local crops and water and thus the people those over generations are consuming
them. The mineral distribution in body (and brain) does create the certain
characteristics, influencing even the genes.
General observations
a) There is a certain relationship between what and how the language will be
developed in the particular regions. With the change in geological formations, from
one region to other, we distinctly note the cultural expression and dialect
variations. If there are fault regions we can notice entirely different languages,
unrelated with surrounding regions, are spoken.
b) Pronunciation patterns vary region by region, no matter even if they
speak same language.
c) Though Dravidian language speakers are geographically connected with IndoAryan speakers, we find clear distinction between the both.
d) Every Indo-Aryan and Dravidian languages again are distinctly separate from
other regional languages. Within the regions too we find distinct dialects and even
contrary to the surrounding language groups! We find regional geologies, too,
differ wherever we see such linguistic differences/variations.
These are the general observations we should keep in mind. In this article, I will
focus on Indian languages those have been divided by linguists as Indo-Aryan and
Dravidian.
A fact should be noted that despite the geographical closeness and interaction of
millenniums Dravidian languages could not be replaced by otherwise so-calledvictorious IE languages though there is and was political and cultural unity to some
extent. This is a phenomenon that needs the serious explanation.
Dravidian Language regions
Dravidian languages are spread in south in the four major states, such as
Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Kerala and Tamilnadu. Interestingly these regions
stand apart from rest of the north India from geological point of view as well.
Let us see how. Geological survey of India has done the extensive survey of these
states as well. Let us have a look at their findings/observations.

1. Southern Granulite terrain (SGT) covers Andhra, Tamilnadu and southern part of
Karnataka.
2. Vast expanse of granulite gneiss terrain covers central and north-east Tamilnadu,
referred as Sathyamangalam in tamilnadu is considered to be geological and
geographical continuity with Sargurs of Karnataka.
3. Various types of pink and grey gneisses forming part of the Peninsular Gneissic
Complex extend southward from the states of Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh and
occur north of Palar River along the northern border of Tamil Nadu. Around
Krishnagiri, these gneisses form different textural types of various hues
and colours.
4. The southern extension of the Kolar Schist Belt of Karnataka and Andhra
Pradesh is seen around Veppanapalli, Maharajagadai and Bargur areas of
Dharmapuri District. Within Tamil Nadu the schist belt breaks up into three arms
and later extends as dismembered lenses and linear patches within the Peninsular
Gneiss. The schist belt is made up of assemblages of greenstone rocks designated
as Kolar Group comprising biotite, hornblende schists and amphibolites of
different types, banded ferruginous quartzite and acid volcanics (Champion
Gneiss) represented by quartz - sericite schist and quartzo feldspathic gneiss.
5. The Pre-Cambrian terrain of Tamil Nadu is extensively fractured and deeply
faulted particularly in the northern and central parts. Not all the faults, shear zones
and fracture zones have been depicted.
5. There are various groups those vary in age and formations, but are exclusively
found in southern states.
6. Karnataka, forming a part of the Indian Shield, is constituted of rock formations
ranging in age from 3300 m.y. to 5 m.y. Barring a narrow coastal strip of about
5000 sq.km of Tertiary and Quaternary sediments and another 31,250 sq.km of
Deccan basalts, the remaining area is dominated by Archaean-Proterozoic rocks.
Mysore Plateau, geologically constituted of Dharwar Craton comprises of
greenstone-granite belts, gneisses and granulites.
7. Of Karnataka, components of Peninsular Gneiss always show isoclinal folds
with thinned limbs and stretched hinges defined by compositional banding.
Viscosity contrast between the quartzo-feldspathic layers and amphibolite mass
under the compressive forces have caused a variety of structures. Ptygmatic folds
in quartzo-feldspathic materials, agmatitic structures are the few common forms.

