Tulu alphabet
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Tulu () in
Kannada script The Kannada script (IAST: ''Kannaḍa lipi''; obsolete: Kanarese or Canarese script in English) is an abugida of the Brahmic family, used to write Kannada, one of the Dravidian languages of South India especially in the state of Karnataka. Ka ...
, ml, ത‍ുള‍ു ഭാഷെ in Malayalam script. ''bhāṣe'', , ''bhāśe'', and ''bāśe'' are alternative spellings for the Tulu word ''bāse'' in the Kannada script. The correct spelling for the word "language" in Kannada is kn, ಭಾಷೆ ''bhāṣe'', but that is not necessarily true in Tulu. Männer's ''Tulu-English and English-Tulu Dictionary'' (1886) says, " bāšè, bāsè, ''see'' ." (vol. 1, p. 478), " bhāšè, bhāshè, ''s''. Speech, language." (vol. 1, p. 508), meaning that the four spellings are more or less acceptable. The word is actually pronounced ''bāse'' in Tulu. Note that š and sh in his dictionary correspond to ''ś'' and ''ṣ'', respectively, in
ISO 15919 ISO 15919 (Transliteration of Devanagari and related Indic scripts into Latin characters) is one of a series of international standards for romanization by the International Organization for Standardization. It was published in 2001 and uses dia ...
is a Dravidian language whose speakers are concentrated in
Dakshina Kannada Dakshina Kannada district is a district of Karnataka state in India, with its headquarters in the coastal city of Mangalore. It is part of the larger Tulu Nadu region. The district covers an area nestled in between the Western Ghats to its east ...
and the southern part of Udupi of Karnataka in south-western India and in the northern parts of the
Kasaragod Kasaragod () is a municipal town and administrative headquarters of Kasaragod district in the state of Kerala, India. Established in 1966, Kasaragod was the first municipal town in the district. It is the northernmost district of Kerala and ...
district of Kerala. The native speakers of Tulu are referred to as '' Tuluva'' or Tulu people and the geographical area is unofficially called Tulu Nadu. The Indian census report of 2011 reported a total of 1,846,427 native Tulu speakers in India. The 2001 census had reported a total of 1,722,768 native speakers. There is some difficulty in counting Tulu speakers who have migrated from their native region as they are often counted as Kannada speakers in Indian census reports. Separated early from Proto-South Dravidian, Tulu has several features not found in Tamil–Kannada. For example, it has the pluperfect and the future perfect, like
French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...
or Spanish, but formed without an auxiliary verb. Tulu is the primary spoken language in Tulu Nadu, consisting of the
Dakshina Kannada Dakshina Kannada district is a district of Karnataka state in India, with its headquarters in the coastal city of Mangalore. It is part of the larger Tulu Nadu region. The district covers an area nestled in between the Western Ghats to its east ...
and Udupi districts in the western part of Karnataka and the northern part of Kasaragod district of Kerala.
A significant number of native Tulu speakers are found in Kalasa and Mudigere taluks of
Chikkamagaluru Chikmagalur, known officially as Chikkamagaluru, is a city and the headquarters of Chikmagalur district in the Indian state of Karnataka. Located on the foothills of the Mullayanagiri peak of the Western Ghats, the city attracts tourists from ...
district and also found in Thirthahalli taluks of Shivamogga district. Non-native speakers of Tulu include those who are residents in the Tulunadu region but who speak the
Beary language Beary or Byari (ಬ್ಯಾರಿ ಬಾಸೆ ''Byāri Bāse'') is a Dravidian languages, Dravidian language spoken by the Muslim communities mainly of Karnataka (Dakshina Kannada and Udupi District, Udupi districts) and extreme northern end ...
, the Havyaka language and also Konkani and Koraga as their mother tongues. Apart from Tulu Nadu, a significant emigrant population of Tulu speakers are found in
Maharashtra Maharashtra (; , abbr. MH or Maha) is a states and union territories of India, state in the western India, western peninsular region of India occupying a substantial portion of the Deccan Plateau. Maharashtra is the List of states and union te ...
, Bangalore, Chennai, the English-speaking world, and the
Gulf countries The Arab states of the Persian Gulf refers to a group of Arab states which border the Persian Gulf. There are seven member states of the Arab League in the region: Bahrain, Kuwait, Iraq, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates. ...
. The various medieval inscriptions of Tulu from the 15th century are in the
Tulu script Tulu () in Kannada script, ml, ത‍ുള‍ു ഭാഷെ in Malayalam script. ''bhāṣe'', , ''bhāśe'', and ''bāśe'' are alternative spellings for the Tulu word ''bāse'' in the Kannada script. The correct spelling for the word ...
. Two Tulu epics named ''Sri Bhagavato'' and ''Kaveri'' from the 17th century were also written in the same script. The Tulu language is known for its
oral literature Oral literature, orature or folk literature is a genre of literature that is spoken or sung as opposed to that which is written, though much oral literature has been transcribed. There is no standard definition, as anthropologists have used vary ...
in the form of epic poems called ''pardana''. The ''
Epic of Siri The ''Siri Sandhi'' also Siri Paddana (pronounced: ''Siri Paadhdhana'') or ''Epic of Siri'' is an epic poem in the Tulu language. Consisting of 15,683 lines of poetry, it is the longest poem in Tulu. The epic is essentially a biography of a leg ...
'' and the legend of Koti and Chennayya belong to this category of Tulu literature.


