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Tulu () in Kannada script, ml, ത‍ുള‍ു ഭാഷെ in Malayalam script. ''bhāṣe'', , ''bhāśe'', and ''bāśe'' are alternative spellings for the Tulu word ''bāse'' in the Kannada script. The correct spelling for the word "language" in
Kannada Kannada (; ಕನ್ನಡ, ), originally romanised Canarese, is a Dravidian language spoken predominantly by the people of Karnataka in southwestern India, with minorities in all neighbouring states. It has around 47 million native s ...
is kn, ಭಾಷೆ ''bhāṣe'', but that is not necessarily true in Tulu. Männer's ''Tulu-English and English-Tulu Dictionary'' (1886) says, " bāšè, bāsè, ''see'' ." (vol. 1, p. 478), " bhāšè, bhāshè, ''s''. Speech, language." (vol. 1, p. 508), meaning that the four spellings are more or less acceptable. The word is actually pronounced ''bāse'' in Tulu. Note that š and sh in his dictionary correspond to ''ś'' and ''ṣ'', respectively, in ISO 15919 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 imm ...
whose speakers are concentrated in Dakshina Kannada and the southern part of
Udupi Udupi (alternate spelling Udipi; also known as Odipu) is a city in the Indian state of Karnataka. Udupi is situated about north of the educational, commercial and industrial hub of Mangalore and about west of state capital Bangalore by road. ...
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 south-western
India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...
and in the northern parts of the Kasaragod district 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 ...
. The native speakers of Tulu are referred to as ''
Tuluva The Tulu people or Tuluvas are an ethno-linguistic group from Southern India. They are native speakers of the Tulu language and the region they traditionally inhabit is known as Tulu Nadu. This region comprises the districts of Dakshina Kannada ...
'' or Tulu people and the geographical area is unofficially called
Tulu Nadu Tulunad or Tulu Nadu, also called Bermere sristi or Parashurama Srishti, is a region and a proposed state on the southwestern coast of India. The Tulu people, known as 'Tuluva' (plural 'Tuluver'), speakers of Tulu, a Dravidian language, ar ...
. The Indian census report of 2011 reported a total of 1,846,427 native Tulu speakers in India. The 2001 census had reported a total of 1,722,768 native speakers. There is some difficulty in counting Tulu speakers who have migrated from their native region as they are often counted as
Kannada Kannada (; ಕನ್ನಡ, ), originally romanised Canarese, is a Dravidian language spoken predominantly by the people of Karnataka in southwestern India, with minorities in all neighbouring states. It has around 47 million native s ...
speakers in Indian census reports. Separated early from
Proto-South Dravidian Proto-South Dravidian is the linguistic reconstruction of the common ancestor of the south Dravidian languages. Its descendants include Tamil, Kannada, Malayalam, Tulu, Badaga, Kodava, Irula, Kota and Toda. It has been estimated that Proto ...
, Tulu has several features not found in Tamil–Kannada. For example, it has the
pluperfect The pluperfect (shortening of plusquamperfect), usually called past perfect in English, is a type of verb form, generally treated as a grammatical tense in certain languages, relating to an action that occurred prior to an aforementioned time i ...
and the
future perfect The future perfect is a verb form or construction used to describe an event that is expected or planned to happen before a time of reference in the future, such as ''will have finished'' in the English sentence "I will have finished by tomorrow." ...
, like French or
Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Can ...
, but formed without an auxiliary verb. Tulu is the primary spoken language in Tulu Nadu, consisting of the Dakshina Kannada and
Udupi Udupi (alternate spelling Udipi; also known as Odipu) is a city in the Indian state of Karnataka. Udupi is situated about north of the educational, commercial and industrial hub of Mangalore and about west of state capital Bangalore by road. ...
districts in the western part 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 the northern part of
Kasaragod district Kasaragod ( and Malayalam: , English: ''Kassergode'', Tulu: ''Kasrod'', Arabic: ''Harkwillia'') is one of the 14 districts in the southern Indian state of Kerala. Its northern border Thalappady is located just 10 km south to Ullal, whi ...
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 ...
.
A significant number of native Tulu speakers are found in
Kalasa Kalasa is a tehsil located in Chikkamagaluru district in Karnataka. Kalasa is home to the Kalaseshwara Temple dedicated to Lord Shiva. Kalasa lies 92 Kilometres South-west of Chickmagalur and is located on the banks of the Bhadra River. Kannad ...
and
Mudigere Mudigere is a Town Panchayath and Taluk in Chikkamagaluru district in the Indian state of Karnataka. It is 30 km from the district headquarters. Nearest airport is at Mangalore which is at a distance of . Mudigere is known for coffee and b ...
taluks A tehsil (, also known as tahsil, taluka, or taluk) is a local unit of administrative division in some countries of South Asia. It is a subdistrict of the area within a district including the designated populated place that serves as its administr ...
of Chikkamagaluru district and also found in
Thirthahalli Thirthahalli is a panchayat town located in the Shimoga district of the state of Karnataka, India. It lies on the bank of the river Tunga and is also the headquarters of the Thirthahalli Taluk of Shimoga district. Geography Thirthahalli i ...
taluks A tehsil (, also known as tahsil, taluka, or taluk) is a local unit of administrative division in some countries of South Asia. It is a subdistrict of the area within a district including the designated populated place that serves as its administr ...
of
Shivamogga Shimoga, officially known as Shivamogga, is a city and the district headquarters of Shimoga district in the central part of the state of Karnataka, India. The city lies on the banks of the Tunga River. Being the gateway for the hilly region o ...
district. Non-native speakers of Tulu include those who are residents in the Tulunadu region but who speak the Beary language, the
Havyaka 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 ...
language and also Konkani and Koraga as their mother tongues. Apart from
Tulu Nadu Tulunad or Tulu Nadu, also called Bermere sristi or Parashurama Srishti, is a region and a proposed state on the southwestern coast of India. The Tulu people, known as 'Tuluva' (plural 'Tuluver'), speakers of Tulu, a Dravidian language, ar ...
, a significant emigrant population of Tulu speakers are found in Maharashtra,
Bangalore Bangalore (), List of renamed places in India, officially Bengaluru (), is the Capital city, capital and largest city of the Indian state of Karnataka. It has a population of more than and a metropolitan area, metropolitan population of a ...
,
Chennai Chennai (, ), formerly known as Madras ( the official name until 1996), is the capital city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost Indian state. The largest city of the state in area and population, Chennai is located on the Coromandel Coast of th ...
, the
English-speaking world Speakers of English are also known as Anglophones, and the countries where English is natively spoken by the majority of the population are termed the '' Anglosphere''. Over two billion people speak English , making English the largest langua ...
, and the
Gulf countries The Arab states of the Persian Gulf refers to a group of Arab states which border the Persian Gulf. There are seven member states of the Arab League in the region: Bahrain, Kuwait, Iraq, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates. ...
. The various medieval inscriptions of Tulu from the 15th century are in the Tulu script. Two Tulu epics named ''Sri Bhagavato'' and ''Kaveri'' from the 17th century were also written in the same script. The Tulu language is known for its oral literature in the form of epic poems called ''pardana''. The ''
Epic of Siri The ''Siri Sandhi'' also Siri Paddana (pronounced: ''Siri Paadhdhana'') or ''Epic of Siri'' is an epic poem in the Tulu language. Consisting of 15,683 lines of poetry, it is the longest poem in Tulu. The epic is essentially a biography of a leg ...
'' and the legend of
Koti and Chennayya Koti and Chennayya ( tcy, ಕೋಟಿ ಚೆನ್ನಯ್ಯ Kōṭi Cennayya,) (Circa 1556 A.D to 1591 A.D.) are legendary Tuluva twin heroes characterized in the Tulu epic of the same name, which is considered one of the two truly long epi ...
belong to this category of Tulu literature.


