View source for Kannada

{{Short description|Dravidian language of South India}}
{{Other uses|Kannada (disambiguation)|Kanada (disambiguation)}}
{{Distinguish|Canada|Kanata (disambiguation){{!}}Kanata}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2024}}
{{Use Indian English|date=August 2024}}
{{Infobox language
| name             = Kannada
| nativename       = {{lang|kn|ಕನ್ನಡ}}
| pronunciation    = {{IPA|kn|ˈkɐnːɐɖa|}}
| states           = [[Languages of India|India]]
| region           = [[Karnataka]]
| ethnicity        = [[Kannada people|Kannadigas]]
| speakers         = [[First language|L1]]: {{sigfig|43.697430|2}} million
| date             = 2011
| ref              = e27
| speakers2        = [[Second language|L2]]: {{sigfig|15.009260|2}} million (2011)
| speakers_label   = Speakers
| familycolor      = Dravidian
| fam2             = Southern
| fam3             = Tamil–Kannada
| ancestor         = [[Proto-Dravidian language|Proto-Dravidan]]
* [[Old Kannada]]
| script           = *[[Kannada script]]
*[[Kannada Braille]]
| nation           = [[Languages with legal status in India|India]]
* [[Karnataka]]
| minority         = 
| agency           = [[Government of Karnataka]]<ref>{{cite book|title=The Karnataka official language act, 1963&nbsp;– Karnataka Gazette (Extraordinary) Part IV-2A|year=1963|publisher=[[Government of Karnataka]]|pages=33}}</ref>
| iso1             = kn
| iso2             = kan
| iso3             = kan
| lingua           = 49-EBA-a
| image            = Shukla Kannada.svg
| imagescale       = 
| imagecaption     = The word "Kannada" in [[Kannada script]]
| map              = Kannada language distribution.svg
| mapcaption       = Distribution of Kannada native speakers, majority regions in dark blue and minority regions in light blue.<ref>{{cite book|chapter-url=http://www.columbia.edu/itc/mealac/pritchett/00maplinks/overview/languages/himal1992max.jpg|chapter=Currency of Selected Languages and Scripts|title=A Historical Atlas of South Asia|last=Schwartzberg|first=Joseph E.|author-link=Joseph E. Schwartzberg|date=1978|publisher=University of Chicago Press|page=102|isbn=978-0195068696}}</ref>
| glotto           = nucl1305
| glottorefname    = Kannada
| notice           = IPA
| dia1             = [[Mangalore Kannada]]
| dia2             = [[Havigannada dialect|Havyaka]]
| dia3             = [[Kundagannada dialect|Kundagannada]]
| dia4             = [[Arebhashe dialect|Arebhashe]]
}}
{{Culture of Karnataka}}	
{{Infobox ethnonym
|person=Kannaḍiga
|people=Kannaḍigaru
|language=Kannaḍa
}}

'''Kannada''' ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|k|ɑː|n|ə|d|ə|,_|ˈ|k|æ|n|-}};<ref>{{MerriamWebsterDictionary|Kannada}}</ref><ref>{{Cite OED|Kannada}}</ref> {{lang|kn|ಕನ್ನಡ}}, {{IPA-kn|ˈkɐnːɐɖa|IPA}}), formerly also known as '''Canarese''',<ref name="WesleyanMissionPress1858">{{cite book |last1=Reeve |first1=William |url=https://archive.org/details/adictionarycana00sandgoog |title=A Dictionary, Canarese and English |year=1858 |publisher=Wesleyan Mission Press |editor1-last=Sanderson |editor1-first=Daniel |location=Bangalore |access-date=18 January 2017}}</ref> is a [[Classical languages of India|classical]] [[Dravidian languages|Dravidian language]] spoken predominantly by the people of [[Karnataka]] in southwestern [[India]], with minorities in all neighbouring states. It has around 44&nbsp;million native speakers, and is additionally a second or third language for around 15&nbsp;million non-native speakers in Karnataka.<ref name=e27/> The official and administrative language of the state of Karnataka,<ref name="official">{{cite web |title=The Karnataka Official Language Act |url=http://dpal.kar.nic.in/26%20of%201963%20(E).pdf |access-date=29 June 2007 |work=Official website of Department of Parliamentary Affairs and Legislation |publisher=Government of Karnataka}}</ref> it also has [[Languages with legal status in India|scheduled status]] in India and has been included among the country's [[Classical languages of India|designated classical languages]].<ref name="tag">Kuiper (2011), p. 74</ref><ref name="oldest">R Zydenbos in Cushman S, Cavanagh C, Ramazani J, Rouzer P, ''The Princeton Encyclopedia of Poetry and Poetics: Fourth Edition'', p. 767, Princeton University Press, 2012, {{ISBN|978-0-691-15491-6}}</ref>

Kannada was the court language of a number of dynasties and empires of [[South India|South]], [[Central India]] and [[Deccan Plateau]], namely the [[Kadamba dynasty]], [[Western Ganga dynasty]], [[Nolamba dynasty]], [[Chalukya dynasty]], [[Rashtrakutas]],<ref name=":0">{{Cite book |last1=Seshan |first1=Radhika |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=RyZhDwAAQBAJ&dq=rashtrakuta+court+language+kannada&pg=PT43 |title=Re-searching Transitions in Indian History |last2=Kumbhojkar |first2=Shraddha |date=27 June 2018 |publisher=Taylor & Francis |isbn=978-0-429-94630-1 |language=en}}</ref> [[Western Chalukya Empire]], [[Seuna (Yadava) dynasty|Seuna dynasty]], [[Kingdom of Mysore]],<ref>{{Cite book |last=Ramaswamy |first=Harish |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=UM3LjKo8Uo8C&pg=PA334 |title=Karnataka Government and Politics |date=2007 |publisher=Concept Publishing Company |isbn=978-81-8069-397-7 |pages=334 |language=en}}</ref> [[Nayakas of Keladi]],<ref>{{cite book | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Itp2twGR6tsC&dq=yadavas+kannada&pg=RA1-PA45 | title=The Indo-Aryan Languages | isbn=9780521299442 | last1=Masica | first1=Colin P. | date=9 September 1993 | publisher=Cambridge University Press }}</ref> [[Hoysala Kingdom|Hoysala dynasty]] and the [[Vijayanagara Empire]].

The Kannada language is written using the [[Kannada script]], which evolved from the 5th-century [[Kadamba script]]. Kannada is attested epigraphically for about one and a half millennia and literary [[Rashtrakuta literature|Old Kannada]] flourished during the 9th-century [[Rashtrakuta Empire]].<ref>{{cite web
 |url=http://www.classicalkannada.org/DataBase/KannwordHTMLS/CLASSICAL%20KANNADA%20LAND%20HISTORY%20AND%20PEOPLE%20HTML/RASHTRAKUTA%20DYNASTY.htm
 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110110232151/http://www.classicalkannada.org/DataBase/KannwordHTMLS/CLASSICAL%20KANNADA%20LAND%20HISTORY%20AND%20PEOPLE%20HTML/RASHTRAKUTA%20DYNASTY.htm
 |url-status=dead
 |archive-date=10 January 2011 |title=Rastrakutas
 |publisher=Official website of the [[Central Institute of Indian Languages]]
 |access-date=12 May 2008 }}</ref><ref name="tradition">Zvelebil (1973), p. 7 (Introductory, chart)</ref> Kannada has an [[Kannada literature|unbroken literary history]] of around 1200 years.<ref name="thousand">Garg (1992), p. 67</ref> Kannada literature has been presented with eight [[Jnanpith Award|Jnanapith awards]], the most for any Dravidian language and the second highest for any Indian language.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.karnatakavision.com/jnanpeeth-awardees.php|title=Jnanpeeth Awardees from Karnataka &#124; Jnanapeeta Awardees &#124; Jnanpith Award|website=www.karnatakavision.com|access-date=5 July 2018|archive-date=11 February 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210211020638/http://www.karnatakavision.com/jnanpeeth-awardees.php|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.newsgram.com/eight-kannada-authors-who-have-won-prestigious-jnanpith-award/|title=Jnanpith Award: Eight Kannada authors who have won 'Jnanpith Award'|date=5 September 2017|access-date=5 July 2018|archive-date=22 December 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201222120049/https://www.newsgram.com/eight-kannada-authors-who-have-won-prestigious-jnanpith-award/|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.bestcurrentaffairs.com/jnanpith-awards-winners-full-list/ |title=Jnanpith Awards Winners Full List|date=27 July 2016}}</ref> In July 2011, a center for the study of classical Kannada was established as part of the [[Central Institute of Indian Languages]] in [[Mysore]] to facilitate research related to the language.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://ibnlive.in.com/news/ciil-to-head-centre-for-classical-kannada-study/169646-60-119.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120111170247/http://ibnlive.in.com/news/ciil-to-head-centre-for-classical-kannada-study/169646-60-119.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=11 January 2012 |title=IBNLive – CIIL to head Centre for classical Kannada study |publisher=ibnlive.in.com |date=23 July 2011 |access-date=12 February 2013}}</ref>

== Geographic distribution ==
Kannada had 43.7<ref name=":0" />&nbsp;million native speakers in India at the time of the 2011 census. It is the main language of the state of [[Karnataka]], where it is spoken natively by {{sigfig|40.622836|3}} million people, or about two thirds of the state's population. There are native Kannada speakers in the neighbouring states of [[Tamil Nadu]] ({{sigfig|1141976|3}} speakers), [[Maharashtra]] ({{sigfig|993133|3}}), [[Andhra Pradesh]] and [[Telangana]] ({{sigfig|532937|3}}), [[Kerala]] ({{sigfig|78067|3}}) and [[Goa]] ({{sigfig|67837|3}}).<ref>{{cite web|title = C-16: Population by mother tongue, India – 2011| author = Office of the Registrar General & Census Commissioner, India| url = https://censusindia.gov.in/nada/index.php/catalog/10191| access-date = 16 November 2022}}</ref> It is also spoken as a second and third language by over 12.9&nbsp;million non-native speakers in Karnataka.<ref name="2001census">{{cite news|url=http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Indiaspeak-English-is-our-2nd-language/articleshow/5680962.cms|title=Indiaspeak: English is our 2nd language|work=[[The Times of India]]|date=14 March 2010 }}</ref>

Kannadigas form Tamil Nadu's third biggest linguistic group; their population is roughly 1.23&nbsp;million, which is 2.2% of Tamil Nadu's total population.<ref name="TimesofIndia">{{cite news
| first = Rema
| last = Nagarajan
| url = http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/bengaluru/Kannadigas-TNs-3rd-biggest-group/articleshow/2954903.cms
| title = Kannadigas TN's 3rd biggest group
| newspaper = [[The Times of India]]
| date = 16 April 2008
}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=M2uPAgAAQBAJ&q=Kannada&pg=PA84|title=The Territories and States of India|last1=Boland-Crewe|first1=Tara|last2=Lea|first2=David|publisher=Routledge|year=2003|isbn=9781135356255|pages=224–226}}</ref>

The [[Malayalam]] spoken by people of [[Lakshadweep]] has many Kannada words.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=zbKesmg97PAC&q=amindivi+kannada+island&pg=PA5|title=Dynamics of New Panchayati Raj System in India: Select states|last=Palanithurai|first=Ganapathy|year=2002|publisher=Concept Publishing Company|isbn=9788180691294}}</ref>

In the United States, there were 35,900 speakers in 2006–2008,<ref>{{cite web| title =  Table 1. Detailed Languages Spoken at Home| url = https://www.census.gov/hhes/socdemo/language/data/other/detailed-lang-tables.xls| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110604062111/http://www.census.gov/hhes/socdemo/language/data/other/detailed-lang-tables.xls| archive-date=4 June 2011| url-status = dead}}</ref> a number that had risen to 48,600 by the time of the 2015 census. There are {{sigfig|3970|2}} speakers in Canada (according to the 2016 census), 9,700 in Australia (2016 census), 22,000 in Singapore (2018 estimate),<ref name="Ethnologue_kan">{{e25|kan}}</ref> and 59,000 in Malaysia (2021 estimate).<ref name="Ethnologue_kan"/><!--cites the Joshua Project-->{{Better source needed|date=November 2022}}