8. Greenstone belts of Karnataka have complex geological history and rich mineral
resources. The era of 2900 million years to 2600 million years witnessed this great
event of the evolution of Greenstone belts in Karnataka. Stratigraphic level vis-vis geochronological positioning of different schist belts had always been a point
of endless yet useful debate.
9. Of Kerala, geologically, is occupied by Precambrian crystallines, acid to ultra
basic intrusives of Archaean to Proterozoic age, Tertiary (Mio-Pliocene)
sedimentary rocks and Quaternary sediments of fluvial and marine origin. Both the
crystallines and the Tertiary sediments have been extensively lateritised.
10. The rocks of Peninsular Gneissic Complex(PGC) are exposed in the northern
parts of Kerala adjoining Karnataka . This consists of a heterogeneous mixture of
granitoid materials. The equivalent rocks of PGC in Kerala
include hornblendebiotite gneiss (sheared), biotite-hornblende gneiss, foliated
granite and pink granite gneiss. Granite gneiss is exposed along the intra-State
boundary of Palakkad District as well as in Idukki District.
11. This consists of gneisses showing preponderance of either hornblende or
biotite. The percentage of hornblende and biotite varies from place to place. This
can be traced from Manantoddy to further northwest upto the west coast. West of
Manantoddy, the rock is hornblende gneiss. It shows coarse granulitic to gneissic
texture and is composed of hornblende, feldspar, quartz, pyroxene, biotite and
garnet. Alkali feldspar shows alteration to clay and sericite. Biotite is mainly
secondary after hornblende.
Observations:
All the four states, speaking languages belonging to the Dravidian group, having
slightly different local geologies, still having major structural similarities in
geological formations. We find that with the slight change in local geology has
created separate local dialects. For example, Travankore region has different
dialect whereas Palakkad and Trichur region and northern Kerala have different
dialects.
So, though there are regional variations in the geological compositions and
geography, the overall general geological formation of the southern India is quite
distinct from northern India. We will see that difference as follows.
Indo-European Languages
Maharashtra

Maharashtra is a state geographically connected to the Dravidian language

speaking regions to south and east and towards North and north-east connected
with Indo-European speaking regions. That way Maharashtra can be said as a land
that forms middle point clearly separating two distinct language groups.
The entire area of the State forms a part of the Peninsular Shield, which is
composed of rocks commencing from the most ancient rocks of diverse origin,
which have undergone considerable metamorphism. Over these ancient rocks of
Precambrian era lie a few basins of Proterozoic era and
of permocarboniferous periods which are covered by extensive sheets of
horizontally bedded lava flows comprising the Deccan trap. More than 80% area
of the State is covered by the Deccan trap, which have concealed geologically
older formations. The most important economic minerals such as coal, iron ore,
manganese ore, limestone, etc. are found in the geologically older formations.
Structurally, the entire area of the state forms a part of the Peninsular Shield of
India which represents a fairly stable block of earth crust that has remained
unaffected by, mountain-building movements, since the advent of
the Palaeozoic era. Some of the subsequent movements in the crust have been of
the nature of normal and block faulting which have laid down certain portions
bounded by tensional cracks of faults giving rise to basins in which sedimentary
beds of the Gondwana age have been deposited.
Particularly in the Vidarbha region giving rise to the the important limestone as
Penganga beds and coalfields of the Pench-Kanhan valley, the Umred Bander
field the Wardha valley and Vidarbha valley.
It is generally accepted that the Western coast has been formed as a result of the
faulting. Along this coast from Ratnagiri to Mumbai, and further north in Thane
district there exists a series of hot springs arranged almost in linear fashion which
suggests that they are situated on a line of fracture. Further evidence regarding the
formation of west coast by faulting is offered by the Western Ghats comprising
Deccan trap lava flows, which are several hundred metres thick near the coast and
which gradually thins out east wards. Near Panvel, near the west coast the Deccan
traps show westerly slopes indicating designated as Panvel flexure.
Maharashtra has mostly basaltic soil.
The language Marathi is spoken in most of the Maharashtra State, possessing
unique characteristics. We also find dialect variation in every geological sub-zones,
though they comprise of mostly similar basic structure. In Eastern Vidarbha, we
find totally different dialects for those regions has different geological formations

