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Kannada script

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Template:Short description Template:Use dmy dates Template:Use Indian English Template:Infobox Writing system Template:Contains special characters Template:Brahmic The Kannada script (IAST: Kannaḍa lipi; obsolete: Kanarese or Canarese script in English) is an abugida of the Brahmic family,<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> used to write Kannada, one of the Dravidian languages of South India especially in the state of Karnataka. It is one of the official scripts of the Indian Republic. Kannada script is also widely used for writing Sanskrit texts in Karnataka. Several minor languages, such as Tulu, Konkani, Kodava, Beary and Sanketi also use alphabets based on the Kannada script.<ref name="konkani1">Template:Cite book</ref> The Kannada and Telugu scripts share very high mutual intellegibility with each other,<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> and are often considered to be regional variants of single script. Other scripts similar to Kannada script are Sinhala script<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> (which included some elements from the Kadamba script<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>), and Old Peguan script (used in Burma).<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

The Kannada script ({{#invoke:Lang|lang}} akṣaramāle or {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} varṇamāle) is a phonemic abugida of forty-nine letters. The character set is almost identical to that of other Brahmic scripts or often known as Brahmi Lipi.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Consonantal letters imply an inherent vowel. Letters representing consonants are combined to form digraphs ({{#invoke:Lang|lang}} ottakṣara) when there is no intervening vowel. Otherwise, each letter corresponds to a syllable.

The letters are classified into three categories: {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} svara (vowels), {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} vyañjana (consonants), and {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} yōgavāhaka (semiconsonants).

The Kannada words for a letter of the script are {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} akshara, {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} akkara, and {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} varṇa. Each letter has its own form ({{#invoke:Lang|lang}} ākāra) and sound ({{#invoke:Lang|lang}} śabda), providing the visible and audible representations, respectively. Kannada is written from left to right.<ref name="F. Kittel, A Grammar of the Kannada Language, p 5">A Grammar of the Kannada Language. F. Kittel (1993), p. 5</ref>

HistoryEdit

Kannada script or the early Kadamba script evolved from the Ashokan Brahmi script,<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> which later evolved into Kannada-Telugu script, during the period of Chalukyas and later Chalukyas of Vengi.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref> The Kannada and Telugu scripts then separated by around 1300 C.E.<ref name=epigraphy>Indian Epigraphy: a guide to the study of inscriptions in Sanskrit, Prakrit, and the other Indo-Aryan languages, by Richard Solomon, Oxford University Press, 1998, p.41, Template:ISBN</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

The 11th-century Persian scholar and polymath Al-Biruni calls the Kannada script as Karnata alphabets used in Karnatadesa.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

Over the centuries some changes have been made to the Kannada script. These changes consist of:

  1. Modification of existing glyphs: In the early Kannada script, no orthographic distinction was made between the short mid {{#invoke:IPA|main}} {{#invoke:Lang|lang}}, {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} and long mid {{#invoke:IPA|main}} {{#invoke:Lang|lang}}, {{#invoke:Lang|lang}}. However, distinct signs were employed to denote the special consonants viz. the trill {{#invoke:IPA|main}} {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} the retroflex lateral {{#invoke:IPA|main}} {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} and the retroflex rhotic {{#invoke:IPA|main}} {{#invoke:Lang|lang}}, by the 5th century.{{ safesubst:#invoke:Unsubst||date=__DATE__ |$B=

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VowelsEdit

There are thirteen vowel letters ({{#invoke:Lang|lang}} svara) in modern Kannada. The Kannada script is an abugida, where when a vowel follows a consonant, it is written with a diacritic rather than as a separate letter. There are also three obsolete vowels, corresponding to vowels in Sanskrit.

Written Kannada is composed of akshara or kagunita, corresponding to syllables. The letters for consonants combine with diacritics for vowels. The consonant letter without any diacritic, such as {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} Template:Translit, has the inherent vowel Template:Translit {{#invoke:Lang|lang}}. A consonant without a vowel is marked with a 'killer' stroke, such as {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} Template:Translit. This silencing diacritic and process is known as {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} [[virama|Template:Translit]], whereas the resulting letter is called an {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} Template:Translit (Template:Lit).<ref name="Unicode"/>

Kannada has a phonemic vowel length distinction, so like many other Brahmic scripts, the writing system has two sets of diacritics, one for short vowels and one for long vowels. Short vowels are referred to as {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} Template:Translit, while long vowels are referred to as {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} Template:Translit.<ref name="Unicode">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Vowels with their corresponding diacritics and akshara with ಅ
Independent Template:Letter Template:Letter Template:Letter Template:Letter Template:Letter Template:Letter Template:Letter Template:Letter Template:Letter Template:Letter Template:Letter Template:Letter Template:Letter Template:Letter Template:Letter Template:Letter
Diacritic template Template:Letter Template:Letter Template:Letter Template:Letter Template:Letter Template:Letter Template:Letter Template:Letter Template:Letter Template:Letter Template:Letter Template:Letter Template:Letter Template:Letter Template:Letter Template:Letter
Diacritic with ದ Template:Letter Template:Letter Template:Letter Template:Letter Template:Letter Template:Letter Template:Letter Template:Letter Template:Letter Template:Letter Template:Letter Template:Letter Template:Letter Template:Letter Template:Letter Template:Letter

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YōgavāhaEdit

There are two yōgavāha (part-vowel, part consonant) letters, known as ardhavisarga, used in modern Kannada and two others used in Sanskrit transcription.

yōgavāha with their corresponding diacritics and akshara with ಅ and ದ
Diacritic template Template:Letter Template:Letter Template:Letter Template:Letter
Diacritic with ಅ Template:Letter Template:Letter Template:Letter Template:Letter
Diacritic with ದ Template:Letter Template:Letter Template:Letter Template:Letter

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Consonant lettersEdit

File:Kanheri-brahmi.jpg
Brahmi script, Kanheri Caves

Two categories of consonant letters ({{#invoke:Lang|lang}} vyan̄jana) are defined in Kannada: the structured consonants and the unstructured consonants.