Classification

Tulu belongs to the southern branch of the family of
Dravidian languages 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 ...
. It descends directly from Proto-South Dravidian, which in turn descends directly from
Proto-Dravidian Proto-Dravidian is the linguistic reconstruction of the common ancestor of the Dravidian languages. It is thought to have differentiated into Proto-North Dravidian, Proto-Central Dravidian, and Proto-South Dravidian, although the date of divers ...
, the hypothesized language from which all extant Dravidian languages ultimately descend. The Tulu language originates in the southern part of India.


Etymology

Linguist P. Gururaja Bhat specified in ''Tulunadu'' (a research book) that originated from the word (), where means 'cow' and refers to the place dominated by the or cowherd (). Linguist Purushottama Bilimale (ಪುರುಷೋತ್ತಮ ಬಿಳಿಮಲೆ) has suggested that the word means 'that which is connected with water'. (
jackfruit The jackfruit (''Artocarpus heterophyllus''), also known as jack tree, is a species of tree in the fig, mulberry, and breadfruit family ( Moraceae). Its origin is in the region between the Western Ghats of southern India, all of Bangladesh, ...
) means 'watery' in Tulu. Other water-related words in Tulu include , , , , , and . In Kannada, there are words such as meaning 'that which has characteristics of water' and .


Official status

Tulu is not an official language of India or any other country. Efforts are being made to include Tulu in the 8th Schedule of the Constitution. In December 2009, during the First Vishwa Tulu Sammelan organized at Ujire-Dharmastala, then Karnataka Chief Minister B. S. Yediyurappa promised to send a fresh proposal on including the Tulu language in the eighth schedule of the constitution. In August 2017, an online campaign was organized to include Tulu in 8th schedule of constitution In October 2017, when prime minister
Narendra Modi Narendra Damodardas Modi (; born 17 September 1950) is an Indian politician serving as the 14th and current Prime Minister of India since 2014. Modi was the Chief Minister of Gujarat from 2001 to 2014 and is the Member of Parliament fro ...
, visited
Dharmasthala Temple Dharmasthala Temple () is an 800-year-old Hindu religious institution in the temple town of Dharmasthala in Dakshina Kannada, Karnataka, India. The deities of the temple are Hindu god Shiva, who is referred to as Mañjunatha, Hindu goddess Amm ...
the same demand was presented in front of him. Similarly, in 2018, a
Member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members o ...
from the
Kasargod Kasaragod () is a municipal town and administrative headquarters of Kasaragod district in the state of Kerala, India. Established in 1966, Kasaragod was the first municipal town in the district. It is the northernmost district of Kerala and ...
constituency, P. Karunakaran, also raised the same demand for inclusion of Tulu language in the 8th schedule of the constitution. On 19 February 2020, Vedavyas Kamath who is a member of the Mangaluru (south) segment of the Legislative Assembly, submitted a memorandum to chief minister B. S. Yediyurappa and to the minister for tourism, Kannada and culture, C. T. Ravi, seeking official status for the Tulu language. In February 2020, another MLA from Moodbidri Umanath Kotian urged the state government to put pressure on the union government to add the Tulu language to the eighth schedule during the assembly session. In July 2021, members of the three main parties in Karnataka politics: BJP, Congress and Janata Dal (Secular), lent their support to the idea.


History

The oldest available inscriptions in Tulu are from the period between 7th and 8th century AD. These inscriptions are in the Tulu script and are found in areas in and around
Barkur Barkur (also spelt Barcoor) is an area in the Brahmavara taluk, Udupi district of Karnataka state in India, comprising three villages, Hosala, Hanehalli, and Kachoor. The area is located on the bank of River Seetha. It is also referred to ...
which was the capital of Tulu Nadu during the
Vijayanagar The Vijayanagara Empire, also called the Karnata Kingdom, was a 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 and Maharas ...
period. Another group of inscriptions is found in the ''Ullur'' ''Subrahmanya'' Temple near
Kundapura Kundapur, also called Kundapura, is a coastal town situated in the Udupi district of the state of Karnataka, India. This town was known as Coondapoor while it was part of the erstwhile South Canara district (1862–1947) of the Madras Pres ...
. Many linguists like S.U. Panniyadi and L. V. Ramaswami Iyer as well as P.S. Subrahmanya suggested that Tulu is among the oldest languages in the Dravidian family which branched independently from its Proto-Dravidian roots nearly 2500 years ago. This assertion is based on the fact that Tulu still preserves many aspects of the
Proto-Dravidian language Proto-Dravidian is the linguistic reconstruction of the common ancestor of the Dravidian languages. It is thought to have differentiated into Proto-North Dravidian, Proto-Central Dravidian, and Proto-South Dravidian, although the date of divers ...
. This dating of Tulu is also based on the fact that the region where Tulu is natively spoken was known to the ancient Tamils as Tulu Nadu. Also, the
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 ...
poet Mamular who belongs to the Sangam Age (200 BCE) describes Tulu Nadu and its dancing beauties in one of his poems. In the
Kannada Kannada (; ಕನ್ನಡ, ), originally romanised Canarese, is a Dravidian language spoken predominantly by the people of Karnataka in southwestern India, with minorities in all neighbouring states. It has around 47 million native s ...
Halmidi inscriptions, one finds mention of the Tulu country as the kingdom of 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 region was also known to the Greeks of the 2nd century as ''Tolokoyra'' (Tulu Country). 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 ...
, a
Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...
play belonging to the 2nd century BC, has its plot centered around the coastal Karnataka, where Tulu is mainly spoken. The play is mostly in Greek, but the
India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...
n characters in the play are seen speaking a language different from Greek. There is considerable ambiguity regarding the Indian language in the play, though all scholars agree the Indian language is Dravidian, there is considerable dispute over which form of it. Noted German Indologist
E. Hultzsch Eugen Julius Theodor Hultzsch (29 March 1857 – 16 January 1927) was a German indologist and epigraphist who is known for his work in deciphering the inscriptions of Ashoka. Early life and education Born in Dresden on 29 March 1857, Hultzsch st ...
(1857–1927) was the first to suggest that the language was Dravidian. The dispute regarding the language in the play is yet to be settled, but scholars agree that the dispute arises from the fact that Old Kannada, Old Tamil, and Tulu during the time when the play was written were perhaps dialectical variations of the same
proto-language In the tree model of historical linguistics, a proto-language is a postulated ancestral language from which a number of attested languages are believed to have descended by evolution, forming a language family. Proto-languages are usually unattes ...
, and that over the years they evolved into their present forms as separate languages.