and are not part of the Deccan Trap. Also the variations and formations of Konkan
strip suggests the probable reasons of the difference in local dialects those posses
some alien elements to Marathi.
Madhya Pradesh
The oldest group of rocks comprising of Archaeans and Proterozoic formation
constitute nearly 45% area of the State. The next younger formation of
Carboniferous to lower Cretaceous comprising Gondwana Super Group covers
10% area while the formation of Cretaceous to Paleocene comprising mostly of
Deccan Trap basalt constitutes 38% area of the State.
The state of Chhattisgarh, geographically encompasses an
area over 1,35,195 sq km. Geologically, it constitutes important rock formations
stratigraphically ranging from Archaean to Recent. Northern Crustal Province
(NCP) and the Southern Crustal Province (SCP) separated by EastWest trending
Central Indian Shear Zone (CIS) are major tectonic features with crucial geological
manifestations.
The regional tectonics have played major role in the tectonic evolution of the
Chhattisgarh rocks. The oldest rock in the NCP belongs to the Archaean which
includes the granite gneisses and enclaves of igneous and sedimentary rocks
confined to southern part of the Province in the Bilaspur-Raigarh belt. Gneisses
and granitoids exposed to the east of Mahanadi basin are classified as
Chhotanagpur Gneissic Complex. The NCP is devoid of any volcano-sedimentary
sequence and Proterozoic cover rocks, unlike the SCP. The younger sequences of
Upper Carboniferous to Lower Cretaceous Gondwana rocks are well developed in
the Mahanadi and South Rewa basins. The two basins merge in Surguja area north
of Baikuntapar. Lameta Group is exposed in the Amarkantak plateau region.
Remnants of Deccan Trap occur in the plateaus in the western and northeastern
parts of Bilaspur District and southeastern and eastern part of Surguja District.
Laterite and bauxite pockets occur at Jamirapat and Manipatin, Surguja District
and Phutka Pahar, Korba District. Quaternary alluvium is confined to major river
valleys. The SCP is an Archaean to Neoproterozoic assembly
of lithotectonic association comprising Archaean to Palaeoproterozoic Bengpal,
Sukma, Bailadila, Sonakhan Groups, gneiss-granitoids and younger Meso to
Neoproterozoic cover rocks of Chhattisgarh, Indravati, and Pakhal Groups.
Together they constitute the Bastar Craton.
Palaeoproterozoic volcanic rocks of Nandgaon Group extend in a NS direction in
to the western part of bordering Maharashtra. The Dongargarh and its equivalent

granites in Madanbera and Kanker-Mainpur areas occupy major portion of South

Central part of the state. Volcano sedimentary sequence of Khairagarh and
Abujhmar Groups and sediments of Chilpi Group belonging to
PalaeoMesoproterozoic unconformably overlie the older sequences and the
granites in the Maikala Range and Abujhmar plateau region. The Mesoproterozoic
Pakhal Supergroup occupies the Godavari valley region in the southwestern part
bordering Andhra Pradesh and Maharashtra. The Meso-Neoproterozoic
Chhattisgarh Group of rocks occupies the plains of Chhattisgarh region. The cover
sediments of Indravati-Sabari-and Pairi Groups are equivalent of Indravati Group
and occupy the Jagdalpur plateau. Interestingly we find blend of tribal and Odia
culture. Rocks of kimberlite affinity intrude in to the Indravati and Khariar
sediments and in the gneisses some of which are diamondiferous. Laterite and
bauxite forms cappings at number of places over these rocks in KeskalAmabera area.
Gujarath
Gujarat exposes rocks from Precambrian era to Holocene period. It has three
different geographic regions, namely eastern Gujrat , Kutch and
Saurashtra/Kathiawar. The eastern Gujarat shows a general southwesterly
and west-ward slope from the dissected and denuded hilly terrain
of Preacambrians to the alluvial plain, which gradually merges into the sea and
gulf. Shield area of Gujarat lies in the eastern part and is occupied by the Archaean
-Prechampaner Gneissic Complex and Prelunavada Gneissic Complex (equivalent
to BGC of Rajasthan); Palaeo-to MesoProterozoic Aravalli and Delhi supergroups
and Neoproterozoic Godhra-, Erinpura- and IdarGranites. The Mesozoic rocks are
exposed in Kutch region and in northern part of Saurashtra Plateau. It is
represented by the Pachchham, the Chari, the Katrol and the Bhuj formations in
Kutch region and by the Dhrangadhra Group, the Wadhwan Group in Saurashtra
Plateau and the Lameta Formation and the Bagh Beds in Kheda, Panchmahals and
Vadodara districts (Eastern Gujarat). The Saurashtra Plateau in the west is
separated from the eastern Gujarats undulating terrain by alluvial plain. The basalt
dominated 'Deccan Trap' with restricted acid and intermediate volcanics and
intrusive is exposed as thick pile in the southern part of Gujarat, Saurashtra and as
relatively less thick horizons in Kutch Region. It represents broadly the geological
time span from 80 Ma to 60 Ma. Tertiary rocks (laterite, clay and carbonaceous
shale, lignite etc.) which overlap these volcanics, are present mainly in the
southern part of Kutch region, western and southern part of Saurashtra Plateau and
also in the area bounded by Narmada and Tapi rivers in the plains of South Gujarat.
Pleistocene age of Gujarat is represented by foraminifera bearing aeolian as well as

