Kannada: Difference between revisions

{{Other uses|Kannada (disambiguation)}}

{{Distinguish|Canada}}

{{Use dmy dates|date=November 2020}}

| ethnicity        = [[Kannada people|Kannadiga]]

| speakers        = 43 million

| ref              = <ref name="Ethnologue_kan">{{e22|kan}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.censusindia.gov.in/2011Census/Language_MTs.html|title=Statement 1: Abstract of speakers' strength of languages and mother}} tongues – 2011|publisher=Office of the Registrar General & Census Commissioner, India|website=www.censusindia.gov.in|access-date=7 July 2018}}</ref>

| speakers2        = [[Second language|L2 speakers]]: {{sigfig|12.9|2}} million<ref name="Ethnologue_kan"/>

| script          = [[Kannada script]]<br/>[[Kannada Braille]]<br/>[[Tigalari script]] (formerly)<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Murthy|first1=Vaishnavi|title=Preliminary proposal to encode Tigalari script in Unicode|date=20 October 2017|page=3|url=https://www.unicode.org/L2/L2017/17378-tigalari.pdf}}</ref>

| image            = Kannada in Kedage font.png

| imagesize        = 200px

'''Kannada''' ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|k|ɑː|n|ə|d|ə|,_|ˈ|k|æ|n|-}};<ref>{{MerriamWebsterDictionary|Kannada}}</ref><ref>{{Cite OED|Kannada}}</ref> ಕನ್ನಡ, {{IPA-kn|ˈkɐnːɐɖa|}}; less commonly known as '''Kanarese''')<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/kanarese|title = Kanarese &#124; Definition of Kanarese by Lexico}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/Kanarese|title=Definition of KANARESE|website=www.merriam-webster.com}}</ref> is a [[Dravidian languages|Dravidian language]] spoken predominantly by the people of [[Karnataka]] in the southwestern region of India. The language is also spoken by linguistic minorities in the states of [[Maharashtra]], [[Andhra Pradesh]], [[Tamil Nadu]], [[Telangana]], [[Kerala]] and [[Goa]]; and also by Kannadigas abroad. The language had roughly 43 million native speakers by 2011.<ref name="census">{{cite web|url=http://censusindia.gov.in/2011Census/C-16_25062018_NEW.pdf |title=Census 2011: Languages by state |publisher=censusindia.gov.in |access-date=5 May 2019}}</ref> Kannada is also spoken as a second and third language by over 12.9 million non-native speakers in [[Karnataka]], which adds up to 56.9 million speakers.<ref name="2001census">{{cite web|url=http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Indiaspeak-English-is-our-2nd-language/articleshow/5680962.cms|title=Indiaspeak: English is our 2nd language|work=[[The Times of India]]}}</ref> It is one of the [[Languages with official status in India|scheduled languages of India]] and the official and administrative language of the state of Karnataka.<ref name="official">{{cite web|url=http://dpal.kar.nic.in/26%20of%201963%20(E).pdf|title=The Karnataka Official Language Act|work=Official website of Department of Parliamentary Affairs and Legislation|publisher=Government of Karnataka|access-date=29 June 2007}}</ref> Kannada was the court language of some of the most powerful empires of South and Central India, such as the [[Chalukya dynasty]], the [[Rashtrakuta dynasty]], the [[Vijayanagara Empire]] and the [[Hoysala Empire]].

  |url=http://www.classicalkannada.org/DataBase/KannwordHTMLS/CLASSICAL%20KANNADA%20LAND%20HISTORY%20AND%20PEOPLE%20HTML/RASHTRAKUTA%20DYNASTY.htm  

  |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110110232151/http://www.classicalkannada.org/DataBase/KannwordHTMLS/CLASSICAL%20KANNADA%20LAND%20HISTORY%20AND%20PEOPLE%20HTML/RASHTRAKUTA%20DYNASTY.htm  

  |url-status=dead  

  |archive-date=10 January 2011 |title=Rastrakutas  

  |publisher=Official website of the [[Central Institute of Indian Languages]]  

  |access-date=12 May 2008 }}</ref><ref name="tradition">Zvelebil (1973), p. 7 (Introductory, chart)</ref> Kannada has an [[Kannada literature|unbroken literary history]] of over a thousand years.<ref name="thousand">Garg (1992), p. 67</ref> Kannada literature has been presented with 8 [[Jnanpith Award|Jnanapith awards]], the most for any Dravidian language and the second highest for any Indian language.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.karnatakavision.com/jnanpeeth-awardees.php|title=Jnanpeeth Awardees from Karnataka &#124; Jnanapeeta Awardees &#124; Jnanpith Award|website=www.karnatakavision.com}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.newsgram.com/eight-kannada-authors-who-have-won-prestigious-jnanpith-award/ |title=Jnanpith Award: Eight Kannada authors who have won 'Jnanpith Award'|date=5 September 2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.bestcurrentaffairs.com/jnanpith-awards-winners-full-list/ |title=Jnanpith Awards Winners Full List|date=27 July 2016}}</ref>

Based on the recommendations of the Committee of Linguistic Experts, appointed by the [[Ministry of Culture|ministry of culture]], the [[government of India]] designated Kannada a [[Classical languages of India|classical language of India]].<ref name="tag">Kuiper (2011), p. 74</ref><ref name="oldest">R 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, {{ISBN|978-0-691-15491-6}}</ref> In July 2011, a center for the study of classical Kannada was established as part of the [[Central Institute of Indian Languages]] in [[Mysore]] to facilitate research related to the language.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://ibnlive.in.com/news/ciil-to-head-centre-for-classical-kannada-study/169646-60-119.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120111170247/http://ibnlive.in.com/news/ciil-to-head-centre-for-classical-kannada-study/169646-60-119.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=11 January 2012 |title=IBNLive – CIIL to head Centre for classical Kannada study |publisher=ibnlive.in.com |date=23 July 2011 |access-date=12 February 2013}}</ref>