Status

Found largely in Karnataka, it is spoken primarily within the Indian state. Dating back several hundred years, the language has developed numerous defining qualities. The Tulu people follow a saying which promotes leaving negative situations and finding newer, more positive ones. The language, however, is not as popular as others which means it could become endangered and extinct very soon. The influence of other mainstream languages is a present danger for the Tulu language. Today, it is spoken by nearly 1.8 million people around the globe. Large parts of the language are altered and changed constantly because it is commonly passed down through oral tradition. Oral traditions within Tulu have meant that certain phrases have not always maintained the same meaning or importance.


Geographic distribution

According to
Malayalam Malayalam (; , ) is a Dravidian languages, Dravidian language spoken in the Indian state of Kerala and the union territories of Lakshadweep and Puducherry (union territory), Puducherry (Mahé district) by the Malayali people. It is one of 2 ...
works like the
Keralolpathi The Keralolpathi ( ml, കേരളോല്പത്തി; IAST:''kēraḷōlpatti''; ) is a Malayalam Brahmanical literary work that deals with the origin and legends of the land of Kerala. P. Shungunny Menon ascribes the authorship of this wor ...
, the region stretching from the Chandragiri river, now part of the
Kasaragod district Kasaragod ( and Malayalam: , English: ''Kassergode'', Tulu: ''Kasrod'', Arabic: ''Harkwillia'') is one of the 14 districts in the southern Indian state of Kerala. Its northern border Thalappady is located just 10 km south to Ullal, whi ...
, Kerala, to
Gokarna Gokarna may refer to: Places * Gokarna, Karnataka, a town in Karnataka, India * Gokarna, West Bengal, a village in West Bengal, India * Gokarnamatam, a village in Andhra Pradesh, India * Trincomalee, a city in Eastern Province, Sri Lanka also known ...
, now part of
Uttara Kannada 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 Bel ...
district of Karnataka, was ruled by the Alupas and was known as Alva Kheda. This kingdom was the homeland of the Tulu-speaking people. However, the present-day Tulu linguistic majority area is confined to the region of
Tulu Nadu Tulunad or Tulu Nadu, also called Bermere sristi or Parashurama Srishti, is a region and a proposed state on the southwestern coast of India. The Tulu people, known as 'Tuluva' (plural 'Tuluver'), speakers of Tulu, a Dravidian language, ar ...
, which comprises the districts of part of Dakshina Kannada and
Udupi Udupi (alternate spelling Udipi; also known as Odipu) is a city in the Indian state of Karnataka. Udupi is situated about north of the educational, commercial and industrial hub of Mangalore and about west of state capital Bangalore by road. ...
in the Indian 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 ...
and the northern part of Kasaragod district of Kerala up to the river Payaswani, also known as Chandragiri. The cities of
Mangalore 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–Ke ...
, Udupi and Kasaragod are the centres of Tulu culture. Even today Tulu is widely spoken in the Dakshina Kannada, partially in
Udupi district Udupi district (also Udipi or Odipu in Tulu language) is an administrative subdivision in the Karnataka state of India, with the district headquarters in the city of Udupi. It is situated in the Canara coastal region, there are seven talu ...
of Karnataka state and to some extent in Kasaragod of Kerala. Efforts are also being made to include Tulu in the list of
official languages of India There is no national language in India. However, article 343(1) of the Indian constitution specifically mentions that, "The official language of the Union shall be Hindi in Devanagari script. The form of numerals to be used for the official pur ...
. As a whole, Tulu is largely contained to the southern part of India. The Indian state of Karnataka is where the language seems to thrive in the present day. Some of the major cities within the Tulu culture include Mangalore and Kasaragod.


Writing system

The various historical inscriptions of Tulu found around Barkur and Kundapura are in the
Tigalari script Tigalari (''Tigaḷāri lipi'', ''tulu lipi''),The script is also referred to as Arya Ezhuttu, Grantha Malayalam, Tulu Grantha, Tulu-Malayalam and Western Grantha. also known as Tulu script, is a Southern Brahmic script which was used to writ ...
. Historically, Brahmins of Tulu Nadu and
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 used the Tigalari script to write
Vedas upright=1.2, The Vedas are ancient Sanskrit texts of Hinduism. Above: A page from the '' Atharvaveda''. The Vedas (, , ) are a large body of religious texts originating in ancient India. Composed in Vedic Sanskrit, the texts constitute th ...
and other
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 ...
works. The Tigalari script is descended from the
Brahmi Brahmi (; ; 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 as 'lath' ...
through the
Grantha script The Grantha script ( ta, கிரந்த எழுத்து, Granta eḻuttu; ml, ഗ്രന്ഥലിപി, granthalipi) is a South Indian script, found particularly in Tamil Nadu and Kerala. Originating from the Pallava script, th ...
. It is a sister script of the Malayalam script. However, very few works written in vernacular languages like Kannada and Tulu are available. Hence, the Tigalari script was employed by Tulu Brahmins to write Tulu and Kannada languages apart from the Kannada script. The National Mission for Manuscripts has conducted several workshops on this script with the help of a scholar, Keladi Gunda Jois. In the 18th century, the use of the Kannada script for writing Tulu and non-availability of print in the Tigalari script contributed to the marginalization of the Tigalari script. The script is studied by few scholars and manuscriptologists for research and religious purposes. The Kannada script has become the contemporary script for the Tulu language gradually. All contemporary works and literature are done in the Kannada script. The Tulu alphabet resembles the Malayalam script in many ways. It is also similar to many characters found in the Tigalari alphabet. This is from the same region in the state of Karnataka. The Tigalari and Kannada alphabets include a stress on vowels with "a" and "o" sounds. Other vowels include sounds such as "au" "am" and "ah". Numerous consonants have their own origin from the Dravidian languages like "kha" "gha" "dha" and "jha". These are derived from the Tigalari alphabet.