Structured consonantsEdit

The structured consonants are classified according to their place of articulation, that is, where the tongue touches the palate.

Structured consonants
voiceless voicelessTemplate:Braspirated voiced voicedTemplate:Braspirated Nasal
velar Template:Letter Template:Letter Template:Letter Template:Letter Template:Letter
palatal Template:Letter Template:Letter Template:Letter Template:Letter Template:Letter
retroflex Template:Letter Template:Letter Template:Letter Template:Letter Template:Letter
dental Template:Letter Template:Letter Template:Letter Template:Letter Template:Letter
labial Template:Letter Template:Letter Template:Letter Template:Letter Template:Letter

Unstructured consonantsEdit

The unstructured consonants are consonants that do not fall into any of the above structures:

Unstructured consonants
Template:Letter Template:Letter Template:Letter Template:Letter Template:Letter Template:Letter Template:Letter Template:Letter Template:Letter Template:Letter Template:Letter

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Obsolete Kannada lettersEdit

File:Kannada-archaic-n.png
lang}} in Kannada script.

Kannada literary works employed the letters {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} (transliterated 'Template:IAST' or 'rh') and {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} (transliterated 'Template:IAST', 'lh' or 'zh'), whose manner of articulation most plausibly could be akin to those in present-day Malayalam and Tamil. The letters dropped out of use in the 12th and 18th centuries, respectively. Later Kannada works replaced 'rh' and 'lh' with {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} (ra) and {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} (la) respectively.<ref name="kannada literature">Rice, Edward. P (1921), "A History of Kannada Literature", Oxford University Press, 1921: 14–15</ref>

It is still used to write the Badaga language and a vowel + virama + ḻ is used to transcribe its retroflex vowels.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

Another letter (or unclassified vyanjana (consonant)) that has become extinct is 'nh' or 'inn'. File:Kannada-archaic-n.png Likewise, this has its equivalent in Telugu, where it is called Nakaara pollu. The usage of this consonant was observed until the 1980s in Kannada works from the mostly coastal areas of Karnataka (especially the Dakshina Kannada district). Now, hardly any mainstream works use this consonant. This letter has been replaced by {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} (consonant n).Template:Citation needed

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Consonant conjunctsEdit

The Kannada script is rich in conjunct consonant clusters, with most consonants having a standard subjoined form and few true ligature clusters. A table of consonant conjuncts follows although the forms of individual conjuncts may differ according to the font.

Of special note is the sequence concerning the letter {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} (ra). Unlike other letters, the conjunct form is written second even if it is pronounced first in the sequence.

For example, the /rnaː/ in the word Karnāṭaka (ಕರ್ನಾಟಕ) is written ರ್ನಾ rather than ರ‍್ನಾ.

The nasal consonants {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} (ṅa), {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} (ña), {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} (ṇa), {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} (na), and {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} (ma) are usually written as an anusvara {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} when preceding another consonant rather than a consonant conjunct.

For example, the /ŋg/ in the word Beṅgaḷūru (ಬೆಂಗಳೂರು) is usually written {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} rather than {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} (ಬೆಙ್ಗಳೂರು).

Complete list of consonant conjunctsEdit

Full list of consonant + vowel combinationsEdit

The formations shown boldface above are seldom used.

NumeralsEdit

File:Mysore Clocktower - clock face.jpg
Clock in Mysore with Kannada numerals. Note that the rotation of digits is not uniform along the outer ring: numerals 3 (left), 6 (bottom), 9 (right) and 12 (top) are upright, numbers 1, 2, 4, 7 and 8 are slightly rotated to the right, numbers 5, 10 and 11 are slightly rotated to the left, so they are all readable as if they were all upright (with numbers 10, 11 and 12 read normally from left to right, ignoring the slight rotations).

The decimal numerals in the script are:

Kannada numerals
Template:Letter Template:Letter Template:Letter Template:Letter Template:Letter Template:Letter Template:Letter Template:Letter Template:Letter Template:Letter

TransliterationEdit

Several transliteration schemes/tools are used to type Kannada characters using a standard keyboard. These include Baraha<ref name="baraha">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> (based on ITRANS), Pada Software<ref name="pada software">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> and several internet tools like Google transliteration, Quillpad<ref name="Quillpad">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> (predictive transliterator). Nudi, the Government of Karnataka's standard for Kannada Input, is a phonetic layout loosely based on transliteration.

In popular cultureEdit

Due to its resemblance to an eye and an eyebrow, the Kannada letter {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} ṭha is used in the "look of disapproval" (displayed as "ಠ_ಠ"), a popular emoticon used to convey disapproval or contempt.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Similarly, the akshara {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} rr̥a has been used in emoticons to represent a monocle, while {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} tha has been used to represent a tearing eye.

UnicodeEdit

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Kannada script was added to the Unicode Standard in October 1991 with the release of version 1.0.

The Unicode block for Kannada is U+0C80–U+0CFF:

Template:Unicode chart Kannada

See alsoEdit

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NotesEdit

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ReferencesEdit

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External linksEdit

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  • {{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

|CitationClass=web }} Template:Small — South and Southeast Asian Scripts

  • {{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

|CitationClass=web }} — Kannada Code Chart Template:Small

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