Kannada is a Southern [[Dravidian languages|Dravidian language]] and according to scholar Sanford B. Steever, its history can be conventionally divided into three stages: Old Kannada (''Halegannada'') from 450–1200 AD, Middle Kannada (''Nadugannada'') from 1200–1700 and Modern Kannada from 1700 to the present.<ref name="steeve">Steever, S. B. (1998), p. 129</ref> Kannada is influenced to a considerable degree by Sanskrit. Influences of other languages such as [[Prakrit]] and [[Pali]] can also be found in Kannada. The scholar [[Iravatham Mahadevan]] 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.<ref name="civil">{{cite web|title=Classical Kannada, Antiquity of Kannada |url=http://www.classicalkannada.org/LanguageEng.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100425022336/http://www.classicalkannada.org/LanguageEng.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=25 April 2010 |publisher=Central Institute for Indian Languages |work=Centre for classical Kannada |access-date=28 August 2011 }}</ref><ref name="Tamil_epigraphy1" /> 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.<ref name="civil" />

The sources of influence on literary Kannada grammar appear to be three-fold: [[Pāṇini]]'s grammar, non-Paninian schools of [[Sanskrit]] grammar, particularly ''Katantra'' and ''Sakatayana'' schools, and [[Prakrit]] grammar.<ref name=prak>{{cite book|last=Mythic Society (Bangalore, India)|title=The quarterly journal of the Mythic society (Bangalore)., Volume 76|year=1985|publisher=Mythic Society (Bangalore, India)|pages=Pages_197–210}}</ref> 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.<ref name=prak/><ref name=autogenerated1>{{cite book|author1=B. K. Khadabadi |author2=Prākr̥ta Bhāratī Akādamī |title=Studies in Jainology, Prakrit literature, and languages: a collection of select 51 papers Volume 116 of Prakrit Bharti pushpa|year=1997|publisher=Prakrit Bharati Academy|pages=444 pages}}</ref>

Some naturalised (''[[tadbhava]]'') words of Prakrit origin in Kannada are: ''baṇṇa'' (colour) derived from ''vaṇṇa'', {{lang|kn|hunnime}} (full moon) from ''puṇṇivā''. Examples of naturalised Sanskrit words in Kannada are: ''varṇa'' (colour), ''paurṇimā'', and ''rāya'' from ''rāja'' (king).<ref name=banna>{{cite book|last=Jha|first=Ganganatha|title=Journal of the Ganganatha Jha Kendriya Sanskrit Vidyapeetha, Volume 32|year=1976|publisher=Ganganatha Jha Kendriya Sanskrit Vidyapeetha|pages=see page 319}}</ref>

Kannada also has borrowed (''[[Tatsama]]'') words such as ''dina'' (day), ''kopa'' (anger), ''surya'' (sun), ''mukha'' (face), ''nimiṣa'' (minute).<ref name="tatsama">{{cite book|last=Kulli|first=Jayavant S|title=History of grammatical theories in Kannada|year=1991|publisher=Internationial School of Dravidian Linguistics|pages=330 pages}}</ref>

[[File:Halmidi OldKannada inscription.JPG|left|upright|thumb|The [[Halmidi inscription]] at [[Halmidi]] village, in old-Kannada, is usually dated to AD 450 ([[Kadamba Dynasty]])]]

[[File:6th century Kannada inscription in cave temple number 3 at Badami.jpg|thumb|right|Old-Kannada inscription dated AD 578 (Badami Chalukya dynasty), outside Badami cave no.3]]

[[File:TalakadInscription.jpg|thumb|left|upright|Old-Kannada inscription of c. AD 726, discovered in [[Talakad]], from the rule of King Shivamara I or Sripurusha ([[Western Ganga Dynasty]])]]

[[File:Old Kannada inscription (c.1057) in Kalleshvara temple at Hire Hadagali.jpg|thumb|upright|right|Old Kannada inscription dated AD 1057 of Western Chalukya King Someshvara I at [[Kalleshwara Temple, Hire Hadagali]] in [[Bellary district]]]]

[[File:Old-Kannada inscription at Arasikere Ishwara temple.jpg|left|thumb|Old-Kannada inscription of AD 1220 ([[Hoysala Empire]]) at Ishwara temple of Arasikere town in the [[Hassan district]]]]

Purava Hale Gannada is a Kannada term which literally translated means "Previous form of Old Kannada." It was the language of [[Banavasi]] in the late ancient period, the [[Satavahana]], [[Chutu dynasty|Chutu Satakarni]] (Naga) and [[Kadamba Dynasty|Kadamba]] periods and thus has a history of over 2500 years.<ref name="Tamil_epigraphy1">{{Cite book |title=Early Tamil Epigraphy from the Earliest Times to the Sixth Century AD |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DZBkAAAAMAAJ|author=Iravatham Mahadevan|work=Harvard University Press |access-date=12 April 2007|isbn=9780674012271|year=2003}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=jHaVqNy-V6UC&pg=PA11|title=Origin of Saivism and Its History in the Tamil Land|last=K R|first=Subramanian|publisher=Asian Educational Services|year=2002|isbn=9788120601444|pages=11}}</ref><ref>Kamath (2001), p. 5–6</ref><ref>Wilks in Rice, B.L. (1897), p490</ref><ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=vG1mCwAAQBAJ&pg=PA7|title=A HISTORY OF FREEDOM AND UNIFICATION MOVEMENT IN KARNATAKA|last=Shashidhar|first=Dr. Melkunde|publisher=Lulu publication|year=2016|isbn=978-1-329-82501-7|location=United States|pages=7}}</ref><ref name="pai">Pai and Narasimhachar in Bhat (1993), p103</ref><ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Wk4_ICH_g1EC&pg=PA360|title=Ancient Indian History and Civilization|last=Sen|first=Sailendra Nath|publisher=New Age International|year=1999|isbn=9788122411980|location=India|pages=360}}</ref> The [[Ashoka rock edict]] found at [[Brahmagiri archaeological site|Brahmagiri]] (dated to 230 BC) has been suggested to contain words in identifiable Kannada.<ref name="isila">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)</ref>

