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Kannada (; ಕನ್ನಡ, ), originally romanised Canarese, is a
Dravidian language The Dravidian languages (or sometimes Dravidic) are a family of languages spoken by 250 million people, mainly in southern India, north-east Sri Lanka, and south-west Pakistan. Since the colonial era, there have been small but significant i ...
spoken predominantly by the people of
Karnataka Karnataka (; ISO: , , also known as Karunāḍu) is a state in the southwestern region of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, with the passage of the States Reorganisation Act. Originally known as Mysore State , it was renamed ''Karnat ...
in southwestern India, with minorities in all neighbouring states. It has around 47 million native speakers, and was additionally a second or third language for around 13 million non-native speakers in Karnataka. Kannada was the court language of some of the most powerful dynasties of
south South is one of the cardinal directions or Points of the compass, compass points. The direction is the opposite of north and is perpendicular to both east and west. Etymology The word ''south'' comes from Old English ''sūþ'', from earlier Pro ...
and
central India Central India is a loosely defined geographical region of India. There is no clear official definition and various ones may be used. One common definition consists of the states of Chhattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh, which are included in alm ...
, namely the Kadambas,
Chalukyas The Chalukya dynasty () was a Classical Indian dynasty that ruled large parts of southern and central India between the 6th and the 12th centuries. During this period, they ruled as three related yet individual dynasties. The earliest dynas ...
,
Rashtrakuta Rashtrakuta (IAST: ') (r. 753-982 CE) was a royal Indian dynasty ruling large parts of the Indian subcontinent between the sixth and 10th centuries. The earliest known Rashtrakuta inscription is a 7th-century copper plate grant detailing their ...
s,
Yadava Dynasty The Seuna, Sevuna, or Yadavas of Devagiri ( IAST: Seuṇa, –1317) was a Medieval Indian dynasty, which at its peak ruled a kingdom stretching from the Narmada river in the north to the Tungabhadra river in the south, in the western part of ...
or
Seuna The Seuna, Sevuna, or Yadavas of Devagiri (IAST: Seuṇa, –1317) was a Medieval Indian dynasty, which at its peak ruled a kingdom stretching from the Narmada River, Narmada river in the north to the Tungabhadra river in the south, in the west ...
s,
Western Ganga dynasty Western Ganga was an important ruling dynasty of ancient Karnataka in India which lasted from about 350 to 1000 CE. They are known as "Western Gangas" to distinguish them from the Eastern Gangas who in later centuries ruled over Kalinga (mo ...
,
Wodeyars of Mysore The Wadiyar dynasty (formerly spelt Wodeyer or Odeyer, also referred to as the Wadiyars of Mysore), is a late-medieval/ early-modern South Indian Hindu royal family of former kings of Mysore from the Urs clan originally based in Mysore city. ...
,
Nayakas of Keladi Nayakas of Keladi (1499–1763), also known as Nayakas of Bednore and Ikkeri Nayakas, were an Indian dynasty based in Keladi in present-day Shimoga district of Karnataka, India. They were an important ruling dynasty in post-medieval Karnata ...
Hoysala The Hoysala Empire was a Kannada people, Kannadiga power originating from the Indian subcontinent that ruled most of what is now Karnataka, India, Karnataka between the 10th and the 14th centuries. The capital of the Hoysalas was initially loca ...
s and the
Vijayanagara empire The Vijayanagara Empire, also called the Karnata Kingdom, was a Hinduism, Hindu empire based in the region of South India, which consisted the modern states of Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Goa and some parts of Telangana an ...
. The official and administrative language of the state of Karnataka, it also has scheduled status in India and has been included among the country's designated classical languages.Kuiper (2011), p. 74R Zydenbos in Cushman S, Cavanagh C, Ramazani J, Rouzer P, ''The Princeton Encyclopedia of Poetry and Poetics: Fourth Edition'', p. 767, Princeton University Press, 2012, The Kannada language is written using the
Kannada script The Kannada script (IAST: ''Kannaḍa lipi''; obsolete: Kanarese or Canarese script in English) is an abugida of the Brahmic family, used to write Kannada, one of the Dravidian languages of South India especially in the state of Karnataka. Ka ...
, which evolved from the 5th-century
Kadamba script The Kadamba script is the first writing system devised specifically for writing Kannada and Telugu. It is a descendant of the Brahmi script. The Kadamba script is also known as ''Pre-Old-Kannada script''. The Kadamba script is one of the oldes ...
. Kannada is attested epigraphically for about one and a half millennia and literary
Old Kannada Old Kannada or Halegannada ( kn, ಹಳೆಗನ್ನಡ, Haḷegannaḍa) is the Kannada language which transformed from ''Purvada halegannada'' or ''Pre-old Kannada'' during the reign of the Kadambas of Banavasi (ancient royal dynasty of Kar ...
flourished in the 6th-century Ganga dynasty and during the 9th-century
Rashtrakuta Dynasty Rashtrakuta (IAST: ') (r. 753-982 CE) was a royal Indian dynasty ruling large parts of the Indian subcontinent between the sixth and 10th centuries. The earliest known Rashtrakuta inscription is a 7th-century copper plate grant detailing their ...
.Zvelebil (1973), p. 7 (Introductory, chart) Kannada has an unbroken literary history of over a thousand years.Garg (1992), p. 67 Kannada literature has been presented with 8 Jnanapith awards, the most for any Dravidian language and the second highest for any Indian language. In July 2011, a center for the study of classical Kannada was established as part of the
Central Institute of Indian Languages The Central Institute of Indian Languages (CIIL) is an Indian research and teaching institute based in Mysuru, part of the Language Bureau of the Ministry of Education. It was founded on 17 July 1969. Centres The Central Institute of Indian Lang ...
in
Mysore Mysore (), officially Mysuru (), is a city in the southern part of the state of Karnataka, India. Mysore city is geographically located between 12° 18′ 26″ north latitude and 76° 38′ 59″ east longitude. It is located at an altitude of ...
to facilitate research related to the language.


Geographic distribution

Kannada had 43.5 million native speakers in India at the time of the 2011 census. It is the main language of the state of
Karnataka Karnataka (; ISO: , , also known as Karunāḍu) is a state in the southwestern region of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, with the passage of the States Reorganisation Act. Originally known as Mysore State , it was renamed ''Karnat ...
, where it is spoken natively by million people, or about two thirds of the state's population. There are native Kannada speakers in the neighbouring states of
Tamil Nadu Tamil Nadu (; , TN) is a States and union territories of India, state in southern India. It is the List of states and union territories of India by area, tenth largest Indian state by area and the List of states and union territories of India ...
( speakers),
Maharashtra Maharashtra (; , abbr. MH or Maha) is a states and union territories of India, state in the western India, western peninsular region of India occupying a substantial portion of the Deccan Plateau. Maharashtra is the List of states and union te ...
(),
Andhra Pradesh Andhra Pradesh (, abbr. AP) is a state in the south-eastern coastal region of India. It is the seventh-largest state by area covering an area of and tenth-most populous state with 49,386,799 inhabitants. It is bordered by Telangana to the ...
(),
Kerala Kerala ( ; ) is a state on the Malabar Coast of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, following the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, by combining Malayalam-speaking regions of the erstwhile regions of Cochin, Malabar, South ...
() and
Goa Goa () is a state on the southwestern coast of India within the Konkan region, geographically separated from the Deccan highlands by the Western Ghats. It is located between the Indian states of Maharashtra to the north and Karnataka to the ...
(). It is also spoken as a second and third language by over 12.9 million non-native speakers in Karnataka. Kannadigas form Tamil Nadu's 3rd biggest linguistic group and add up to about 1.23 million which is 2.2% of Tamil Nadu's total population. The Malayalam spoken by people of Lakshadweep has many Kannada words. In the United States, there were 35,900 speakers in 2006–2008, a number that had risen to 48,600 by the time of the 2015 census. There are speakers in Canada (according to the 2016 census), 9,700 in Australia (2016 census), 22,000 in Singapore (2018 estimate), and 59,000 in Malaysia (2021 estimate).


Development

Kannada is a Southern
Dravidian language The Dravidian languages (or sometimes Dravidic) are a family of languages spoken by 250 million people, mainly in southern India, north-east Sri Lanka, and south-west Pakistan. Since the colonial era, there have been small but significant i ...
and according to Sanford B. Steever, its history can be conventionally divided into three stages: Old Kannada (''Haḷegannaḍa'') from 450 to 1200 AD, Middle Kannada (''Naḍugannaḍa'') from 1200 to 1700 and Modern Kannada (''Hosagannaḍa'') from 1700 to the present. Kannada was influenced to a considerable degree by
Sanskrit Sanskrit (; attributively , ; nominally , , ) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in South Asia after its predecessor languages had diffused there from the northwest in the late ...
and
Prakrit The Prakrits (; sa, prākṛta; psu, 𑀧𑀸𑀉𑀤, ; pka, ) are a group of vernacular Middle Indo-Aryan languages that were used in the Indian subcontinent from around the 3rd century BCE to the 8th century CE. The term Prakrit is usu ...
. The scholar
Iravatham Mahadevan Iravatham Mahadevan (2 October 1930 – 26 November 2018) was an Indian epigraphist and civil servant, known for his decipherment of Tamil-Brahmi inscriptions and for his expertise on the epigraphy of the Indus Valley civilisation. Early life ...
indicated that Kannada was already a language of rich spoken tradition earlier than the 3rd century BC and based on the native Kannada words found in Prakrit inscriptions of that period, Kannada must have been spoken by a broad and stable population. The scholar K. V. Narayana claims that many tribal languages which are now designated as Kannada dialects could be nearer to the earlier form of the language, with lesser influence from other languages.


