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Kannada script
ಕನ್ನಡ ಲಿಪಿ
A stanza from Kavirajamarga which praises the people for their literary skills, written in the Kannada script[note 1]
Script type
Time period
4th[1] century CE – present
DirectionLeft-to-right Edit this on Wikidata
LanguagesKannada
Sanskrit
Tulu
Kodava
Badaga
Beary
Sanketi
Konkani
Marathi
Related scripts
Parent systems
Child systems
Goykanadi[3]
Sister systems
Telugu
ISO 15924
ISO 15924Knda (345), ​Kannada
Unicode
Unicode alias
Kannada
U+0C80–U+0CFF
 This article contains phonetic transcriptions in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA). For an introductory guide on IPA symbols, see Help:IPA. For the distinction between [ ], / / and ⟨ ⟩, see IPA § Brackets and transcription delimiters.
This article contains Indic text. Without proper rendering support, you may see question marks or boxes, misplaced vowels or missing conjuncts instead of Indic text.
Brahmic scripts
The Brahmi script and its descendants
Northern Brahmic
Southern Brahmic

The Kannada script (IAST: Kannaḍa lipi; obsolete: Kanarese or Canarese script in English) is an abugida of the Brahmic family,[4] 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.[5] The Kannada and Telugu scripts share very high mutual intellegibility with each other,[6] and are often considered to be regional variants of single script. Other scripts similar to Kannada script are Sinhala script[7] (which included some elements from the Kadamba script[8]), and Old Peguan script (used in Burma).[9]

The Kannada script (ಅಕ್ಷರಮಾಲೆ akṣaramāle or ವರ್ಣಮಾಲೆ 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.[10] Consonantal letters imply an inherent vowel. Letters representing consonants are combined to form digraphs (ಒತ್ತಕ್ಷರ ottakṣara) when there is no intervening vowel. Otherwise, each letter corresponds to a syllable.

The letters are classified into three categories: ಸ್ವರ svara (vowels), ವ್ಯಂಜನ vyañjana (consonants), and ಯೋಗವಾಹಕ yōgavāhaka (semiconsonants).

The Kannada words for a letter of the script are ಅಕ್ಷರ akshara, ಅಕ್ಕರ akkara, and ವರ್ಣ varṇa. Each letter has its own form (ಆಕಾರ ākāra) and sound (ಶಬ್ದ śabda), providing the visible and audible representations, respectively. Kannada is written from left to right.[11]

History

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Kannada script or the early Kadamba script evolved from the Ashokan Brahmi script,[12][13][14] which later evolved into Kannada-Telugu script, during the period of Chalukyas and later Chalukyas of Vengi.[15][16][17] The Kannada and Telugu scripts then separated by around 1300 C.E.[18][19]

The 11th-century Persian scholar and polymath Al-Biruni calls the Kannada script as Karnata alphabets used in Karnatadesa[20]

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 [e, o] ಎ, ಒ and long mid [eː, oː] ಏ, ಓ. However, distinct signs were employed to denote the special consonants viz. the trill [r] ಱ the retroflex lateral [ɭ] ಳ and the retroflex rhotic [ɻ] ೞ, by the 5th century.[dubious – discuss][the transcriptions contradict themselves]

Vowels

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There are thirteen vowel letters (ಸ್ವರ 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 ಕ ka, has the inherent vowel a ಅ. A consonant without a vowel is marked with a 'killer' stroke, such as ಕ್ k. This silencing diacritic and process is known as ಹಲಂತ halanta, whereas the resulting letter is called an ಅರ್ಧಾಕ್ಷರ ardhākshara (lit. 'half letter').[21]

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 ಹ್ರಸ್ವ hrasva, while long vowels are referred to as ದೀರ್ಘ dīrgha.[21]

Vowels with their corresponding diacritics and akshara with ಅ
Independent
ಅ
a
ಆ
ā
ಇ
i
ಈ
ī
ಉ
u
ಊ
ū
ಋ
r̥
ೠ
r̥̄ [note 2]
ಌ
l̥ [note 2]
ೡ
l̥̄ [note 2]
ಎ
e
ಏ
ē
ಐ
ai
ಒ
o
ಓ
ō
ಔ
au
Diacritic template
-
a
ಾ
ā
ಿ
i
ೀ
ī
ು
u
ೂ
ū
ೃ
r̥
ೄ
r̥̄ [note 2]
ೢ
l̥ [note 2]
ೣ
l̥̄ [note 2]
ೆ
e
ೇ
ē
ೈ
ai
ೊ
o
ೋ
ō
ೌ
au
Diacritic with ದ
ದ +
ದ
IPA: /d̪a/
ದ + ಾ
ದಾ
IPA: /d̪aː/
ದ + ಿ
ದಿ
IPA: /d̪i/
ದ + ೀ
ದೀ
IPA: /d̪iː/
ದ + ು
ದು
IPA: /d̪u/
ದ + ೂ
ದೂ
IPA: /d̪uː/
ದ + ೃ
ದೃ
IPA: /d̪ru/
ದ + ೄ
ದೄ
IPA: /d̪ruː/
[note 2]
ದ + ೢ
ದೢ
IPA: /d̪ruː/
[note 2]
ದ + ೣ
ದೣ
IPA: /d̪ruː/
[note 2]
ದ + ೆ
ದೆ
IPA: /d̪e/
ದ + ೇ
ದೇ
IPA: /d̪eː/
ದ + ೈ
ದೈ
IPA: /dai/
ದ + ೊ
ದೊ
IPA: /d̪o/
ದ + ೋ
ದೋ
IPA: /d̪oː/
ದ + ೌ
ದೌ
IPA: /d̪au/
  1. ^ romanised: padanaṟidu nuḍiyaluṁ nuḍiduda
    naṟiyalumārparā nāḍavargaḷ
    cadurar nijadiṁ kuritōdadeyuṁ
    kāvyaprayōga pariṇatamatigaḷ
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i Obsolete in modern Kannada.