== Development ==

Kannada, like [[Malayalam]] and [[Tamil language|Tamil]], is a [[South Dravidian language]] and a descendant of [[Tamil-Kannada]], from which it derives its grammar and core vocabulary. Its history can be divided into three stages: Old Kannada, or ''Haḷegannaḍa'' from 450 to 1200&nbsp;AD, Middle Kannada (''Naḍugannaḍa'') from 1200 to 1700 and Modern Kannada (''Hosagannaḍa'') from 1700 to the present.{{sfn|Steever|1998|p=129}}<ref>{{cite book |url=https://archive.org/details/buddhadhammaorli0000nara/page/n10/mode/1up?q=+tamil |title=History of the Kannada Language (Readership Lectures) |author=R. Narasimhacharya |page=1 |publisher=[[University of Mysore]]|year=1934 }}</ref>

Kannada has it been influenced to a considerable degree by [[Sanskrit]] and [[Prakrit]], both in morphology, phonetics, vocabulary, grammar and syntax. The three principle sources of influence on literary Kannada grammar appear to be [[Pāṇini]]'s grammar, non-Pāṇinian schools of Sanskrit grammar, particularly ''Katantra'' and ''Sakatayana'' schools, and [[Prakrit]] grammar.<ref name=prak>{{cite book|last=Mythic Society (Bangalore, India)|title=The quarterly journal of the Mythic society (Bangalore)., Volume 76|year=1985|publisher=Mythic Society (Bangalore, India)|pages=Pages_197–210}}</ref> Literary Prakrit seems to have prevailed in Karnataka since ancient times. Speakers of vernacular Prakrit may have come into contact with Kannada speakers, thus influencing their language, even before Kannada was used for administrative or liturgical purposes.<ref name=prak/><ref name="Studies">{{cite book|author1=B. K. Khadabadi |author2=Prākr̥ta Bhāratī Akādamī |title=Studies in Jainology, Prakrit literature, and languages: a collection of select 51 papers Volume 116 of Prakrit Bharti pushpa|year=1997|publisher=Prakrit Bharati Academy|pages=444 pages}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |url=https://archive.org/details/buddhadhammaorli0000nara/page/n10/mode/1up?q=+tamil |title=History of the Kannada Language (Readership Lectures) |author=R. Narasimhacharya |page=1 |publisher=[[University of Mysore]]|year=1934 }}</ref> The scholar K. V. Narayana claims that many tribal languages which are now designated as Kannada dialects could be nearer to the earlier form of the language, with lesser influence from other languages.<ref name="civil" />

The work of scholar [[Iravatham Mahadevan]] indicates that Kannada was already a language of rich spoken tradition by the 3rd century BC and that and based on the native Kannada words found in Prakrit inscriptions of that period, Kannada must have been spoken by a broad and stable population.<ref name="civil">{{cite web|title=Classical Kannada, Antiquity of Kannada |url=http://www.classicalkannada.org/LanguageEng.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100425022336/http://www.classicalkannada.org/LanguageEng.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=25 April 2010 |publisher=Central Institute for Indian Languages |work=Centre for classical Kannada |access-date=28 August 2011 }}</ref><ref name="Tamil_epigraphy1">{{Cite book |title=Early Tamil Epigraphy from the Earliest Times to the Sixth Century AD |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DZBkAAAAMAAJ|author=Iravatham Mahadevan|work=Harvard University Press |access-date=12 April 2007|isbn=9780674012271|year=2003| publisher=Cre-A }}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=jHaVqNy-V6UC&pg=PA11|title=Origin of Saivism and Its History in the Tamil Land|last=K R|first=Subramanian|publisher=Asian Educational Services|year=2002|isbn=9788120601444|pages=11}}</ref> 

Kannada includes many loan words from Sanskrit. Some unaltered loan words ({{langx|sa|तत्सम|[[tatsama]]|same as that'}}) include {{langx|sa|label=none|dina||day}}, {{langx|sa|label=none|kōpa||anger}}, {{langx|sa|label=none|sūrya||sun}}, {{langx|sa|label=none|mukha||face}}, and {{langx|sa|label=none|nimiṣa||minute}}.<ref name="tatsama">{{cite book|last=Kulli|first=Jayavant S|title=History of grammatical theories in Kannada|year=1991|publisher=Internationial School of Dravidian Linguistics|pages=330 pages}}</ref> Some examples of naturalised Sanskrit words ({{langx|sa|तद्भव|tadbhava|arising from that}}) in Kannada are {{langx|kn|label=none|varṇa||colour}}, {{langx|kn|label=none|pūrṇime}}, and {{lang|kn|rāya}} from {{langx|sa|label=none|rāja||king}}.<ref name=banna>{{cite book|last=Jha|first=Ganganatha|title=Journal of the Ganganatha Jha Kendriya Sanskrit Vidyapeetha, Volume 32|year=1976|publisher=Ganganatha Jha Kendriya Sanskrit Vidyapeetha|pages=see page 319}}</ref> Some naturalised words of Prakrit origin in Kannada are {{langx|kn|label=none|baṇṇa||colour}} derived from {{lang|pra|vaṇṇa}}, {{langx|kn|huṇṇime|label=none||full moon}} from {{lang|pra|puṇṇivā}}.

==History==

===Early traces===
{{Main|Halmidi inscription|Kappe Arabhatta|Shravanabelagola inscription of Nandisena|Tyagada Brahmadeva Pillar|Atakur inscription|Doddahundi nishidhi inscription|List of people associated with the study of Kannada inscriptions}}
[[File:Halmidi OldKannada inscription.JPG|left|upright|thumb|The [[Halmidi inscription]] at [[Halmidi]] village, in old-Kannada, is usually dated to 450&nbsp;AD ([[Kadamba Dynasty]]).]]
[[File:6th century Kannada inscription in cave temple number 3 at Badami.jpg|thumb|right|Old-Kannada inscription dated 578&nbsp;AD (Badami Chalukya dynasty), outside Badami cave no.3]]
[[File:TalakadInscription.jpg|thumb|left|upright|Old-Kannada inscription of c. 726&nbsp;AD, discovered in [[Talakad]], from the rule of King Shivamara I or Sripurusha ([[Western Ganga Dynasty]])]]
[[File:Old Kannada inscription from the Rashtrakuta period (9th century) at the Durga Devi temple in Virupaksha temple complex at Hampi.jpg|thumb|upright|Old-Kannada inscription of the 9th century ([[Rashtrakuta Dynasty]]) at Durga Devi temple in [[Hampi]], Karnataka]]
[[File:Atakur memorial stone with inscription in old Kannada (949 C.E.).jpg|thumb|upright|The famous [[Atakur inscription]] (AD 949) from [[Mandya district]], a classical Kannada composition in two parts; a fight between a hound and a wild boar, and the victory of the [[Rashtrakutas]] over the Chola dynasty in the famous [[battle of Takkolam]]]]
[[File:Old Kannada inscription (c.1057) in Kalleshvara temple at Hire Hadagali.jpg|thumb|upright|right|Old Kannada inscription dated 1057&nbsp;AD of Western Chalukya King Someshvara I at [[Kalleshwara Temple, Hire Hadagali]] in [[Bellary district]]]]
[[File:Old Kannada inscription (1112 CE) of King Vikramaditya VI in the Mahadeva temple at Itagi.jpg|thumb|upright|Old-Kannada inscription ascribed to King [[Vikramaditya VI]] ([[Western Chalukya Empire]]), dated AD 1112, at the Mahadeva Temple in Itagi, Koppal district of Karnataka state]]
[[File:Old-Kannada inscription at Arasikere Ishwara temple.jpg|left|thumb|Old-Kannada inscription of 1220&nbsp;AD ([[Hoysala Empire]]) at Ishwara temple of Arasikere town in the [[Hassan district]]]]
[[File:Kannada inscription (1509 AD) of Krishnadeva Raya at entrance to mantapa of Virupaksha temple in Hampi.JPG|thumb|upright|Kannada inscription dated 1509, of King [[Krishnadevaraya]] ([[Vijayanagara Empire]]), at the Virupaksha temple in [[Hampi]] describes his coronation]]
[[File:Kannada inscription (17th century) at Gaurishvara temple at Yelandur 1.jpg|thumb|upright|Kannada inscription dated 1654, at [[Gaurishvara Temple, Yelandur|Yelandur]] with exquisite relief]]

The earliest Kannada inscriptions are from the middle of the 5th century AD, but there are a number of earlier texts that may have been influenced by the ancestor language of Old Kannada.{{sfn|Bhat|1993|p=102,103}}

Iravatam Mahadevan, a Brahmin, author of a work on early Tamil epigraphy, argued that oral traditions in Kannada and Telugu existed much before written documents were produced. Although the rock inscriptions of Ashoka were written in Prakrit, the spoken language in those regions was Kannada as the case may be. He can be quoted as follows:<ref name="civil2">{{cite web |title=Classical Kannada, Antiquity of Kannada |url=http://www.classicalkannada.org/LanguageEng.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100425022336/http://www.classicalkannada.org/LanguageEng.html |archive-date=25 April 2010 |access-date=28 August 2011 |work=Centre for classical Kannada |publisher=Central Institute for Indian Languages}}</ref>
{{blockquote|If proof were needed to show that Kannada was the spoken language of the region during the early period, one needs only to study the large number of Kannada personal names and place names in the early Prakrit inscriptions on stone and copper in Upper South India [...] Kannada was spoken by relatively large and well-settled populations, living in well-organised states ruled by able dynasties like the Satavahanas, with a high degree of civilisation [...] There is, therefore, no reason to believe that these languages had less rich or less expressive oral traditions than Tamil had towards the end of its pre-literate period.}}

The [[Ashoka rock edict]] found at [[Brahmagiri archaeological site|Brahmagiri]] (dated to 250&nbsp;BC) has been suggested to contain words (''Isila'', meaning to throw, viz. an arrow, etc.) in identifiable Kannada.<ref name="isila">The word ''Isila'' found in the Ashokan inscription (called the Brahmagiri edict from Karnataka) meaning to shoot an arrow, is a Kannada word, indicating that Kannada was a spoken language in the 3rd century BC (D.L. Narasimhachar in Kamath 2001, p5)</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=B. |first=Dr. Suresha |date=October 2018 |title=A study on Ashoka's Inscriptions with special reference to Karnataka |url=https://www.jetir.org/papers/JETIR1810731.pdf |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221009/https://www.jetir.org/papers/JETIR1810731.pdf |archive-date=9 October 2022 |url-status=live |website=JETIR |page=3}}</ref><ref name="deccanherald">{{Cite news |last=Angadi |first=Jagadish |date=30 October 2020 |title=Kannada in Alexandria |work=Deccan Herald |url=https://www.deccanherald.com/spectrum/spectrum-top-stories/kannada-in-alexandria-909294.html}}</ref>

In some 3rd–1st century BC Tamil inscriptions, words of Kannada influence such as ''Naliyura'', ''kavuDi'' and ''posil'' were found. In a 3rd-century AD Tamil inscription there is usage of ''oppanappa vIran''. Here the honorific ''appa'' to a person's name is an influence from Kannada. Another word of Kannada origin is ''taayviru'' and is found in a 4th-century AD Tamil inscription. S. Settar studied the ''sittanavAsal'' inscription of first century AD as also the inscriptions at ''tirupparamkunram'', ''adakala'' and ''neDanUpatti''. The later inscriptions were studied in detail by Iravatham Mahadevan also. Mahadevan argues that the words ''erumi'', ''kavuDi'', {{lang|oty|poshil}} and ''tAyiyar'' have their origin in Kannada because Tamil cognates are not available. Settar adds the words ''nADu'' and ''iLayar'' to this list. Mahadevan feels that some grammatical categories found in these inscriptions are also unique to Kannada rather than Tamil. Both these scholars attribute these influences to the movements and spread of Jainas in these regions. These inscriptions belong to the period between the first century BC and fourth century AD. These are some examples that are proof of the early usage of a few Kannada origin words in early [[Tamil language|Tamil]] inscriptions before the common era and in the early centuries of the common era.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DZBkAAAAMAAJ&q=posil|title=Early Tamil Epigraphy|isbn=9780674012271|last1=Mahadevan|first1=Iravatham|year=2003|publisher=Cre-A }}</ref>