marine limestone. About 50% area of Gujarat is covered by unconsolidated

Holocene sediments, majority of which is older and younger flood plain deposits of
Narmada, Tapi, Mahi, Sabarmati and Banas rivers. The coastal belt surrounding the
Gulf of Kachchh and Gulf of Kutch is dominated by younger and older tidal flat
deposits. The state of Gujarat is well known for dinosaurian remains represented
by skeletal remains and nests recorded from Kheda district. The state of Gujarat is
endowed with a number of mineral deposits viz., bauxite, bentonite, base metals,
fireclay, fluorite, fuller's earth, limestone, chalk, glass sand, manganese, graphite,
lignite, petroleum and natural gas, building and dimension stones.
Remarks:
The above description is not in minute detail, but it suggests the following1) We can see clearly that the geological formation of Dravidian speaking regions
stands apart from the geology of the north India. We find Dravidian languages
prominently being spoken in the regions those geologically strongly differ from
rest of the subcontinent. Though the landmass is connected with northern India, its
peculiar formation, age, overall mineral composition and deposits separate it from
the north in many ways.
2) The flora and fauna, too, is rather quite different in both the parts of the country.
The food habits have been developed since ages owing to its climate and
environment, possessing inherently the mineral qualities of the soil, of the southern
part of India and elsewhere.
3) Geology of North India, though differs region to region, has unique base
formation, quite different than of southern regions. The thrust region created by the
collision that caused rising of the Himalayas, underneath has maintained the
ancient formations in changed positions. However we can see other peculiarities
about the regions wherever tribal population and distinct languages do exist.
4) We can notice that on the boundary zones, where two typical geologies meet, we
find the lingo-cultural changes.
5) It can be said that the major distinction in the geology of both the
regions have caused emergence of different linguistic groups. The same applies to
the North-Eastern and North-Western regions where we come across the different
geological formations. No any other explanation, such as movement of the people,
can be attributed to the formation of the linguistic groups.

6) There is close relationship between the language spoken and the general
psychology of the people living in the certain regions having unique geological
conditions for generations.
7) Exchanges or borrowals do influence the course of the specific languages, but that
too are adopted in a manner that is suitable to their psychology. The borrowed
vocabulary or terms do not remain the same in its original form when adopted but
blended in the peculiar local patterns, sometimes so much so that the original form
has to be traced with efforts.
Looking at the above, we can surmise that the local geographies and geological
patterns are the most influential factors on the general psychology of the people
living for generations in certain regions that causes emergence of the certain
languages or dialects. The relationship between the languages is not as much
biological as it is geological. The land determines the course of the language and
the culture as both depends on the general psychology of the people.
We will discuss in the next chapter how the evolution in the languages take place
and why some languages completely disappears from the face of the earth in next
chapter. We also will try to solve some other mysteries surrounding the language
while going in minute detail of the geological factors.