Classification

Tulu belongs to the southern branch of the family of Dravidian languages. It descends directly from Proto-South Dravidian, which in turn descends directly from Proto-Dravidian, the hypothesized language from which all extant Dravidian languages ultimately descend. The Tulu language originates in the southern part of India.


Etymology

Linguist
P. Gururaja Bhat Paduru Gururaja Bhat (1924 – 27 August, 1978) was a teacher, historian and archaeologistPedarapu Chenna Reddy and Inguva Karthikeya Sarma, ''Mahāsenasiri: Riches of Indian Archaeological & Cultural Studies: A felicitation volume in honour of ...
specified in ''Tulunadu'' (a research book) that originated from the word (), where means 'cow' and refers to the place dominated by the or cowherd (). Linguist Purushottama Bilimale (ಪುರುಷೋತ್ತಮ ಬಿಳಿಮಲೆ) has suggested that the word means 'that which is connected with water'. ( jackfruit) means 'watery' in Tulu. Other water-related words in Tulu include , , , , , and . In Kannada, there are words such as meaning 'that which has characteristics of water' and .


Official status

Tulu is not an official language of India or any other country. Efforts are being made to include Tulu in the 8th Schedule of the Constitution. In December 2009, during the First Vishwa Tulu Sammelan organized at Ujire-Dharmastala, then Karnataka Chief Minister
B. S. Yediyurappa Bookanakere Siddalingappa Yediyurappa (born 27 February 1943), often referred to by his initials BSY, is an Indian politician currently serving as the member of the Bharatiya Janata Party Parliamentary board committee since 17 August 2022, t ...
promised to send a fresh proposal on including the Tulu language in the eighth schedule of the constitution. In August 2017, an online campaign was organized to include Tulu in 8th schedule of constitution In October 2017, when prime minister Narendra Modi, visited Dharmasthala Temple the same demand was presented in front of him. Similarly, in 2018, a Member of Parliament from the Kasargod constituency,
P. Karunakaran P. Karunakaran (born 20 April 1945) is an Indian communist politician and a member of the 16th Lok Sabha of India. He represented the Kasargod constituency of Kerala and is a member of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) (CPI(M)) political p ...
, also raised the same demand for inclusion of Tulu language in the 8th schedule of the constitution. On 19 February 2020, Vedavyas Kamath who is a member of the Mangaluru (south) segment of the Legislative Assembly, submitted a memorandum to chief minister B. S. Yediyurappa and to the minister for tourism, Kannada and culture, C. T. Ravi, seeking official status for the Tulu language. In February 2020, another MLA from Moodbidri Umanath Kotian urged the state government to put pressure on the union government to add the Tulu language to the eighth schedule during the assembly session. In July 2021, members of the three main parties in Karnataka politics: BJP, Congress and Janata Dal (Secular), lent their support to the idea.


History

The oldest available inscriptions in Tulu are from the period between 7th and 8th century AD. These inscriptions are in the Tulu script and are found in areas in and around Barkur which was the capital of Tulu Nadu during the Vijayanagar period. Another group of inscriptions is found in the ''Ullur'' ''Subrahmanya'' Temple near Kundapura. Many linguists like S.U. Panniyadi and
L. V. Ramaswami Iyer L. Vishwanatha Ramaswami Iyer (25 October 1895 – 31 January 1948), popularly known as L. V. R, was an Indian linguist who specialized in Dravidian languages. He is remembered as a pioneer of Malayalam and Tulu linguistics. Personal life ...
as well as P.S. Subrahmanya suggested that Tulu is among the oldest languages in the Dravidian family which branched independently from its Proto-Dravidian roots nearly 2500 years ago. This assertion is based on the fact that Tulu still preserves many aspects of the Proto-Dravidian language. This dating of Tulu is also based on the fact that the region where Tulu is natively spoken was known to the ancient Tamils as Tulu Nadu. Also, the
Tamil Tamil may refer to: * Tamils, an ethnic group native to India and some other parts of Asia ** Sri Lankan Tamils, Tamil people native to Sri Lanka also called ilankai tamils **Tamil Malaysians, Tamil people native to Malaysia * Tamil language, nati ...
poet Mamular who belongs to the Sangam Age (200 BCE) describes Tulu Nadu and its dancing beauties in one of his poems. In the Kannada Halmidi inscriptions, one finds mention of the Tulu country as the kingdom of the
Alupas The Alupa dynasty (ಅಳುಪೆರ್, ಆಳ್ವೆರ್) (circa 2nd century C.E to 15th century C.E) was an ancient ruling dynasty of India. The kingdom they ruled was known as ''Alvakheda Arusasira'' and its territory spanned the coa ...
. The region was also known to the Greeks of the 2nd century as ''Tolokoyra'' (Tulu Country). The
Charition mime The Charition mime is a Greek theatre play, in fact more properly to be called a farce or burlesque rather than a mime, which is found in Papyrus Oxyrhynchus 413. The manuscript, which is possibly incomplete, is untitled, and the play's name come ...
, a Greek play belonging to the 2nd century BC, has its plot centered around the coastal Karnataka, where Tulu is mainly spoken. The play is mostly in Greek, but the Indian characters in the play are seen speaking a language different from Greek. There is considerable ambiguity regarding the Indian language in the play, though all scholars agree the Indian language is Dravidian, there is considerable dispute over which form of it. Noted German Indologist
E. Hultzsch Eugen Julius Theodor Hultzsch (29 March 1857 – 16 January 1927) was a German indologist and epigraphist who is known for his work in deciphering the inscriptions of Ashoka. Early life and education Born in Dresden on 29 March 1857, Hultzsch st ...
(1857–1927) was the first to suggest that the language was Dravidian. The dispute regarding the language in the play is yet to be settled, but scholars agree that the dispute arises from the fact that Old Kannada, Old Tamil, and Tulu during the time when the play was written were perhaps dialectical variations of the same proto-language, and that over the years they evolved into their present forms as separate languages.