[[Pliny the Elder]], a Roman historian, wrote about pirates between [[Muziris]] and Nitrias ([[Netravati River]]), called Nitran by Ptolemy. He also mentions Barace (Barcelore), referring to the modern port city of [[Mangaluru]], upon its mouth. Many of these are Kannada origin names of places and rivers of the Karnataka coast of 1st century AD.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=78I5lDHU2jQC&q=ptolemy+nitran&pg=PA74|title=Some Early Dynasties of South India|last=Chattopadhyaya|first=Sudhakar|date=1 January 1974|publisher=Motilal Banarsidass|isbn=9788120829411}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.muzirisheritage.org/history.php|title=Muziris Heritage Project}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|title=The Commerce between the Roman Empire and India|last=Warmington|first=E. H.|publisher=Cambridge University Press, 2014|year=1928|isbn=9781107432147|pages=112–113}}</ref>

The Greek geographer [[Ptolemy]] (150&nbsp;AD) mentions places such as Badiamaioi (Badami), Inde (Indi), Kalligeris (Kalkeri), Modogoulla (Mudagal), Petrigala (Pattadakal), Hippokoura (Huvina Hipparagi), Nagarouris (Nagur), Tabaso (Tavasi), Tiripangalida (Gadahinglai), Soubouttou or Sabatha (Savadi), Banaouase (Banavasi), Thogorum (Tagara), Biathana (Paithan), Sirimalaga (Malkhed), Aloe (Ellapur) and Pasage (Palasige).<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=bP7DzXQBoM4C&q=Siro+Polemaios&pg=PA193|title=History of India, in Nine Volumes: Vol. II – From the Sixth Century B.C. to the Mohammedan Conquest, Including the Invasion of Alexander the Great|last1=A. Smith|first1=Vincent|last2=Williams Jackson|first2=A. V.|publisher=Cosimo, Inc., 2008|date=1 January 2008|isbn=9781605204925|pages=193–196}}</ref> He mentions a Satavahana king Sire Polemaios, who is identified with Sri Pulumayi (or Pulumavi), whose name is derived from the Kannada word for ''Puli'', meaning tiger. Some scholars indicate that the name Pulumayi is actually Kannada's '''Puli Maiyi''<nowiki/>' or '<nowiki/>''One with the body of a tiger''<nowiki/>' indicating native Kannada origin for the Satavahanas.<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=dltXAAAAMAAJ&q=pulumayi+tiger |title=Mysore State, 1956–1966 |publisher=Director of Publicity & Information, Government of Mysore |year=1966 |pages=15 |language=en}}</ref> Pai identifies all the 10 cities mentioned by Ptolemy (100–170&nbsp;AD) as lying between the river Benda (or Binda) or [[Bhima River|Bhima river]] in the north and Banaouasei ([[Banavasi]]) in the south, viz. Nagarouris (Nagur), Tabaso (Tavasi), Inde ([[Indi, Karnataka|Indi]]), Tiripangalida ([[Gadhinglaj]]), Hippokoura ([[Huvina Hipparagi]]), Soubouttou ([[Savadi, Gadag|Savadi]]), Sirimalaga ([[Malkheda|Malkhed]]), Kalligeris ([[Kalkeri]]), Modogoulla ([[Mudgal]]) and Petirgala ([[Pattadakal]]), as being located in Northern Karnataka which signify the existence of Kannada place names (and the language and culture) in the southern Kuntala region during the reign of [[Vasishthiputra Pulumavi|Vasishtiputra Pulumayi]] ({{Circa|85}}-125&nbsp;AD, i.e., late 1st century – early 2nd century AD) who was ruling from Paithan in the north and his son, prince Vilivaya-kura or Pulumayi Kumara was ruling from Huvina Hipparagi in present Karnataka in the south.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Pai |first=M. Govinda |year=1942 |title=THE VIḶIVĀYAKURAS AND SIVALAKURA OF THE KOLHAPUR COINS |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/44002572 |journal=Annals of the Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute |volume=23 |issue=1/4 |pages=319–329 |jstor=44002572 |issn=0378-1143}}</ref>

An early ancestor of Kannada (or a related language) may have been spoken by Indian traders in [[Roman Egypt|Roman-era Egypt]] and it may account for the Indian-language passages in the ancient Greek play known as the [[Charition mime]].<ref name="Salomon1991">{{Cite journal |last=Salomon |first=Richard |date=1991 |title=Epigraphic Remains of Indian Traders in Egypt |journal=Journal of the American Oriental Society |volume=111 |issue=4 |pages=731–736 |doi=10.2307/603404| jstor = 603404}}</ref>

===Epigraphy===
The earliest examples of a full-length Kannada language stone inscription (''śilāśāsana'') containing [[Brahmi]] characters with characteristics attributed to those of [[Halegannada|proto-Kannada]] in ''Haḷe Kannaḍa'' (''lit'' Old Kannada) script can be found in the [[Halmidi inscription]], usually dated {{Circa|450&nbsp;AD}}, indicating that Kannada had become an administrative language at that time. The Halmidi inscription provides invaluable information about the history and culture of Karnataka.<ref name="admin">K. V. Ramesh (1984), p. 10, 55</ref><ref name="hal">Encyclopaedia of Indian literature vol. 2, Sahitya Akademi (1988), pp. 1717, 1474</ref><ref name="Oldest inscription">A report on Halmidi inscription, {{cite news |title=Halmidi village finally on the road to recognition |url=http://www.hindu.com/2003/11/03/stories/2003110304550500.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20031124063238/http://www.hindu.com/2003/11/03/stories/2003110304550500.htm |url-status=dead |archive-date=24 November 2003 |author=Muralidhara Khajane |access-date=25 November 2006 |location=Chennai, India |work=[[The Hindu]] |date=3 November 2003}}</ref><ref name="ind">Kamath (2001), p. 10</ref> A set of five copper plate inscriptions discovered in Mudiyanur, though in the [[Sanskrit]] language, is in the Pre-[[Old Kannada script]] older than the Halmidi edict date of 450&nbsp;AD, as per palaeographers.

Followed by [[B. Lewis Rice|B. L. Rice]], leading epigrapher and historian, K. R. Narasimhan following a detailed study and comparison, declared that the plates belong to the 4th century, i.e., 338&nbsp;AD.<ref>{{Cite web |date=30 October 2021 |title=When ancient copper plates came to Kannada's rescue |url=https://www.deccanherald.com/spectrum/spectrum-statescan/when-ancient-copper-plates-came-to-kannadas-rescue-1045565.html |access-date=15 April 2022 |website=Deccan Herald |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Rice |first=Lewis Benjamin |url=http://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.213548 |title=Epigraphia Carnatica Inscription In Kolar District Vol.10 |year=1912 |pages=111–114}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Rice |first=B. Lewis |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8kIwswEACAAJ |title=Epigraphia Carnatica, Vol. 10: Inscriptions in the Kolar District (Classic Reprint) |date=10 February 2018 |publisher=1kg Limited |isbn=978-0-656-23957-3 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Rice |first=Benjamin Lewis |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=gKUDwQEACAAJ |title=Epigraphia Carnatica: [pt. 2]. Inscriptions in the Kolar district [Kannada text |year=1886 |publisher=Mysore Government Central Press |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Vagarnal |first=Avinasha |date=28 December 2021 |title=Ancient copper plates of Kannada older than Halmidi inscription are in Kolar – ಕೋಲಾರದಲ್ಲಿದೆ ಹಲ್ಮಿಡಿ ಶಾಸನಕ್ಕಿಂತಲೂ ಪ್ರಾಚೀನವಾದ ಕನ್ನಡ ಭಾಷೆಯ ತಾಮ್ರದ ಪತ್ರ! |url=https://vijaykarnataka.com/news/kolar/ancient-copper-plates-of-kannada-older-than-halmidi-inscription-are-in-kolar/videoshow/88542760.cms |access-date=15 April 2022 |website=Vijay Karnataka |language=kn}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Rice |first=Benjamin Lewis |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=sscUAAAAYAAJ |title=Epigraphia Carnatica: Inscriptions in the Kolar District |publisher=Mysore Government Central Press |year=1905 |pages=111–113 |language=en}}</ref> The Kannada Lion balustrade inscription excavated at the Pranaveshwara temple complex at Talagunda near Shiralakoppa of Shivamogga district, dated to 370&nbsp;AD is now considered the earliest Kannada inscriptions replacing the Halmidi inscription of 450&nbsp;AD.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.deccanherald.com/content/591046/kannada-inscription-talagunda-may-replace.html|title=Kannada inscription at Talagunda of 370 CE may replace Halmidi inscription as the oldest|work=Deccan Herald}}</ref> The 5th century poetic Tamatekallu inscription of [[Chitradurga]] and the Siragunda inscription from [[Chikkamagaluru]] Taluk of 500&nbsp;AD are further examples.<ref name="chikka">R. Narasimhacharya (1988), p. 6</ref><ref name="rice">Rice E. P. (1921), p. 13</ref><ref name="tamate">[[Govinda Pai]] in Bhat (1993), p. 102</ref> Recent reports indicate that the [[Halegannada|Old Kannada]] ''Gunabhushitana'' ''Nishadi'' inscription discovered on the Chandragiri hill, [[Shravanabelagola]], is older than Halmidi inscription by about fifty to hundred years and may belong to the period AD 350–400.<ref>{{cite news
|url=http://hindu.com/2008/09/20/stories/2008092054690500.htm
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080922145102/http://www.hindu.com/2008/09/20/stories/2008092054690500.htm
|url-status=dead
|archive-date=22 September 2008
|title= Mysore scholar deciphers Chandragiri inscription |access-date=20 September 2008
|location=Chennai, India
|newspaper=[[The Hindu]]
|date=20 September 2008
}}</ref>

The noted archaeologist and art historian S. Shettar is of the opinion that an inscription of the [[Western Ganga Dynasty|Western Ganga]] King Kongunivarma Madhava ({{Circa|350}}–370) found at Tagarthi (Tyagarthi) in Shikaripura taluk of Shimoga district is of 350&nbsp;AD and is also older than the Halmidi inscription.<ref name="konga">{{cite web|title=HALMIDI INSCRIPTION|url=http://www.classicalkannada.org/DataBase/KannwordHTMLS/CLASSICAL%20KANNADA%20INSCRIPTIONS%20HTML/HALMIDI%20INSCRIPTION%20HTML.htm|publisher=Central Institute for Indian Languages|work=Centre for classical Kannada|access-date=25 March 2012|archive-date=6 May 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130506055912/http://www.classicalkannada.org/DataBase/KannwordHTMLS/CLASSICAL%20KANNADA%20INSCRIPTIONS%20HTML/HALMIDI%20INSCRIPTION%20HTML.htm|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.bangaloremirror.com/bangalore/cover-story/Historians-study-pushes-earliest-record-of-Kannada-writing-back-by-a-century/articleshow/21220551.cms|title=HISTORIAN'S STUDY PUSHES EARLIEST RECORD OF KANNADA WRITING BACK BY A CENTURY|date=10 March 2013|work=The antiquity of Kannada}}</ref>