Sanskrit and Prakrit influence

The sources of influence on literary Kannada grammar appear to be three-fold:
Pāṇini , era = ;;6th–5th century BCE , region = Indian philosophy , main_interests = Grammar, linguistics , notable_works = ' (Sanskrit#Classical Sanskrit, Classical Sanskrit) , influenced= , notable_ideas=Descript ...
's grammar, non-Pāṇinian schools of
Sanskrit Sanskrit (; attributively , ; nominally , , ) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in South Asia after its predecessor languages had diffused there from the northwest in the late ...
grammar, particularly ''Katantra'' and ''Sakatayana'' schools, and
Prakrit The Prakrits (; sa, prākṛta; psu, 𑀧𑀸𑀉𑀤, ; pka, ) are a group of vernacular Middle Indo-Aryan languages that were used in the Indian subcontinent from around the 3rd century BCE to the 8th century CE. The term Prakrit is usu ...
grammar. Literary Prakrit seems to have prevailed in Karnataka since ancient times. The vernacular Prakrit speaking people may have come into contact with Kannada speakers, thus influencing their language, even before Kannada was used for administrative or liturgical purposes. Kannada phonetics, morphology, vocabulary, grammar and syntax show significant influence from these languages. Some naturalised (''
tadbhava (Sanskrit: तद्भव, , lit. "arising from that") is the Sanskrit word for one of three etymological classes defined by native grammarians of Middle Indo-Aryan languages, alongside tatsama and deśi words. at pp. 67-69. A "tadbhava" is a w ...
'') words of Prakrit origin in Kannada are: ''baṇṇa'' (colour) derived from ''vaṇṇa'', ''huṇṇime'' (full moon) from ''puṇṇivā''. Examples of naturalised Sanskrit words in Kannada are: ''varṇa'' (colour), ''pūrṇime'', and ''rāya'' from ''rāja'' (king). Kannada also has borrowed (''
Tatsama Tatsama ( sa, तत्सम , lit. 'same as that') are Sanskrit loanwords in modern Indo-Aryan languages like Assamese, Bengali, Marathi, Nepali, Odia, Hindi, Gujarati, and Sinhala and in Dravidian languages like Malayalam and Telugu. They ...
'') words such as ''dina'' (day), ''kōpa'' (anger), ''sūrya'' (sun), ''mukha'' (face), ''nimiṣa'' (minute).


History


Early traces

The earliest Kannada inscriptions are from the middle of the 5th century AD, but there are a number of earlier texts that may have been influenced by the ancestor language of Old Kannada. Iravatam Mahadevan, author of a work on early Tamil epigraphy, argued that oral traditions in Kannada and Telugu existed much before written documents were produced. Although the rock inscriptions of Ashoka were written in Prakrit, the spoken language in those regions was Kannada as the case may be. He can be quoted as follows: The Ashoka rock edict found at Brahmagiri (dated to 250 BC) has been suggested to contain words (''Isila'', meaning to throw, viz. an arrow, etc.) in identifiable Kannada.The word ''Isila'' found in the Ashokan inscription (called the Brahmagiri edict from Karnataka) meaning to shoot an arrow, is a Kannada word, indicating that Kannada was a spoken language in the 3rd century BC (D.L. Narasimhachar in Kamath 2001, p5) In some 3rd–1st century BC Tamil inscriptions, words of Kannada influence such as ''Naliyura'', ''kavuDi'' and ''posil'' were found. In a 3rd-century AD Tamil inscription there is usage of ''oppanappa vIran''. Here the honorific ''appa'' to a person's name is an influence from Kannada. Another word of Kannada origin is ''taayviru'' and is found in a 4th-century AD Tamil inscription. S. Settar studied the ''sittanavAsal'' inscription of first century AD as also the inscriptions at ''tirupparamkunram'', ''adakala'' and ''neDanUpatti''. The later inscriptions were studied in detail by Iravatham Mahadevan also. Mahadevan argues that the words ''erumi'', ''kavuDi'', and ''tAyiyar'' have their origin in Kannada because Tamil cognates are not available. Settar adds the words ''nADu'' and ''iLayar'' to this list. Mahadevan feels that some grammatical categories found in these inscriptions are also unique to Kannada rather than Tamil. Both these scholars attribute these influences to the movements and spread of Jainas in these regions. These inscriptions belong to the period between the first century BC and fourth century AD. These are some examples that are proof of the early usage of a few Kannada origin words in early
Tamil Tamil may refer to: * Tamils, an ethnic group native to India and some other parts of Asia **Sri Lankan Tamils, Tamil people native to Sri Lanka also called ilankai tamils **Tamil Malaysians, Tamil people native to Malaysia * Tamil language, nativ ...
inscriptions before the common era and in the early centuries of the common era.
Pliny the Elder Gaius Plinius Secundus (AD 23/2479), called Pliny the Elder (), was a Roman author, naturalist and natural philosopher, and naval and army commander of the early Roman Empire, and a friend of the emperor Vespasian. He wrote the encyclopedic '' ...
, a Roman historian, wrote about pirates between
Muziris Muziris ( grc, Μουζιρίς, Old Malayalam: ''Muciri'' or ''Muciripattanam'' possibly identical with the medieval ''Muyirikode'') was an ancient harbour and an urban centre on the Malabar Coast. Muziris found mention in the ''Periplus of ...
and Nitrias (
Netravati River The Netravati River or Netravathi Nadi has its origins at Bangrabalige valley, Yelaneeru Ghat in Kudremukh in Chikkamagaluru district of Karnataka, India. This river flows through the famous pilgrimage place Dharmasthala and is considered one ...
), called Nitran by Ptolemy. He also mentions Barace (Barcelore), referring to the modern port city of
Mangaluru Mangalore (), officially known as Mangaluru, is a major port city of the Indian state of Karnataka. It is located between the Arabian Sea and the Western Ghats about west of Bangalore, the state capital, 20 km north of Karnataka–Ker ...
, upon its mouth. Many of these are Kannada origin names of places and rivers of the Karnataka coast of 1st century AD. The Greek geographer
Ptolemy Claudius Ptolemy (; grc-gre, Πτολεμαῖος, ; la, Claudius Ptolemaeus; AD) was a mathematician, astronomer, astrologer, geographer, and music theorist, who wrote about a dozen scientific treatises, three of which were of importanc ...
(150 AD) mentions places such as Badiamaioi (Badami), Inde (Indi), Kalligeris (Kalkeri), Modogoulla (Mudagal), Petrigala (Pattadakal), Hippokoura (Huvina Hipparagi), Nagarouris (Nagur), Tabaso (Tavasi), Tiripangalida (Gadahinglai), Soubouttou or Sabatha (Savadi), Banaouase (Banavasi), Thogorum (Tagara), Biathana (Paithan), Sirimalaga (Malkhed), Aloe (Ellapur) and Pasage (Palasige). He mentions a Satavahana king Sire Polemaios, who is identified with Sri Pulumayi (or Pulumavi), whose name is derived from the Kannada word for ''Puli'', meaning tiger. Some scholars indicate that the name Pulumayi is actually Kannada's Puli Maiyi''' or '''One with the body of a tiger''' indicating native Kannada origin for the Satavahanas. Pai identifies all the 10 cities mentioned by Ptolemy (100-170 AD) as lying between the river Benda (or Binda) or
Bhima river The Bhima River (also known as Chandrabhaga River) is a major river in Western India and South India. It flows southeast for through Maharashtra, Karnataka, and Telangana states, before entering the Krishna River. After the first sixty-five ki ...
in the north and Banaouasei (
Banavasi Banavasi is an ancient temple town located near Sirsi in Karnataka. Banavasi was the ancient capital of the Kannada empire Kadamba that ruled all of modern-day Karnataka state. They were the first native empire to bring Kannada and Karnataka t ...
) in the south, viz. Nagarouris (Nagur), Tabaso (Tavasi), Inde (
Indi Indi may refer to: *Mag-indi language *Division of Indi, an electoral division in the Australian House of Representatives *Indi, Karnataka, a town in the state of Karnataka, India *Instrument Neutral Distributed Interface, a distributed control sys ...
), Tiripangalida ( Gadhinglaj), Hippokoura (
Huvina Hipparagi Huvina Hipparagi also Huvin Hipparagi is a Town in the southern state of Karnataka, India.Village code= 240300 Huvinahippargi, Bijapur, Karnataka It is located in the Basavana Bagevadi taluk of Vijayapura district in Karnataka. Demographics ...
), Soubouttou ( Savadi), Sirimalaga (
Malkhed Malkhed originally known as Manyakheta (IAST: Mānyakheṭa, Prakrit: "Mannakheḍa"), and also known as Malkhed,Village code= 311400 Malkhed (J), Gulbarga, Karnataka is a town in Karnataka, India. It is located on the banks of Kagina river i ...
), Kalligeris ( Kalkeri), Modogoulla (
Mudgal Mudgal is a panchayat town in Lingsugur taluk, Raichur district in the Indian state of Karnataka. Mudgal is about 10 miles south-west of Lingsugur. Mudgal has several inscriptions belonging to the Seuna Yadavas of Devagiri. It is known for it ...
) and Petirgala (
Pattadakal Pattadakal, also called Paṭṭadakallu or Raktapura, is a complex of 7th and 8th century CE Hindu and Jain temples in northern Karnataka (India). Located on the west bank of the Malaprabha River in Bagalakote district, this UNESCO World Her ...
), as being located in Northern Karnataka which signify the existence of Kannada place names (and the language and culture) in the southern Kuntala region during the reign of Vasishtiputra Pulumayi (c. 85-125 AD, i.e., late 1st century – early 2nd century AD) who was ruling from Paithan in the north and his son, prince Vilivaya-kura or Pulumayi Kumara was ruling from Huvina Hipparagi in present Karnataka in the south. An early ancestor of Kannada (or a related language) may have been spoken by Indian traders in Roman-era Egypt and it may account for the Indian-language passages in the ancient Greek play known as the
Charition mime The Charition mime is a Greek theatre play, in fact more properly to be called a farce or burlesque rather than a mime, which is found in Papyrus Oxyrhynchus 413. The manuscript, which is possibly incomplete, is untitled, and the play's name come ...
.