In some 3rd–1st century BC Tamil inscriptions, words of Kannada influence such as ''nalliyooraa'', ''kavuDi'' and ''posil'' were found. The use of the vowel ''a'' as an adjective is not prevalent in Tamil but its usage is available in Kannada. Kannada words such as ''gouDi-gavuDi'' transform into Tamil's ''kavuDi'' for lack of the usage of ''Ghosha svana'' in Tamil. Hence the Kannada word 'gavuDi' becomes 'kavuDi' in Tamil. 'Posil' ('hosilu') was introduced into Tamil from Kannada and colloquial Tamil uses this word as 'Vaayil'. In a 1st-century AD Tamil inscription, there is a personal reference to ''ayjayya'', a word of Kannada origin. 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 ''sittanvAsal'' 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'', {{lang|oty|poshil}} 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 language|Tamil]] inscriptions before the common era and in the early centuries of the common era.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DZBkAAAAMAAJ&q=posil|title=Early Tamil Epigraphy|isbn=9780674012271|last1=Mahadevan|first1=Iravatham|year=2003}}</ref>

In the 150 AD Prakrit book ''Gaathaa Saptashati'', written by Haala Raja, Kannada words like ''tIr or Teer (''meaning ''to be able)'', ''tuppa'', ''peTTu'', ''poTTu, poTTa, piTTu (''meaning ''to strike), Pode (Hode)'' have been used. On the Pallava Prakrit inscription of 250 CE of Hire Hadagali's Shivaskandavarman, the Kannada word ''kOTe'' transforms into ''koTTa''. In the 350 AD Chandravalli Prakrit inscription, words of Kannada origin like ''punaaTa'', ''puNaDa'' have been used. In one more Prakrit inscription of 250 AD found in Malavalli, Kannada towns like ''vEgooraM'' (''bEgooru''), ''kundamuchchaMDi'' find a reference.<ref name="Tamil_epigraphy1" /><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://shodhganga.inflibnet.ac.in/bitstream/10603/131873/7/07_chapter%202.pdf|title=Karnataka history|website=ShodhGanga}}</ref>

The Greek geographer [[Ptolemy]] (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) indicating prosperous trade between Egypt, Europe and Karnataka. He also mentions Pounnata (Punnata) and refers to beryls, i.e., the ''Vaidhurya'' gems of that country. He mentions Malippala (Malpe), a coastal town of Karnataka. In this work Larika and Kandaloi are identified as Rastrika and Kuntala. Ptolemy writes that "in the midst of the false mouth and the Barios, there is a city called Maganur" (Mangalore). He mentions inland centres of pirates called Oloikhora (Alavakheda). He mentions Ariake Sadinon, meaning Aryaka Satakarni, and Baithana as the capital of Siro(e) P(t)olmaios, i.e., Sri Pulimayi, clearly indicating his knowledge of the Satavahana kings. The word ''Pulimayi'' means ''One with body of Tiger'' in Kannada, which bears testimony to the possible Kannada origin of Satavahana kings.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://storyofkannada.blogspot.in/2009/04/greece-and-kannada-in-classical-era.html#.Vtr_mvl94sk|title=Story of Kannadiga, Kannada and Karnataka. Glimpses of Kannada History and Greatness|date=8 April 2009}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=bP7DzXQBoM4C&q=Siro+Polemaios&pg=PA193|title=History of India, in Nine Volumes: Vol. II – From the Sixth Century B.C. to the Mohammedan Conquest, Including the Invasion of Alexander the Great|last1=A. Smith|first1=Vincent|last2=Williams Jackson|first2=A. V.|publisher=Cosimo, Inc., 2008|date=1 January 2008|isbn=9781605204925|pages=193–196}}</ref>