Current estimates of the total number of existing [[Epigraphy|epigraph]]s written in Kannada range from 25,000 by the scholar [[Sheldon Pollock]] to over 30,000 by Amaresh Datta of the [[Sahitya Akademi]].<ref name="current">Datta, Amaresh; ''Encyclopaedia of Indian literature – vol. 2'', p. 1717, 1988, Sahitya Akademi, {{ISBN|81-260-1194-7}}</ref><ref name="dense">Sheldon Pollock in Dehejia, Vidya; ''The Body Adorned: Sacred and Profane in Indian Art'', p.5, chapter:''The body as Leitmotif'', 2013, Columbia University Press, {{ISBN|978-0-231-14028-7}}</ref> Prior to the Halmidi inscription, there is an abundance of inscriptions containing Kannada words, phrases and sentences, proving its antiquity. The 543&nbsp;AD Badami cliff inscription of [[Pulakesi I]] is an example of a Sanskrit inscription in old Kannada script.<ref name="cliff">Kamath (2001), p58</ref><ref name="cliff1">{{cite web |title=Badami: Chalukyans' magical transformation |url=http://www.deccanherald.com/deccanherald/jul262005/spectrum1422512005725.asp |author=Azmathulla Shariff |work=Deccan Herald |access-date=25 November 2006 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20061007040120/http://www.deccanherald.com/deccanherald/jul262005/spectrum1422512005725.asp <!-- Bot retrieved archive --> |archive-date = 7 October 2006|date=14 February 2018 }}</ref>

Kannada inscriptions are discovered in [[Andhra Pradesh]] and [[Telangana]], [[Maharashtra]], [[Tamil Nadu]] Madhya Pradesh and Gujarat in addition to Karnataka. This indicates the spread of the influence of the language over the ages, especially during the rule of large Kannada empires.<ref name="jura">Kamath (2001), p83</ref><ref>{{cite book|title=Sircar 1965|pages=202–4}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|title=Luce 1985|pages=62, n.16}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.siamese-heritage.org/jsspdf/1991/JSS_085_0g_Guy_WarriorRulerSteleFromSriKsetra.pdf |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221009/http://www.siamese-heritage.org/jsspdf/1991/JSS_085_0g_Guy_WarriorRulerSteleFromSriKsetra.pdf |archive-date=9 October 2022 |url-status=live|title=A WARRIOR-RULER STELE FROM SRI KSETRA, PYU, BURMA|last=Guy|first=John|year=1996|website=Journal of The Siam Society – Siamese Heritage|publisher=Journal of The Siam Society}}</ref>

The earliest copper plates inscribed in Old Kannada script and language, dated to the early 8th century AD, are associated with [[Alupas|Alupa]] King Aluvarasa II from Belmannu (the Dakshina Kannada district), and display the double crested fish, his royal emblem.<ref name="Kannada copperplate">Gururaj Bhat in Kamath (2001), p97</ref> The oldest well-preserved palm leaf manuscript in ''Old Kannada'' is that of ''Dhavala''. It dates to around the 9th century and is preserved in the Jain Bhandar, Mudbidri, [[Dakshina Kannada]] district.<ref name="Palm leaf manuscript">{{cite web |title=Preserving voices from the past  |url=http://www.deccanherald.com/deccanherald/aug212005/sundayherald101012005820.asp|author=Mukerjee, Shruba|work=Sunday Herald |date=21 August 2005|access-date=11 April 2007 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20061022233151/http://deccanherald.com/deccanherald/aug212005/sundayherald101012005820.asp <!-- Bot retrieved archive --> |archive-date = 22 October 2006}}</ref> The manuscript contains 1478 leaves written using ink.<ref name="Palm leaf manuscript" />

=== Coins ===
Some early [[Kadamba Dynasty]] coins bearing the Kannada inscription ''Vira'' and ''Skandha'' were found in Satara collectorate.<ref name="sat">The coins are preserved at the Archaeological Section, Prince of Wales Museum of Western India, Mumbai – Kundangar and Moraes in [[George M. Moraes|Moraes]] (1931), p382</ref> A gold coin bearing three inscriptions of ''Sri'' and an abbreviated inscription of king Bhagiratha's name called ''bhagi'' (c. 390–420&nbsp;AD) in old Kannada exists.<ref name="bhagi">The coin is preserved at the Indian Historical Research Institute, St. Xavier's College, Mumbai – Kundangar and Moraes in [[George M. Moraes|Moraes]] (1938), p&nbsp;382</ref> A Kadamba copper coin dated to the 5th century AD with the inscription ''Srimanaragi'' in Kannada script was discovered in Banavasi, [[Uttara Kannada district]].<ref name="Kadamba coin">{{cite news |title=5th century copper coin discovered at Banavasi |url=http://www.hindu.com/2006/02/06/stories/2006020609090400.htm|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070526191104/http://www.hindu.com/2006/02/06/stories/2006020609090400.htm|url-status=dead|archive-date=26 May 2007|author=Dr Gopal, director, Department of Archaeology and Ancient History |date=6 February 2006|work=[[The Hindu]] |location=Chennai, India}}</ref> Coins with Kannada legends have been discovered spanning the rule of the [[Western Ganga Dynasty]], the Badami [[Chalukyas]], the [[Alupas]], the [[Western Chalukyas]], the [[Rashtrakutas]], the [[Hoysalas]], the [[Vijayanagar Empire]], the [[Kadamba Dynasty]] of Banavasi, the [[Keladi Nayaka]]s and the [[Mysore Kingdom]], the Badami Chalukya coins being a recent discovery.<ref name="coins">Kamath (2001), p12, p57</ref><ref name="coins1">{{cite web |title=Indian coins-Dynasties of South |url=http://prabhu.50g.com/ |author=Govindaraya Prabhu, S |publisher=Prabhu's Web Page on Indian Coinage, 1 November 2001 |access-date=27 November 2006 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060901102258/http://prabhu.50g.com/ |archive-date=1 September 2006 }}</ref><ref name="coins2">{{cite web |title=Vijayanagar Coins-Catalogue |url=http://www.vijayanagaracoins.com/htm/history.htm |author1=Harihariah Oruganti-Vice-President |author2=Madras Coin Society |access-date=27 November 2006 |archive-date=25 October 2005 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20051025110358/http://www.vijayanagaracoins.com/htm/history.htm |url-status=dead }}</ref> The coins of the Kadambas of Goa are unique in that they have alternate inscription of the king's name in Kannada and Devanagari in triplicate,<ref name="triple">This shows that the native vernacular of the Goa Kadambas was Kannada – [[George M. Moraes|Moraes]] (1931), p384</ref> a few coins of the Kadambas of [[Hangal]] are also available.<ref name="han">Two coins of the Hangal Kadambas are preserved at the Royal Asiatic Society, Mumbai, one with the Kannada inscription ''Saarvadhari'' and other with ''Nakara''. [[George M. Moraes|Moraes]] (1931), p385</ref>

==Literature==
{{Main|Kannada literature|List of important milestones in Kannada literature | List of notable epics in the Kannada language}}

===Old Kannada===
{{Main|Rashtrakuta literature|Western Ganga literature| Kannada literature in the Western Chalukya Empire|Hoysala literature | Medieval Kannada literature}}
[[File:11th century Someshwara temple, Lakshmeswar, Karnataka India - 89.jpg|thumb|[[Lakshmeshwara Jain temples|Shankha Jain Basadi]] temple at Lakshmeshwar where the notable [[Adikavi Pampa]] wrote the [[Adipurana]] in Kannada language]]
The oldest known existing record of Kannada poetry in ''Tripadi'' metre is the [[Kappe Arabhatta]] record of 7th century AD.<ref name="hal" /><ref name="poetry">Kamath (2001), p. 67</ref> ''[[Kavirajamarga]]'' by King Nripatunga [[Amoghavarsha]] I (850&nbsp;AD) is the earliest existing literary work in Kannada. It is a writing on literary criticism and poetics meant to standardise various written Kannada dialects used in literature in previous centuries. The book makes reference to Kannada works by early writers such as King [[Durvinita]] of the 6th century and Ravikirti, the author of the Aihole record of 636&nbsp;AD.<ref name="extinct_works6">Sastri (1955), p355</ref><ref>Kamath (2001), p90</ref> Since the earliest available Kannada work is one on grammar and a guide of sorts to unify existing variants of [[Kannada grammar]] and literary styles, it can be safely assumed that literature in Kannada must have started several centuries earlier.<ref name="extinct_works6"/><ref name="extinct_works5">{{cite web |title=History of the Kannada Literature-I |url=http://www.kamat.com/kalranga/kar/literature/history1.htm |author=Jyotsna Kamat |publisher=Kamat's Potpourri |work=Kamat's Potpourri, 4 November 2006 |access-date=25 November 2006}}</ref> An early [[Extant literature|extant]] prose work, the ''Vaḍḍārādhane'' (ವಡ್ಡಾರಾಧನೆ) by [[Shivakotiacharya]] of 900&nbsp;AD provides an elaborate description of the life of Bhadrabahu of [[Shravanabelagola]].<ref name="kavirajamarga">Sastri (1955), p356</ref>

Some of the early writers of prose and verse mentioned in the ''Kavirajamarga,'' numbering 8–10, stating these are but a few of many, but whose works are lost, are Vimala or Vimalachandra (c. 777), Udaya, Nagarjuna, Jayabandhu, Durvinita (6th century), and poets including Kaviswara, Srivijaya, Pandita, Chandra, Ravi Kirti (c. 634) and Lokapala.<ref name="jstor"/><ref>Rao in Datta (1994), pp. 2278–2283</ref><ref name=":5">R. Narasimhacharya (1934), pp. 2, 4–5, 12–18, 29</ref><ref name=":6">Warder (1988), pp. 240–241</ref><ref name="dandin" /> For fragmentary information on these writers, we can refer the work ''Karnataka Kavi Charite''. Ancient indigenous Kannada literary compositions of (folk) poetry like the ''Chattana'' and ''Bedande'' which preferred to use the ''Desi'' metre are said to have survived at least until the date of the Kavirajamarga in 850&nbsp;AD and had their roots in the early Kannada folk literature. These Kannada verse-compositions might have been representative of folk songs containing influence of Sanskrit and Prakrit metrical patterns to some extent. "Kavirajamarga" also discusses earlier composition forms peculiar to Kannada, the "gadyakatha", a mixture of prose and poetry, the "''chattana''" and the "''bedande''", poems of several stanzas that were meant to be sung with the optional use of a musical instrument.<ref name=":5" /><ref>Garg (1987), vol. 4</ref><ref>Nagaraj in Sheldon (2003), p. 333</ref> [[Amoghavarsha Nripathunga|Amoghavarsha Nripatunga]] compares the ''puratana-kavigal'' (old Kannada poets) who wrote the great ''Chattana'' poems in Kannada to the likes of the great Sanskrit poets like Gunasuri, Narayana, Bharavi, Kalidasa, Magha, etc. This Old Kannada work, ''Kavirajamarga'', itself in turn refers to a ''Palagannada'' (Old Kannada) of much ancient times, which is nothing but the Pre-Old Kannada and also warns aspiring Kannada writers to avoid its archaisms, as per R. S. Hukkerikar. Regarding earlier poems in Kannada, the author of "''Kavirajamarga''" states that old Kannada is appropriate in ancient poems but insipid in contemporaneous works as per R. Narasimhacharya.<ref name="jstor"/><ref name=":5" /><ref>{{Cite book |last=Hukkerikar |first=Ramarao. S. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=VsYBAAAAMAAJ |title=Karnataka Darshana |publisher=R. S. Hukkerikar; sole distributor: Popular Book Depot |year=1955 |pages=85, 87, 178, 205 |language=en}}</ref> Gunanandi (900&nbsp;AD), quoted by the grammarian Bhattakalanka and always addressed as ''Bhagawan'' (the adorable), was the author of a logic, grammar and ''sahitya''. Durvinita (529–579&nbsp;AD), the Ganga king, was the pupil of the author of Sabdavatara, i.e., Devanandi Pujyapada. Durvinita is said to have written a commentary on the difficult 15th ''sarga'' of Bharavi's ''Kiratarjuniya'' in Kannada. Early Kannada writers regularly mention three poets as of especial eminence among their predecessors – Samanta-bhadra, Kavi Parameshthi and Pujyapada. Since later Kannada poets so uniformly name these three as eminent poets, it is probable that they wrote in Kannada also. Samantabhadra is placed in 2nd century AD by Jain tradition. Old Kannada commentaries on some of his works exist. He was said to have born in Utkalikagrama and while performing penance in Manuvakahalli, he was attacked by a disease called ''Bhasmaka''.<ref name="jstor">{{Cite journal |last=Rice |first=Benjamin Lewis |date=April 1890 |title=Early History of Kannaḍa Literature |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/25208973 |journal=Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland |language=en |publisher=Cambridge University Press |pages=254–256, 245–262 |jstor=25208973}}</ref> Pujyapada also called Devanandi, was the preceptor of Ganga king Durvinita and belonged to the late 5th to early 6th century AD. Kaviparameshthi probably lived in the 4th century AD. He may possibly be the same as the ''Kaviswara'' referred to in the Kavirajamarga, and the ''Kaviparameswara'' praised by Chavunda Raya (978&nbsp;AD) and his spiritual teacher, Nemichandra (10th century AD), all the names possibly being only epithets.<ref name="archive">{{Cite book |last=Rice |first=Edward Peter |url=https://archive.org/details/historyofkanares00rice_0/page/22/mode/1up?view=theater |title=A History of Kanarese Literature |publisher=Oxford University Press |year=1915 |pages=22–26 |language=en}}</ref>