Epigraphy

The earliest examples of a full-length Kannada language stone inscription (''śilāśāsana'') containing
Brahmi Brahmi (; ; ISO 15919, ISO: ''Brāhmī'') is a writing system of ancient South Asia. "Until the late nineteenth century, the script of the Aśokan (non-Kharosthi) inscriptions and its immediate derivatives was referred to by various names such ...
characters with characteristics attributed to those of proto-Kannada in ''Haḷe Kannaḍa'' (''lit'' Old Kannada) script can be found in the
Halmidi inscription The Halmidi inscription is the oldest known Kannada language inscription in the Kadamba script. While estimates vary slightly, the inscription is often dated to between 450 CE - 500 CE. The inscription was discovered in 1936 by Dr. M. H. Krish ...
, usually dated c. 450 AD, indicating that Kannada had become an administrative language at that time. The Halmidi inscription provides invaluable information about the history and culture of Karnataka.K. V. Ramesh (1984), p. 10, 55Encyclopaedia of Indian literature vol. 2, Sahitya Akademi (1988), pp. 1717, 1474A report on Halmidi inscription, Kamath (2001), p. 10 A set of five copper plate inscriptions discovered in Mudiyanur, though in the
Sanskrit Sanskrit (; attributively , ; nominally , , ) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in South Asia after its predecessor languages had diffused there from the northwest in the late ...
language, is in the Pre- Old Kannada script older than the Halmidi edict date of 450 AD, as per palaeographers. Followed by
B. L. Rice Benjamin Lewis Rice (17 July 1837 – 10 July 1927), popularly known as B. L. Rice, was a British historian, archaeologist and educationist. He is known for his pioneering work in deciphering inscriptions, especially in Kannada, and in Sansk ...
, leading epigrapher and historian, K. R. Narasimhan following a detailed study and comparison, declared that the plates belong to the 4th century, i.e., 338 AD. The Kannada Lion balustrade inscription excavated at the Pranaveshwara temple complex at Talagunda near Shiralakoppa of Shivamogga district, dated to 370 AD is now considered the earliest Kannada inscriptions replacing the Halmidi inscription of 450 AD. The 5th century poetic Tamatekallu inscription of
Chitradurga Chitradurga is a city and the headquarters of Chitradurga district, which is located on the valley of the Vedavati river in the central part of the Indian state of Karnataka. Chitradurga is a place with historical significance which is locate ...
and the Siragunda inscription from
Chikkamagaluru Chikmagalur, known officially as Chikkamagaluru, is a city and the headquarters of Chikmagalur district in the Indian state of Karnataka. Located on the foothills of the Mullayanagiri peak of the Western Ghats, the city attracts tourists from ...
Taluk of 500 AD are further examples.R. Narasimhacharya (1988), p. 6Rice E. P. (1921), p. 13
Govinda Pai Manjeshwar Govinda Pai (23 March 1883 – 6 September 1963), also known as Rastrakavi Govinda Pai, was a Kannada poet. He was awarded the first Rashtrakavi title by the Madras Government (Kasaragod district was part of South Kanara district of M ...
in Bhat (1993), p. 102
Recent reports indicate that the
Old Kannada Old Kannada or Halegannada ( kn, ಹಳೆಗನ್ನಡ, Haḷegannaḍa) is the Kannada language which transformed from ''Purvada halegannada'' or ''Pre-old Kannada'' during the reign of the Kadambas of Banavasi (ancient royal dynasty of Kar ...
''Gunabhushitana'' ''Nishadi'' inscription discovered on the Chandragiri hill,
Shravanabelagola Shravanabelagola () is a town located near Channarayapatna of Hassan district in the Indian state of Karnataka and is from Bengaluru. The Gommateshwara Bahubali statue at Shravanabelagola is one of the most important tirthas (pilgrimage des ...
, is older than Halmidi inscription by about fifty to hundred years and may belong to the period AD 350–400. The noted archaeologist and art historian S. Shettar is of the opinion that an inscription of the Western Ganga King Kongunivarma Madhava (c. 350–370) found at Tagarthi (Tyagarthi) in Shikaripura taluk of Shimoga district is of 350 AD and is also older than the Halmidi inscription. Current estimates of the total number of existing epigraphs written in Kannada range from 25,000 by the scholar
Sheldon Pollock Sheldon I. Pollock (born 1948) is an American scholar of Sanskrit, the intellectual and literary history of India, and comparative intellectual history. He is the Arvind Raghunathan Professor of South Asian Studies at Columbia University. He was ...
to over 30,000 by Amaresh Datta of the
Sahitya Akademi The Sahitya Akademi, India's National Academy of Letters, is an organisation dedicated to the promotion of literature in the languages of India. Founded on 12 March 1954, it is supported by, though independent of, the Indian government. Its of ...
.Datta, Amaresh; ''Encyclopaedia of Indian literature – vol. 2'', p. 1717, 1988, Sahitya Akademi, Sheldon Pollock in Dehejia, Vidya; ''The Body Adorned: Sacred and Profane in Indian Art'', p.5, chapter:''The body as Leitmotif'', 2013, Columbia University Press, Prior to the Halmidi inscription, there is an abundance of inscriptions containing Kannada words, phrases and sentences, proving its antiquity. The 543 AD Badami cliff inscription of Pulakesi I is an example of a Sanskrit inscription in old Kannada script.Kamath (2001), p58 Kannada inscriptions are not only discovered in Karnataka but also quite commonly in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu. Some inscriptions were also found in Madhya Pradesh and Gujarat. This indicates the spread of the influence of the language over the ages, especially during the rule of large Kannada empires.Kamath (2001), p83 The earliest copper plates inscribed in Old Kannada script and language, dated to the early 8th century AD, are associated with Alupa King Aluvarasa II from Belmannu (the Dakshina Kannada district), and display the double crested fish, his royal emblem.Gururaj Bhat in Kamath (2001), p97 The oldest well-preserved palm leaf manuscript in ''Old Kannada'' is that of ''Dhavala''. It dates to around the 9th century and is preserved in the Jain Bhandar, Mudbidri,
Dakshina Kannada Dakshina Kannada district is a district of Karnataka state in India, with its headquarters in the coastal city of Mangalore. It is part of the larger Tulu Nadu region. The district covers an area nestled in between the Western Ghats to its east ...
district. The manuscript contains 1478 leaves written using ink.


Coins

Some early Kadamba Dynasty coins bearing the Kannada inscription ''Vira'' and ''Skandha'' were found in Satara collectorate.The coins are preserved at the Archaeological Section, Prince of Wales Museum of Western India, Mumbai – Kundangar and Moraes in Moraes (1931), p382 A gold coin bearing three inscriptions of ''Sri'' and an abbreviated inscription of king Bhagiratha's name called ''bhagi'' (c. 390–420 AD) in old Kannada exists.The coin is preserved at the Indian Historical Research Institute, St. Xavier's College, Mumbai – Kundangar and Moraes in Moraes (1938), p 382 A Kadamba copper coin dated to the 5th century AD with the inscription ''Srimanaragi'' in Kannada script was discovered in Banavasi,
Uttara Kannada district Uttara Kannada is a district in the Indian state of Karnataka. Uttara Kannada District is a major coastal district of Karnataka, and currently holding the title of the largest district in Karnataka. It is bordered by the state of Goa and Belag ...
. Coins with Kannada legends have been discovered spanning the rule of the
Western Ganga Dynasty Western Ganga was an important ruling dynasty of ancient Karnataka in India which lasted from about 350 to 1000 CE. They are known as "Western Gangas" to distinguish them from the Eastern Gangas who in later centuries ruled over Kalinga (mo ...
, the Badami
Chalukyas The Chalukya dynasty () was a Classical Indian dynasty that ruled large parts of southern and central India between the 6th and the 12th centuries. During this period, they ruled as three related yet individual dynasties. The earliest dynas ...
, the
Alupas The Alupa dynasty (ಅಳುಪೆರ್, ಆಳ್ವೆರ್) (circa 2nd century C.E to 15th century C.E) was an ancient ruling dynasty of India. The kingdom they ruled was known as ''Alvakheda Arusasira'' and its territory spanned the coa ...
, the
Western Chalukyas The Western Chalukya Empire ruled most of the Deccan Plateau, western Deccan, South India, between the 10th and 12th centuries. This Kannada people, Kannadiga dynasty is sometimes called the ''Kalyani Chalukya'' after its regal capital at Kalya ...
, the
Rashtrakutas Rashtrakuta (IAST: ') (r. 753-982 CE) was a royal Indian dynasty ruling large parts of the Indian subcontinent between the sixth and 10th centuries. The earliest known Rashtrakuta inscription is a 7th-century copper plate grant detailing their ...
, the
Hoysalas The Hoysala Empire was a Kannadiga power originating from the Indian subcontinent that ruled most of what is now Karnataka between the 10th and the 14th centuries. The capital of the Hoysalas was initially located at Belur, but was later moved ...
, the
Vijayanagar Empire The Vijayanagara Empire, also called the Karnata Kingdom, was a Hinduism, Hindu empire based in the region of South India, which consisted the modern states of Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Goa and some parts of Telangana an ...
, the Kadamba Dynasty of Banavasi, the
Keladi Nayaka Nayakas of Keladi (1499–1763), also known as Nayakas of Bednore and Ikkeri Nayakas, were an Indian dynasty based in Keladi in present-day Shimoga district of Karnataka, India. They were an important ruling dynasty in post-medieval Karnata ...
s and the
Mysore Kingdom The Kingdom of Mysore was a realm in southern India, traditionally believed to have been founded in 1399 in the vicinity of the modern city of Mysore. From 1799 until 1950, it was a princely state, until 1947 in a subsidiary alliance with Brit ...
, the Badami Chalukya coins being a recent discovery.Kamath (2001), p12, p57 The coins of the Kadambas of Goa are unique in that they have alternate inscription of the king's name in Kannada and Devanagari in triplicate,This shows that the native vernacular of the Goa Kadambas was Kannada – Moraes (1931), p384 a few coins of the Kadambas of
Hangal Hangal, is a historic town in Karnataka, It is away from Hubli through NH 766E. Location Hangal lies about south of the city of Hubli-Dharwad, about west of the Tungabhadra river and east of the Arabian sea. It is located on state road o ...
are also available.Two coins of the Hangal Kadambas are preserved at the Royal Asiatic Society, Mumbai, one with the Kannada inscription ''Saarvadhari'' and other with ''Nakara''. Moraes (1931), p385


