La cosiddetta ‘ <i>strong and rough</i> r’ /ṟ/ del tamiḻ e l’occlusiva alveolare protodravidica */ṯ/: <i>A reappraisal</i> *

At times, the distortion of the reality of phonetic data perpetrated by modern linguists reaches truly remarkable levels, driven by their rigid determination to interpret the necessarily approximate descriptions of ancient scholars in such a way that they seem to confirm their own scientific hypotheses about past phonological systems which, as such, can no longer be directly experienced through objective instrumental observation. In this respect, the way in which the testimonies of the grammarians of southern India—who set out to describe Tamiḻ, the most important language of the Dravidian group, following the example of their North Indian counterparts, who in their treatises admirably and with great expertise expounded Sanskrit in its phonological and morphological aspects down to the smallest detail—have been (mis)used is emblematic.