Status

Found largely in Karnataka, it is spoken primarily within the Indian state. Dating back several hundred years, the language has developed numerous defining qualities. The Tulu people follow a saying which promotes leaving negative situations and finding newer, more positive ones. The language, however, is not as popular as others which means it could become endangered and extinct very soon. The influence of other mainstream languages is a present danger for the Tulu language. Today, it is spoken by nearly 1.8 million people around the globe. Large parts of the language are altered and changed constantly because it is commonly passed down through oral tradition. Oral traditions within Tulu have meant that certain phrases have not always maintained the same meaning or importance.


Geographic distribution

According to Malayalam works like the Keralolpathi, the region stretching from the
Chandragiri river The Chandragiri River also known as Perumpuzha River is the longest river in Kasaragod district, Kerala, India. It was named after the Mauryan emperor Chandragupta Maurya. The 17th century Chandragiri Fort is located on the river. Perumpuzha r ...
, now part of the Kasaragod district, Kerala, to
Gokarna Gokarna may refer to: Places * Gokarna, Karnataka, a town in Karnataka, India * Gokarna, West Bengal, a village in West Bengal, India * Gokarnamatam, a village in Andhra Pradesh, India * Trincomalee, a city in Eastern Province, Sri Lanka also known ...
, now part of Uttara Kannada district of Karnataka, was ruled by the Alupas and was known as Alva Kheda. This kingdom was the homeland of the Tulu-speaking people. However, the present-day Tulu linguistic majority area is confined to the region of Tulu Nadu, which comprises the districts of part of
Dakshina Kannada Dakshina Kannada district is a district of Karnataka state in India, with its headquarters in the coastal city of Mangalore. It is part of the larger Tulu Nadu region. The district covers an area nestled in between the Western Ghats to its east ...
and Udupi in the Indian state of Karnataka and the northern part of Kasaragod district of Kerala up to the river Payaswani, also known as Chandragiri. The cities of Mangalore, Udupi and
Kasaragod Kasaragod () is a municipal town and administrative headquarters of Kasaragod district in the state of Kerala, India. Established in 1966, Kasaragod was the first municipal town in the district. It is the northernmost district of Kerala and ...
are the centres of Tulu culture. Even today Tulu is widely spoken in the Dakshina Kannada, partially in Udupi district of Karnataka state and to some extent in Kasaragod of Kerala. Efforts are also being made to include Tulu in the list of official languages of India. As a whole, Tulu is largely contained to the southern part of India. The Indian state of Karnataka is where the language seems to thrive in the present day. Some of the major cities within the Tulu culture include Mangalore and Kasaragod.


Writing system

The various historical inscriptions of Tulu found around Barkur and Kundapura are in the Tigalari script. Historically, Brahmins of Tulu Nadu and Havyaka Brahmins used the Tigalari script to write Vedas and other Sanskrit works. The Tigalari script is descended from the Brahmi through the Grantha script. It is a sister script of the Malayalam script. However, very few works written in vernacular languages like Kannada and Tulu are available. Hence, the Tigalari script was employed by Tulu Brahmins to write Tulu and Kannada languages apart from the Kannada script. The National Mission for Manuscripts has conducted several workshops on this script with the help of a scholar, Keladi Gunda Jois. In the 18th century, the use of the Kannada script for writing Tulu and non-availability of print in the Tigalari script contributed to the marginalization of the Tigalari script. The script is studied by few scholars and manuscriptologists for research and religious purposes. The
Kannada script The Kannada script (IAST: ''Kannaḍa lipi''; obsolete: Kanarese or Canarese script in English) is an abugida of the Brahmic family, used to write Kannada, one of the Dravidian languages of South India especially in the state of Karnataka. Ka ...
has become the contemporary script for the Tulu language gradually. All contemporary works and literature are done in the Kannada script. The Tulu alphabet resembles the Malayalam script in many ways. It is also similar to many characters found in the Tigalari alphabet. This is from the same region in the state of Karnataka. The Tigalari and Kannada alphabets include a stress on vowels with "a" and "o" sounds. Other vowels include sounds such as "au" "am" and "ah". Numerous consonants have their own origin from the Dravidian languages like "kha" "gha" "dha" and "jha". These are derived from the Tigalari alphabet.