A possibly more definite reference to Kannada is found in the '[[Charition mime|Charition Mime]]' ascribed to the late 4th century BC to early 2nd century AD.<ref>Suryanatha Kamath – Karnataka State Gazetteer – South Kanara (1973), Printed by the Director of Print, Stationery and Publications at the Govt. Press</ref><ref>Manohar Laxman Varadpande – History of Indian theatre, Volume 3 (1987), Abhinav Publications, New Delhi.</ref><ref name=":1" /> The farce, written by an unknown author, is concerned with a Greek lady named Charition who has been stranded on the coast of a country bordering the Indian Ocean. The king of this region, and his countrymen, sometimes use their own language, and the sentences they speak could be interpreted as Kannada, including {{lang|kn|Koncha madhu patrakke haki}} ("Having poured a little wine into the cup separately") and {{lang|kn|paanam beretti katti madhuvam ber ettuvenu}} ("Having taken up the cup separately and having covered it, I shall take wine separately.").<ref name="ReferenceA">D. R. Bhandarkar – Lectures on the Ancient History of India on the Period From 650 To 320 B.C. (1919), University of Calcutta.</ref> The language employed in the papyrus indicates that the play is set in one of the numerous small ports on the western coast of India, between [[Karwar]] and [[Kanhangad]] (presently in Kerala).<ref name="ReferenceA" /> The character of the king in this farce refers to himself as 'the Nayaka of Malpe (Malpi-naik)'. B. A. Saletore identifies the site of this play as Odabhandeshwara or Vadabhandeshwara (ship-vessel-Ishwara or God), situated about a mile from Malpe, which was a Shaivite centre originally surrounded by a forest with a small river passing through it. He rejects M. Govinda Pai's opinion that it must have occurred at Udyavara (Odora in Greek), the capital of Alupas.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Ancient Indian And Indo-Greek Theatre|last=Varadpande|first=Manohar Laxman|publisher=Abhinav Publications|year=1981|isbn=8170171474|pages=98–110}}</ref> Stavros J. Tsitsiridis mentions in his research work that ''Charition'' is not an exclusively prose or verse text, but a mixed form. The corrupt lines indicate that the text found at Oxyrhynchus (Egypt) has been copied, meaning that the original was even earlier in date. Wilamowitz (1907) and Andreassi (2001) say that for more precise dating of the original, some place the composition of the work as early as in the Hellenistic period (332–30 BC), others at a later date, up to the early 2nd century AD.<ref name=":1">{{Cite journal|last=Tsitsiridis|first=Stavros J.|date=2011|title=GREEK MIME IN THE ROMAN EMPIRE (P.Oxy. 413)|url=https://www.academia.edu/1786731|journal=Greek Mime in the Roman Empire|pages=184–189}}</ref>

The earliest examples of a full-length Kannada language stone inscription (''shilaashaasana'') containing [[Brahmi]] characters with characteristics attributed to those of [[Halegannada|proto-Kannada]] in ''Hale Kannada'' (''lit'' Old Kannada) script can be found in the [[Halmidi inscription]], usually dated c. AD 450, indicating that Kannada had become an administrative language at that time. The Halmidi inscription provides invaluable information about the history and culture of Karnataka.<ref name="admin">Ramesh (1984), p10</ref><ref name="hal">Encyclopaedia of Indian literature vol. 2, Sahitya Akademi (1988), p1717, p 1474</ref><ref name="Oldest inscription">A report on Halmidi inscription, {{cite news |title=Halmidi village finally on the road to recognition |url=http://www.hindu.com/2003/11/03/stories/2003110304550500.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20031124063238/http://www.hindu.com/2003/11/03/stories/2003110304550500.htm |url-status=dead |archive-date=24 November 2003 |author=Muralidhara Khajane |access-date=25 November 2006 |location=Chennai, India |work=[[The Hindu]] |date=3 November 2003}}</ref><ref name="ind">Kamath (2001), p10</ref> The Kannada Lion balustrade inscription excavated at the Pranaveshwara temple complex at Talagunda near Shiralakoppa of Shivamogga district, dated to 370–380 AD is now considered the earliest Kannada inscriptions replacing the Halmidi inscription of 450 AD.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.deccanherald.com/content/591046/kannada-inscription-talagunda-may-replace.html|title=Kannada inscription at Talagunda of 370 CE may replace Halmidi inscription as the oldest|work=Deccan Herald}}</ref> The 5th century Tamatekallu inscription of [[Chitradurga]] and the Siragunda inscription from [[Chikkamagaluru]] Taluk of 500 AD are further examples.<ref name="chikka">Narasimhacharya (1988), p6</ref><ref name="rice">Rice (1921), p13</ref><ref name="tamate">[[Govinda Pai]] in Bhat (1993), p102</ref> Recent reports indicate that the [[Halegannada|Old Kannada]] ''Nishadi'' inscription discovered on the Chandragiri hill, [[Shravanabelagola]], is older than Halmidi inscription by about fifty to hundred years and may belong to the period AD 350–400.<ref>{{cite news

}}</ref> The noted archaeologist and art historian S. Shettar is of the opinion that an inscription of the [[Western Ganga Dynasty|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.<ref name="konga">{{cite web |title=HALMIDI INSCRIPTION|url=http://www.classicalkannada.org/DataBase/KannwordHTMLS/CLASSICAL%20KANNADA%20INSCRIPTIONS%20HTML/HALMIDI%20INSCRIPTION%20HTML.htm|publisher=Central Institute for Indian Languages |work=Centre for classical Kannada|access-date=25 March 2012}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.bangaloremirror.com/bangalore/cover-story/Historians-study-pushes-earliest-record-of-Kannada-writing-back-by-a-century/articleshow/21220551.cms|title=HISTORIAN'S STUDY PUSHES EARLIEST RECORD OF KANNADA WRITING BACK BY A CENTURY|date=10 March 2013|work=The antiquity of Kannada}}</ref>

Current estimates of the total number of existing [[Epigraphy|epigraph]]s written in Kannada range from 25,000 by the scholar [[Sheldon Pollock]] to over 30,000 by the Amaresh Datta of the [[Sahitya Akademi]].<ref name="current">Datta, Amaresh; ''Encyclopaedia of Indian literature&nbsp;– vol 2'', p.1717, 1988, Sahitya Akademi, {{ISBN|81-260-1194-7}}</ref><ref name="dense">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, {{ISBN|978-0-231-14028-7}}</ref> 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.<ref name="cliff">Kamath (2001), p58</ref><ref name="cliff1">{{cite web |title=Badami: Chalukyans' magical transformation |url=http://www.deccanherald.com/deccanherald/jul262005/spectrum1422512005725.asp |author=Azmathulla Shariff |work=Deccan Herald |access-date=25 November 2006 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20061007040120/http://www.deccanherald.com/deccanherald/jul262005/spectrum1422512005725.asp <!-- Bot retrieved archive --> |archive-date = 7 October 2006|date=14 February 2018 }}</ref>