Literature


Old Kannada

The oldest known existing record of Kannada poetry in ''Tripadi'' metre is the
Kappe Arabhatta Kappe Arabhatta ( kn, ಕಪ್ಪೆ ಅರಭಟ್ಟ) was a Chalukya warrior of the 8th century who is known from a Kannada verse inscription, dated to c. 700 CE, and carved on a cliff overlooking the northeast end of the artificial lake in ...
record of 7th century AD.Kamath (2001), p. 67 ''
Kavirajamarga ''Kavirajamarga'' ( kn, ಕವಿರಾಜಮಾರ್ಗ) (850 C.E.) is the earliest available work on rhetoric, poetics and grammar in the Kannada language.Kamath (2001), p 90Narasimhacharya (1988), p 2 It was inspired by or written in part by ...
'' by King Nripatunga
Amoghavarsha Amoghavarsha I (also known as Amoghavarsha Nrupathunga I) (r.814–878 CE) was the greatest emperor of the Rashtrakuta dynasty, and one of the most notable rulers of Ancient India. His reign of 64 years is one of the longest precisely dated mo ...
I (850 AD) is the earliest existing literary work in Kannada. It is a writing on literary criticism and poetics meant to standardise various written Kannada dialects used in literature in previous centuries. The book makes reference to Kannada works by early writers such as King
Durvinita Durvinita () is seen as the most successful ruler of the Western Ganga dynasty. Son of the previous ruler, Avinita, Durvinita's accession to the throne was disputed by his brother, who had gained the support of the Pallavas and Kadambas. There ...
of the 6th century and Ravikirti, the author of the Aihole record of 636 AD.Sastri (1955), p355 Since the earliest available Kannada work is one on grammar and a guide of sorts to unify existing variants of
Kannada grammar Standard Kannada grammar ( kn, ಕನ್ನಡ ವ್ಯಾಕರಣ) is primarily based on Keshiraja's Shabdamanidarpana (c. 1260 CE) which provides the fullest systematic exposition of Kannada language.''Studies in Indian History, Epigraphy, and ...
and literary styles, it can be safely assumed that literature in Kannada must have started several centuries earlier. An early
extant Extant is the opposite of the word extinct. It may refer to: * Extant hereditary titles * Extant literature, surviving literature, such as ''Beowulf'', the oldest extant manuscript written in English * Extant taxon, a taxon which is not extinct, ...
prose work, the ''Vaḍḍārādhane'' (ವಡ್ಡಾರಾಧನೆ) by
Shivakotiacharya Shivakotiacharya (also Shivakoti), a writer of the 9th-10th century, is considered the author of didactic Kannada language Jain text ''Vaddaradhane'' (''lit'', "Worship of elders", ca. 900). A prose narrative written in pre-Old-Kannada (''P ...
of 900 AD provides an elaborate description of the life of Bhadrabahu of
Shravanabelagola Shravanabelagola () is a town located near Channarayapatna of Hassan district in the Indian state of Karnataka and is from Bengaluru. The Gommateshwara Bahubali statue at Shravanabelagola is one of the most important tirthas (pilgrimage des ...
.Sastri (1955), p356 Some of the early writers of prose and verse mentioned in the ''Kavirajamarga,'' numbering 8–10, stating these are but a few of many, but whose works are lost, are Vimala or Vimalachandra (c. 777), Udaya, Nagarjuna, Jayabandhu, Durvinita (6th century), and poets including Kaviswara, Srivijaya, Pandita, Chandra, Ravi Kirti (c. 634) and Lokapala.R. Narasimhacharya (1934), pp. 2, 4–5, 12–18, 29Warder (1988), pp. 240–241 For fragmentary information on these writers, we can refer the work ''Karnataka Kavi Charite''. Ancient indigenous Kannada literary compositions of (folk) poetry like the ''Chattana'' and ''Bedande'' which preferred to use the ''Desi'' metre are said to have survived at least until the date of the Kavirajamarga in 850 AD and had their roots in the early Kannada folk literature. These Kannada verse-compositions might have been representative of folk songs containing influence of Sanskrit and Prakrit metrical patterns to some extent. "Kavirajamarga" also discusses earlier composition forms peculiar to Kannada, the "gadyakatha", a mixture of prose and poetry, the "''chattana''" and the "''bedande''", poems of several stanzas that were meant to be sung with the optional use of a musical instrument. Amoghavarsha Nripatunga compares the ''puratana-kavigal'' (old Kannada poets) who wrote the great ''Chattana'' poems in Kannada to the likes of the great Sanskrit poets like Gunasuri, Narayana, Bharavi, Kalidasa, Magha, etc. This Old Kannada work, ''Kavirajamarga'', itself in turn refers to a ''Palagannada'' (Old Kannada) of much ancient times, which is nothing but the Pre-Old Kannada and also warns aspiring Kannada writers to avoid its archaisms, as per R. S. Hukkerikar. Regarding earlier poems in Kannada, the author of "''Kavirajamarga''" states that old Kannada is appropriate in ancient poems but insipid in contemporaneous works as per R. Narasimhacharya. Gunanandi (900 AD), quoted by the grammarian Bhattakalanka and always addressed as ''Bhagawan'' (the adorable), was the author of a logic, grammar and ''sahitya''. Durvinita (529–579 AD), the Ganga king, was the pupil of the author of Sabdavatara, i.e., Devanandi Pujyapada. Durvinita is said to have written a commentary on the difficult 15th ''sarga'' of Bharavi's ''Kiratarjuniya'' in Kannada. Early Kannada writers regularly mention three poets as of especial eminence among their predecessors – Samanta-bhadra, Kavi Parameshthi and Pujyapada. Since later Kannada poets so uniformly name these three as eminent poets, it is probable that they wrote in Kannada also. Samantabhadra is placed in 2nd century AD by Jain tradition. Old Kannada commentaries on some of his works exist. He was said to have born in Utkalikagrama and while performing penance in Manuvakahalli, he was attacked by a disease called ''Bhasmaka''. Pujyapada also called Devanandi, was the preceptor of Ganga king Durvinita and belonged to the late 5th to early 6th century AD. Kaviparameshthi probably lived in the 4th century AD. He may possibly be the same as the ''Kaviswara'' referred to in the Kavirajamarga, and the ''Kaviparameswara'' praised by Chavunda Raya (978 AD) and his spiritual teacher, Nemichandra (10th century AD), all the names possibly being only epithets. Kannada works from earlier centuries mentioned in the
Kavirajamarga ''Kavirajamarga'' ( kn, ಕವಿರಾಜಮಾರ್ಗ) (850 C.E.) is the earliest available work on rhetoric, poetics and grammar in the Kannada language.Kamath (2001), p 90Narasimhacharya (1988), p 2 It was inspired by or written in part by ...
are not yet traced. Some ancient Kannada texts now considered extinct but referenced in later centuries are ''Prabhrita'' (650 AD) by Syamakundacharya, ''Chudamani'' (Crest Jewel—650 AD or earlier) by Srivaradhadeva, also known as Tumbuluracharya, which is a work of 96,000 verse-measures and a commentary on logic (''Tatwartha-mahashastra'').The seventeenth-century Kannada grammarian Bhattakalanka wrote about the ''Chudamani'' as a milestone in the literature of the Kannada language (Sastri (1955), p355)Narasimhacharya (1988), pp 4–5 Other sources date ''Chudamani'' to the 6th century or earlier.6th century Sanskrit poet Dandin praised Srivaradhadeva's writing as "having produced
Saraswati Saraswati ( sa, सरस्वती, ) is the Hindu goddess of knowledge, music, art, speech, wisdom, and learning. She is one of the Tridevi, along with the goddesses Lakshmi and Parvati. The earliest known mention of Saraswati as a go ...
from the tip of his tongue, just as
Shiva Shiva (; sa, शिव, lit=The Auspicious One, Śiva ), also known as Mahadeva (; ɐɦaːd̪eːʋɐ, or Hara, is one of the principal deities of Hinduism. He is the Supreme Being in Shaivism, one of the major traditions within Hindu ...
produced the
Ganges The Ganges ( ) (in India: Ganga ( ); in Bangladesh: Padma ( )). "The Ganges Basin, known in India as the Ganga and in Bangladesh as the Padma, is an international river to which India, Bangladesh, Nepal and China are the riparian states." is ...
from the tip of his top knot" (Rice E.P., 1921, pp.25–28)
Rice, B.L. (1897), pp. 496–497 An inscription of 1128 AD quotes a couplet by the famous Sanskrit poet Dandin (active 680–720 AD), highly praising Srivaradhadeva, for his Kannada work Chudamani, as having "produced Saraswati (i.e., learning and eloquence) from the tip of his tongue, as Siva produced the Ganges from the tip of his top-knot." Bhattakalanka (1604 CE), the great Kannada grammarian, refers to Srivaradhadeva's Chudamani as the greatest work in Kannada, and as incontestable proof of the scholarly character and value of Kannada literature. This makes Srivaradhadeva's time earlier than the 6th-7th century AD. Other writers, whose works are not extant now but titles of which are known from independent references such as Indranandi's "Srutavatara", Devachandra's "Rajavalikathe", Bhattakalanka's "Sabdanusasana" of 1604, writings of JayakirthiChidananda Murthy in Kamath (1980), p. 50, 67 are Syamakundacharya (650), who authored the "Prabhrita", and Srivaradhadeva (also called Tumubuluracharya, 650 or earlier), who wrote the "Chudamani" ("Crest Jewel"), a 96,000-verse commentary on logic. The ''Karnateshwara Katha'', a eulogy for King