Kannada works from earlier centuries mentioned in the [[Kavirajamarga]] are not yet traced. Some ancient Kannada texts now considered extinct but referenced in later centuries are ''Prabhrita'' (650&nbsp;AD) by Syamakundacharya, ''Chudamani'' (Crest Jewel—650&nbsp;AD or earlier) by Srivaradhadeva, also known as Tumbuluracharya, which is a work of 96,000 verse-measures and a commentary on logic (''Tatwartha-mahashastra'').<ref name="extint_works">The seventeenth-century Kannada grammarian Bhattakalanka wrote about the ''Chudamani'' as a milestone in the literature of the Kannada language (Sastri (1955), p355)</ref><ref name="extinct_works1">{{cite web |title=History of the Kannada Literature – I |url=http://www.kamat.com/kalranga/kar/literature/history1.htm |author=Jyotsna Kamat |publisher=Kamat's Potpourri |work=Kamat's Potpourri, 4 November 2006 |access-date=25 November 2006}}</ref><ref name="extinct_works2">Narasimhacharya (1988), pp 4–5</ref> Other sources date ''Chudamani'' to the 6th century or earlier.<ref name="dandin">6th century Sanskrit poet Dandin praised Srivaradhadeva's writing as "having produced [[Saraswati]] from the tip of his tongue, just as [[Shiva]] produced the [[Ganges]] from the tip of his top knot" (Rice E.P., 1921, pp.25–28)</ref><ref name="god2">Rice, B.L. (1897), pp.&nbsp;496–497</ref> An inscription of 1128&nbsp;AD quotes a couplet by the famous Sanskrit poet Dandin (active 680–720&nbsp;AD), highly praising Srivaradhadeva, for his Kannada work Chudamani, as having "produced Saraswati (i.e., learning and eloquence) from the tip of his tongue, as Siva produced the Ganges from the tip of his top-knot." Bhattakalanka (1604&nbsp;CE), the great Kannada grammarian, refers to Srivaradhadeva's Chudamani as the greatest work in Kannada, and as incontestable proof of the scholarly character and value of Kannada literature. This makes Srivaradhadeva's time earlier than the 6th–7th century AD.<ref name="archive"/> Other writers, whose works are not extant now but titles of which are known from independent references such as Indranandi's "Srutavatara", Devachandra's "Rajavalikathe",<ref name=":5" /> Bhattakalanka's "Sabdanusasana" of 1604,<ref name="extinct_works6" /> writings of Jayakirthi<ref name=":7">Chidananda Murthy in Kamath (1980), p. 50, 67</ref> are Syamakundacharya (650), who authored the "Prabhrita", and Srivaradhadeva (also called Tumubuluracharya, 650 or earlier), who wrote the "Chudamani" ("Crest Jewel"), a 96,000-verse commentary on logic.<ref name="extinct_works6" /><ref name="dandin" /><ref name="god2" /><ref>Mugali (1975), p. 13</ref> The ''Karnateshwara Katha'', a eulogy for King [[Pulakesi II]], is said to have belonged to the 7th century;<ref name=":7" /> the ''Gajastaka'', a lost "ashtaka" (eight line verse) composition and a work on elephant management by King [[Shivamara II]], belonged to the 8th century,<ref name="early_works3">Kamath (2001), p50, p67</ref> this served as the basis for 2 popular folk songs ''Ovanige'' and ''Onakevadu,'' which were sung either while pounding corn or to entice wild elephants into a pit ("''Ovam''").<ref name=":7" /><ref name="google"/><ref>Sahitya Akademi (1987), p. 248</ref> The ''Chandraprabha-purana'' by Sri Vijaya, a court poet of emperor [[Amoghavarsha I]], is ascribed to the early 9th century.<ref name=":5" /> His writing has been mentioned by Vijayanagara poets Mangarasa III and Doddiah (also spelt Doddayya, c. 1550&nbsp;AD) and praised by Durgasimha (c. 1025&nbsp;AD).<ref name="extinct_works4">The author and his work were praised by the latter-day poet Durgasimha of AD 1025 (R. Narasimhacharya 1988, p18.)</ref> During the 9th century period, the Digambara Jain poet Asaga (or Asoka) authored, among other writings, "Karnata Kumarasambhava Kavya" and "Varadamana Charitra". His works have been praised by later poets, although none of his works are available today.<ref name=":6" /> "Gunagankiyam", the earliest known prosody in Kannada, was referenced in a Tamil work dated to 10th century or earlier ("Yapparungalakkarigai" by Amritasagara). Gunanandi, an expert in logic, Kannada grammar and prose, flourished in the 9th century AD.<ref name=":5" /><ref name="dandin" /> Around 900&nbsp;AD, Gunavarma I wrote "Sudraka" and "Harivamsa" (also known as "Neminatha Purana"). In "Sudraka" he compared his patron, Ganga king Ereganga Neetimarga II (c. 907–921&nbsp;AD), to a noted king called Sudraka.<ref name=":5" /><ref name="early_works3" /> Jinachandra, who is referred to by Sri Ponna (c. 950&nbsp;AD) as the author of "Pujyapada Charita", had earned the honorific "modern Samantha Bhadra".<ref>Benjamin Lewis Rice (1985), p xv</ref> Tamil Buddhist commentators of the 10th century AD (in the commentary on ''Neminatham'', a Tamil grammatical work) make references that show that Kannada literature must have flourished as early as the BC 4th century.<ref name="greek_roman">{{cite web |title=The place of Kannada and Tamil in India's national culture |url=http://www.intamm.com/journalism/ta-jour3.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070415154722/http://www.intamm.com/journalism/ta-jour3.htm |archive-date=15 April 2007 |author=K. Appadurai |publisher=INTAMM|access-date=25 November 2006}}</ref>

Around the beginning of the 9th century, Old Kannada was spoken from [[Kaveri]] to [[Godavari]]. The Kannada spoken between the rivers [[Varada]] and [[Malaprabha]] was the pure well of Kannada undefiled.<ref name="{{ISBN|9788120605596}}">{{Cite book|last1=Narasimhacharya|first1=R.|title=History of Kannada Language|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=yhXRDSgBuL0C&q=tulu&pg=PA49|publisher=Asian Educational Services, 1942|isbn=9788120605596|year=1999}}</ref>

The late classical period gave birth to several genres of Kannada literature, with new forms of composition coming into use, including ''Ragale'' (a form of blank verse) and meters like ''Sangatya'' and ''Shatpadi''. The works of this period are based on [[Jainism|Jain]] and [[Hinduism|Hindu]] principles. Two of the early writers of this period are [[Harihara (poet)|Harihara]] and Raghavanka, trailblazers in their own right. Harihara established the ''Ragale'' form of composition while [[Raghavanka]] popularised the ''Shatpadi'' (six-lined stanza) meter.<ref name="hari">Sastri (1955), pp&nbsp;361–2</ref> A famous [[Jainism|Jaina]] writer of the same period is [[Janna]], who expressed Jain religious teachings through his works.<ref name="jan">Narasimhacharya (1988), p20</ref>

The [[Vachana|Vachana Sahitya]] tradition of the 12th century is purely native and unique in world literature, and the sum of contributions by all sections of society. Vachanas were pithy poems on that period's social, religious and economic conditions. More importantly, they held a mirror to the seed of social revolution, which caused a radical re-examination of the ideas of caste, creed and religion. Some of the important writers of Vachana literature include [[Basavanna]], [[Allama Prabhu]] and [[Akka Mahadevi]].<ref name="akka">Sastri (1955), p361</ref>

Emperor Nripatunga Amoghavarsha I of 850&nbsp;AD recognised that the Sanskrit style of Kannada literature was ''Margi'' (formal or written form of language) and ''Desi'' (folk or spoken form of language) style was popular and made his people aware of the strength and beauty of their native language Kannada. In 1112&nbsp;AD, Jain poet Nayasena of Mulugunda, Dharwad district, in his Champu work ''Dharmamrita'' (ಧರ್ಮಾಮೃತ), a book on morals, warns writers from mixing Kannada with Sanskrit by comparing it with mixing of clarified butter and oil. He has written it using very limited Sanskrit words which fit with idiomatic Kannada. In 1235&nbsp;AD, Jain poet Andayya, wrote ''Kabbigara Kava''- ಕಬ್ಬಿಗರ ಕಾವ (Poet's Defender), also called ''Sobagina Suggi'' (Harvest of Beauty) or ''Madana-Vijaya and'' ''Kavana-Gella'' (Cupid's Conquest)'','' a ''Champu'' work in pure Kannada using only indigenous (''desya'') Kannada words and the derived form of Sanskrit words – ''tadbhavas'', without the admixture of Sanskrit words. He succeeded in his challenge and proved wrong those who had advocated that it was impossible to write a work in Kannada without using Sanskrit words. Andayya may be considered as a protector of Kannada poets who were ridiculed by Sanskrit advocates. Thus Kannada is the only Dravidian language which is not only capable of using only native Kannada words and grammar in its literature (like Tamil), but also use Sanskrit grammar and vocabulary (like Telugu, Malayalam, Tulu, etc.) The Champu style of literature of mixing poetry with prose owes its origins to the Kannada language which was later incorporated by poets into Sanskrit and other Indian languages.<ref name="google">{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ObFCT5_taSgC&q=andayya|title=Encyclopaedia of Indian Literature: A-Devo|last=Datta|first=Amaresh|publisher=Sahitya Akademi, 1987|isbn=9788126018031|year=1987}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=dqGojPpe8DIC|title=Indian Literature|last=Nagendra|first=Dr.|publisher=Prabhat Prakashan, 1988|year=1988}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|url=https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.489059|quote=andayya pure kannada.|title=History of Kannada Literature: Readership Lectures|last=Narasimhacharya|first=Ramanujapuram|publisher=Asian Educational Services, 1988|isbn=9788120603035|year=1988}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=y2noBgAAQBAJ|title=Gods, Heroes and their Story Tellers: Intangible cultural heritage of South India|last=Hari Saravanan|first=V.|publisher=Notion Press, 2014|isbn=9789384391492|year=2014}}</ref><ref name="kannada literature">Rice, Edward. P (1921), "A History of Kannada Literature", Oxford University Press, 1921: 14–15</ref><ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=2fhCH-NRatUC&pg=PA101|title=A History of Kannada Literature|last=Rice|first=Edward P.|publisher=Asian Educational Services|year=1982|isbn=9788120600638|pages=15, 44}}</ref>