Dialects

Tulu language has four dialects, which are broadly similar, with slight variations. The four dialects are: ;Common Tulu :Spoken by the majority includes the Bunts, Billava, Mogaveera, Tulu Madivala (Madialnakl),
Tulu Gowda Tulu may refer to: People *Derartu Tulu (born 1972), Ethiopian long-distance runner *Walid Yacoubou (born 1997), Togolese footballer nicknamed "Tulu" India *Tulu calendar, traditional solar calendar generally used in the regions of southwest Kar ...
, Kulala,
Devadiga Devadiga are a community from the districts of Udupi and Dakshina Kannada in the Indian state India is a federal union comprising 28 states and 8 union territories, with a total of 36 entities. The states and union territories are f ...
, Jogi, Padmashali communities and others. This is the dialect of commerce, trade and entertainment and is mainly used for inter-community communication. It is further subdivided into seven groups: :#Northwest Tulu: spoken in Udupi :#Central Tulu: spoken in Mangalore :#Northeast Tulu: spoken in Karkala and
Belthangady Belthangady is a town panchayat and the headquarters of Belthangady taluk of the Dakshina Kannada (South Canara) district of Karnataka state in India. Demographics In 2001 in the town of Belthangady, 11% of the population was under 6 years o ...
:#Northern Tulu: spoken in Kundapura, also known as KundaTulu because of Kundagannada dialect influence :#Southwest Tulu: spoken in Manjeshwar and
Kasaragod Kasaragod () is a municipal town and administrative headquarters of Kasaragod district in the state of Kerala, India. Established in 1966, Kasaragod was the first municipal town in the district. It is the northernmost district of Kerala and ...
, known as Kasaragod Tulu influencing Malayalam :#Southcentral Tulu: spoken in Bantwal :#Southeast Tulu: Spoken in Puttur Sullia and in some villages/Taluks of Coorg (Kodagu). :#Southern Tulu: spoken in South of
Kasaragod Kasaragod () is a municipal town and administrative headquarters of Kasaragod district in the state of Kerala, India. Established in 1966, Kasaragod was the first municipal town in the district. It is the northernmost district of Kerala and ...
and
Payaswini The Chandragiri River also known as Perumpuzha River is the longest river in Kasaragod district, Kerala, India. It was named after the Mauryan emperor Chandragupta Maurya. The 17th century Chandragiri Fort is located on the river. Perumpuzha r ...
(Chandragiri) river influencing Malayalam known as Thenkaayi Tulu ;Brahmin Tulu :Spoken by the Tulu Brahmins who are subdivided into Shivalli Brahmins, Sthanika Brahmins and
Tuluva Hebbars Tuluva Hebbars are a Tulu-speaking Brahmin community from Karnataka, India. The name "Hebbar" comes from the Kannada, "hebbu/hiridhu" (meaning big) + "haruva" (meaning Brahmin). The Tuluva Hebbar community is originally from Puttur, Dakshina ...
. It is more influenced by Sanskrit. ;Jain dialect :Spoken by the Tulu Jains. It is a dialect where the initial letters 'T' and 'S' have been replaced by the letter 'H'. For example, the word is pronounced as , is pronounced as . ;Adivasi dialect :Spoken by the Koraga, Mansa, and other tribals of Tulu Nadu