Pulakesi II Pulakeshin II (IAST: Pulakeśin, r. c. 610–642 CE) was the most famous ruler of the Chalukya dynasty of Vatapi (present-day Badami in Karnataka, India). During his reign, the Chalukya kingdom expanded to cover most of the Deccan region in p ...
, is said to have belonged to the 7th century; the ''Gajastaka'', a lost "ashtaka" (eight line verse) composition and a work on elephant management by King
Shivamara II Shivamara II was the son of Sripurusha and ruled the Western Ganga Dynasty from 788 – 816 C.E. He was also a noted scholar in Kannada, Sanskrit and Prakrit. He succeeded to the Ganga throne during a time when the Rashtrakuta were the empir ...
, belonged to the 8th century,Kamath (2001), p50, p67 this served as the basis for 2 popular folk songs ''Ovanige'' and ''Onakevadu,'' which were sung either while pounding corn or to entice wild elephants into a pit ("''Ovam''"). The ''Chandraprabha-purana'' by Sri Vijaya, a court poet of emperor
Amoghavarsha I Amoghavarsha I (also known as Amoghavarsha Nrupathunga I) (r.814–878 CE) was the greatest emperor of the Rashtrakuta dynasty, and one of the most notable rulers of Ancient India. His reign of 64 years is one of the longest precisely dated mo ...
, is ascribed to the early 9th century. His writing has been mentioned by Vijayanagara poets Mangarasa III and Doddiah (also spelt Doddayya, c. 1550 AD) and praised by Durgasimha (c. 1025 AD).The author and his work were praised by the latter-day poet Durgasimha of AD 1025 (R. Narasimhacharya 1988, p18.) During the 9th century period, the Digambara Jain poet Asaga (or Asoka) authored, among other writings, "Karnata Kumarasambhava Kavya" and "Varadamana Charitra". His works have been praised by later poets, although none of his works are available today. "Gunagankiyam", the earliest known prosody in Kannada, was referenced in a Tamil work dated to 10th century or earlier ("Yapparungalakkarigai" by Amritasagara). Gunanandi, an expert in logic, Kannada grammar and prose, flourished in the 9th century AD. Around 900 AD, Gunavarma I wrote "Sudraka" and "Harivamsa" (also known as "Neminatha Purana"). In "Sudraka" he compared his patron, Ganga king Ereganga Neetimarga II (c. 907-921 AD), to a noted king called Sudraka. Jinachandra, who is referred to by Sri Ponna (c. 950 AD) as the author of "Pujyapada Charita", had earned the honorific "modern Samantha Bhadra". Tamil Buddhist commentators of the 10th century AD (in the commentary on ''Neminatham'', a Tamil grammatical work) make references that show that Kannada literature must have flourished as early as the BC 4th century. Around the beginning of the 9th century, Old Kannada was spoken from
Kaveri The Kaveri (also known as Cauvery, the anglicized name) is one of the major Indian rivers flowing through the states of Karnataka and Tamil Nadu. The Kaveri river rises at Talakaveri in the Brahmagiri range in the Western Ghats, Kodagu dis ...
to
Godavari The Godavari ( IAST: ''Godāvarī'' od̪aːʋəɾiː is India's second longest river after the Ganga river and drains into the third largest basin in India, covering about 10% of India's total geographical area. Its source is in Trimbakesh ...
. The Kannada spoken between the rivers
Varada The Varada River (Verada River) is a river in central Karnataka, India. It is a tributary of the Tungabhadra River. Geography The Varada river originates near Vardamoola in Sagara of Karnataka. It flows through the Western Ghats and ent ...
and
Malaprabha The Malaprabha River (Kannada ಮಲಪ್ರಭಾ ನದಿ) is a tributary of the Krishna River and flows through the state of Karnataka in India. It rises in the Western Ghats at an elevation of in the state's Belgaum district. The rive ...
was the pure well of Kannada undefiled. The late classical period gave birth to several genres of Kannada literature, with new forms of composition coming into use, including ''Ragale'' (a form of blank verse) and meters like ''Sangatya'' and ''Shatpadi''. The works of this period are based on
Jain Jainism ( ), also known as Jain Dharma, is an Indian religion. Jainism traces its spiritual ideas and history through the succession of twenty-four tirthankaras (supreme preachers of ''Dharma''), with the first in the current time cycle being ...
and
Hindu Hindus (; ) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism.Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pages 35–37 Historically, the term has also been used as a geographical, cultural, and later religious identifier for ...
principles. Two of the early writers of this period are
Harihara Harihara (Sanskrit: हरिहर) is the fused sattvika characterisation of Vishnu (Hari) and Shiva (Hara) from Hindu theology. Hari is the form of Vishnu, and Hara is the form of Shiva. Harihara is also known as Shankaranarayana ("Shankara ...
and Raghavanka, trailblazers in their own right. Harihara established the ''Ragale'' form of composition while
Raghavanka Raghavanka ( kn, ರಾಘವಾಂಕ) was a noted Kannada writer and a poet in the Hoysala court who flourished in the late 12th to early 13th century. Raghavanka is credited for popularizing the use of the native '' shatpadi'' metre (hexa m ...
popularised the ''Shatpadi'' (six-lined stanza) meter.Sastri (1955), pp 361–2 A famous
Jaina JAINA is an acronym for the Federation of Jain Associations in North America, an umbrella organizations to preserve, practice, and promote Jainism in USA and Canada. It was founded in 1981 and formalized in 1983. Among Jain organization it is ...
writer of the same period is
Janna Janna (Kannada : ಮಹಾಕವಿ ಜನ್ನ) was one of the well-known Kannada poets of the early 13th century who also served in the capacity of a minister and a builder of temples. He graced the court of Hoysala empire King Veera Ba ...
, who expressed Jain religious teachings through his works.Narasimhacharya (1988), p20 The
Vachana Sahitya Vachana sahitya is a form of rhythmic writing in Kannada (see also Kannada poetry) that evolved in the 11th century and flourished in the 12th century, as a part of the Sharana movement. Madara Chennaiah, an 11th-century cobbler-saint who lived ...
tradition of the 12th century is purely native and unique in world literature, and the sum of contributions by all sections of society. Vachanas were pithy poems on that period's social, religious and economic conditions. More importantly, they held a mirror to the seed of social revolution, which caused a radical re-examination of the ideas of caste, creed and religion. Some of the important writers of Vachana literature include
Basavanna Basaveshwara, colloquially known as Basavanna, was a 12th-century CE Indian statesman, philosopher, poet, Lingayat social reformer in the Shiva-focussed bhakti movement, and a Hindu Shaivite social reformer during the reign of the Kalyani Chalu ...
,
Allama Prabhu Allamaprabhu ( kn, ಅಲ್ಲಮಪ್ರಭು) was a 12th-century mystic-saint and ''Vachana'' poet (called ''Vachanakara'') of the Kannada language, propagating the unitary consciousness of Self and Shiva. Allamaprabhu is one of the cele ...
and
Akka Mahadevi Akka Mahadevi ಅಕ್ಕ ಮಹಾದೇವಿ (c.1130–1160) was one of the early female poets of the Kannada literature and a prominent person in the Lingayat Shaiva sect in the 12th century. Her 430 extant Vachana poems (a form of spont ...
.Sastri (1955), p361 Emperor Nripatunga Amoghavarsha I of 850 AD recognised that the Sanskrit style of Kannada literature was ''Margi'' (formal or written form of language) and ''Desi'' (folk or spoken form of language) style was popular and made his people aware of the strength and beauty of their native language Kannada. In 1112 AD, Jain poet Nayasena of Mulugunda, Dharwad district, in his Champu work ''Dharmamrita'' (ಧರ್ಮಾಮೃತ), a book on morals, warns writers from mixing Kannada with Sanskrit by comparing it with mixing of clarified butter and oil. He has written it using very limited Sanskrit words which fit with idiomatic Kannada. In 1235 AD, Jain poet Andayya, wrote ''Kabbigara Kava''- ಕಬ್ಬಿಗರ ಕಾವ (Poet's Defender), also called ''Sobagina Suggi'' (Harvest of Beauty) or ''Madana-Vijaya and'' ''Kavana-Gella'' (Cupid's Conquest)'','' a ''Champu'' work in pure Kannada using only indigenous (''desya'') Kannada words and the derived form of Sanskrit words – ''tadbhavas'', without the admixture of Sanskrit words. He succeeded in his challenge and proved wrong those who had advocated that it was impossible to write a work in Kannada without using Sanskrit words. Andayya may be considered as a protector of Kannada poets who were ridiculed by Sanskrit advocates. Thus Kannada is the only Dravidian language which is not only capable of using only native Kannada words and grammar in its literature (like Tamil), but also use Sanskrit grammar and vocabulary (like Telugu, Malayalam, Tulu, etc.) The Champu style of literature of mixing poetry with prose owes its origins to the Kannada language which was later incorporated by poets into Sanskrit and other Indian languages.Rice, Edward. P (1921), "A History of Kannada Literature", Oxford University Press, 1921: 14–15