Yōgavāha

[edit]

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
ಂ
ṁ
ಃ
ḥ
ೱ
ḥ
[note 1]
ೲ
ḫ
[note 1]
Diacritic with ಅ
ಅಂ
aṁ
ಅಃ
aḥ
ಅೱ
ḥ
[note 1]
ಅೲ
ḫ
[note 1]
Diacritic with ದ
ದ + ಂ
ದಂ
IPA: /d̪am̃/
ದ + ಃ
ದಃ
IPA: /d̪ah/
ದ + ೱ
ದೱ
IPA: [x]
[note 2]
ದ + ೲ
ದೲ
IPA: [ɸ]
[note 3]
  1. ^ a b c d Not used in modern Kannada, but used in Sanskrit transcription.
  2. ^ Changes the sound of ಕ from k to kh.
  3. ^ Changes the sound of ಪ from p to ph, similar to the f in fan but without the lips touching the teeth.

Consonant letters

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Brahmi script, Kanheri Caves

Two categories of consonant letters (ವ್ಯಂಜನ vyan̄jana) are defined in Kannada: the structured consonants and the unstructured consonants.

Structured consonants

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

Structured consonants
voiceless voiceless
aspirated 		voiced voiced
aspirated 		Nasal
velar
ಕ
ka
ಖ
kha
ಗ
ga
ಘ
gha
ಙ
ṅa
palatal
ಚ
ca
ಛ
cha
ಜ
ja
ಝ
jha
ಞ
ña
retroflex
ಟ
ṭa
ಠ
ṭha
ಡ
ḍa
ಢ
ḍha
ಣ
ṇa
dental
ತ
ta
ಥ
tha
ದ
da
ಧ
dha
ನ
na
labial
ಪ
pa
ಫ
pha
ಬ
ba
ಭ
bha
ಮ
ma

Unstructured consonants

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

Unstructured consonants
ಯ
ya
ರ
ra
ಱ
ṟa
[a]
ಲ
la
ವ
va
ಶ
śa
ಷ
ṣa
ಸ
sa
ಹ
ha
ಳ
ḷa
ೞ
ḻa
[a]
  1. ^ a b Obsolete in modern Kannada.


Obsolete Kannada letters

[edit]
Archaic n in Kannada script .
Historical form of representing ನ್ in Kannada script.

Kannada literary works employed the letters ಱ (transliterated 'ṟ' or 'rh') and ೞ (transliterated 'ḻ', '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 ರ (ra) and ಳ (la) respectively.[22]

It is still used to write the Badaga language and a vowel + virama + ḻ is used to transcribe its retroflex vowels.[23]

Another letter (or unclassified vyanjana (consonant)) that has become extinct is 'nh' or 'inn'. ನ್ 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 ನ್ (consonant n).[citation needed]

Consonant conjuncts

[edit]

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 ರ (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 ಙ (ṅa), ಞ (ña), ಣ (ṇa), ನ (na), and ಮ (ma) are usually written as an anusvara ಂ when preceding another consonant rather than a consonant conjunct.

For example, the /ŋg/ in the word Beṅgaḷūru (ಬೆಂಗಳೂರು) is usually written ಂಗ rather than ಙ್ಗ (ಬೆಙ್ಗಳೂರು).

Complete list of consonant conjuncts

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Full list of consonant + vowel combinations

[edit]

The formations shown boldface above are seldom used.

Numerals

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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
0
sonne
೦
1
ondu
೧
2
eraḍu
೨
3
mūru
೩
4
nālku
೪
5
aidu
೫
6
āru
೬
7
ēḷu
೭
8
enṭu
೮
9
oṃbattu
೯

Transliteration

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Several transliteration schemes/tools are used to type Kannada characters using a standard keyboard. These include Baraha[24] (based on ITRANS), Pada Software[25] and several internet tools like Google transliteration, Quillpad[26] (predictive transliterator). Nudi, the Government of Karnataka's standard for Kannada Input, is a phonetic layout loosely based on transliteration.

[edit]

Due to its resemblance to an eye and an eyebrow, the Kannada letter ಠ ṭha is used in the "look of disapproval" (displayed as "ಠ_ಠ"), a popular emoticon used to convey disapproval or contempt.[27] Similarly, the akshara ರೃ rr̥a has been used in emoticons to represent a monocle, while ಥ tha has been used to represent a tearing eye.

