Bh. Krishnamurti is a leading linguist in India and one of the world's renowned historical and comparative linguists, specialising in the Dravidian family of languages. He has published over 20 books in English and Telugu and over 100 research papers. His books include Telugu Verbal Bases: A Comparative and Descriptive Study (1961), Konda or Kubi, a Dravidian Language (1969), A Grammar of Modern Telugu (with J. P. L. Gwynn, 1985), Language, Education and Society (1998), and Comparative Dravidian Linguistics: Current Perspectives (2001).

• Acknowledgements; 1. Introduction; 2. Phonology: descriptive; 3. The writing systems of the literary languages; 4. Phonology: historical and comparative; 5. Word formation: roots, stems, formatives, derivational suffixes and nominal compounds; 6. Nominals: nouns, pronouns, numerals and time and place adverbs; 7. The verb; 8. Adjectives, adverbs and clitics; 9. Syntax; 10. Lexicon; 11. Conclusion; Bibliography; Indexes.

'… handled with great lucidity … DL is of interest to a wide range of scholars and students of language … Because of the thorough and meticulous nature of the analysis, it is an important contribution to the theory of comparative reconstruction … a timely work of great importance. The merits of the book can perhaps best be summarized by stating that, after almost a century and a half, Caldwell's great work has at last been superseded.' School of Oriental & African Studies