Middle Kannada

During the period between the 15th and 18th centuries,
Hinduism Hinduism () is an Indian religion or '' dharma'', a religious and universal order or way of life by which followers abide. As a religion, it is the world's third-largest, with over 1.2–1.35 billion followers, or 15–16% of the global p ...
had a great influence on Middle Kannada (''Naḍugannaḍa''- ನಡುಗನ್ನಡ) language and literature.
Kumara Vyasa Narayanappa ( kn, ನಾರಾಯಣಪ್ಪ), known by his pen name Kumara Vyasa ( kn, ಕುಮಾರವ್ಯಾಸ), was an influential and classical Vaishnava poet of early 15th century in the Kannada language. His pen name is a tribute ...
, who wrote the ''Karṇāṭa Bhārata Kathāman̄jari'' (ಕರ್ಣಾಟ ಭಾರತ ಕಥಾಮಂಜರಿ), was arguably the most influential Kannada writer of this period. His work, entirely composed in the native ''Bhamini Shatpadi'' (hexa-meter), is a sublime adaptation of the first ten books of the
Mahabharata The ''Mahābhārata'' ( ; sa, महाभारतम्, ', ) is one of the two major Sanskrit epics of ancient India in Hinduism, the other being the ''Rāmāyaṇa''. It narrates the struggle between two groups of cousins in the Kuruk ...
.Sastri (1955), p364 During this period, the Sanskritic influence is present in most abstract, religious, scientific and rhetorical terms."Literature in all Dravidian languages owes a great deal to Sanskrit, the magic wand whose touch raised each of the languages from a level of patois to that of a literary idiom". (Sastri 1955, p309)Takahashi, Takanobu. 1995. Tamil love poetry and poetics. Brill's Indological library, v. 9. Leiden: E.J. Brill, p16,18"The author endeavours to demonstrate that the entire Sangam poetic corpus follows the "Kavya" form of Sanskrit poetry"-Tieken, Herman Joseph Hugo. 2001. Kāvya in South India: old Tamil Caṅkam poetry. Groningen: Egbert Forsten During this period, several
Hindi Hindi (Devanāgarī: or , ), or more precisely Modern Standard Hindi (Devanagari: ), is an Indo-Aryan language spoken chiefly in the Hindi Belt region encompassing parts of northern, central, eastern, and western India. Hindi has been de ...
and
Marathi Marathi may refer to: *Marathi people, an Indo-Aryan ethnolinguistic group of Maharashtra, India *Marathi language, the Indo-Aryan language spoken by the Marathi people *Palaiosouda, also known as Marathi, a small island in Greece See also * * ...
words came into Kannada, chiefly relating to feudalism and militia. Hindu saints of the
Vaishnava Vaishnavism ( sa, वैष्णवसम्प्रदायः, Vaiṣṇavasampradāyaḥ) is one of the major Hindu denominations along with Shaivism, Shaktism, and Smartism. It is also called Vishnuism since it considers Vishnu as the ...
sect such as
Kanakadasa Kanaka Dasa (1509–1609) was a Haridasa saint and philosopher, popularly called Daasashreshta Kanakadasa (ದಾಸಶ್ರೇಷ್ಠ ಕನಕದಾಸ). He was a renowned composer of Carnatic music, poet, reformer and musician. He is kn ...
,
Purandaradasa Purandara Dasa ( IAST: Purandara dāsa) ( 1470 – 1565) was a Haridasa philosopher and a follower of Madhwacharya 's Dwaitha philosophy -saint from present-day Karnataka, India. He was a composer, singer and one of the chief founding-pro ...
,
Naraharitirtha Narahari Tirtha ( 1243 - 1333) was a Dvaita philosopher, scholar, statesman and one of the disciples of Madhvacharya. He is considered to be the progenitor of the Haridasa movement along with Sripadaraja. Though only two of his scholarly wor ...
,
Vyasatirtha Vyāsatīrtha (. 1460 – 1539), also called ''Vyasaraja'' or ''Chandrikacharya'', was a Hindu philosopher, scholar, polemicist, commentator and poet belonging to the Madhwacharya's Dvaita order of Vedanta. As the patron saint of the Vijay ...
,
Sripadaraya Sripadaraja ( sa, श्रीपादराज; ) or Sripadaraya, also known by his pontifical name Lakshminarayana Tirtha (1422 - 1480), was a Hindu Dvaita philosopher, scholar and composer and the pontiff of the Madhvacharya mutt at Mulb ...
,
Vadirajatirtha Sri Vadiraja Teertharu (1480 – 1600) was a Dvaita philosopher, poet, traveller and mystic. A polymath of his time, he authored many works, often polemical, on Madhva theology and metaphysics. Additionally, he composed numerous poems and as ...
,
Vijaya Dasa Vijaya Dasa ( kn, ವಿಜಯದಾಸ) (c. 1682– c. 1755) was a prominent saint from the Haridasa tradition of Karnataka, India in the 18th century, and a scholar of the Dvaita philosophical tradition. Along with contemporary haridasa saint ...
,
Gopala Dasa Gopala Dasa (1721–1769) was a prominent 18th-century Kannada language poet and saint belonging to the Haridasa tradition. With other contemporary Haridasas such as Vijaya Dasa and Jagannatha Dasa, Gopala Dasa propagated the Dvaita philosophy ...
, Jagannatha Dasa, Prasanna Venkatadasa produced devotional poems in this period.Sastri (1955), pp 364–365 Kanakadasa's ''Rāmadhānya Charite'' (ರಾಮಧಾನ್ಯ ಚರಿತೆ) is a rare work, concerning with the issue of class struggle.The writing exalts the grain Ragi above all other grains that form the staple foods of much of modern Karnataka (Sastri 1955, p365) This period saw the advent of ''
Haridasa The Haridasa Bhakti Sahitya devotional movement (sampradaya) originated in Karnataka, India, after Madhvacharya, and spread to eastern states such as Bengal and Assam of medieval India. Over a span of nearly six centuries, several saints and ...
Sahitya'' (''lit'' Dasa literature) which made rich contributions to ''
Bhakti ''Bhakti'' ( sa, भक्ति) literally means "attachment, participation, fondness for, homage, faith, love, devotion, worship, purity".See Monier-Williams, ''Sanskrit Dictionary'', 1899. It was originally used in Hinduism, referring to d ...
'' literature and sowed the seeds of Carnatic music. Purandara Dasa is widely considered the ''Father of Carnatic music''.Iyer (2006), p93Sastri (1955), p365


Modern Kannada

The Kannada works produced from the 19th century make a gradual transition and are classified as ''Hosagannaḍa'' or Modern Kannada. Most notable among the modernists was the poet Nandalike Muddana whose writing may be described as the "Dawn of Modern Kannada", though generally, linguists treat ''Indira Bai'' or ''Saddharma Vijayavu'' by Gulvadi Venkata Raya as the first literary works in Modern Kannada. The first modern
movable type Movable type (US English; moveable type in British English) is the system and technology of printing and typography that uses movable components to reproduce the elements of a document (usually individual alphanumeric characters or punctuatio ...
printing of "Canarese" appears to be the ''Canarese Grammar'' of
Carey Carey may refer to: Names * Carey (given name), a given name * Carey (surname), a surname ** List of people with surname Carey Places Canada * Carey Group, British Columbia; in the Pacific * Carey Island (Nunavut) in James Bay United Kingdom * ...
printed at
Serampore Serampore (also called ''Serampur'', ''Srirampur'', ''Srirampore'', ''Shreerampur'', ''Shreerampore'', ''Shrirampur'' or ''Shrirampore'') is a city of Hooghly district in the Indian state of West Bengal. It is the headquarter of the Srirampor ...
in 1817, and the " Bible in Canarese" of
John Hands John Hands (5 December 1780 – 30 June 1864 in Dublin) was a missionary of the London Missionary Society in India and, with William Reeve, translator of one of the first Bible translations into Kannada (1820). Hands founded the mission station ...
in 1820. The first novel printed was
John Bunyan John Bunyan (; baptised 30 November 162831 August 1688) was an English writer and Puritan preacher best remembered as the author of the Christian allegory ''The Pilgrim's Progress,'' which also became an influential literary model. In addition ...
's ''
Pilgrim's Progress ''The Pilgrim's Progress from This World, to That Which Is to Come'' is a 1678 Christian allegory written by John Bunyan. It is regarded as one of the most significant works of theological fiction in English literature and a progenitor of ...
'', along with other texts including ''Canarese Proverbs'', ''The History of Little Henry and his Bearer'' by
Mary Martha Sherwood Mary Martha Sherwood (née Butt; 6 May 177522 September 1851) was a nineteenth-century English children's writer. Of her more than four hundred works, the best known include '' The History of Little Henry and his Bearer'' (1814) and the two ser ...
, Christian Gottlob Barth's ''Bible Stories'' and "a Canarese hymn book." Modern Kannada in the 20th century has been influenced by many movements, notably ''Navodaya'', ''Navya'', ''Navyottara'', ''Dalita'' and ''Bandaya''. Contemporary Kannada literature has been highly successful in reaching people of all classes in society. Further, Kannada has produced a number of prolific and renowned poets and writers such as
Kuvempu Kuppali Venkatappa Puttappa (29 December 1904 – 11 November 1994), popularly known by his pen name Kuvempu, was an Indian poet, playwright, novelist and critic. He is widely regarded as the greatest Kannada poet of the 20th century. He was ...
, Bendre, and V K Gokak. Works of Kannada literature have received eight Jnanpith awards, the highest number awarded to any Indian language.