Phonology


Vowels

Five short and five long vowels (''a'', ''ā'', ''e'', ''ē'', ''u'', ''ū'', ''i'', ''ī'', ''o'', ''ō'') are common in Dravidian languages. Like
Kodava Takk The Kodava (''Kodava takk'', meaning 'speech of Kodavas', in the Kodava language, alternate name: Coorgi, Kodagu) is an endangered Dravidian language and it is spoken in Kodagu district in Southern Karnataka, India. The term Kodava has t ...
(and also like Konkani and Sinhala), Tulu also has an like vowel, generally occurring word-finally which is from the old ai. The Kannada script does not have a symbol to specifically represent this vowel, which is often written as a normal ''e''.Bhat (1998), p. 163. For example, the first person singular form and the third person singular masculine of a verb are spelled identically in all tenses, both ending in ''e'', but are pronounced differently: the terminating ''e'' in the former sounds nearly like ‘a’ in the English word ‘man’ ( , "I make"), while that in the latter like ‘e’ in ‘men’ ( , "he makes"). In his grammar of 1932, S. U. Paniyadi used a special vowel sign to denote Tulu /ɛ/ in the Kannada script: according to Bhat, he used two s for this purpose (usually, a means the crest that a Kannada character like has), and the same convention was adopted by Upadhyaya in his 1988 Tulu Lexicon. The long counterpart of this vowel occurs in some words.Bhat (1998), p. 161. In all dialects, the pair /e/ and /ɛ/ contrasts. Additionally, like Kodava Takk and Toda, and like Malayalam and Tamil , Tulu has an -like vowel (or
schwa In linguistics, specifically phonetics and phonology, schwa (, rarely or ; sometimes spelled shwa) is a vowel sound denoted by the IPA symbol , placed in the central position of the vowel chart. In English and some other languages, it rep ...
) as a phoneme, which is
romanized Romanization or romanisation, in linguistics, is the conversion of text from a different writing system to the Roman (Latin) script, or a system for doing so. Methods of romanization include transliteration, for representing written text, and ...
as ''ŭ'' (ISO), ''ɯ'', or ''u̥''. Both J. Brigel and A. Männer say that it is pronounced like ''e'' in the French ''je''. Bhat describes this phoneme as /ɯ/. However, if it is like Malayalam "half-u", or may be a better description. /ɛ/ formed from previous ai and previous /u/ split into modern /u, ɯ/; long versions of /ɛ, ɯ/ are extremely restricted. In the Kannada script, Brigel and Männer used a virama (halant), , to denote this vowel. Bhat says a is used for this purpose, but apparently he too means a virama.


Consonants

The following are consonant phonemes in Tulu: The contrast between and is preserved in the South Common dialect and in the Brahmin dialect, but is lost in several dialects. Additionally, the Brahmin dialect has and . Aspirated consonants are sometimes used in the Brahmin dialect, but are not phonemic. In the Koraga and
Holeya Holeya are a scheduled caste of India, mainly belonging to present day Karnataka State, Word-initial consonant clusters are rare and occur mainly in Sanskrit loanwords.


Grammar


Morphology

Tulu has five
parts of speech: nouns (substantives and adjectives), pronouns, numerals, verbs, and particles. Substantives have three grammatical genders (masculine, feminine, and neuter), two numbers (singular and plural), and eight cases (nominative, genitive, dative, accusative, locative, ablative or instrumental, communicative, and vocative). According to Bhat, Tulu has two distinct locative cases. The communicative case is used with verbs like ''tell'', ''speak'', ''ask'', ''beseech'', ''inquire'', and denotes at whom a message, an inquiry, or a request is aimed, as in "I told ''him''." or "I speak ''to them''." It is also used to denote the relationship with whom it is about, in a context like "I am on good terms ''with him''." or "I have nothing ''against him''." Bhat calls it the sociative case. It is somewhat similar to the comitative case, but different in that it denotes communication or relationship, not physical companionship. The plural suffix is ''-rŭ'', ''-ḷu'', ''-kuḷu'', or ''-āḍḷu''; as in ('table'), ('tables'). The nominative case is unmarked, while the remaining cases are expressed by different suffixes. The following table shows the declension of a noun, based on Brigel and Bhat (''u̥'' used by Brigel and ''ɯ'' used by Bhat are both shown as ''ŭ'' for clarity): when two forms are given, the one in parentheses is by Bhat, and the other is by Brigel. Some of these differences may be dialectal variations. The personal pronouns are irregularly inflected: 'I' becomes ''yen-'' in oblique cases. Tulu makes the distinction between the inclusive and exclusive ''we'' (see ''Clusivity: Dravidian languages''): 'we (including you)' as opposed to 'we (not including you)'.Brigel (1872), p. 33. For verbs, this distinction does not exist. The personal pronouns of the second person are (oblique: ) 'you (singular)' and 'you (plural)'. Three genders are distinguished in the third person, as well as proximate and remote forms. For example, 'he (proximate)', 'he (remote)'. The suffix ''-rŭ'' makes a polite form of personal pronouns, as in 'you (respectfully)', 'he (remote; respectfully)'. Postpositions are used usually with a noun in the genitive case, as in 'on the hill'. Tulu verbs have three forms: active,
causative In linguistics, a causative (abbreviated ) is a valency-increasing operationPayne, Thomas E. (1997). Describing morphosyntax: A guide for field linguists'' Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. p. 173–186. that indicates that a subject either ...
, and reflexive (or middle voice). They conjugate for person, number, gender, tense (present, past, pluperfect, future, and future perfect), mood (indicative, imperative, conditional, infinitive, potential, and subjunctive), and
polarity Polarity may refer to: Science *Electrical polarity, direction of electrical current *Polarity (mutual inductance), the relationship between components such as transformer windings * Polarity (projective geometry), in mathematics, a duality of ord ...
(positive and negative).


Syntax

Each sentence is composed of a subject and a predicate and every sentence is a full speech or thought in words. There is both singular and plural while being expressed in first through third person. There are several exceptions to each of these depending on the instance. For example: the verb has to be in a plural style if there are numerous nominatives within a sentence or of different genders that agree with the previous sentence. The verb may also be omitted in some sentences. Present tense and past tense may change and their perception.