Dialects

Tulu language has four dialects, which are broadly similar, with slight variations. The four dialects are: ;Common Tulu :Spoken by the majority includes the Bunts,
Billava The Billava, Billoru, Biruveru people are an ethnic group of India. They are found traditionally in Tulu Nadu region and engaged in toddy tapping, cultivation and other activities. They have used both missionary education and Sri Narayana Guru's ...
,
Mogaveera The Mogaveera, or Mogavira is a subcaste of the Koli caste living in the Karnataka state of India. They dominated maritime activities in coastal Karnataka. History Mogaveera means a warrior who after the demolition of the kingdom continued ...
, Tulu Madivala (Madialnakl),
Tulu Gowda Tulu may refer to: People * Derartu Tulu (born 1972), Ethiopian long-distance runner * Walid Yacoubou (born 1997), Togolese footballer nicknamed "Tulu" India *Tulu calendar, traditional solar calendar generally used in the regions of southwest K ...
,
Kulala Kulala is a Hindu caste whose traditionally pursued pottery trade and farming as a profession commonly found in the Indian states of Andhra pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala and southern parts of Tamilnadu. They belong to the Other Backward Class ...
, Devadiga, Jogi,
Padmashali Padmasali (also spelt as Padmashali, Padmasale) is a Hindu caste residing in the Indian states of Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Gujarat and Tamil Nadu. Their traditional occupation is weaving. Etymology The term ''Padm ...
communities and others. This is the dialect of commerce, trade and entertainment and is mainly used for inter-community communication. It is further subdivided into seven groups: :#Northwest Tulu: spoken in
Udupi Udupi (alternate spelling Udipi; also known as Odipu) is a city in the Indian state of Karnataka. Udupi is situated about north of the educational, commercial and industrial hub of Mangalore and about west of state capital Bangalore by road. ...
:#Central Tulu: spoken in
Mangalore 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–Ke ...
:#Northeast Tulu: spoken in
Karkala ''Karkala'' also known as Karla in Tulu language, is a town and the headquarters of Karkala taluk in the Udupi district of Karnataka, India. Located about 60 km from Mangalore in the Tulu Nadu region of the state,it lies near the foothill ...
and Belthangady :#Northern Tulu: spoken in
Kundapura Kundapur, also called Kundapura, is a coastal town situated in the Udupi district of the state of Karnataka, India. This town was known as Coondapoor while it was part of the erstwhile South Canara district (1862–1947) of the Madras Pres ...
, also known as KundaTulu because of
Kundagannada dialect Kundagannada or Kundaapra Kannada or Kundapura Kannada is a dialect of Kannada spoken in Kundapura Kundapur, also called Kundapura, is a coastal town situated in the Udupi district of the state of Karnataka, India. This town was known as Co ...
influence :#Southwest Tulu: spoken in
Manjeshwar Manjeshwar is a town and a minor port in Kasaragod district at the northern tip of Kerala. It is situated at a distance of from the state capital Thiruvananthapuram, north of district HQ Kasaragod and south of Mangalore city in neighbour ...
and Kasaragod, known as Kasaragod Tulu influencing Malayalam :#Southcentral Tulu: spoken in
Bantwal Bantwal () is a taluk in Dakshina Kannada district, Karnataka, India. It is located East of Mangalore city center. BC Road-Kaikamba of Bantwal is one of the fastest developing areas in Dakshina Kannada district of Karnataka. Along with BC ...
:#Southeast Tulu: Spoken in Puttur
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 h ...
and in some villages/Taluks of Coorg (Kodagu). :#Southern Tulu: spoken in South of Kasaragod and
Payaswini The Chandragiri River also known as Perumpuzha River is the longest river in Kasaragod district, Kerala, India. It was named after the Mauryan emperor Chandragupta Maurya. The 17th century Chandragiri Fort is located on the river. Perumpuzha ...
(Chandragiri) river influencing Malayalam known as Thenkaayi Tulu ;Brahmin Tulu :Spoken by the Tulu Brahmins who are subdivided into
Shivalli Brahmins The Shivalli Brahmins are a Hindu community in Karnataka. They are divided into two groups, the first of which follows the Dvaita philosophy founded by the Vaishnava saint Madhvacharya of Udupi are called Shivalli Madhva Brahmins, and the secon ...
,
Sthanika Brahmins Sthānika Brāhmins belong to Hindu Tuluva Smartha Brahmin group. They are the oldest Tulu Brāhmins primarily from the coastal Karnataka (Kanara) also known as Parasurama Kshetra..They are the main Prathistapanacharyas/Founders of all ancien ...
and Tuluva Hebbars. It is more influenced by Sanskrit. ;Jain dialect :Spoken by the
Tulu Jains The Jain Bunt are the Jainists of Bunt caste from Tulunaad area of India. It has been said that the Jain Bunts also have the highest per capita income in India. They have a feudal and martial race heritages, because of ties to the erstwhile r ...
. It is a dialect where the initial letters 'T' and 'S' have been replaced by the letter 'H'. For example, the word is pronounced as , is pronounced as . ;Adivasi dialect :Spoken by the Koraga, Mansa, and other tribals of Tulu Nadu


Phonology


Vowels

Five short and five long vowels (''a'', ''ā'', ''e'', ''ē'', ''u'', ''ū'', ''i'', ''ī'', ''o'', ''ō'') are common in Dravidian languages. Like
Kodava Takk The Kodava (''Kodava takk'', meaning 'speech of Kodavas', in the Kodava language, alternate name: Coorgi, Kodagu) is an endangered Dravidian language and it is spoken in Kodagu district in Southern Karnataka, India. The term Kodava has t ...
(and also like Konkani and Sinhala), Tulu also has an like vowel, generally occurring word-finally which is from the old ai. The Kannada script does not have a symbol to specifically represent this vowel, which is often written as a normal ''e''.Bhat (1998), p. 163. For example, the first person singular form and the third person singular masculine of a verb are spelled identically in all tenses, both ending in ''e'', but are pronounced differently: the terminating ''e'' in the former sounds nearly like ‘a’ in the English word ‘man’ ( , "I make"), while that in the latter like ‘e’ in ‘men’ ( , "he makes"). In his grammar of 1932, S. U. Paniyadi used a special vowel sign to denote Tulu /ɛ/ in the Kannada script: according to Bhat, he used two s for this purpose (usually, a means the crest that a Kannada character like has), and the same convention was adopted by Upadhyaya in his 1988 Tulu Lexicon. The long counterpart of this vowel occurs in some words.Bhat (1998), p. 161. In all dialects, the pair /e/ and /ɛ/ contrasts. Additionally, like Kodava Takk and Toda, and like Malayalam and Tamil , Tulu has an -like vowel (or schwa ) as a
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-wes ...
, which is romanized as ''ŭ'' (ISO), ''ɯ'', or ''u̥''. Both J. Brigel and A. Männer say that it is pronounced like ''e'' in the French ''je''. Bhat describes this phoneme as /ɯ/. However, if it is like Malayalam "half-u", or may be a better description. /ɛ/ formed from previous ai and previous /u/ split into modern /u, ɯ/; long versions of /ɛ, ɯ/ are extremely restricted. In the Kannada script, Brigel and Männer used a
virama Virama ( ्) is a Sanskrit phonological concept to suppress the inherent vowel that otherwise occurs with every consonant letter, commonly used as a generic term for a codepoint in Unicode, representing either # halanta, hasanta or explicit vir� ...
(halant), , to denote this vowel. Bhat says a is used for this purpose, but apparently he too means a virama.


Consonants

The following are consonant phonemes in Tulu: The contrast between and is preserved in the South Common dialect and in the Brahmin dialect, but is lost in several dialects. Additionally, the Brahmin dialect has and . Aspirated consonants are sometimes used in the Brahmin dialect, but are not phonemic. In the Koraga and Holeya dialects, ''s'' and ''ś'' merge with ''c'' (the Koraga dialect of the Tulu language is different from the Koraga language). Word-initial consonant clusters are rare and occur mainly in Sanskrit loanwords.