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. The northernmost Kannada inscription of the Rashtrakutas of 964 AD is the Jura record found near Jabalpur in present-day Madhya Pradesh, belonging to the reign of Krishna III. This indicates the spread of the influence of the language over the ages, especially during the rule of large Kannada empires.<ref name="jura">Kamath (2001), p83</ref> Pyu sites of Myanmar yielded variety of Indian scripts including those written in a script especially archaic, most resembling the Kadamba (Kannada-speaking Kadambas of 4th century AD Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh<ref>{{cite book|title=Sircar 1965|pages=202–4}}</ref>) form of common Kannada-Telugu script from Andhra Pradesh.<ref>{{cite book|title=Luce 1985|pages=62, n.16}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.siamese-heritage.org/jsspdf/1991/JSS_085_0g_Guy_WarriorRulerSteleFromSriKsetra.pdf|title=A WARRIOR-RULER STELE FROM SRI KSETRA, PYU, BURMA|last=Guy|first=John|date=1996|website=Journal of The Siam Society – Siamese Heritage|publisher=Journal of The Siam Society}}</ref>

Some early [[Kadamba Dynasty]] coins bearing the Kannada inscription ''Vira'' and ''Skandha'' were found in Satara collectorate.<ref name="sat">The coins are preserved at the Archaeological Section, Prince of Wales Museum of Western India, Mumbai – Kundangar and Moraes in Moraes (1931), p382</ref> A gold coin bearing three inscriptions of ''Sri'' and an abbreviated inscription of king Bhagiratha's name called ''bhagi'' (c. AD 390–420) in old Kannada exists.<ref name="bhagi">The coin is preserved at the Indian Historical Research Institute, St. Xavier's College, Mumbai – Kundangar and Moraes in Moraes (1938), p&nbsp;382</ref> A Kadamba copper coin dated to the 5th century AD with the inscription ''Srimanaragi'' in Kannada script was discovered in Banavasi, [[Uttara Kannada district]].<ref name="Kadamba coin">{{cite news |title=5th century copper coin discovered at Banavasi |url=http://www.hindu.com/2006/02/06/stories/2006020609090400.htm|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070526191104/http://www.hindu.com/2006/02/06/stories/2006020609090400.htm|url-status=dead|archive-date=26 May 2007|author=Dr Gopal, director, Department of Archaeology and Ancient History |date=6 February 2006|work=[[The Hindu]] |location=Chennai, India}}</ref> Coins with Kannada legends have been discovered spanning the rule of the [[Western Ganga Dynasty]], the Badami [[Chalukyas]], the [[Alupas]], the [[Western Chalukyas]], the [[Rashtrakutas]], the [[Hoysalas]], the [[Vijayanagar Empire]], the [[Kadamba Dynasty]] of Banavasi, the [[Keladi Nayaka]]s and the [[Mysore Kingdom]], the Badami Chalukya coins being a recent discovery.<ref name="coins">Kamath (2001), p12, p57</ref><ref name="coins1">{{cite web |title=Indian coins-Dynasties of South |url=http://prabhu.50g.com/ |author=Govindaraya Prabhu, S |publisher=Prabhu's Web Page on Indian Coinage, 1 November 2001 |access-date=27 November 2006 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060901102258/http://prabhu.50g.com/ |archive-date=1 September 2006 }}</ref><ref name="coins2">{{cite web |title=Vijayanagar Coins-Catalogue |url=http://www.vijayanagaracoins.com/htm/history.htm |author1=Harihariah Oruganti-Vice-President |author2=Madras Coin Society |access-date=27 November 2006}}</ref> 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,<ref name="triple">This shows that the native vernacular of the Goa Kadambas was Kannada – Moraes (1931), p384</ref> a few coins of the Kadambas of [[Hangal]] are also available.<ref name="han">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</ref>

[[File:Jain Basadi in Lakshmeshwar.jpg|thumb|Shankha Jain Basadi at Lakshmeshwar where the famous [[Adikavi Pampa]] wrote the [[Adipurana]] in Kannada language]]

The oldest existing record of Kannada poetry in ''Tripadi'' metre is the [[Kappe Arabhatta]] record of AD 700.<ref name="poetry">Kamath (2001), p67</ref> ''[[Kavirajamarga]]'' by King Nripatunga [[Amoghavarsha]] I (AD 850) 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]] of the 6th century and Ravikirti, the author of the Airhole record of 636 AD.<ref name="extinct_works6">Sastri (1955), p355</ref><ref>Kamath (2001), p90</ref> Since the earliest available Kannada work is one on grammar and a guide of sorts to unify existing variants of [[Kannada grammar]] and literary styles, it can be safely assumed that literature in Kannada must have started several centuries earlier.<ref name="extinct_works6"/><ref name="extinct_works5">{{cite web |title=History of the Kannada Literature-I |url=http://www.kamat.com/kalranga/kar/literature/history1.htm |author=Jyotsna Kamat |publisher=Kamat's Potpourri |work=Kamat's Potpourri, 4 November 2006 |access-date=25 November 2006}}</ref> An early [[Extant literature|extant]] prose work, the ''Vaddaradhane'' (ವಡ್ಡಾರಾಧನೆ) by [[Shivakotiacharya]] of AD 900 provides an elaborate description of the life of Bhadrabahu of [[Shravanabelagola]].<ref name="kavirajamarga">Sastri (1955), p356</ref>