Written literature

The written literature of Tulu is not as large as the literature of other literary Dravidian languages such as Tamil. Nevertheless, Tulu is one of only five literary Dravidian languages, the other four being
Tamil Tamil may refer to: * Tamils, an ethnic group native to India and some other parts of Asia ** Sri Lankan Tamils, Tamil people native to Sri Lanka also called ilankai tamils **Tamil Malaysians, Tamil people native to Malaysia * Tamil language, nati ...
,
Telugu Telugu may refer to: * Telugu language, a major Dravidian language of India *Telugu people, an ethno-linguistic group of India * Telugu script, used to write the Telugu language ** Telugu (Unicode block), a block of Telugu characters in Unicode S ...
, Kannada and Malayalam. The earliest available Tulu literature that survives to this date is the Tulu translation of the great Sanskrit epic of Mahabharata called (). It was written by ''Arunabja'' (1657 AD), a poet who lived in
Kodavur Kodavooru is a small town belonging to the temple city of Udupi in Karnataka, India. Home to Lord Shankaranarayana Temple and many other small sacred Hindu temples, it has a long history of its own. History Legend has it that Kroda Muni, a ...
near Udupi around the late 14th to early 15th century AD. Other important literary works in Tulu are: * Devi Mahatmyam's () 1200 AD – Tulu translation * Sri Bhagavata () 1626 AD – written by Vishnu Tunga * Kaveri (1391 AD) This script was mainly used to write religious and literary works in Sanskrit.http://www.censusindia.gov.in/2011Census/Language-2011/Statement-1.pdf Burnell (1874), p. 35. Even today the official script of the eight Tulu monasteries ( Ashta Mathas of Udupi) founded by Madhvacharya in Udupi is Tulu. The pontiffs of the monasteries write their names using this script when they are appointed. Modern-day Tulu literature is written using the Kannada script. ''Mandara Ramayana'' is the most notable piece of modern Tulu literature. Written by Mandara Keshava Bhatt, it received the Sahitya Akademi Award for best poetry. ''Madipu'', ''Mogaveera'', ''Saphala'' and ''Samparka'' are popular Tulu periodicals published from Mangalore. The Tulu Sahitya Academy, established by the state government of Karnataka in 1994, as also the Kerala Tulu Academy established by the Indian State Government of Kerala in
Manjeshwaram Manjeshwar is a town and a minor port in Kasaragod district at the northern tip of Kerala. It is situated at a distance of from the state capital Thiruvananthapuram, north of district HQ Kasaragod and south of Mangalore city in neighbou ...
in 2007, are important governmental organisations that promote Tulu literature. Nevertheless, there are numerous organisations spread all over the world with significant Tulu-migrated populations that contribute to Tulu literature. Some notable contributors to Tulu literature are
Kayyar Kinhanna Rai Kayyara Kinhanna Rai (8 June 1915 – 9 August 2015) was an Indian independence activist, author, poet, journalist, teacher and farmer. Early life Rai was born on 8 June 1915 to Duggappa and Deyyakka Rai in a Tulu-speaking Bunt family. Hi ...
,
M. K. Seetharam Kulal M. K. Seetharam Kulal (1940 – 28 July 2019) was an Indian Tulu-Kannada dramatist known for his work in the field of Tulu-Kannada dramas and also in the Tulu film world. He has given several skit performances at Sri Sharav Maha Ganapathi Templ ...
, Amruta Someshwara, B. A. Viveka Rai, Kedambadi Jattappa Rai, Venkataraja Puninchattaya, Paltadi Ramakrishna Achar, Dr. Sunitha M. Shetty, Dr. Vamana Nandavara, Sri. Balakrishna Shetty Polali. Tulu-Book-Kaveri.jpg, One of the old Tulu works ''Kaveri'' Tulu-Book-Mahabharato.jpg, One of the old Tulu works ''Mahabharato'' File:Tulu-Book-Shree-Bhagavato.jpg, One of the old Tulu works ''Shree Bhagavato'' File:Tulu-Book-Mandara-Ramayana.jpg, ''Mandara Ramayana''