Grammar


Morphology

Tulu has five
parts of speech In grammar, a part of speech or part-of-speech (abbreviated as POS or PoS, also known as word class or grammatical category) is a category of words (or, more generally, of lexical items) that have similar grammatical properties. Words that are ass ...
:
noun A noun () is a word that generally functions as the name of a specific object or set of objects, such as living creatures, places, actions, qualities, states of existence, or ideas.Example nouns for: * Living creatures (including people, alive, ...
s (substantives and
adjective In linguistics, an adjective (abbreviated ) is a word that generally modifies a noun or noun phrase or describes its referent. Its semantic role is to change information given by the noun. Traditionally, adjectives were considered one of the ma ...
s),
pronoun In linguistics and grammar, a pronoun (abbreviated ) is a word or a group of words that one may substitute for a noun or noun phrase. Pronouns have traditionally been regarded as one of the parts of speech, but some modern theorists would not c ...
s, numerals,
verb A verb () is a word ( part of speech) that in syntax generally conveys an action (''bring'', ''read'', ''walk'', ''run'', ''learn''), an occurrence (''happen'', ''become''), or a state of being (''be'', ''exist'', ''stand''). In the usual descr ...
s, and
particle In the physical sciences, a particle (or corpuscule in older texts) is a small localized object which can be described by several physical or chemical properties, such as volume, density, or mass. They vary greatly in size or quantity, from ...
s. Substantives have three
grammatical gender In linguistics, grammatical gender system is a specific form of noun class system, where nouns are assigned with gender categories that are often not related to their real-world qualities. In languages with grammatical gender, most or all noun ...
s (masculine, feminine, and neuter), two
numbers A number is a mathematical object used to count, measure, and label. The original examples are the natural numbers 1, 2, 3, 4, and so forth. Numbers can be represented in language with number words. More universally, individual numbers can ...
(singular and plural), and eight cases (nominative, genitive, dative, accusative, locative, ablative or instrumental, communicative, and vocative). According to Bhat, Tulu has two distinct locative cases. The communicative case is used with verbs like ''tell'', ''speak'', ''ask'', ''beseech'', ''inquire'', and denotes at whom a message, an inquiry, or a request is aimed, as in "I told ''him''." or "I speak ''to them''." It is also used to denote the relationship with whom it is about, in a context like "I am on good terms ''with him''." or "I have nothing ''against him''." Bhat calls it the
sociative case In grammar, the sociative case is a grammatical case in the Hungarian, Tamil, and Malayalam languages that can express the person in whose company (cf. Latin ) an action is carried out, or to any belongings of people which take part in an action ...
. It is somewhat similar to the
comitative case In grammar, the comitative case (; abbreviated ) is a grammatical case that denotes accompaniment. In English, the preposition "with", in the sense of "in company with" or "together with", plays a substantially similar role (other uses of "with", l ...
, but different in that it denotes communication or relationship, not physical companionship. The plural suffix is ''-rŭ'', ''-ḷu'', ''-kuḷu'', or ''-āḍḷu''; as in ('table'), ('tables'). The nominative case is unmarked, while the remaining cases are expressed by different suffixes. The following table shows the declension of a noun, based on Brigel and Bhat (''u̥'' used by Brigel and ''ɯ'' used by Bhat are both shown as ''ŭ'' for clarity): when two forms are given, the one in parentheses is by Bhat, and the other is by Brigel. Some of these differences may be dialectal variations. The personal pronouns are irregularly inflected: 'I' becomes ''yen-'' in
oblique case In grammar, an oblique (abbreviated ; from la, casus obliquus) or objective case ( abbr. ) is a nominal case other than the nominative case, and sometimes, the vocative. A noun or pronoun in the oblique case can generally appear in any role ex ...
s. Tulu makes the distinction between the inclusive and exclusive ''we'' (see ''Clusivity: Dravidian languages''): 'we (including you)' as opposed to 'we (not including you)'.Brigel (1872), p. 33. For verbs, this distinction does not exist. The personal pronouns of the second person are (oblique: ) 'you (singular)' and 'you (plural)'. Three genders are distinguished in the third person, as well as proximate and remote forms. For example, 'he (proximate)', 'he (remote)'. The suffix ''-rŭ'' makes a polite form of personal pronouns, as in 'you (respectfully)', 'he (remote; respectfully)'.
Postpositions Prepositions and postpositions, together called adpositions (or broadly, in traditional grammar, simply prepositions), are a class of words used to express spatial or temporal relations (''in'', ''under'', ''towards'', ''before'') or mark various ...
are used usually with a noun in the genitive case, as in 'on the hill'. Tulu verbs have three forms:
active Active may refer to: Music * ''Active'' (album), a 1992 album by Casiopea * Active Records, a record label Ships * ''Active'' (ship), several commercial ships by that name * HMS ''Active'', the name of various ships of the British Royal ...
, causative, and reflexive (or middle voice). They conjugate for
person A person ( : people) is a being that has certain capacities or attributes such as reason, morality, consciousness or self-consciousness, and being a part of a culturally established form of social relations such as kinship, ownership of prope ...
, number, gender, tense (present, past,
pluperfect The pluperfect (shortening of plusquamperfect), usually called past perfect in English, is a type of verb form, generally treated as a grammatical tense in certain languages, relating to an action that occurred prior to an aforementioned time i ...
, future, and
future perfect The future perfect is a verb form or construction used to describe an event that is expected or planned to happen before a time of reference in the future, such as ''will have finished'' in the English sentence "I will have finished by tomorrow." ...
), mood (indicative, imperative, conditional, infinitive, potential, and subjunctive), and polarity (positive and negative).


Syntax

Each sentence is composed of a subject and a predicate and every sentence is a full speech or thought in words. There is both singular and plural while being expressed in first through third person. There are several exceptions to each of these depending on the instance. For example: the verb has to be in a plural style if there are numerous nominatives within a sentence or of different genders that agree with the previous sentence. The verb may also be omitted in some sentences. Present tense and past tense may change and their perception.