Kannada works from earlier centuries mentioned in the [[Kavirajamarga]] are not yet traced. Some ancient texts now considered extinct but referenced in later centuries are ''Prabhrita'' (AD 650) by Syamakundacharya, ''Chudamani'' (Crest Jewel—AD 650) by Srivaradhadeva, also known as Tumbuluracharya, which is a work of 96,000 verse-measures and a commentary on logic (''Tatwartha-mahashastra'').<ref name="extint_works">The seventeenth-century Kannada grammarian Bhattakalanka wrote about the ''Chudamani'' as a milestone in the literature of the Kannada language (Sastri (1955), p355)</ref><ref name="extinct_works1">{{cite web |title=History of the Kannada Literature – I |url=http://www.kamat.com/kalranga/kar/literature/history1.htm |author=Jyotsna Kamat |publisher=Kamat's Potpourri |work=Kamat's Potpourri, 4 November 2006 |access-date=25 November 2006}}</ref><ref name="extinct_works2">Narasimhacharya (1988), pp 4–5</ref> Other sources date ''Chudamani'' to the 6th century or earlier.<ref name="god2">Rice, B.L. (1897), p497</ref><ref name="dandin">6th century Sanskrit poet Dandin praised Srivaradhadeva's writing as "having produced [[Saraswati]] from the tip of his tongue, just as [[Shiva]] produced the [[Ganges]] from the tip of his top knot (Rice E.P., 1921, p27)</ref> The ''Karnateshwara Katha'', a eulogy for King [[Pulakesi II]], is said to have belonged to the 7th century; the ''Gajastaka'', a work on elephant management by King [[Shivamara II]], belonged to the 8th century,<ref name="early_works3">Kamath (2001), p50, p67</ref> and the ''Chandraprabha-purana'' by Sri Vijaya, a court poet of King [[Amoghavarsha I]], is ascribed to the early 9th century.<ref name="extinct_works4">The author and his work were praised by the latter-day poet Durgasimha of AD 1025 (Narasimhacharya 1988, p18.)</ref> Tamil Buddhist commentators of the 10th century AD (in the commentary on ''Nemrinatham'', a Tamil grammatical work) make references that show that Kannada literature must have flourished as early as the BC 4th century.<ref name="greek_roman">{{cite web |title=The place of Kannada and Tamil in India's national culture |url=http://www.intamm.com/journalism/ta-jour3.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070415154722/http://www.intamm.com/journalism/ta-jour3.htm |archive-date=15 April 2007 |author=K. Appadurai |publisher=INTAMM|access-date=25 November 2006}}</ref>

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.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=dqGojPpe8DIC|title=Indian Literature|last=Nagendra|first=Dr.|publisher=Prabhat Prakashan, 1988|year=1988}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|url=https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.489059|quote=andayya pure kannada.|title=History of Kannada Literature: Readership Lectures|last=Narasimhacharya|first=Ramanujapuram|publisher=Asian Educational Services, 1988|isbn=9788120603035|year=1988}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ObFCT5_taSgC&q=andayya|title=Encyclopaedia of Indian Literature: A-Devo|last=Datta|first=Amaresh|publisher=Sahitya Akademi, 1987|isbn=9788126018031|year=1987}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=y2noBgAAQBAJ|title=Gods, Heroes and their Story Tellers: Intangible cultural heritage of South India|last=Hari Saravanan|first=V.|publisher=Notion Press, 2014|isbn=9789384391492|year=2014}}</ref><ref name="kannada literature">Rice, Edward. P (1921), "A History of Kannada Literature", Oxford University Press, 1921: 14–15</ref><ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=2fhCH-NRatUC&pg=PA101|title=A History of Kannada Literature|last=Rice|first=Edward P.|publisher=Asian Educational Services|year=1982|isbn=9788120600638|pages=15, 44}}</ref>

During the period between the 15th and 18th centuries, [[Hinduism]] had a great influence on Middle Kannada (''Nadugannada''- ನಡುಗನ್ನಡ) language and literature. [[Kumara Vyasa]], who wrote the ''Karnata Bharata Kathamanjari'' (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]].<ref name="kumar">Sastri (1955), p364</ref>  

Hindu saints of the [[Vaishnava]] sect such as [[Kanakadasa]], [[Purandaradasa]], [[Naraharitirtha]], [[Vyasatirtha]], [[Sripadaraya]], [[Vadirajatirtha]], [[Vijaya Dasa]], [[Jagannatha Dasa]], Prasanna Venkatadasa produced devotional poems in this period.<ref name="bhakti">Sastri (1955), pp&nbsp;364–365</ref> Kanakadasa's ''Ramadhanya Charite'' (ರಾಮಧಾನ್ಯ ಚರಿತೆ ) is a rare work, concerning with the issue of class struggle.<ref name="ragi">The writing exalts the grain Ragi above all other grains that form the staple foods of much of modern Karnataka (Sastri 1955, p365)</ref> This period saw the advent of ''[[Haridasa]] Sahitya'' (''lit'' Dasa literature) which made rich contributions to ''[[Bhakti]]'' literature and sowed the seeds of Carnatic music. Purandara Dasa is widely considered the ''Father of Carnatic music''.<ref name="pura">{{cite book

The Kannada works produced from the 19th century make a gradual transition and are classified as ''Hosagannada'' or Modern Kannada. Most notable among the modernists was the poet [[Muddana|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]] printing of "Canarese" appears to be the ''Canarese Grammar'' of [[William Carey (missionary)|Carey]] printed at [[Serampore]] in 1817, and the "[[Bible translations into Kannada|Bible in Canarese]]" of [[John Hands]] in 1820.<ref>Report on the administration of Mysore – Page 90 Mysore – 1864 "There is no authentic record of the casting of the first Early Canarese printing. Canarese type, but a Canarese Grammar by Carey printed at Serampore in 1817 is extant. About the same time a translation of the Scriptures was printed</ref> The first novel printed was [[John Bunyan]]'s ''[[Pilgrim's Progress]]'', along with other texts including ''Canarese Proverbs'', ''The History of Little Henry and his Bearer'' by [[Mary Martha Sherwood]], [[Christian Gottlob Barth]]'s ''Bible Stories'' and "a Canarese hymn book."<ref>Missions in south India – Page 56 [[Joseph Mullens]] – 1854 "Among those of the former are tracts on Caste, on the Hindu gods; Canarese Proverbs; Henry and his Bearer; the Pilgrim's Progress; Barth's Bible Stories; a Canarese hymn book"</ref>

