Language Assignment: Kannada

Student Name Professor Name Course Date Language Assignment In this paper, I have chosen Kannada as the main language, and I aim to explore its brief history, different phases of development and how and which other languages it has been influenced from, as well the level of inter-translatability Kannada has with its neighboring languages. Kannada: History and Development (with Influence from Other Languages) Kannada is a south Indian language that has less than or very close to 35 million speakers. This Dravidian family language has its speakers in many countries worldwide and it is mainly spoken in the state of Karnataka, India. The language, which is also known as Kannarese, can be traced back in history to the Christian era in the 6th century. Kannada is thought to be as old as the Tamil language. Some scholars and historians also believe that Kannada’s history can be divided into different parts, which help understand its historical roots (Gumperz et al. 152). Below, I have briefly touched the three developmental phases of this language to establish its roots. Old Kannada The oldest records of Kannada go back to AD 700. King Nripatunga Amoghavarsha is known to have written or devised the oldest literary work, Kavirajamarga, in the Kannada language. This work covers the areas of grammar, poetics, and rhetoric. Some of the references mentioned in Kavirajamarga cannot be traced back in time. The historians agree on this point that much of the literature going centuries back has gone extinct. Kannada further developed in the classical era, and several new genres of literature and composition styles are formed. These were famously used by two writers of the time, Raghavanka and Harihara. Middle Kannada During this period, starting from the 15th century and ending in the 18th century, Kannada was much influenced by Hinduism. Some scholars argue that this was the period when many words from Marathi and Hindi became part of Kannada language and literature (Nagaraj et al. 94). In the early years of its development, Kannada was very less influenced by Sanskrit but later much of its literary style, vocabulary and grammar were developed on Sanskrit. Not only that, but the language also has been greatly influenced by Prakrit. In Kannada, there are many words borrowed from Prakrit that are in daily use in its speakers. Modern Kannada After all the gradual change, development and transition the 19th century, Kannada was termed as modern Kannada. The writings of Nandalike Muddana, the most notable poet of his time, paved the way for modern Kannada. A century later, movements like Bandaya and Navya with few others left its footprints on Kannada. It was during this century when much of literary work in Kannada started to reach to masses and was liked and admired. Amongst the neighboring languages to Kannada include Marathi, Urdu, Telugu, English and few more. These languages have the speakers at 3.95 percent, 9.72 percent, and 8.34 percent, out of the total population of the state. Kannada Marathi Urdu Talgu English Consonant Inventories Moderately large Yes Yes N/A Yes Vowel Quality Inventories Average (5-6) Yes Yes Yes Large (7-14) Consonant-Vowel Ratio Moderately low Average High Moderately low Low Voicing in Plosives and Fricatives In both plosives and fricatives Yes Yes Yes Yes Voicing and Gaps in Plosive Systems None missing in /p t k b d g/ Yes Yes Yes Yes Uvular Consonants None Yes Yes Yes Yes Glottalized Consonants No glottalized consonants Yes Yes Yes Yes Lateral Consonants No laterals Yes Yes Yes No /l/, but lateral obstrue...