Written literature

The written literature of Tulu is not as large as the literature of other literary Dravidian languages such as Tamil. Nevertheless, Tulu is one of only five literary Dravidian languages, the other four being
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 ...
, Telugu,
Kannada Kannada (; ಕನ್ನಡ, ), originally romanised Canarese, is a Dravidian language spoken predominantly by the people of Karnataka in southwestern India, with minorities in all neighbouring states. It has around 47 million native s ...
and
Malayalam Malayalam (; , ) is a Dravidian languages, Dravidian language spoken in the Indian state of Kerala and the union territories of Lakshadweep and Puducherry (union territory), Puducherry (Mahé district) by the Malayali people. It is one of 2 ...
. The earliest available Tulu literature that survives to this date is the Tulu translation of the great
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 ...
epic of
Mahabharata The ''Mahābhārata'' ( ; sa, महाभारतम्, ', ) is one of the two major Sanskrit literature, Sanskrit Indian epic poetry, epics of ancient India in Hinduism, the other being the ''Ramayana, Rāmāyaṇa''. It narrates the s ...
called (). It was written by ''Arunabja'' (1657 AD), a poet who lived in Kodavur near
Udupi Udupi (alternate spelling Udipi; also known as Odipu) is a city in the Indian state of Karnataka. Udupi is situated about north of the educational, commercial and industrial hub of Mangalore and about west of state capital Bangalore by road. ...
around the late 14th to early 15th century AD. Other important literary works in Tulu are: *
Devi Mahatmyam The ''Devi Mahatmya'' or ''Devi Mahatmyam'' ( sa, देवीमाहात्म्यम्, devīmāhātmyam, Glory of the Goddess) is a Hindu philosophical text describing the Goddess as the supreme power and creator of the universe. It is ...
's () 1200 AD – Tulu translation * Sri Bhagavata () 1626 AD – written by Vishnu Tunga * Kaveri (1391 AD) This script was mainly used to write religious and literary works in Sanskrit.http://www.censusindia.gov.in/2011Census/Language-2011/Statement-1.pdf Burnell (1874), p. 35. Even today the official script of the eight Tulu monasteries (
Ashta Mathas of Udupi The Tulu Ashta Mathas of Udupi ( kn, ಉಡುಪಿಯ ತುಳು ಅಷ್ಟ ಮಠಗಳು) are a group of eight ''mathas'' or Hindu monasteries established by Madhvacharya, the preceptor of the Dvaita school of Hindu thought with his d ...
) founded by
Madhvacharya Madhvacharya (; ; CE 1199-1278 or CE 1238–1317), sometimes anglicised as Madhva Acharya, and also known as Purna Prajna () and Ānanda Tīrtha, was an Indian philosopher, theologian and the chief proponent of the '' Dvaita'' (dualism) sch ...
in Udupi is Tulu. The pontiffs of the monasteries write their names using this script when they are appointed. Modern-day Tulu literature is written using the Kannada script. ''Mandara Ramayana'' is the most notable piece of modern Tulu literature. Written by Mandara Keshava Bhatt, it received the
Sahitya Akademi Award The Sahitya Akademi Award is a literary honour in India, which the Sahitya Akademi, India's National Academy of Letters, annually confers on writers of the most outstanding books of literary merit published in any of the 22 languages of the ...
for best poetry. ''Madipu'', ''Mogaveera'', ''Saphala'' and ''Samparka'' are popular Tulu periodicals published from Mangalore. The Tulu Sahitya Academy, established by the state government of Karnataka in 1994, as also the Kerala Tulu Academy established by the Indian State Government of Kerala in Manjeshwaram in 2007, are important governmental organisations that promote Tulu literature. Nevertheless, there are numerous organisations spread all over the world with significant Tulu-migrated populations that contribute to Tulu literature. Some notable contributors to Tulu literature are
Kayyar Kinhanna Rai Kayyara Kinhanna Rai (8 June 1915 – 9 August 2015) was an Indian independence activist, author, poet, journalist, teacher and farmer. Early life Rai was born on 8 June 1915 to Duggappa and Deyyakka Rai in a Tulu-speaking Bunt family. Hi ...
, M. K. Seetharam Kulal, Amruta Someshwara, B. A. Viveka Rai, Kedambadi Jattappa Rai, Venkataraja Puninchattaya, Paltadi Ramakrishna Achar, Dr. Sunitha M. Shetty, Dr. Vamana Nandavara, Sri. Balakrishna Shetty Polali. Tulu-Book-Kaveri.jpg, One of the old Tulu works ''Kaveri'' Tulu-Book-Mahabharato.jpg, One of the old Tulu works ''Mahabharato'' File:Tulu-Book-Shree-Bhagavato.jpg, One of the old Tulu works ''Shree Bhagavato'' File:Tulu-Book-Mandara-Ramayana.jpg, ''Mandara Ramayana''


Oral traditions

The oral traditions of Tulu are one of the major traditions that greatly show the finer aspects of the language. The following are various forms of Tulu oral tradition and literature. *
Paddanas Būta Kōlā,/buːt̪ʌ/ is the local pronunciation while the standardised Kannada pronunciation is /bʱuːt̪ʌ koːlɑː/ also referred to as daiva kōlā or nēmā, is a ritual dance performance prevalent among the Hindus of Tulu Nadu an ...
: A form of oral
epic poem An epic poem, or simply an epic, is a lengthy narrative poem typically about the extraordinary deeds of extraordinary characters who, in dealings with gods or other superhuman forces, gave shape to the mortal universe for their descendants. ...
sung in a highly stylised manner during the
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 ...
rituals of
Bhuta Kola Būta Kōlā,/buːt̪ʌ/ is the local pronunciation while the standardised Kannada pronunciation is /bʱuːt̪ʌ koːlɑː/ also referred to as daiva kōlā or nēmā, is a ritual dance performance prevalent among the Hindus of Tulu Nadu an ...
and
Nagaradhane Nagaradhane is a form of serpent worship which, along with Bhuta Kola, is one of the unique traditions prevalent in coastal districts of Dakshina Kannada, Udupi and Kasaragod collectively known as Tulu Nadu, practiced by Tuluva communi ...
, which are peculiar to the Tulu people. These Paddanas are mostly legends about gods or historical personalities among the people. The longest of them being
Siri Paddana The ''Siri Sandhi'' also Siri Paddana (pronounced: ''Siri Paadhdhana'') or ''Epic of Siri'' is an epic poem in the Tulu language. Consisting of 15,683 lines of poetry, it is the longest poem in Tulu. The epic is essentially a biography of a leg ...
, which is about a woman called Siri who shows strength and integrity during adverse times and in turn attains divinity. The Paddana greatly depicts the independent nature of the Tulu womenfolk. The entire Paddana was written down by
Finnish Finnish may refer to: * Something or someone from, or related to Finland * Culture of Finland * Finnish people or Finns, the primary ethnic group in Finland * Finnish language, the national language of the Finnish people * Finnish cuisine See also ...
scholar Lauri Honko of the
University of Turku sv, Åbo universitet , latin_name = Universitas Aboensis , image_name = University of Turku.svg , motto = ''Vapaan kansan lahja vapaalle tieteelle'' , established = 1920 , type ...
and it falls four lines short of
Homer Homer (; grc, Ὅμηρος , ''Hómēros'') (born ) was a Greek poet who is credited as the author of the ''Iliad'' and the ''Odyssey'', two epic poems that are foundational works of ancient Greek literature. Homer is considered one of the ...
's
Iliad The ''Iliad'' (; grc, Ἰλιάς, Iliás, ; "a poem about Ilium") is one of two major ancient Greek epic poems attributed to Homer. It is one of the oldest extant works of literature still widely read by modern audiences. As with the '' Odys ...
. *Riddles: They are another important aspect of Tulu oral traditions. These riddles are largely tongue twisting and mostly deal with kinship and agriculture. * Bhajans: Bhajans sung in numerous temples across the Tulu region are varied and are dedicated to various gods and goddesses. Most of these are of the Hindu tradition, others being
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 ...
. They are sung in both the Carnatic style as well a style similar to what is used in
Yakshagana Yakshagaana is a traditional theatre, developed in Dakshina Kannada, Udupi, Uttara Kannada, Shimoga and western parts of Chikmagalur districts, in the state of Karnataka and in Kasaragod district in Kerala that combines dance, music, dialogue, ...
. *Kabitol: Songs sung during the cultivation of crops, the traditional occupation of the people. O Bele is considered the finest among them.