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]] reports "about 20 dialects" of Kannada. Among them are [[Kundagannada]] (spoken exclusively in Kundapura, Brahmavara, Bynduru and Hebri), Nadavar-Kannada (spoken by [[Nadavaru]]), [[Havigannada]] (spoken mainly by [[Havyaka Brahmin]]s), [[Are Bhashe]] (spoken by Gowda community mainly in [[Madikeri]] and [[Sullia]] region of [[Dakshina Kannada]]), Malenadu Kannada (Sakaleshpur, Coorg, Shimoga, Chikmagalur), [[Sholaga language|Sholaga]], [[Gulbarga Kannada]], Dharawad Kannada etc. All of these dialects are influenced by their regional and cultural background. The one million [[Komarpant]]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.<ref>{{Cite book|title=A Journey from Madras through the Countries of Mysore, Canara, and Malabar. Volume 3|last=Buchanan|first=Francis Hamilton|publisher=Cadell|year=1807|isbn=9781402146756|location=London}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://hindu-kshatriya-komarpanth.blogspot.in/2010/02/wapedia-kshatriyakomarpant.html|title=HISTORY OF KOMARPANTHS|last1=Naik|first1=Vinayak K.|last2=Naik|first2=Yogesh|date=6 April 2007|website=hindu-kshatriya-komarpanth|publisher=Atom}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://shodhganga.inflibnet.ac.in:8080/jspui/bitstream/10603/32126/6/06_chapter%201.pdf|title=GOA ON THE THRESHOLD OF THE 20TH CENTURY|date=1995|website=ShodhGanga}}</ref> The [[Halakki Vokkaliga]]s of Uttara Kannada, Shimoga and Dakshina Kannada districts of Karnataka speak in their own dialect of Kannada called Halakki Kannada or Achchagannada. Their population estimate is about 75,000.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.kamat.com/kalranga/people/halakki.htm|title=Halakki Farmers of Uttara Kannada|last=Kamat|first=K. L.|website=Kamat's Potpourri}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://buda-honnavar.blogspot.in/2010/08/tribes-of-uttara-kannada.html|title=Tribes of Uttara Kannada-The Halakki Tribe|last=Uday|first=Savita|date=18 August 2010|website=Buda Folklore}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.thehindu.com/features/metroplus/events/photographer-k-venkatesh-documents-the-halakki-vokkaliga-womens-traditional-dress-and-jewellery/article6533134.ece|title=Beauty in all its glory|last=K.|first=Bhumika|date=29 October 2014|via=The Hindu}}</ref>

Ethnologue also classifies a group of four languages related to Kannada, which are, besides Kannada proper, [[Badaga language|Badaga]], [[Holiya language|Holiya]], [[Kurumba language|Kurumba]] and [[Urali language|Urali]].<ref>{{cite web|title=Kannada|url=https://dsal.uchicago.edu/books/lsi/lsi.php?volume=4&pages=701#page/404/mode/2up|website=The Record News|publisher=DSAL, Chicago}}</ref>

Nasik district 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.<ref>{{cite web|last1=S.|first1=Kiran Kumar|title=The Kannada History of Maharashtra|url=http://kiranasis.blogspot.in/2015/07/the-kannada-history-of-maharashtra.html|date=17 July 2015}}</ref>

The language uses forty-nine [[phonemic]] letters, divided into three groups: ''swaragalu'' (vowels – thirteen letters); ''vyanjanagalu'' (consonants – thirty-four letters); and ''yogavaahakagalu'' (neither vowel nor consonant – two letters: ''[[anusvara]]'' {{lang|kn|ಂ}} and ''[[visarga]]'' {{lang|kn|ಃ}})<!--Swaragalu+Yogavaahakagalu=vowels?-->. The character set is almost identical to that of other [[Languages of India|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]], as opposed to one [[phoneme]] in languages like English. The Kannada script is syllabic.

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]] Vastukosha' (ಅಭಿದಾನ ವಾಸ್ತುಕೋಶ) by Nagavarma (1045 AD), 'Amarakoshada Teeku'(ಅಮರಕೋಶದ ತೀಕು) by Vittala (1300), 'Abhinavaabhidaana'(ಅಭಿನವಾಭಿದಾನ) by Abhinava Mangaraja (1398 AD) and many more.<ref>N Ucida and B B Rajpurohit, http://www.aa.tufs.ac.jp/~tjun/data/kandic/kannada-english_dictionary.pdf, Kannada-English Etymological Dictionary</ref> A Kannada–English dictionary consisting of more than 70,000 words was composed by [[Ferdinand Kittel]].<ref name="kittel">{{cite web |title=Kannada Dialect Dictionaries and Dictionaries in Subregional Languages of Karnataka|url=http://www.languageinindia.com/sep2005/kannadadictionary1.html|author=Manjulakshi & Bhat|publisher=Central Institute of Indian Languages, University of Mysore|work=Language in India, Volume 5: 9 September 2005|access-date=11 April 2007}}</ref>

![[Dental consonant|Dental]]/<br/>[[Alveolar consonant|Alveolar]]