Dialects

There is also a considerable difference between the spoken and written forms of the language. Spoken Kannada tends to vary from region to region. The written form is more or less consistent throughout Karnataka. The
Ethnologue ''Ethnologue: Languages of the World'' (stylized as ''Ethnoloɠue'') is an annual reference publication in print and online that provides statistics and other information on the living languages of the world. It is the world's most comprehensiv ...
reports "about 20 dialects" of Kannada. Among them are
Kundagannada Kundagannada or Kundaapra Kannada or Kundapura Kannada is a dialect of Kannada spoken in Kundapura, Byndoor, Brahmavar,Hebri taluks of Udupi district Udupi district (also Udipi or Odipu in Tulu language) is an administrative subdivision i ...
(spoken exclusively in Kundapura, Brahmavara, Bynduru and Hebri), Sirsi Kannada Primarily spoken in Sirsi and it's neighbouring taluks, Nadavar-Kannada (spoken by
Nadavaru Nadavara or Nadavaru in a caste. The word has been has been used in reference to two Indian castes from Karnataka. * Bunts * Nadavars of Uttara Kannada Uttara Kannada is a district in the Indian state of Karnataka. Uttara Kannada Distri ...
),
Havigannada Havigannada, also called as Havyaka Bhaashe and Havyaka Kannada, is the dialect of Kannada spoken in Malenadu and Karavali, coastal region of Karnataka. Usage Havigannada uses similar verbs and words as mainstream Kannada. However, it has more ...
(spoken mainly by
Havyaka Brahmin Havyaka Brahmins are the Hindu Pancha Dravida Vedic Brahmins from the Indian state of Karnataka. Havyakas profess the Advaita philosophy propounded by Adi Shankaracharya. Most Havyakas can trace their immediate ancestry to either Sirsi, Utta ...
s),
Are Bhashe Arebhashe (, ''Arebhāṣe'') or Aregannada or Gowda Kannada is a dialect of Kannada mainly by Gowda and other communities in the region Madikeri, Somwarpet, and Virajpet taluks of Kodagu district, Sullia, taluks of Dakshina Kannada district; ...
(spoken by Gowda community mainly in
Madikeri Madikeri is a hill station town in Madikeri taluk and headquarters of Kodagu district in Karnataka, India. Etymology Madikeri was known as ''Muddu Raja Keri'', which meant Mudduraja's town, was named after the prominent Haleri king Muddura ...
and
Sullia Sullia (also known as Sulya) is a town in the Dakshina Kannada district of the state of Karnataka, India. It is the headquarters of the Sullia taluk. Sullia taluk is one of the seven talukas of Dakshina Kannada district. Its administrative ...
region of
Dakshina Kannada Dakshina Kannada district is a district of Karnataka state in India, with its headquarters in the coastal city of Mangalore. It is part of the larger Tulu Nadu region. The district covers an area nestled in between the Western Ghats to its east ...
), Malenadu Kannada (Sakaleshpur, Coorg, Shimoga, Chikmagalur), Sholaga, Gulbarga Kannada, Dharawad Kannada etc. All of these dialects are influenced by their regional and cultural background. The one million
Komarpant The Komarpanth (or Komarpant naik or Comorpaica) are a social group centred in and around Karwar Goa, komarpants used to primarily speak their own language, known as ''Halegannada'' (Old Kannada) alongwith ''Marathi'' and ''Konkani''. History T ...
s in and around Goa speak their own dialect of Kannada, known as Halegannada. They are settled throughout Goa state, throughout Uttara Kannada district and Khanapur taluk of Belagavi district, Karnataka. The
Halakki Vokkaliga The Halakki-Vokkalu (, also transliterated as Halwakki-Wakkal and Halakki-Vokkaliga) are an indigenous tribe of Karnataka, India.:Halwakki Wakkal is an agricultural class, who are relatively poor. Gam Vokkalu, Kare Vokkalu and Atte Vokkalu are g ...
s of Uttara Kannada and Shimoga districts of Karnataka speak in their own dialect of Kannada called Halakki Kannada or Achchagannada. Their population estimate is about 75,000. Ethnologue also classifies a group of four languages related to Kannada, which are, besides Kannada proper, Badaga, Holiya, Kurumba and Urali. The Golars or Golkars are a nomadic herdsmen tribe present in
Nagpur Nagpur (pronunciation: Help:IPA/Marathi, aːɡpuːɾ is the third largest city and the winter capital of the Indian state of Maharashtra. It is the 13th largest city in India by population and according to an Oxford's Economics report, Nag ...
,
Chanda Sanskrit prosody or Chandas refers to one of the six Vedangas, or limbs of Vedic studies.James Lochtefeld (2002), "Chandas" in The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Hinduism, Vol. 1: A-M, Rosen Publishing, , page 140 It is the study of poetic metr ...
,
Bhandara Bhandara () is a city and municipal council which serves the administrative headquarters of eponymous administrative Bhandara Taluka and Bhandara district in the state of Maharashtra, India. It is connected with NH-53 and NH-247. Overview ...
,
Seoni Seoni is a city and a municipality in Seoni district in the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh. This tribal household dominated district was formed in the year 1956. Rudyard Kipling used the forests in the vicinity of Seoni, or as was spelled dur ...
and Balaghat districts of
Maharashtra Maharashtra (; , abbr. MH or Maha) is a states and union territories of India, state in the western India, western peninsular region of India occupying a substantial portion of the Deccan Plateau. Maharashtra is the List of states and union te ...
and
Madhya Pradesh Madhya Pradesh (, ; meaning 'central province') is a state in central India. Its capital is Bhopal, and the largest city is Indore, with Jabalpur, Ujjain, Gwalior, Sagar, and Rewa being the other major cities. Madhya Pradesh is the seco ...
speak the Golari dialect of Kannada which is identical to the Holiya dialect spoken by their tribal offshoot Holiyas present in Seoni, Nagpur and Bhandara of Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra. There were around 3,600 speakers of this dialect as per the 1901 census. Matthew A. Sherring describes the Golars and Holars as a pastoral tribe from the
Godavari The Godavari ( IAST: ''Godāvarī'' od̪aːʋəɾiː is India's second longest river after the Ganga river and drains into the third largest basin in India, covering about 10% of India's total geographical area. Its source is in Trimbakesh ...
banks established in the districts around Nagpur, in the stony tracts of Ambagarh, forests around Ramplee and Sahangadhee. Along the banks of the
Wainganga The Wainganga is a river in India originating in the Mahadeo Hills in Mundara near the village Gopalganj in Seoni, Madhya Pradesh. It is a key tributary of the Godavari. The river flows south in a winding course through the states of Madhya Prade ...
, they dwell in the Chakurhaitee and Keenee subdivisions. The Kurumvars of Chanda district of Maharashtra, a wild pastoral tribe, 2,200 in number as per the 1901 census, spoke a Kannada dialect called Kurumvari. The Kurumbas or Kurubas, a nomadic shepherd tribe were spread across the
Nilgiris The Nilgiri Mountains form part of the Western Ghats in northwestern Tamil Nadu, Southern Karnataka, and eastern Kerala in India. They are located at the trijunction of three states and connect the Western Ghats with the Eastern Ghats. At le ...
,
Coimbatore Coimbatore, also spelt as Koyamputhur (), sometimes shortened as Kovai (), is one of the major metropolitan cities in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is located on the banks of the Noyyal River and surrounded by the Western Ghats. Coimbato ...
, Salem,
North North is one of the four compass points or cardinal directions. It is the opposite of south and is perpendicular to east and west. ''North'' is a noun, adjective, or adverb indicating Direction (geometry), direction or geography. Etymology T ...
and South Arcots,
Trichinopoly Tiruchirappalli () ( formerly Trichinopoly in English), also called Tiruchi or Trichy, is a major tier II city in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu and the administrative headquarters of Tiruchirappalli district. The city is credited with bein ...
,
Tanjore Thanjavur (), also Tanjore, Pletcher 2010, p. 195 is a city in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. Thanjavur is the 11th biggest city in Tamil Nadu. Thanjavur is an important center of South Indian religion, art, and architecture. Most of the Gr ...
and
Pudukottai Pudukkottai is the administrative headquarters of Pudukkottai District in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is a large city located on the banks of the Vellar River. It has been ruled, at different times, by the mutharaiyar dynasty , Cholas, ...
of Tamil Nadu,
Cuddapah Kadapa (colonial spelled Cuddapah) is a city in the southern part of Andhra Pradesh, India. It is located in the Rayalaseema region, and is the district headquarters of YSR Kadapa district. As of the 2022 Census of India, the city had a popula ...
and
Anantapur Anantapur, officially Anantapuramu, is a city in Anantapur district of the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. It is the mandal headquarters of Anantapuru mandal and also the divisional headquarters of Anantapur revenue division. The city is loca ...
of
Andhra Pradesh Andhra Pradesh (, abbr. AP) is a state in the south-eastern coastal region of India. It is the seventh-largest state by area covering an area of and tenth-most populous state with 49,386,799 inhabitants. It is bordered by Telangana to the ...
,
Malabar Malabar may refer to the following: People * Malabars, people originating from the Malabar region of India * Malbars or Malabars, people of Tamil origin in Réunion Places * Malabar Coast, or Malabar, a region of the southwestern shoreline o ...
and
Cochin Kochi (), also known as Cochin ( ) ( the official name until 1996) is a major port city on the Malabar Coast of India bordering the Laccadive Sea, which is a part of the Arabian Sea. It is part of the district of Ernakulam in the state of K ...
of
Kerala Kerala ( ; ) is a state on the Malabar Coast of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, following the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, by combining Malayalam-speaking regions of the erstwhile regions of Cochin, Malabar, South ...
and
South Canara South Canara was a district of the Madras Presidency of British India, located at . It comprised the towns of Kassergode and Udipi and adjacent villages, with the capital in Mangalore city. South Canara was one of the most heterogeneous areas o ...
and
Coorg Kodagu (also known by its former name Coorg) is an administrative district in the Karnataka state of India. Before 1956, it was an administratively separate Coorg State, at which point it was merged into an enlarged Mysore State. It occupies ...
of
Karnataka Karnataka (; ISO: , , also known as Karunāḍu) is a state in the southwestern region of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, with the passage of the States Reorganisation Act. Originally known as Mysore State , it was renamed ''Karnat ...
and spoke the Kurumba Kannada dialect. The Kurumba and Kurumvari dialect (both closely related with each other) speakers were estimated to be around 11,400 in total as per the 1901 census. There were about 34,250 Badaga speakers as per the 1901 census.
Nasik district Nashik district, also known as Nasik district, is a district in Maharashtra, India. The city of Nashik is the administrative headquarters of the district. Nashik is well known for the production of wine. Nashik is also known as Mini Maharashtra, ...
of Maharashtra has a distinct tribe called 'Hatkar Kaanadi' people who speak a Kannada (Kaanadi) dialect with lot of old Kannada words. Per Chidananda Murthy, they are the native people of Nasik from ancient times, which shows that North Maharashtra's Nasik area had Kannada population 1000 years ago. Kannada speakers formed 0.12% of Nasik district's population as per 1961 census.


