The pronunciation is described as soft and mellifluous. Abruptness and hard combinations of sounds are avoided. There is, for example, a distinct tendency to avoid pronouncing a short consonant at the end of a word, a very short vowel being often added after it. Thus the pronoun of the third person singular, which is _avan_, "he," in Tamil, is pronounced _avanu_ in Kanarese; the Sanskrit word _v[=a]k_, "speech," is borrowed in the form _v[=a]ku_ in Tamil; the word _gurram_, "horse," is commonly pronounced _gurramu_ in Telugu, and so on. Combinations of consonants are further avoided in many cases where speakers of other languages do not experience any difficulty in pronouncing them. This tendency is well illustrated by the changes undergone by some borrowed words. Thus the Sanskrit word _br[=a]hmana_, "a Brahmin," becomes _bar[=a]mana_ in Kanarese and _pir[=a]mana_ in Tamil; the Sanskrit _Dramida_, "Dravidian," is borrowed by Tamil under the form _Tir[=a]mida_. _Dramida_, which also occurs as _Dravida_, is in its turn developed from an older _Damila_, which is identical with the word _Tamir_, Tamil. The forms _pir[=a]mana_ and _Tir[=a]mida_ in Tamil illustrate another feature of Dravidian enunciation. There is a tendency in all of them, and in Tamil and Malay[=a]lam it has become a law, against any word being permitted to begin with a stopped voiced consonant (g, j, [d.], d, b), the corresponding voiceless sounds (k, c, t, [t.], p, respectively) being substituted. In the middle of a word or compound, on the other hand, every consonant must be voiced. Thus the Sanskrit word _danta_, "tooth," has been borrowed by Tamil in the form _tandam_, and the Telugu _anna_, "elder brother," _tammulu_, "younger brother," become when compounded _annadammulu_, "elder and younger brothers." There is no strongly marked accent on any one syllable, though there is a slight stress upon the first one. In some dialects this equilibrium between the different parts of a word is accompanied by a tendency to approach to each other the sound of vowels in consecutive syllables. This tendency, which has been called the "law of harmonic sequence," is most apparent in Telugu, where the short _u_ of certain suffixes is replaced by _i_ when the preceding syllable contains one of the vowels _i_ (short and long) and _ei_. Compare the dative suffix _ku_, _ki_, in _gurramu-ku_, "to a horse"; but _tammuni-ki_, "to a younger brother." This tendency does not, however, play a prominent rôle in the Dravidian languages. Words are formed from roots and bases by means of suffixed formative additions. The root itself generally remains unchanged throughout. Thus from the Tamil base _per_, "great," we can form adjectives such as _per-iya_ and _per-um_, "great"; verbs such as _per-u-gu_, "to become increased"; _per-u-kku_, "to cause to increase," and so on.