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History

(Below Image) Mix Kannada-Devanagari inscription, Badami cave temple (6th. c.CE.)

Badami Chalukya inscription in Old Kannada, Virupaksha Temple, 745 C.E, Pattadakal------->>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Stone Inscriptions

The first record on Kannada language is traced to Emperor Ashoka's Brahmagiri edict dated 230 BC. The first example of full length Kannada language stone inscription (shilashaasana) in Hale Kannada (Old-Kannada) script can be found in the Halmidi inscription, dated c. 450 CE.Prior to this, there is an abundance of inscriptions containing Kannada words, phrases and sentences. The 543 CE. Badami fort shilashaasana of Pulakesi I is an example of Sanskrit inscription in Hale Kannada script.

Copper plate inscriptions

An example of early Sanskrit copper plate inscription (tamarashaasana) in Old Kannada script is the Western Ganga Dynasty Penugonda inscription date early 6th c. CE.(Govt. Museum, Chennai). The earliest full length Kannada tamarashaasana in Old Kannada script (early 8th c. CE) belongs to Alupas ruled by Aluvarasa II from Belmannu, South Kanara district and has the double crest fish, their royal emblem.

Ancient manuscripts

The oldest well-preserved palm leaf manuscript is in old Kannada and is that of Dhavala, dated to around 9th century, preserved in the Jain Bhandar, Mudbidri, Dakshina Kannada district. The manuscript contains 1478 leaves written in ink.

Kannada language inscriptions are the highest of any language in India, with more than 30,000. These inscriptions were not only discovered in Karnataka but also quite commonly in Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu. Some inscriptions were also found in Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat and Uttar Pradesh. As an example, the inscription at Jura 964 C.E. (Jabalpur) , belonging to the reign of Rashtrakuta Krishna III, is regarded as an epigraphical landmark of classical Kannada literary composition, with charming poetic diction in polished Kannada metre. This indicates the spread of the language over the ages, especially during the rule of large Kannada empires.

Impact on other cultures and languages

Kannada has had significant influence on other Indian languages and overseas cultures. It has been brought to light the influence of old Kannada on the language of Tamil-Brahmi inscriptions from the 2nd. c. BCE - 4th. c. CE. These observations were made using grammatical and lexical analysis.

Charition mime, a Greek drama discovered at Oxyrhynchus and dated to 2nd century CE. or earlier contains scenes where Indian characters in the skit speak dialogue in Kannada.

Prior to and during the early Christian era, Kannada country seems to have been in close trade ties with the Greek and Roman empires of the west. Greek dramatists of 4th century BCE., particularly Euripedes and Aristophanes seem to have been familiar with Kannada language. This is evident in their usage of Kannada words and phrases in their dramas and skits.

Coinage

Recent discovery of copper coin dated back to 5th century CE. in Banavasi, Uttara Kannada district with the inscription Srimanaragi in Kannada script proves that Kannada had become official by the time of the Kadambas of Banavasi. Coins with Kannada legends have been found from the time of Chalukyas.

Development

The development of Kannada as a distinct spoken language from a southern proto-Dravidian language is probably impossible to date. The spoken language is said to have separated from its proto-Dravidian source at about the same time as Tamil. However, the written tradition of this language is around 1500-1600 years based on the archaeological evidences. The initial development of the Kannada language is similar to that of other Dravidian languages and independent of Sanskrit. During later centuries, Kannada, along with other Indian languages like Telugu, Malayalam etc., has been highly influenced by Sanskrit vocabulary and literary styles. Kannada is a highly inflected language with three genders (masculine, feminine, neutral or common) and two numbers (singular, plural). It is inflected for gender, number and tense, among other things.

Dialects

There is also some distinction 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 constant throughout Karnataka, however. The ethnologue identifies about 20 dialects of Kannada. Among them are Kundagannada (spoken exclusively in Kundapura), Havyaka (spoken mainly by Havyaka Brahmins), Are Bhashe (spoken mainly in Sullia region of Dakshina Kannada), Soliga, Badaga, Gulbarga Kannada, Dharawad Kannada, Chitradurga Kannada, and others. All of these dialects are influenced by their regional and cultural background.

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