===Middle Kannada===
{{Main|Kannada literature in Vijayanagara empire|Literature of the Kingdom of Mysore}}
During the period between the 15th and 18th centuries, [[Hinduism]] had a great influence on Middle Kannada (''Naḍugannaḍa''- ನಡುಗನ್ನಡ) language and literature. [[Kumara Vyasa]], who wrote the ''Karṇāṭa Bhārata Kathāman̄jari'' (ಕರ್ಣಾಟ ಭಾರತ ಕಥಾಮಂಜರಿ), was arguably the most influential Kannada writer of this period. His work, entirely composed in the native ''Bhamini Shatpadi'' (hexa-meter), is a sublime adaptation of the first ten books of the [[Mahabharata]].<ref name="kumar">Sastri (1955), p364</ref>
During this period, the Sanskritic influence is present in most abstract, religious, scientific and rhetorical terms.<ref name="influence">"Literature in all Dravidian languages owes a great deal to Sanskrit, the magic wand whose touch raised each of the languages from a level of patois to that of a literary idiom". (Sastri 1955, p309)</ref><ref name="inf">Takahashi, Takanobu. 1995. Tamil love poetry and poetics. Brill's Indological library, v. 9. Leiden: E.J. Brill, p16,18</ref><ref name="sang">"The author endeavours to demonstrate that the entire Sangam poetic corpus follows the "Kavya" form of Sanskrit poetry"-Tieken, Herman Joseph Hugo. 2001. Kāvya in South India: old Tamil Caṅkam poetry. Groningen: Egbert Forsten</ref> During this period, several [[Hindi]] and [[Marathi language|Marathi]] words came into Kannada, chiefly relating to feudalism and militia.<ref>{{Cite book | year=1899 | title = A Kannaḍa-English school-dictionary: chiefly based on the labours of the Rev. Dr. F. Kittel | author1=J. Bucher | author2=Ferdinand Kittel | publisher=Basel Mission Book & Tract Depository | url=https://archive.org/details/kannadaenglishsc00buchrich}}</ref>

Hindu saints of the [[Vaishnava]] sect such as [[Kanakadasa]], [[Purandaradasa]], [[Naraharitirtha]], [[Vyasatirtha]], [[Sripadaraya]], [[Vadirajatirtha]], [[Vijaya Dasa]], [[Gopala Dasa]], [[Jagannatha Dasa (Kannada poet)|Jagannatha Dasa]], Prasanna Venkatadasa produced devotional poems in this period.<ref name="bhakti">Sastri (1955), pp&nbsp;364–365</ref> Kanakadasa's ''Rāmadhānya Charite'' (ರಾಮಧಾನ್ಯ ಚರಿತೆ) is a rare work, concerning with the issue of class struggle.<ref name="ragi">The writing exalts the grain Ragi above all other grains that form the staple foods of much of modern Karnataka (Sastri 1955, p365)</ref> This period saw the advent of ''[[Haridasa]] Sahitya'' (''lit'' Dasa literature) which made rich contributions to ''[[Bhakti]]'' literature and sowed the seeds of Carnatic music. Purandara Dasa is widely considered the ''Father of Carnatic music''.<ref name="pura">{{cite book
|last=Moorthy
|first=Vijaya
|title=Romance of the Raga
|publisher=Abinav publications
|year=2001
|page=67
|isbn=978-81-7017-382-3
|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=2s2xJetsy0wC&q=Romance+of+the+Raga&pg=PP1}}</ref><ref name="tattu">Iyer (2006), p93</ref><ref name="kana">Sastri (1955), p365</ref>

===Modern Kannada===
{{Main|Modern Kannada literature|Kannada poetry}}
The Kannada works produced from the 19th century make a gradual transition and are classified as ''Hosagannaḍa'' or Modern Kannada. Most notable among the modernists was the poet [[Muddana|Nandalike Muddana]] whose writing may be described as the "Dawn of Modern Kannada", though generally, linguists treat ''Indira Bai'' or ''Saddharma Vijayavu'' by Gulvadi Venkata Raya as the first literary works in Modern Kannada. The first modern [[movable type]] printing of "Canarese" appears to be the ''Canarese Grammar'' of [[William Carey (missionary)|Carey]] printed at [[Serampore]] in 1817, and the "[[Bible translations into Kannada|Bible in Canarese]]" of [[John Hands]] in 1820.<ref>Report on the administration of Mysore – Page 90 Mysore – 1864 "There is no authentic record of the casting of the first Early Canarese printing. Canarese type, but a Canarese Grammar by Carey printed at Serampore in 1817 is extant. About the same time a translation of the Scriptures was printed</ref> The first novel printed was [[John Bunyan]]'s ''[[Pilgrim's Progress]]'', along with other texts including ''Canarese Proverbs'', ''The History of Little Henry and his Bearer'' by [[Mary Martha Sherwood]], [[Christian Gottlob Barth]]'s ''Bible Stories'' and "a Canarese hymn book."<ref>Missions in south India – Page 56 [[Joseph Mullens]] – 1854 "Among those of the former are tracts on Caste, on the Hindu gods; Canarese Proverbs; Henry and his Bearer; the Pilgrim's Progress; Barth's Bible Stories; a Canarese hymn book"</ref>

Modern Kannada in the 20th century has been influenced by many movements, notably ''Navodaya'', ''Navya'', ''Navyottara'', ''Dalita'' and ''Bandaya''. Contemporary Kannada literature has been highly successful in reaching people of all classes in society. Further, Kannada has produced a number of prolific and renowned poets and writers such as [[Kuvempu]], [[Bendre]], and [[V K Gokak]]. Works of Kannada literature have received eight [[Jnanpith|Jnanpith awards]],<ref>{{Cite news|author=Special Correspondent |url=http://www.thehindu.com/arts/books/article2468374.ece |title=Jnanpith for Kambar|date=20 September 2011|newspaper=The Hindu }}</ref> the highest number awarded to any Indian language.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://jnanpith.net/laureates/index.html |title=Welcome to: Bhartiya Jnanpith |publisher=jnanpith.net |access-date=7 November 2008 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071013122739/http://jnanpith.net/laureates/index.html |archive-date=13 October 2007 }}</ref>

=== Dictionaries ===
Kannada–Kannada dictionary has existed in Kannada along with ancient works of Kannada grammar. The oldest available Kannada dictionary was composed by the poet 'Ranna' called 'Ranna Kanda' (ರನ್ನ ಕಂದ) in 996&nbsp;AD. Other dictionaries are '[[Abhidhana]] Vastukosha' (ಅಭಿದಾನ ವಾಸ್ತುಕೋಶ) by Nagavarma (1045&nbsp;AD), 'Amarakoshada Teeku' (ಅಮರಕೋಶದ ತೀಕು) by Vittala (1300), 'Abhinavaabhidaana' (ಅಭಿನವಾಭಿದಾನ) by Abhinava Mangaraja (1398&nbsp;AD) and many more.<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Učida |first1=Norihiko |url=http://www.aa.tufs.ac.jp/~tjun/data/kandic/kannada-english_dictionary.pdf |title=Kannada-English etymological dictionary |last2=Rajapurohit |first2=B. B |publisher=Research Institute for Languages and Cultures of Asia and Africa, [[Tokyo University of Foreign Studies]] |year=2013 |isbn=978-4-86337-128-6 |location=[[Tokyo]] |oclc=906810377 |access-date=18 November 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211021024502/http://www.aa.tufs.ac.jp/~tjun/data/kandic/kannada-english_dictionary.pdf |archive-date=21 October 2021 |url-status=live}}</ref> A Kannada–English dictionary consisting of more than 70,000 words was composed by [[Ferdinand Kittel]].<ref name="kittel">{{cite web |author=Manjulakshi & Bhat |title=Kannada Dialect Dictionaries and Dictionaries in Subregional Languages of Karnataka |url=http://www.languageinindia.com/sep2005/kannadadictionary1.html |access-date=11 April 2007 |work=Language in India, Volume 5: 9 September 2005 |publisher=Central Institute of Indian Languages, University of Mysore}}</ref>

[[G. Venkatasubbiah|G. Venkatasubbaiah]] edited the first modern Kannada–Kannada dictionary, a 9,000-page, 8-volume series published by the [[Kannada Sahitya Parishat]]. He also wrote a Kannada–English dictionary and a ''kliṣtapadakōśa'' (ಕ್ಲಿಷ್ಟಪಾದಕೋಶ), a dictionary of difficult words.<ref>{{Cite news |author=Muralidhara Khajane |date=22 August 2012 |title=Today's Paper / NATIONAL: 100 years on, words never fail him |url=http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-national/article3805517.ece |newspaper=The Hindu}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |author=Johnson Language |date=20 August 2012 |title=Language in India: Kannada, threatened at home |url=https://www.economist.com/blogs/johnson/2012/08/language-india |access-date=12 February 2013 |newspaper=The Economist}}</ref>

==Dialects==
{{Main|Kannada dialects}}
There is also a considerable difference between the spoken and written forms of the language. Spoken Kannada tends to vary from region to region. The written form is more or less consistent throughout Karnataka. The [[Ethnologue]] reports "about 20 dialects" of Kannada. Among them are [[Kundagannada]] (spoken exclusively in Kundapura, Brahmavara, Bynduru and Hebri), Nador-Kannada (spoken by [[Nadavaru]]), [[Havigannada]] (spoken mainly by [[Havyaka Brahmin]]s), [[Are Bhashe]] (spoken by Gowda community mainly in [[Madikeri]] and [[Sullia]] region of [[Dakshina Kannada]]), Malenadu Kannada (Sakaleshpur, Coorg, Shimoga, Chikmagalur), [[Sholaga language|Sholaga]], [[Gulbarga Kannada]], Dharawad Kannada etc. All of these dialects are influenced by their regional and cultural background. The one million [[Komarpant]]s in and around Goa speak their own dialect of Kannada, known as Halegannada. They are settled throughout Goa state, throughout Uttara Kannada district and Khanapur taluk of Belagavi district, Karnataka.<ref>{{Cite book|title=A Journey from Madras through the Countries of Mysore, Canara, and Malabar. Volume 3|last=Buchanan|first=Francis Hamilton|publisher=Cadell|year=1807|isbn=9781402146756|location=London}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://hindu-kshatriya-komarpanth.blogspot.in/2010/02/wapedia-kshatriyakomarpant.html|title=HISTORY OF KOMARPANTHS|last1=Naik|first1=Vinayak K.|last2=Naik|first2=Yogesh|date=6 April 2007|website=hindu-kshatriya-komarpanth|publisher=Atom}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://shodhganga.inflibnet.ac.in:8080/jspui/bitstream/10603/32126/6/06_chapter%201.pdf |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221009/http://shodhganga.inflibnet.ac.in:8080/jspui/bitstream/10603/32126/6/06_chapter%201.pdf |archive-date=9 October 2022 |url-status=live|title=GOA ON THE THRESHOLD OF THE 20TH CENTURY|year=1995|website=ShodhGanga}}</ref> The [[Halakki Vokkaliga]]s of Uttara Kannada and Shimoga districts of Karnataka speak in their own dialect of Kannada called Halakki Kannada or Achchagannada. Their population estimate is about 75,000.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.kamat.com/kalranga/people/halakki.htm|title=Halakki Farmers of Uttara Kannada|last=Kamat|first=K. L.|website=Kamat's Potpourri}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://buda-honnavar.blogspot.in/2010/08/tribes-of-uttara-kannada.html|title=Tribes of Uttara Kannada-The Halakki Tribe|last=Uday|first=Savita|date=18 August 2010|website=Buda Folklore}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.thehindu.com/features/metroplus/events/photographer-k-venkatesh-documents-the-halakki-vokkaliga-womens-traditional-dress-and-jewellery/article6533134.ece|title=Beauty in all its glory|last=K.|first=Bhumika|date=29 October 2014|newspaper=The Hindu}}</ref>