! href="Kavirajamarga" |[[Postalveolar consonant|Post-alv.]]/<br/>[[Palatal consonant|Palatal]]

|{{IPA|m}} (ಮ)

|{{IPA|n}} (ನ)

|{{IPA|ɳ}} (ಣ)

|{{IPA|ɲ}} (ಞ)

|{{IPA|ŋ}} (ಙ)

|{{IPA|p}} (ಪ)

|{{IPA|t̪}} (ತ)

|{{IPA|ʈ}} (ಟ)

|{{IPA|tʃ}} (ಚ)

|{{IPA|k}} (ಕ)

|{{IPA|pʰ}} (ಫ)

|{{IPA|t̪ʰ}} (ಥ)

|{{IPA|ʈʰ}} (ಠ)

|{{IPA|tʃʰ}} (ಛ)

|{{IPA|kʰ}} (ಖ)

|{{IPA|b}} (ಬ)

|{{IPA|d̪}} (ದ)

|{{IPA|ɖ}} (ಡ)

|{{IPA|dʒ}} (ಜ)

|{{IPA|ɡ}} (ಗ)

|{{IPA|bʱ}} (ಭ)

|{{IPA|d̪ʱ}} (ಧ)

|{{IPA|ɖʱ}} (ಢ)

|{{IPA|dʒʱ}} (ಝ)

|{{IPA|ɡʱ}} (ಘ)

|{{IPA|s}} (ಸ)

|{{IPA|ʂ}} (ಷ)

|{{IPA|ʃ}} (ಶ)

|{{IPA|h}} (ಹ)

|{{IPA|ʋ}} (ವ)

|{{IPA|l}} (ಲ)

|{{IPA|ɭ}} (ಳ)

|{{IPA|j}} (ಯ)

|{{IPA|r}} (ರ)

* {{IPA|ɽ}} ಱ (ṟ), the retroflex tap.

* {{IPA|ɻ}} ೞ (ḻ), the retroflex central approximant.

| {{IPA|i}} (ಇ)

| {{IPA|iː}} (ಈ)

| {{IPA|u}} (ಉ)

| {{IPA|uː}} (ಊ)

| {{IPA|e}} (ಎ)

| {{IPA|eː}} (ಏ)

| {{IPA|o}} (ಒ)

| {{IPA|oː}} (ಓ)

| {{IPA|ɐ}} (ಅ)

| {{IPA|aː}} (ಆ)

The canonical word order of Kannada is [[subject–object–verb|SOV]] (subject–object–verb), typical of Dravidian languages.

Kannada is a highly [[inflection|inflected]] language with three [[Grammatical gender|gender]]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]]'' from 850 AD.

The most influential account of Kannada grammar is [[Keshiraja]]'s ''[[Shabdamanidarpana]]'' (c. AD 1260).<ref name="GS Gai">''Studies in Indian History, Epigraphy, and Culture'' – By Govind Swamirao Gai, pp. 315</ref><ref name="F. Kittel, 'A Grammar of the Kannada Language'">''A Grammar of the Kannada Language''. F. Kittel (1993), p. 3.</ref> The earlier grammatical works include portions of ''[[Kavirajamarga]]'' (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).<ref name="F. Kittel, 'A Grammar of the Kannada Language'" />

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.<ref>Bhat, D.N.S. 2004. ''Pronouns''. Oxford: Oxford University Press. p. 13–14</ref>

The given sample text is Article 1 from the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights Declaration.<ref>{{cite web |title=Universal Declaration of Human Rights |url=https://www.un.org/en/universal-declaration-human-rights/index.html |website=www.un.org |access-date=29 March 2020 |language=en |date=6 October 2015}}</ref>

 

 

=== ''Translation'' ===

All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood.

==Notes==

{{Refbegin|40em}}  

*{{cite book |last= Garg|first= Ganga Ram|title=Encyclopaedia of the Hindu World: A-Aj, Volume 1|chapter=Kannada literature|orig-year=1992|year=1992|location=New Delhi|publisher=Concept Publishing Company|isbn=978-81-7022-374-0}}

* {{cite book |last=Narasimhacharya|first=R|title= History of Kannada Literature|url=https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.489059|orig-year=1988|year=1988|publisher=Asian Educational Services|location=New Delhi, Madras|isbn=978-81-206-0303-5}}

* Narasimhacharya, R. (1934) [https://archive.org/details/HistoryKannadaLanguage History of Kannada Language]. University of Mysore.  

* {{cite book |last=Ramesh|first=K.V.|title= Chalukyas of Vatapi |orig-year=1984|year=1984|publisher=Agam Kala Prakashan|location=New Delhi}}

* {{cite book |last=Kittel|first=F|title= A Grammar of the Kannada Language Comprising the Three Dialects of the Language (Ancient, Medieval and Modern)|orig-year=1993|year=1993|publisher=Asian Educational Services|location=New Delhi, Madras|isbn=978-81-206-0056-0}}

* {{cite book |last=Bhat|first=Thirumaleshwara|title=Govinda Pai|orig-year=1993|year=1993|publisher=Sahitya Akademi|isbn=978-81-7201-540-4}}

* {{cite book |last=Zvelebil|first=Kamil|title=Smile of Murugan: On Tamil Literature of South India|orig-year=1973|year=1973|publisher=BRILL|location=Leiden, Netherlands |isbn=978-90-04-03591-1}}

* {{cite book |last=Shapiro and Schiffman|first=Michael C., Harold F.|title=Language And Society in South Asia|orig-year=1981|year=1981|publisher=Motilal Banarsidass Publishers|location=New Delhi|isbn=978-81-208-2607-6}}

* George M. Moraes (1931), The Kadamba Kula, A History of Ancient and Medieval Karnataka, Asian Educational Services, New Delhi, Madras, 1990 {{ISBN|81-206-0595-0}}

[[Category:Ancient languages]]