Which is the oldest Dravidian language?

The Correct Answer is Tamil.

Key Points

• Dravidian languages, a family of around 70 languages mainly spoken in South Asia.
• The Dravidian languages are split into groups in the South, South-Middle Central, and North; these groups are further split into 24 subgroups.
• The Constitution of India acknowledges the four major literary languages: Tamil, Telugu,  Malayalam, and Kannada.
• They are also official languages, respectively, of the states of Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Kerala, and Karnataka (formerly Mysore).
• Tamil is the oldest of the four literary languages in the Dravidian family, with examples dating to the early Common Period.
• Tolkappiyam (1st–4th century CE; "Ancient Literature"), the first known work in the Tamil language, is a treatise on grammar and poetics.

Additional Information 

• Until around the 9th century CE, Malayalam was the west coast dialect of Tamil.
• Geographically isolated by the steep Western Ghats from the main speech group, the dialect gradually evolved into a distinct language.
• Kannada is the official language in the state of Karnataka.
• The inscriptions in Kannada date from the 5th century CE, while Kavirajamarga ('The Royal Road of Poets'), the first literary work, is a ninth-century treatise on poetics.
• Telugu is spoken by the greatest population among the Dravidian languages.
• It is the third most frequently spoken of all Indian languages, after Hindi and Bengali.