Ethnologue also classifies a group of four languages related to Kannada, which are, besides Kannada proper, [[Badaga language|Badaga]], [[Holiya language|Holiya]], [[Kurumba language|Kurumba]] and [[Urali language|Urali]].<ref>{{cite web|title=Kannada|url=https://dsal.uchicago.edu/books/lsi/lsi.php?volume=4&pages=701#page/404/mode/2up|website=The Record News|publisher=DSAL, Chicago}}</ref> The Golars or [[Golkar]]s are a nomadic herdsmen tribe present in [[Nagpur district|Nagpur]], [[Chandrapur district|Chanda]], [[Bhandara district|Bhandara]], [[Seoni district|Seoni]] and [[Balaghat district|Balaghat]] districts of [[Maharashtra]] and [[Madhya Pradesh]] speak the Golari dialect of Kannada which is identical to the Holiya dialect spoken by their tribal offshoot Holiyas present in Seoni, Nagpur and Bhandara of Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra. There were around 3,600 speakers of this dialect as per the 1901 census. Matthew A. Sherring describes the Golars and Holars as a pastoral tribe from the [[Godavari River|Godavari]] banks established in the districts around Nagpur, in the stony tracts of [[Ambagarh Chowki|Ambagarh]], forests around Ramplee and Sahangadhee. Along the banks of the [[Wainganga River|Wainganga]], they dwell in the Chakurhaitee and Keenee subdivisions.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Sherring |first=Matthew A. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=U2lehroNx1oC |title=Hindu Tribes and Castes: As Represented in Benares ; with Illustrations |publisher=Thacker |year=1879 |pages=113–114 |language=en}}</ref> The Kurumvars of Chanda district of Maharashtra, a wild pastoral tribe, 2,200 in number as per the 1901 census, spoke a Kannada dialect called Kurumvari. The Kurumbas or Kurubas, a nomadic shepherd tribe were spread across the [[Nilgiris]], [[Coimbatore district|Coimbatore]], [[Salem district|Salem]], [[Vellore district|North]] and [[South Arcot District (Madras Presidency)|South Arcots]], [[Trichinopoly District|Trichinopoly]], [[Tanjore District (Madras Presidency)|Tanjore]] and [[Pudukkottai district|Pudukottai]] of Tamil Nadu, [[Kadapa district|Cuddapah]] and [[Anantapur district|Anantapur]] of [[Andhra Pradesh]], [[Malabar District|Malabar]] and [[Kingdom of Cochin|Cochin]] of [[Kerala]] and [[South Canara]] and [[Kodagu district|Coorg]] of [[Karnataka]] and spoke the Kurumba Kannada dialect. The Kurumba and Kurumvari dialect (both closely related with each other) speakers were estimated to be around 11,400 in total as per the 1901 census. There were about 34,250 Badaga speakers as per the 1901 census.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Grierson |first=George A. |year=1906 |title=Linguistic Survey of India |url=https://dsal.uchicago.edu/books/lsi/lsi.php?volume=4&pages=701#page/404/mode/1up |access-date=14 May 2022 |website=dsal.uchicago.edu |publisher=Government of India |pages=362–406}}</ref>

[[Nasik district]] of Maharashtra has a distinct tribe called 'Hatkar Kaanadi' people who speak a Kannada (Kaanadi) dialect with lot of old Kannada words. Per Chidananda Murthy, they are the native people of Nasik from ancient times, which shows that North Maharashtra's Nasik area had Kannada population 1000 years ago.<ref>{{cite web|last1=S.|first1=Kiran Kumar|title=The Kannada History of Maharashtra|url=http://kiranasis.blogspot.in/2015/07/the-kannada-history-of-maharashtra.html|date=17 July 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=Region between Godavari, Cauvery was once Karnataka|url=http://www.deccanherald.com/content/439873/039region-godavari-cauvery-once-karnataka039.html|newspaper=Deccan Herald|date=5 November 2014}}</ref> Kannada speakers formed 0.12% of Nasik district's population as per 1961 census.<ref>{{cite web|title=The People – Population|url=https://cultural.maharashtra.gov.in/english/gazetteer/Nasik/006%20ThePeople/001%20Population.htm|website=Nasik District Gazetteers|publisher=Government of Maharashtra}}</ref>

==Writing system==
{{Main|Kannada script|Kannada braille}}

The language uses forty-nine [[phonemic]] letters, divided into three groups: ''swaragalu'' (vowels – thirteen letters); ''vyanjanagalu'' (consonants – thirty-four letters); and ''yogavaahakagalu'' (neither vowel nor consonant – two letters: ''[[anusvara]]'' {{lang|kn|ಂ}} and ''[[visarga]]'' {{lang|kn|ಃ}})<!--Swaragalu+Yogavaahakagalu=vowels?-->. The character set is almost identical to that of other [[Languages of India|Indian languages]]. The Kannada script is almost entirely phonetic, but for the sound of a "half n" (which becomes a half m). The number of written symbols, however, is far more than the forty-nine characters in the alphabet, because different characters can be combined to form ''compound'' characters ''(ottakshara)''. Each written symbol in the Kannada script corresponds with one [[syllable]], as opposed to one [[phoneme]] in languages like English—the Kannada script is syllabic.

== Phonology ==
[[File:Deepadadi 25.ogg|thumb|Spoken Kannada]]

=== Consonants ===
{| class="wikitable" style=text-align:center 
! colspan="2" |
![[Labial consonant|Labial]]
![[Dental consonant|Dental]]/<br>[[Alveolar consonant|Alveolar]]
![[Retroflex]]
![[Postalveolar consonant|Post-alv.]]/<br>[[Palatal consonant|Palatal]]
![[Velar consonant|Velar]]
![[Glottal consonant|Glottal]]
|-
! colspan="2" |[[Nasal consonant|Nasal]]
|{{IPAlink|m}} (ಮ)
|{{IPAlink|n}} (ನ)
|{{IPAlink|ɳ}} (ಣ)
|({{IPAlink|ɲ}}) (ಞ)
|({{IPAlink|ŋ}}) (ಙ)
|
|- 
! rowspan="4"  |[[Plosive]]/<br>[[Affricate]]
!<small>voiceless</small>
|{{IPAlink|p}} (ಪ)
|{{IPAlink|t̪}} (ತ)
|{{IPAlink|ʈ}} (ಟ)
|{{IPAlink|tʃ}} (ಚ)
|{{IPAlink|k}} (ಕ)
|
|-
![[Aspirated consonant|<small>aspirated</small>]]
|{{IPAlink|pʰ}} (ಫ)
|{{IPAlink|t̪ʰ}} (ಥ)
|{{IPAlink|ʈʰ}} (ಠ)
|{{IPAlink|tʃʰ}} (ಛ)
|{{IPAlink|kʰ}} (ಖ)
|
|-
![[Voice (phonetics)|<small>voiced</small>]]
|{{IPAlink|b}} (ಬ)
|{{IPAlink|d̪}} (ದ)
|{{IPAlink|ɖ}} (ಡ)
|{{IPAlink|dʒ}} (ಜ)
|{{IPAlink|ɡ}} (ಗ)
|
|-
!<small>[[Breathy voice|breathy]]</small>
|{{IPAlink|bʱ}} (ಭ)
|{{IPAlink|d̪ʱ}} (ಧ)
|{{IPAlink|ɖʱ}} (ಢ)
|{{IPAlink|dʒʱ}} (ಝ)
|{{IPAlink|ɡʱ}} (ಘ)
|
|-
! colspan="2" |[[Fricative]]
|
|{{IPAlink|s}} (ಸ)
|{{IPAlink|ʂ}} (ಷ)
|{{IPAlink|ʃ}} (ಶ)
|
|{{IPAlink|h}} (ಹ)
|-
! colspan="2" |[[Approximant]]
|{{IPAlink|ʋ}} (ವ)
|{{IPAlink|l}} (ಲ)
|{{IPAlink|ɭ}} (ಳ)
|{{IPAlink|j}} (ಯ)
|
|
|-
! colspan="2" |[[Rhotic consonant|Rhotic]]
|
|{{IPAlink|r}} (ರ)
|
|
|
|
|}

* Most consonants can be [[geminate]]d.
* [[Aspirated consonant]]s very rarely occur in native vocabulary only in a few numerals like the number 9 and 80, which can be written with a /bʱ/, as in "ಒಂಭತ್ತು", ''ಎಂಭತ್ತು''. However, it is usually written with a /b/, as in "ಒಂಬತ್ತು", ''ಎಂಬತ್ತು''.
* The aspiration of consonants depends entirely on the speaker and many do not do it in non-formal situations.
* The alveolar trill /r/ may be pronounced as an alveolar tap [ɾ].
* The voiceless retroflex sibilant /ʂ/ is commonly pronounced as a /ʃ/ except in consonant clusters with retroflex consonants.
* There are also the consonants /f, z/ which occur in recent English and Perso-Arabic loans but they may be replaced by the consonants /pʰ, dʒ/ respectively by speakers.<ref name="bhk"/>

Additionally, Kannada included the following phonemes, which dropped out of common usage in the 12th and 18th century respectively:
* /{{IPAlink|r}}/ ಱ (ṟ), the alveolar trill.
* /{{IPAlink|ɻ}}/ ೞ (ḻ), the retroflex central approximant.

Old Kannada had an archaic phoneme /ɻ/ under retroflexes in early inscriptions which merged with /ɭ/ and it maintained the contrast between /r/ (< PD ∗ṯ) and /ɾ/ from (< PD ∗r). Both merged in Medieval Kannada.<ref name="bhk">{{Cite book|title= The Dravidian Languages |last= Krishnamurti |first= Bhadriraju |year= 2003 |publisher= [[Cambridge University Press]] |isbn= 978-0-521-77111-5 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=54fV7Lwu3fMC}}</ref>

In old Kannada at around 10th-14th century, most of the initial /p/ [[debuccalise]]d into a /h/ e.g. OlKn. pattu, MdKn. hattu "ten".{{sfnp|Krishnamurti|2003|p=120}}

Historically, the Tamil-Malayalam languages and, independently, Telugu, phonemically palatalised /k/ before a front vowel; Kannada never developed such phonemic palatalisation (c.f. Kn. ಕಿವಿ {{IPA|/kiʋi/}}, Ta. செவி {{IPA|/seʋi/}}, Te. చెవి {{IPA|/tʃeʋi/}} "ear");{{sfnp|Krishnamurti|2003|p=128}} however, ''phonetically'', Kannada speakers frequently palatalise velar consonants before front vowels, for example, realising ಕಿವಿ {{IPA|/kiʋi/}} "ear" as {{IPA|[ciʋi]}} and ಗಿಳಿ {{IPA|/ɡiɭi/}} "parrot" as {{IPA|[ɟiɭi]}}.