Theatre

Theatre in the form of the traditional
Yakshagana Yakshagaana is a traditional theatre, developed in Dakshina Kannada, Udupi, Uttara Kannada, Shimoga and western parts of Chikmagalur districts, in the state of Karnataka and in Kasaragod district in Kerala that combines dance, music, dialogue, ...
, prevalent in coastal Karnataka and northern Kerala has greatly preserved the finer aspects of the Tulu language. Yakshagana which is conducted in Tulu is very popular among the Tuluva people. It can also be seen as a form of temple art, as there are many Yakshagana groups that are attached to temples, for example that of Kateel Durga Parameshwari Temple as also the
Udupi Krishna Temple Udupi Shri Krishna Temple is a well-known historic Hindu temple dedicated to Lord Krishna and Dvaita Matha located in the city of Udupi in Karnataka, India. The Matha area resembles a living Aashram, a holy place for daily devotion and living. ...
. Presently, eight professional Yakshagana troupes perform Tulu-language Yakshagana not only during the Yakshagana season but also during the off-season in various places in Karnataka and outside. In
Mumbai Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — List of renamed Indian cities and states#Maharashtra, the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' fin ...
, Tulu Yakshagana is very popular among the Tulu audiences. More than 2,000 Yakshagana artistes take part in the performance in various places in Mumbai annually. Notable performers include Kalladi Koraga Shetty, Pundur Venkatraja Puninchathaya, Guru Bannanje Sanjiva Suvarna and Pathala Venkatramana Bhat. Tulu plays are among the major entertainment for admirers of art and culture in Tulu Nadu. Tulu plays, generally centered on the comic genre, are very popular in Mumbai and
Bangalore Bangalore (), List of renamed places in India, officially Bengaluru (), is the Capital city, capital and largest city of the Indian state of Karnataka. It has a population of more than and a metropolitan area, metropolitan population of a ...
outside Tulu Nadu.


Tulu cinema

The
Tulu cinema Tulu cinema, also known as Coastalwood, is a part of Indian cinema. The Tulu film industry produces five to seven films annually. The first Tulu film was ''Enna Thangadi'' released in 1971. Usually, earlier, these films were released in theatres ...
industry is fairly small; it produces around five films annually. The first film, ''Enna Thangadi'', was released in 1971. Usually these films are released in theatres across the Tulu Nadu region and on DVD. The critically acclaimed film '' Suddha'' won the award for Best Indian Film at the
Osian's Cinefan Festival of Asian and Arab Cinema Osian's-Cinefan is one of Asia's leading film-festival devoted to Asian and Arab cinema, and is part of ''Osian's Film House Division''. The festival celebrated its 10th anniversary in July 2008. After a two-year break, the 12th staging of the f ...
in
New Delhi New Delhi (, , ''Naī Dillī'') is the capital of India and a part of the National Capital Territory of Delhi (NCT). New Delhi is the seat of all three branches of the government of India, hosting the Rashtrapati Bhavan, Parliament Ho ...
in 2006. As of 2015, ''
Oriyardori Asal ''Oriyardori Asal'' ( en, One better than the other) is a 2011 Indian Tulu language film directed by H. S. Rajashekar and produced by Roopa Vijayakumar Kodialbail, starring Likith Shetty, Ramya Barna, Naveen D Padil, Aravind Bolar and Rekha Das i ...
'' (2011) has been the most commercially successful Tulu film. Chaali Polilu is the longest-running film in Tulu film history, as well as the highest-grossing film in the Tulu film industry. It has successfully completed 470 days at PVR Cinemas in Mangalore. The 2014 film ''
Madime ''Madime (Wedding)'' is a Tulu language film directed by Vijaykumar Kodialbail starring Likith Shetty and Ramya Barna in lead roles. Madime is produced by Megina Malady Balakrishna Shetty. The movie was reported to be remade in Marathi, thereb ...
'' was reported to be remade in Marathi, thereby becoming the first Tulu film to be remade in another language. ''Shutterdulai'' was the first remake in Tulu cinema. ''
Eregla Panodchi ''Eregla Panodchi'' is a Tulu language film directed by Kodlu Ramakrishna'' ''starring Sandeep Shetty, Shivadhwaj, Neethu, Raksha Shenoy, Anitha Bhat, Ila Vitla, Shobha Rai, Bhojaraj Vamanjoor, Aravind Bolar, Sundar Rai Mandara, Ravi Surathkal, P ...
'' is the second remake in Tulu cinemas. A suit for damages of Rs. 25 lakh was filed against the makers of the Telugu film ''
Brahmotsavam Sri Venkateswara Swami vari Brahmotsavam or Srivari Brahmotsavam is the most significant annual fête celebrated at the Venkateswara Temple in Tirumala-Tirupati, Tirupati district, Andhra Pradesh, India. The feast lasts for one month during t ...
'' for copying the first 36 seconds of the song by Dr. Vamana Nandaavara found in the ''Deepanalike'' CD composed for the Siri channel. ''Prajavani'' reported that with its dubbing rights sold to Hindi for Rs. 21 lakh, the 2018 movie '' Umil'' became the first Tulu movie to achieve the feat. Ashwini Kotiyan (Chaya Harsha) became the first female director in the Tulu industry after directing and releasing her first movie ''Namma Kudla''. ''Brahmashree Narayana Guruswamy'' released on 2 May 2014 was the 50th Tulu film. ''Panoda Bodcha'' marked the 75th release anniversary of a Tulu film. The 100th Tulu movie ''Karne'' was released on 16 November 2018.
Guddada Bhootha Guddada Bhootha (1991) is a thriller, Indian television mini-series which has a suspense storyline based on a Tulu drama shows the country life of Tulu Nadu region of India. The art and technical direction of the series was done by popular Kanna ...
, a television series aired in 1990, was one of the successful ventures of Tulu entertainment. This mini-series has a suspense storyline based on a Tulu drama, showing the country life of
Tulu Nadu Tulunad or Tulu Nadu, also called Bermere sristi or Parashurama Srishti, is a region and a proposed state on the southwestern coast of India. The Tulu people, known as 'Tuluva' (plural 'Tuluver'), speakers of Tulu, a Dravidian language, ar ...
region of India. It was one of the popular TV series of that time. This series has a very famous title song ''Dennana Dennana'' sung by B. R. Chaya. This song along with the music were used in
Rangitaranga ''RangiTaranga'' (English: ''Colourful Wave'') is a 2015 Indian Kannada-language mystery thriller film written and directed by Anup Bhandari in his debut, and produced by H. K. Prakash, under Shree Devi Entertainers. It features debutantes Ni ...
, a
Kannada Kannada (; ಕನ್ನಡ, ), originally romanised Canarese, is a Dravidian language spoken predominantly by the people of Karnataka in southwestern India, with minorities in all neighbouring states. It has around 47 million native s ...
movie.