Unicode

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Main article: Kannada (Unicode block)

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:

Kannada[1][2]
Official Unicode Consortium code chart (PDF)
  0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 A B C D E F
U+0C8x ಀ ಁ ಂ ಃ ಄ ಅ ಆ ಇ ಈ ಉ ಊ ಋ ಌ ಎ ಏ
U+0C9x ಐ ಒ ಓ ಔ ಕ ಖ ಗ ಘ ಙ ಚ ಛ ಜ ಝ ಞ ಟ
U+0CAx ಠ ಡ ಢ ಣ ತ ಥ ದ ಧ ನ ಪ ಫ ಬ ಭ ಮ ಯ
U+0CBx ರ ಱ ಲ ಳ ವ ಶ ಷ ಸ ಹ ಼ ಽ ಾ ಿ
U+0CCx ೀ ು ೂ ೃ ೄ ೆ ೇ ೈ ೊ ೋ ೌ ್
U+0CDx ೕ ೖ ೝ ೞ
U+0CEx ೠ ೡ ೢ ೣ ೦ ೧ ೨ ೩ ೪ ೫ ೬ ೭ ೮ ೯
U+0CFx  ೱ   ೲ  ೳ
Notes
1.^ As of Unicode version 16.0
2.^ Grey areas indicate non-assigned code points

See also

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Notes

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References

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  1. ^ "Shivamogga engraving shows Kannada was in use 7 decades earlier than known". 29 August 2017.
  2. ^ "Kannada Language". 12 March 2017.
  3. ^ Ghantkar, Gajanana (1993). History of Goa through Gõykanadi script (in English, Konkani, Marathi, and Kannada). pp. Page x.
  4. ^ Campbell, George L. (6 November 1997). Handbook of scripts and alphabets (1st ed.). Routledge, New York. pp. 84–5. ISBN 978-0-415-13715-7. OCLC 34473667.
  5. ^ Cardona, George; Jain, Dhanesh (2007). The Indo-Aryan Languages. Routledge. pp. 804, 805. ISBN 978-0-415-77294-5.
  6. ^ Hebbi, Chandravva; Mamatha, H. R.; Sahana, Y. S.; Dhage, Sagar; Somayaji, Shriram (2020). Singh, Pradeep Kumar; Panigrahi, Bijaya Ketan; Suryadevara, Nagender Kumar; Sharma, Sudhir Kumar; Singh, Amit Prakash (eds.). "A Convolution Neural Networks Based Character and Word Recognition System for Similar Script Languages Kannada and Telugu". Proceedings of ICETIT 2019. Lecture Notes in Electrical Engineering. Cham: Springer International Publishing: 306–317. doi:10.1007/978-3-030-30577-2_26. ISBN 978-3-030-30577-2.
  7. ^ "Romanization, Sinhala (Sinhalese) Script" (PDF). KAMALAKAR. Archived from the original (PDF) on 18 September 2010. Retrieved 7 May 2009.
  8. ^ "Ancient scripts, hala". Retrieved 7 May 2009.
  9. ^ "Telugu & Sinhalese script similarities". Retrieved 7 May 2009.
  10. ^ "Kannada Language - 56.9 Million Speakers | Amazing Facts". 21 April 2022. Retrieved 12 September 2024.
  11. ^ A Grammar of the Kannada Language. F. Kittel (1993), p. 5
  12. ^ Thakur, Aksheev (28 October 2017). "How king Ashoka scripted Kannada to glory".
  13. ^ Language Atlas of India 2011. April 2022.
  14. ^ "History of the Kannada Script and Language".
  15. ^ New Delhi, All India Radio (15 August 1965). AKASHVANI Vol. XXX, No. 33 ( 15 AUGUST, 1965 ).
  16. ^ "Encyclopedia Britannica".
  17. ^ Diringer, David (1948). Alphabet a key to the history of mankind. p. 381.
  18. ^ 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, ISBN 0-19-509984-2
  19. ^ R, Narasimhacharya (1934). History of Kannada Language. p. 50.
  20. ^ Ahmad, Qeyamuddin (1983). India by Al-Biruni. p. 30.
  21. ^ a b Srinatha Sastry, C. V. "UNICODE for Kannada, General Information & Description" (PDF). UNICODE. Retrieved 31 July 2024.
  22. ^ Rice, Edward. P (1921), "A History of Kannada Literature", Oxford University Press, 1921: 14–15
  23. ^ "12.8 Kannada". The Unicode Standard, Version 15.0 (PDF). Mountain View, CA: Unicode, Inc. September 2022.
  24. ^ "Baraha – Free Indian Language Software". baraha.com.
  25. ^ "Pada Software – For Indic Scripts". pada.pro.
  26. ^ "QuillPad – Typing in Kannada has never been easier". Quillpad.in. Archived from the original on 4 November 2008. Retrieved 7 November 2008.
  27. ^ "Browser Extension of the Week: Look of Disapproval". Pcgamer. Maximum PC. Retrieved 24 April 2013.
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