Kannada

Kannada is a Dravidian language spoken predominantly by the people of Karnataka in the southwestern region of India. The language has roughly 44 million native speakers, who are called Kannadigas. Kannada is one of the 22 scheduled languages of India and the official and administrative language of the state of Karnataka.

History

The history of Kannada language can be traced back to nearly 2000 years. The Kadamba script and Halegannada (Old Kannada) were used between the 5th and 10th centuries CE. The Vijayanagara Empire in the 14th century promoted the development of Kannada literature.

Dialects

Kannada has numerous dialects spoken in various regions of the state. Some of the main dialects include Are Bhashe, Gulbarga Kannada, Dharwad Kannada, Mangalore Kannada, and others.

Writing system

Kannada language uses the Kannada script, which evolved from the Brahmi script. The script is syllabic and is written from left to right.

Phonology

Kannada has a rich phonetic system with both structured consonants and vowels. It includes aspirated and unaspirated consonants, semivowels, and sibilants.

Grammar

Kannada follows a subject–object–verb (SOV) word order like many other Dravidian languages. It has a rich system of grammatical gender, noun classes, and inflection.

Literature

Kannada literature has a rich history and includes works like Kavirajamarga, Pampa Bharata, Vikramarjuna Vijaya, and others. It has received seven Jnanpith awards, the highest number awarded to any Indian language.

See also

• Kannada literature
• Kannada people
• Kannada cinema
• Kannada phonetics
• Kannada grammar

Kannada Resources
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