Oral traditions

The oral traditions of Tulu are one of the major traditions that greatly show the finer aspects of the language. The following are various forms of Tulu oral tradition and literature. *
Paddanas Būta Kōlā,/buːt̪ʌ/ is the local pronunciation while the standardised Kannada pronunciation is /bʱuːt̪ʌ koːlɑː/ also referred to as daiva kōlā or nēmā, is a ritual dance performance prevalent among the Hindus of Tulu Nadu and ...
: A form of oral epic poem sung in a highly stylised manner during the
Hindu Hindus (; ) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism.Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pages 35–37 Historically, the term has also been used as a geographical, cultural, and later religious identifier for ...
rituals of Bhuta Kola and Nagaradhane, which are peculiar to the Tulu people. These Paddanas are mostly legends about gods or historical personalities among the people. The longest of them being
Siri Paddana The ''Siri Sandhi'' also Siri Paddana (pronounced: ''Siri Paadhdhana'') or ''Epic of Siri'' is an epic poem in the Tulu language. Consisting of 15,683 lines of poetry, it is the longest poem in Tulu. The epic is essentially a biography of a leg ...
, which is about a woman called Siri who shows strength and integrity during adverse times and in turn attains divinity. The Paddana greatly depicts the independent nature of the Tulu womenfolk. The entire Paddana was written down by Finnish scholar
Lauri Honko Lauri Olavi Honko (born in Hanko 6 March 1932, died in Turku 15 July 2002) was a Finnish professor of folklore studies and comparative religion. Life and work Honko was a disciple of Martti Haavio. His 1959 doctoral dissertation at the Universi ...
of the University of Turku and it falls four lines short of Homer's Iliad. *Riddles: They are another important aspect of Tulu oral traditions. These riddles are largely tongue twisting and mostly deal with kinship and agriculture. *
Bhajan Bhajan refers to any devotional song with a religious theme or spiritual ideas, specifically among Indian religions, in any language. The term bhajanam (Sanskrit: भजनम्) means ''reverence'' and originates from the root word ''bhaj'' ...
s: Bhajans sung in numerous temples across the Tulu region are varied and are dedicated to various gods and goddesses. Most of these are of the Hindu tradition, others being Jain. They are sung in both the Carnatic style as well a style similar to what is used in Yakshagana. *Kabitol: Songs sung during the cultivation of crops, the traditional occupation of the people. O Bele is considered the finest among them.


Theatre

Theatre in the form of the traditional Yakshagana, prevalent in coastal Karnataka and northern Kerala has greatly preserved the finer aspects of the Tulu language. Yakshagana which is conducted in Tulu is very popular among the Tuluva people. It can also be seen as a form of temple art, as there are many Yakshagana groups that are attached to temples, for example that of Kateel Durga Parameshwari Temple as also the Udupi Krishna Temple. Presently, eight professional Yakshagana troupes perform Tulu-language Yakshagana not only during the Yakshagana season but also during the off-season in various places in Karnataka and outside. In Mumbai, Tulu Yakshagana is very popular among the Tulu audiences. More than 2,000 Yakshagana artistes take part in the performance in various places in Mumbai annually. Notable performers include Kalladi Koraga Shetty, Pundur Venkatraja Puninchathaya, Guru Bannanje Sanjiva Suvarna and Pathala Venkatramana Bhat. Tulu plays are among the major entertainment for admirers of art and culture in Tulu Nadu. Tulu plays, generally centered on the comic genre, are very popular in Mumbai and Bangalore outside Tulu Nadu.


Tulu cinema

The
Tulu cinema Tulu cinema, also known as Coastalwood, is a part of Indian cinema. The Tulu film industry produces five to seven films annually. The first Tulu film was ''Enna Thangadi'' released in 1971. Usually, earlier, these films were released in theatre ...
industry is fairly small; it produces around five films annually. The first film, ''Enna Thangadi'', was released in 1971. Usually these films are released in theatres across the Tulu Nadu region and on DVD. The critically acclaimed film '' Suddha'' won the award for Best Indian Film at the Osian's Cinefan Festival of Asian and Arab Cinema in New Delhi in 2006. As of 2015, '' Oriyardori Asal'' (2011) has been the most commercially successful Tulu film.
Chaali Polilu ''Chaali Polilu'' is a Tulu language film directed by Virendra Shetty Kavoor starring Devadas Kapikad, Naveen D Padil and Bhojaraj Vamanjoor in lead roles. Chaali Polilu is produced under the banner of Jayakirana films by Prakash Pandeshwar.The ...
is the longest-running film in Tulu film history, as well as the highest-grossing film in the Tulu film industry. It has successfully completed 470 days at
PVR Cinemas PVR Ltd (formerly Priya Village Roadshow Ltd), doing business as PVR Cinemas, is an Indian multiplex chain based in Gurgaon. PVR pioneered the multiplex revolution in India by establishing the first multiplex cinema in 1997 at Saket, New Delh ...
in Mangalore. The 2014 film '' Madime'' was reported to be remade in Marathi, thereby becoming the first Tulu film to be remade in another language. ''Shutterdulai'' was the first remake in Tulu cinema. '' Eregla Panodchi'' is the second remake in Tulu cinemas. A suit for damages of Rs. 25 lakh was filed against the makers of the Telugu film ''
Brahmotsavam Sri Venkateswara Swami vari Brahmotsavam or Srivari Brahmotsavam is the most significant annual fête celebrated at the Venkateswara Temple, Tirumala, Venkateswara Temple in Tirumala-Tirupati, Tirupati district, Andhra Pradesh, India. The feast ...
'' for copying the first 36 seconds of the song by Dr. Vamana Nandaavara found in the ''Deepanalike'' CD composed for the Siri channel. ''Prajavani'' reported that with its dubbing rights sold to Hindi for Rs. 21 lakh, the 2018 movie ''
Umil ''Umil'' is a Tulu language film directed by Ranjith suvarna starring Umesh Mijar in lead role and Naveen D Padil, Aravind Bolar, Bhojaraj Vamanjoor, Chethan Rai Mani, Sathish Bandale and Deepak Rai in prominent roles. Ravi Basrur composed t ...
'' became the first Tulu movie to achieve the feat. Ashwini Kotiyan (Chaya Harsha) became the first female director in the Tulu industry after directing and releasing her first movie ''Namma Kudla''. ''Brahmashree Narayana Guruswamy'' released on 2 May 2014 was the 50th Tulu film. ''Panoda Bodcha'' marked the 75th release anniversary of a Tulu film. The 100th Tulu movie ''Karne'' was released on 16 November 2018.
Guddada Bhootha Guddada Bhootha (1991) is a thriller, Indian television mini-series which has a suspense storyline based on a Tulu drama shows the country life of Tulu Nadu region of India. The art and technical direction of the series was done by popular Kannad ...
, a television series aired in 1990, was one of the successful ventures of Tulu entertainment. This mini-series has a suspense storyline based on a Tulu drama, showing the country life of Tulu Nadu region of India. It was one of the popular TV series of that time. This series has a very famous title song ''Dennana Dennana'' sung by
B. R. Chaya Bengaluru Ramamurthy Chaya, known as B. R. Chaya, is an Indian, Kannada playback singer, stage performer and a popular Sugama Sangeetha singer from Karnataka state. She has performed pop, folk, devotional and bhavageethe (light music). She is ...
. This song along with the music were used in
Rangitaranga ''RangiTaranga'' (English: ''Colourful Wave'') is a 2015 Indian Kannada-language mystery thriller film written and directed by Anup Bhandari in his debut, and produced by H. K. Prakash, under Shree Devi Entertainers. It features debutantes Nirup ...
, a Kannada movie.


