Kannada Alphabet
Kannada Language - ಕನ್ನಡ ಭಾಷೆ
Kannada language is a member of the Dravidian languages family and the official language of the Karnataka State. The language has roughly 60.5 million native speakers who are called Kannadigas (Kannadigaru). In 2008 the Government of India granted classical status for this language.
The oldest Kannada was found in Halmidi inscription, dated 450 CE. The Kannada script evolved from southern varieties of the Brahmi. Four historical stages have been recognized in the development of Kannada language -Pre-Old Kannada (450-840 CE), Old Kannada (840–1200 CE), Medieval Kannada (1200–1700 CE), and Modern Kannada (1700 CE–present). The present site is intended to introduce modern Kannada only.
Three regional varieties of Kannada are easily recognizable. The southern variety is associated with the cities of Mysore, and Bangalore. The northern with Hubli, Dharwad, Bidar and Gulbarga. The coastal with Mangalore and Udupi. There are hundreds of social dialects also found in the state.
Kannada Alphabet - ಕನ್ನಡ ವರ್ಣಮಾಲೆ
Kannada has distinct letter for each sound and the transcription of the sound follows pronunciation. Kannada letters are written from left to right. Kannada in its pure form has 36 letters, and 20 more letters are borrowed from Sanskrit. The modern Kannada has left out few letters.
Vowels are found independently only in the initial position of a word. Otherwise they are added to consonants. The short Kannada vowel ‘a’ is added to the primary consonants in the alphabet and written with a crest (called talekaṭṭu) added to the top. The primary consonants (without the vowel ‘a’) are called ardhākṣaragaḷu.
Vowels - ಸ್ವರಗಳು
| ಅ | a |
| ಆ | ā |
| ಇ | i |
| ಈ | ī |
| ಉ | u |
| ಊ | ū |
| ಋ | ṛ |
| ಎ | e |
| ಏ | ē |
| ಐ | ai |
| ಒ | o |
| ಓ | ō |
| ಔ | au |
Structured Consonants - ವರ್ಗೀಯ ವ್ಯಂಜನಗಳು
| Voiceless | Voiceless Aspirate | Voiced | Voiced Aspirate | Nasal | |
| Velars | ಕ ka | ಖ kha | ಗ ga | ಘ gha | ಙ ṅa |
| Palatals | ಚ ca | ಛ cha | ಜ ja | ಝ jha | ಞ ña |
| Retroflex | ಟ ṭa | ಠ ṭha | ಡ ḍa | ಢ ḍha | ಣ ṇa |
| Dentals | ತ ta | ಥ tha | ದ da | ಧ dha | ನ na |
| Labials | ಪ pa | ಫ pha | ಬ ba | ಭ bha | ಮ ma |
Unstructured Consonants - ಅವರ್ಗೀಯ ವ್ಯಂಜನಗಳು
| ಯ | ya |
| ರ | ra |
| ಲ | la |
| ವ | va |
| ಶ | śa |
| ಷ | ṣa |
| ಸ | sa |
| ಹ | ha |
| ಳ | ḷa |
No homework assigned for this module.
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