Writing system

The language uses forty-nine
phonemic In phonology and linguistics, a phoneme () is a unit of sound that can distinguish one word from another in a particular language. For example, in most dialects of English, with the notable exception of the West Midlands and the north-west o ...
letters, divided into three groups: ''swaragalu'' (vowels – thirteen letters); ''vyanjanagalu'' (consonants – thirty-four letters); and ''yogavaahakagalu'' (neither vowel nor consonant – two letters: ''
anusvara Anusvara (Sanskrit: ') is a symbol used in many Indic scripts to mark a type of nasal sound, typically transliterated . Depending on its location in the word and the language for which it is used, its exact pronunciation can vary. In the context ...
'' and ''
visarga Visarga ( sa, विसर्गः, translit=visargaḥ) means "sending forth, discharge". In Sanskrit phonology ('' ''), ' (also called, equivalently, ' by earlier grammarians) is the name of a phone voiceless glottal fricative, , written as: ...
'' ). The character set is almost identical to that of other Indian languages. The Kannada script is almost entirely phonetic, but for the sound of a "half n" (which becomes a half m). The number of written symbols, however, is far more than the forty-nine characters in the alphabet, because different characters can be combined to form ''compound'' characters ''(ottakshara)''. Each written symbol in the Kannada script corresponds with one
syllable A syllable is a unit of organization for a sequence of speech sounds typically made up of a syllable nucleus (most often a vowel) with optional initial and final margins (typically, consonants). Syllables are often considered the phonological "bu ...
, as opposed to one
phoneme In phonology and linguistics, a phoneme () is a unit of sound that can distinguish one word from another in a particular language. For example, in most dialects of English, with the notable exception of the West Midlands and the north-west o ...
in languages like English—the Kannada script is syllabic.


Dictionary

Kannada–Kannada dictionary has existed in Kannada along with ancient works of Kannada grammar. The oldest available Kannada dictionary was composed by the poet 'Ranna' called 'Ranna Kanda' (ರನ್ನ ಕಂದ) in 996 AD. Other dictionaries are '
Abhidhana An ( sa, अभिधान, ) is a kind of dictionary or vocabulary of Sanskrit. Its purpose was to be used as a general guide for lexicography and word choice. Many of these works had been created in India. One of the oldest of them is the ''Ab ...
Vastukosha' (ಅಭಿದಾನ ವಾಸ್ತುಕೋಶ) by Nagavarma (1045 AD), 'Amarakoshada Teeku' (ಅಮರಕೋಶದ ತೀಕು) by Vittala (1300), 'Abhinavaabhidaana' (ಅಭಿನವಾಭಿದಾನ) by Abhinava Mangaraja (1398 AD) and many more. A Kannada–English dictionary consisting of more than 70,000 words was composed by
Ferdinand Kittel Reverend Ferdinand Kittel was a Lutheran priest and indologist with the Basel Mission in south India and worked in Mangalore, Madikeri and Dharwad in Karnataka. He is most famous for his studies of the Kannada language and for producing a Kannada ...
. G. Venkatasubbaiah edited the first modern Kannada–Kannada dictionary, a 9,000-page, 8-volume series published by the
Kannada Sahitya Parishat Kannada Saahithya Parishath ( kn, ಕನ್ನಡ ಸಾಹಿತ್ಯ ಪರಿಷತ್ತು, Kannaḍa Sāhitya Pariṣattu; ) is an Indian non-profit organisation that promotes the Kannada language and its literature. Its headquarters are ...
. He also wrote a Kannada–English dictionary and a ''kliṣtapadakōśa'' (ಕ್ಲಿಷ್ಟಪಾದಕೋಶ), a dictionary of difficult words.


Phonology

Kannada has 34 consonants and 10 vowels.


Consonants

* Most consonants can be geminated. * Aspirated consonants never occur in native vocabulary. The only exception is the number 9, which can be written with a /bʱ/, as in "ಒಂಭತ್ತು". However, it is usually written with a /b/, as in "ಒಂಬತ್ತು". * The aspiration of consonants depends entirely on the speaker and many do not do it in non-formal situations. * The alveolar trill /r/ may be pronounced as an alveolar tap * The voiceless retroflex sibilant /ʂ/ is commonly pronounced as a /ʃ/ except in consonant clusters with retroflex consonants. * There are also the consonants /f, z/ which occur in recent English and Perso-Arabic loans but they may be replaced by the consonants /pʰ, dʒ/ respectively by speakers. Additionally, Kannada included the following phonemes, which dropped out of common usage in the 12th and 18th century respectively: * // ಱ (ṟ), the alveolar trill. * // ೞ (ḻ), the retroflex central approximant. Old Kannada had an archaic phoneme /ɻ/ under retroflexes in early inscriptions which merged with /ɭ/ and it maintained the contrast between /r/ (< PD ∗t̠) and /ɾ/ from (< PD ∗r). Both merged in Medieval Kannada. In old Kannada at around 10th-14th century, many of the initial /p/ debuccalized into a /h/ e.g. OlKn. pattu, MdKn. hattu "ten". Kannada lacks the palatalization of k's before front vowels which was done by Tamil-Malayalam languages and independently by Telugu, e.g. Kn. kivi, Ta. cevi, Te. cevi "ear".


Vowels

* and are phonetically central . may be as open as () or higher . * The vowels /i iː e eː/ may be preceded by /j/ and the vowels /u uː o oː/ may be preceded by /ʋ/ when they are in an initial position. * The short vowels /a i u e o/, when in an initial or a medial position tend to be pronounced as ɪ ʊ ɛ ɔ In a final position, this phenomenon occurs less frequently. * /æː/ occurs in English loans but can be switched with /aː/ or /ja:/. At around the 8th century, Kannada raised the vowels e, o to i, u when next to high vowels, before written literature emerged in the language, e.g. Kn. kivi, Ta. cevi, Te. cevi "ear".


Grammar

The canonical word order of Kannada is SOV (subject–object–verb), typical of Dravidian languages. Kannada is a highly
inflected In linguistic morphology, inflection (or inflexion) is a process of word formation in which a word is modified to express different grammatical categories such as tense, case, voice, aspect, person, number, gender, mood, animacy, and defini ...
language with three
gender Gender is the range of characteristics pertaining to femininity and masculinity and differentiating between them. Depending on the context, this may include sex-based social structures (i.e. gender roles) and gender identity. Most cultures u ...
s (masculine, feminine, and neuter or common) and two numbers (singular and plural). It is inflected for gender, number and tense, among other things. The most authoritative known book on old Kannada grammar is ''Shabdhamanidarpana'' by Keshiraja. The first available Kannada book, a treatise on poetics, rhetoric and basic grammar is the ''
Kavirajamarga ''Kavirajamarga'' ( kn, ಕವಿರಾಜಮಾರ್ಗ) (850 C.E.) is the earliest available work on rhetoric, poetics and grammar in the Kannada language.Kamath (2001), p 90Narasimhacharya (1988), p 2 It was inspired by or written in part by ...
'' from 850 AD. The most influential account of Kannada grammar is Keshiraja's ''Shabdamanidarpana'' (c. 1260 AD).''Studies in Indian History, Epigraphy, and Culture'' – By Govind Swamirao Gai, pp. 315''A Grammar of the Kannada Language''. F. Kittel (1993), p. 3. The earlier grammatical works include portions of ''
Kavirajamarga ''Kavirajamarga'' ( kn, ಕವಿರಾಜಮಾರ್ಗ) (850 C.E.) is the earliest available work on rhetoric, poetics and grammar in the Kannada language.Kamath (2001), p 90Narasimhacharya (1988), p 2 It was inspired by or written in part by ...
'' (a treatise on ''alańkāra'') of the 9th century, and ''Kavyavalokana'' and ''Karnatakabhashabhushana'' (both authored by Nagavarma II in the first half of the 12th century).


Compound bases

Compound bases, called ''samāsa'' in Kannada, are a set of two or more words compounded together. There are several types of compound bases, based on the rules followed for compounding. The types of compound bases or samāsas: tatpurusha, karmadhāraya, dvigu, bahuvreehi, anshi, dvandva, kriya and gamaka samāsa. Examples: ''taṅgāḷi'', ''hemmara'', ''kannusanne''.


Pronouns

In many ways the third-person pronouns are more like demonstratives than like the other pronouns. They are pluralised like nouns and the first- and second-person pronouns have different ways to distinguish number.


Sample text

The given sample text is Article 1 from the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights.


See also

* Bangalore Kannada * Gokak agitation * Hermann Mögling * Kannada cinema * Kannada dialects * Kannada flag * Kannada in computing *
Kuvempu Kuppali Venkatappa Puttappa (29 December 1904 – 11 November 1994), popularly known by his pen name Kuvempu, was an Indian poet, playwright, novelist and critic. He is widely regarded as the greatest Kannada poet of the 20th century. He was ...
* List of Kannada-language radio stations * List of Karnataka literature * List of languages by number of native speakers in India * Siribhoovalaya * Timeline of Karnataka * Yakshagana


References


Bibliography

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *


Further reading

* * * George M. Moraes (1931), The Kadamba Kula, A History of Ancient and Medieval Karnataka, Asian Educational Services, New Delhi, Madras, 1990 * * Robert Zydenbos (2020): ''A Manual of Modern Kannada.'' Heidelberg: XAsia Books
Open Access publication in PDF format


External links

* {{Commons category-inline Languages attested from the 5th century Classical Language in India Dravidian languages Kannada language, Languages of Andhra Pradesh Languages of Karnataka Languages of Kerala Languages of Tamil Nadu Languages of Telangana Languages with own distinct writing systems Languages officially written in Indic scripts Official languages of India Sahitya Akademi recognised languages