=== Vowels ===
{| class="wikitable" style=text-align:center
! rowspan="2" |
! colspan="2" | [[Front vowel|Front]]
! colspan="2" |[[Central vowel|Central]]
! colspan="2" | [[Back vowel|Back]]
|-
! <small>short</small>
! <small>long</small>
!<small>short</small>
!<small>long</small>
! <small>short</small>
! <small>long</small>
|- style="text-align: center;"
! [[Close vowel|Close]]
| {{IPAlink|i}} (ಇ)
| {{IPAlink|iː}} (ಈ)
|
|
| {{IPAlink|u}} (ಉ)
| {{IPAlink|uː}} (ಊ)
|- style="text-align: center;"
![[Mid vowel|Mid]]
| {{IPAlink|e}} (ಎ)
| {{IPAlink|eː}} (ಏ)
|
|
| {{IPAlink|o}} (ಒ)
| {{IPAlink|oː}} (ಓ)
|- style="text-align: center;"
! [[Open vowel|Open]]
| colspan="2" |
|{{IPAlink|a}} (ಅ)
|{{IPAlink|aː}} (ಆ)
|
|
|}

* {{IPA|/ɐ/}} and {{IPA|/aː/}} are phonetically central {{IPA|[{{IPAplink|ɐ}}, {{IPAplink|äː}}]}}. {{IPA|/ɐ/}} may be as open as {{IPA|/aː/}} ({{IPAblink|ä}}) or higher {{IPAblink|ɐ}}.
* The vowels /i iː e eː/ may be preceded by /j/ and the vowels /u uː o oː/ may be preceded by /ʋ/ when they are in an initial position.
* The short vowels /a i u e o/, when in an initial or a medial position tend to be pronounced as [ɐ ɪ ʊ ɛ ɔ]. In a final position, this phenomenon occurs less frequently.
* /æː/ occurs in English loans but can be switched with /aː/ or /ja:/.<ref name="bhk"/>

At around the 8th century, Kannada raised the vowels e, o to i, u when before a short consonant and a high vowel, before written literature emerged in the language, e.g. Kn. kivi, Ta. cevi, Te. cevi "ear".{{sfnp|Krishnamurti|2003|p=106}}

==Grammar==
{{Main|Kannada grammar}}

The canonical word order of Kannada is [[subject–object–verb|SOV]] (subject–object–verb), typical of Indian languages.
Kannada is a highly [[inflection|inflected]] language with three [[Grammatical gender|gender]]s (masculine, feminine, and neuter or common) and two numbers (singular and plural). It is inflected for gender, number and tense, among other things. The most authoritative known book on old Kannada grammar is ''[[Shabdhamanidarpana]]'' by [[Keshiraja]]. The first available Kannada book, a treatise on poetics, rhetoric and basic grammar is the ''[[Kavirajamarga]]'' from 850&nbsp;AD.

The most influential account of Kannada grammar is [[Keshiraja]]'s ''[[Shabdamanidarpana]]'' (c. 1260&nbsp;AD).<ref name="GS Gai">''Studies in Indian History, Epigraphy, and Culture'' – By Govind Swamirao Gai, pp. 315</ref><ref name="F. Kittel, 'A Grammar of the Kannada Language'">''A Grammar of the Kannada Language''. F. Kittel (1993), p. 3.</ref> The earlier grammatical works include portions of ''[[Kavirajamarga]]'' (a treatise on ''alańkāra'') of the 9th century, and ''Kavyavalokana'' and ''Karnatakabhashabhushana'' (both authored by [[Nagavarma II]] in the first half of the 12th century).<ref name="F. Kittel, 'A Grammar of the Kannada Language'" />

===Compound bases===
Compound bases, called ''samāsa'' in Kannada, are a set of two or more words compounded together.<ref>Ferdinand Kittel, pp. 30</ref> There are several types of compound bases, based on the rules followed for compounding. The types of compound bases or samāsas: tatpurusha, karmadhāraya, dvigu, bahuvreehi, anshi, dvandva, kriya and gamaka samāsa.{{Clarify|date=January 2010}} Examples: ''taṅgāḷi'', ''hemmara'', ''kannusanne''.

===Pronouns===
In many ways the third-person pronouns are more like demonstratives than like the other pronouns. They are pluralised like nouns and the first- and second-person pronouns have different ways to distinguish number.<ref>Bhat, D.N.S. 2004. ''Pronouns''. Oxford: Oxford University Press. pp.&nbsp;13–14</ref>

== Sample text ==
The given sample text is Article 1 from the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights.<ref>{{cite web |title=Universal Declaration of Human Rights |url=https://www.un.org/en/universal-declaration-human-rights/index.html |website=www.un.org |access-date=29 March 2020 |language=en |date=6 October 2015}}</ref>

===English===
All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood.

===Kannada===
{{lang|kn|ಎಲ್ಲಾ ಮಾನವರು ಸ್ವತಂತ್ರರಾಗಿ ಹುಟ್ಟಿದ್ದಾರೆ ಹಾಗೂ ಘನತೆ ಮತ್ತು ಅಧಿಕಾರಗಳಲ್ಲಿ ಸಮಾನರಾಗಿದ್ದಾರೆ. ತಿಳಿವು ಮತ್ತು ಅಂತಃಸಾಕ್ಷಿಯನ್ನು ಹೊಂದಿದವರಾದ್ದರಿಂದ, ಅವರು ಒಬ್ಬರಿಗೊಬ್ಬರು ಸಹೋದರ ಭಾವದಿಂದ ನಡೆದುಕೊಳ್ಳಬೇಕು.}}

===Romanisation (ISO 15919)===
Ellā mānavaru svatantrarāgiyē huṭṭiddāre hāgu ghanate mattu adhikāragaḷalli samānarāgiddāre. Tiḷivu mattu antaḥsākṣīyannu paḍedavarāddarinda avaru obbarigobbaru sahōdara bhāvadinda naḍedukoḷḷabēku.

===IPA===
{{IPA|/ellaː maːn̪ɐʋɐɾu sʋɐt̪ɐn̪t̪ɾɐɾaːɡijeː huʈʈid̪d̪aːɾe haːɡu gʱɐn̪ɐt̪e mɐt̪t̪u ɐd̪ʱikaːɾɐɡɐɭɐlli sɐmaːn̪ɐɾaːɡid̪d̪aːɾe ǁ t̪iɭiʋu mɐt̪t̪u ɐn̪t̪ɐkkɐɾɐɳɐɡɐɭɐn̪n̪u pɐɖed̪ɐʋɐraːd̪d̪ɐɾin̪d̪ɐ ɐʋɐɾu obbɐɾiɡobbɐɾu sɐhoːd̪ɐɾɐ bʱaːʋɐd̪in̪d̪ɐ n̪ɐɖed̪ukoɭɭɐbeːku ǁ/}}

== See also ==
{{Portal|India|Languages}}
* [[Bangalore Kannada]]
* [[Gokak agitation]]
* [[Hermann Mögling]]
* [[Kannada cinema]]
* [[Kannada dialects]]
* [[Kannada flag]]
* [[Kannada in computing]]
* [[Kuvempu]]
* [[List of Kannada-language radio stations]]
* [[List of Karnataka literature]]
* [[List of languages by number of native speakers in India]]
* [[Siribhoovalaya]]
* [[Timeline of Karnataka]]
* [[Yakshagana]]

==References==
{{Reflist|30em}}

==Bibliography==
{{Refbegin|40em}}
* {{cite book |last=Bhat|first=Thirumaleshwara|title=Govinda Pai|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=FgvHhDqmJw8C|year=1993|publisher=Sahitya Akademi|isbn=978-81-7201-540-4}}
* {{cite book |last= Garg|first= Ganga Ram|title=Encyclopaedia of the Hindu World: A-Aj, Volume 1|chapter=Kannada literature|year=1992|location=New Delhi|publisher=Concept Publishing Company|isbn=978-81-7022-374-0}}
* {{cite book |last=Kamath|first=Suryanath U.|title=  A concise history of Karnata.k.a. from pre-historic times to the present|orig-date=2001|year=2002|publisher=Jupiter books|location=Bangalore|oclc= 7796041 |lccn=80905179}}
* {{cite book |last=Kittel|first=F|title= A Grammar of the Kannada Language Comprising the Three Dialects of the Language (Ancient, Medieval and Modern)|year=1993|publisher=Asian Educational Services|location=New Delhi, Madras|isbn=978-81-206-0056-0}}
* {{cite book |last=Kloss and McConnell|first=Heinz and Grant D.|title= The Written languages of the world: a survey of the degree and modes of use-vol 2 part1 |year=1978|publisher=Université Laval|isbn=978-2-7637-7186-1}}
* {{Cite book | contribution = Dravidian Studies: Kannada | editor-last = Kuiper | editor-first = Kathleen| title = Understanding India-The Culture of India| year = 2011| place = New York| publisher = Britannica educational Printing| isbn =978-1-61530-203-1 }}
* {{cite book |last=Narasimhacharya|first=R. |title= History of Kannada Literature|url=https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.489059|year=1988|publisher=Asian Educational Services|location=New Delhi, Madras|isbn=978-81-206-0303-5}}
* {{cite book |last=Narasimhacharya|first=R. | year = 1934| title = History of Kannada Language| url = https://archive.org/details/HistoryKannadaLanguage| publisher = University of Mysore}}
* {{cite book |last=Ramesh|first=K.V.|title= Chalukyas of Vatapi |year=1984|publisher=Agam Kala Prakashan|location=New Delhi}}
* {{cite book |last=Rice|first=E.P.|title= Kannada Literature|orig-date=1921|year=1982|publisher=Asian Educational Services|location=New Delhi|isbn=978-81-206-0063-8}}
* {{cite book |last=Rice|first=B.L.|title= Mysore Gazetteer Compiled for Government-vol 1|orig-date=1897|year=2001|publisher=Asian Educational Services|location=New Delhi, Madras|isbn=978-81-206-0977-8}}
* {{cite book |last=Sastri|first=Nilakanta K.A.|title=  A history of South India from prehistoric times to the fall of Vijayanagar|orig-date=1955|year=2002|publisher=Indian Branch, Oxford University Press|location=New Delhi|isbn=978-0-19-560686-7}}
* {{cite book |last=Shapiro and Schiffman|first=Michael C., Harold F.|title=Language And Society in South Asia|year=1981|publisher=Motilal Banarsidass Publishers|location=New Delhi|isbn=978-81-208-2607-6}}
* {{Cite book | last = Steever | first = S. B. | contribution = Kannada | editor-last = Steever | editor-first = S. B.| title = The Dravidian Languages| series = Routledge Language Family Descriptions | year = 1998 | pages = 129–157 | place = London | publisher = Routledge | isbn = 978-0-415-10023-6}}
* {{cite book |last=Various|title=Encyclopaedia of Indian literature-vol 2|year=1988|publisher=Sahitya Akademi |isbn=978-81-260-1194-0}}
* {{cite book |last=Zvelebil|first=Kamil|title=Smile of Murugan: On Tamil Literature of South India|year=1973|publisher=BRILL|location=Leiden, Netherlands |isbn=978-90-04-03591-1}}
{{Refend}}

==Further reading==
* {{cite book |last=Masica |first=Colin P.|title=The Indo-Aryan Languages  |orig-date=1991|year=1991|publisher=Cambridge University Press|location=Cambridge |isbn=978-0-521-29944-2 }}
* {{cite book |last=Thapar|first=Romila|title=  The Penguin History of Early India|orig-date=2003|year=2003|publisher=Penguin Books|location=New Delhi|isbn=978-0-14-302989-2}}
* [[George M. Moraes]] (1931), The Kadamba Kula, A History of Ancient and Medieval Karnataka, Asian Educational Services, New Delhi, Madras, 1990 {{ISBN|81-206-0595-0}}
* {{cite book |last=Varadpande|first=Manohar Laxman|title=History of Indian Theatre|orig-date=1987|year=1987|publisher=Abhinav Publications|isbn=978-81-7017-221-5}}
* Robert Zydenbos (2020): ''A Manual of Modern Kannada.'' Heidelberg: XAsia Books ([https://hasp.ub.uni-heidelberg.de/catalog/book/736?lang=en Open Access publication in PDF format])

==External links==
* {{cite web |url=http://inscriptions.whatisindia.com |title=Indian inscriptions-South Indian inscriptions, Vol 20, 18, 17, 15, 11 and 9, Archaeological survey of India, What Is India Publishers (P) Ltd }}
* [https://pdfrat.com/english-kannada-kannada-english-dictionary/ English to Kannada Dictionary, Kannada to English Dictionary PDF]
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{{Dravidian languages}}
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[[Category:Languages attested from the 5th century]]
[[Category:Classical Language in India]]
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[[Category:Kannada language| ]]
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