Centres of Tulu study and research

Tulu as a language continues to thrive in coastal Karnataka and Kasaragod in
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 ...
.
Karnataka Tulu Sahitya Academy Karnataka Tulu Sahitya Academy is an organisation under Government of Karnataka for promotion of literature in Tulu language. Established in 1994 by Government of Karnataka, it is an autonomous organisation functioning from its own building - Tu ...
, an institute established by the state government of Karnataka in 1994, has introduced Tulu as a language in schools around coastal Karnataka, including Alva's High School,
Moodbidri Moodabidri ( kn, ಮೂಡುಬಿದಿರೆ ''Mūḍubidire''; also called Mudbidri, Moodbidre and Bedra), is a town and taluk in Dakshina Kannada district. It lies 34 km northeast of the district headquarters, Mangalore, in Karnat ...
; Dattanjaneya High School, Odiyoor; Ramakunjeshwara English-medium High School, Ramakunja; and Vani Composite Pre-University College, Belthangady. Initially started in 16 schools, the language is now taught in over 33 schools, of which 30 are in Dakshina Kannada district. More than 1500 students have opted to study this language. The Government of Kerala established the Kerala Tulu Academy in 2007. The academy focuses on the retrieval and propagation of Tulu language and culture in Kerala through various activities such as organising seminars and publishing Tulu periodicals, etc. The academy is based in Hosangadi, Manjeshwar in Kasaragod. Tulu is also taught as a language at the post-graduate level in
Mangalore University Mangalore University commonly known as, MU is a public university in Konaje, Mangaluru, Karnataka, India. In 2021, National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC) awarded Mangalore University 'B' grade. History Mangalore University was e ...
, and there is a dedicated department for Tulu studies, translation and research at Dravidian University in
Kuppam Kuppam is a Granite City of Andhra Pradesh. Kuppam is a Municipality in Chittoor district of the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh located 115.8 kilometers South-East of Bangalore, the Capital City of Karnataka and 243 kilometers West of Chenna ...
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 ...
.The Government Degree College at Kasaragod in Kerala also introduced a certificate course in Tulu for the academic year 2009–2010. It has also introduced Tulu as an optional subject in its Kannada post-graduation course. It has adopted syllabi from the books published by the Tulu Sahitya Academy. German missionaries Kammerer and Männer were the first people to conduct research on the language. Kammerer collected about 3,000 words and their meanings before his death. Later his work was carried on by Männer, who completed the research and published the first dictionary of the Tulu language in 1886 with the help of the then-Madras government. The effort was incomplete, as it did not cover all aspects of the language. The Govinda Pai Research Centre at MGM College, Udupi started an 18-year Tulu lexicon project in the year 1979. Different
dialect The term dialect (from Latin , , from the Ancient Greek word , 'discourse', from , 'through' and , 'I speak') can refer to either of two distinctly different types of linguistic phenomena: One usage refers to a variety of a language that is a ...
s, special vocabularies used for different occupational activities, rituals, and folk literature in the forms of Paād-danāas were included in this project. The Centre has also released a six-volume, trilingual, modestly priced Tulu-Kannada-English lexicon. The Tulu lexicon was awarded the Gundert Award for the best dictionary in the country in 1996. In September 2011, the Academic Council of Mangalore University accepted a proposal, to allow the university and the colleges affiliated to it to offer certificates, diplomas and postgraduate diploma courses in Tulu, both in regular and correspondence modes


See also

* Gokak agitation * List of Tulu films *
Aliya Kattu Aliyasantana, literally "son in law as heir" in Kanarese, is the matrilineal system of inheritance practiced by Tuluver community in the Tulunaad area of Karnataka, India. It is similar to the ''Marumakkathayam'' system of the Malabar region. ...


Notes


References


Further reading

* Caldwell, R., '' A Comparative Grammar of the Dravidian or South-Indian family of languages'', London: Harrison, 1856.; Reprinted London, K. Paul, Trench, Trubner & co., ltd., 1913; rev. ed. by J. L. Wyatt and T. Ramakrishna Pillai, Madras, University of Madras, 1961, reprint Asian Educational Services, 1998. * C. (1875). '' A Comparative Grammar of the Dravidian or South-Indian family of languages''. London: Trübner and Co., Ludgate Hill. * Danielou, Alain (1985), ''Histoire de l'Inde'', Fayard, Paris. * Hall, Edith (2002), "The singing actors of antiquity" in Pat Easterling & Edith Hall, ed., ''Greek and Roman Actors: Aspects of an Ancient Profession'', Cambridge University Press, Cambridge. * Lauri Honko, ''Textualisation of Oral Epics''. * William Pais, ''Land Called South Canara''. * Bhat, S.L. ''A Grammar of Tulu: a Dravidian language''. * Männer, A. ''Tuḷu-English dictionary'', Mangalore: Printed at the Basel Mission Press 1886 * Männer, A. ''English-Tuḷu dictionary'', Mangalore: Printed at the Basel Mission Press 1888 * Brigel, J. ''A Grammar of the Tulu language'', Mangalore, published by C. Stolz, Basel Mission Book & Tract Depository, 1872 * * Bhat D. N. S. (1967). Descriptive analysis of Tulu. Poona: Deccan College Postgraduate and Research Institute. * Vinson, Julien (1878), , Maisonneuve et cie., Paris * Burnell, Arthur Coke (1874), ''Elements of South-Indian Palæography from the Fourth to the Seventeenth Century A.D.'', Trübner & Co. * Krishnamurti, Bhadriraju (2003), ''The Dravidian Languages'', Cambridge University Press. * G., L. R. (2013). Elements of comparative philology. Place of publication not identified: Hardpress Ltd. * Bhatt, S. L. (2005). A grammar of Tulu: a Dravidian language. Thiruvananthapuram: Dravidian linguistics association. * Goddard, C. (2009). The languages of East and Southeast Asia: an introduction. Oxford: Oxford Univ. Press. * Padmanabha, Kekunnaya. K. (1994). A comparative study of Tulu dialects. Udupi. * Narayana, S. B. (1967). Descriptive analysis of Tulu. Poona: Deccan College Postgraduate and Research Institute. * Upadhyaya, U. P. (n.d.). Tulu Lexicon: Tulu-Kannada-English Dictionary. Udupi. * Aiyar, L. R. (1936). Materials for a sketch of Tulu phonology. Lahore. * * * * * * * *


External links


Official Website of Karnataka Government's Tulu Academy



Tuluver.com

Kopparige Tulu Dictionary


{{DEFAULTSORT:Tulu Language Dravidian languages Udupi Culture of Kasaragod district Agglutinative languages Vowel-harmony languages Dakshina Kannada district Tulu Nadu Culture of Tulu Nadu