85. Kannada

(ಕನ್ನಡ)

The Kannada alphabet (ಕನ್ನಡ ಲಿಪಿ) developed from the Kadamba and Cālukya scripts, descendents of Brahmi which were used between the 5th and 7th centuries AD. These scripts developed into the Old Kannada script, which by about 1500 had morphed into the Kannada and Telugu scripts. Under the influence of Christian missionary organizations, Kannada and Telugu scripts were standardized at the beginning of the 19th century.

Notable features

• Type of writing system: alphasyllabary in which all consonants have an inherent vowel. Other vowels are indicated with diacritics, which can appear above, below, before or after the consonants.
• When they appear the the beginning of a syllable, vowels are written as independent letters.
• When consonants appear together without intervening vowels, the second consonant is written as a special conjunt symbol, usually below the first.
• Direction of writing: left to right in horizontal lines

Used to write:

Kannada (ಕನ್ನಡ) or Canarese, the official language of the southern Indian state of Karnataka. Kannada is a Dravidian language spoken by about 44 million people in the Indian states of Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and Maharashtra.
Konkani (कोंकणी / Konknni / ಕೊಂಕಣಿ / കൊങ്കണി / كونكڼى), an Indo-Aryan language spoken in the Indian states of Goa, Karnataka, Kerala and Maharashtra by about 2.5 million people.
Tulu (ತುಳು ಬಾಸೆ), a Southern Dravidian language spoken mainly in the Indian states of Karnataka and Kerala by between 3 and 5 million people.

Kannada alphabet

Vowels and vowel diacritics with ka

A recording of these letters by ಚೇತನ್ (Chethan)

Consonants

A recording of these letters by ಚೇತನ್ (Chethan)

A selection of conjunct consonants

Numerals

A recording of these numbers by ಚೇತನ್ (Chethan)
Download a chart of the Kannada alphabet (Excel)

Sample text in Kannada

Transliteration
Ellā mānavarū svatantrarāgiyē janisiddāre. Hāgū ghanate mattu hakku gaḷalli samānarāgiddāre. Vivēka mattu antaḥkaraṇagaḷannu paḍedavarāddarinda avaru paraspara sahōdara bhāvadinda vartisabēku.
A recording of this text by ಚೇತನ್ (Chethan)

Translation

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.
(Article 1 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights)
Thanks to Arvind Iyengar for providing the sample text.
Useful phrases in Kannada | Tower of Babel in Kannada | Numbers in Kannada

Links

Information about the Kannada language
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kannada
http://languages.iloveindia.com/kannada.html
http://www.indianetzone.com/7/kannada.htm
Information about the Kannada alphabet
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kannada_alphabet
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XTTAx-gkWmg
https://sites.google.com/site/sarvabhashin/en/kn
Online Kannada lessons
http://www.cs.toronto.edu/~kulki/kannada/kanindex.html
http://www.universini.com
https://www.glovico.org/en/kannada
Online Kannada <> English dictionary
http://www.kannadakasturi.com/
Free Kannada fonts
http://www.wazu.jp/gallery/Fonts_Kannada.html
http://salrc.uchicago.edu/resources/fonts/available/kannada/
http://web.nickshanks.com/fonts/kannada/
http://kannada.changathi.com/Fonts.aspx
https://github.com/aravindavk/Gubbi
https://github.com/aravindavk/Navilu
Online Kannada news in Kannada
http://www.prajavani.net
http://www.kannadaprabha.com