Centres of Tulu study and research

Tulu as a language continues to thrive in coastal Karnataka and Kasaragod in Kerala.
Karnataka Tulu Sahitya Academy Karnataka Tulu Sahitya Academy is an organisation under Government of Karnataka for promotion of literature in Tulu language. Established in 1994 by Government of Karnataka, it is an autonomous organisation functioning from its own building - Tu ...
, an institute established by the state government of Karnataka in 1994, has introduced Tulu as a language in schools around coastal Karnataka, including Alva's High School, Moodbidri; Dattanjaneya High School, Odiyoor; Ramakunjeshwara English-medium High School, Ramakunja; and Vani Composite Pre-University College, Belthangady. Initially started in 16 schools, the language is now taught in over 33 schools, of which 30 are in Dakshina Kannada district. More than 1500 students have opted to study this language. The Government of Kerala established the
Kerala Tulu Academy Kerala Tulu Academy is an organisation under Government of Kerala which opened in 2007. The purpose of the academy is to preserve and promote Tulu language, Tulu script, Tulu literature and Tulu culture. It is located in Hosangadi in Kasargod dis ...
in 2007. The academy focuses on the retrieval and propagation of Tulu language and culture in Kerala through various activities such as organising seminars and publishing Tulu periodicals, etc. The academy is based in Hosangadi, Manjeshwar in Kasaragod. Tulu is also taught as a language at the post-graduate level in Mangalore University, and there is a dedicated department for Tulu studies, translation and research at
Dravidian University The Dravidian University, Kuppam, Andhra Pradesh, India was established by the Government of Andhra Pradesh, through a Legislature Act (No. 17 of 1997) with the initial support extended by the governments of Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Kerala for ...
in Kuppam Andhra Pradesh.The Government Degree College at Kasaragod in Kerala also introduced a certificate course in Tulu for the academic year 2009–2010. It has also introduced Tulu as an optional subject in its Kannada post-graduation course. It has adopted syllabi from the books published by the Tulu Sahitya Academy. German missionaries Kammerer and Männer were the first people to conduct research on the language. Kammerer collected about 3,000 words and their meanings before his death. Later his work was carried on by Männer, who completed the research and published the first dictionary of the Tulu language in 1886 with the help of the then-Madras government. The effort was incomplete, as it did not cover all aspects of the language. The Govinda Pai Research Centre at MGM College, Udupi started an 18-year Tulu lexicon project in the year 1979. Different dialects, special vocabularies used for different occupational activities, rituals, and folk literature in the forms of
Paād-danāas Būta Kōlā,/buːt̪ʌ/ is the local pronunciation while the standardised Kannada pronunciation is /bʱuːt̪ʌ koːlɑː/ also referred to as daiva kōlā or nēmā, is a ritual dance performance prevalent among the Hindus of Tulu Nadu a ...
were included in this project. The Centre has also released a six-volume, trilingual, modestly priced Tulu-Kannada-English lexicon. The Tulu
lexicon A lexicon is the vocabulary of a language or branch of knowledge (such as nautical or medical). In linguistics, a lexicon is a language's inventory of lexemes. The word ''lexicon'' derives from Koine Greek language, Greek word (), neuter of () ...
was awarded the Gundert Award for the best
dictionary A dictionary is a listing of lexemes from the lexicon of one or more specific languages, often arranged alphabetically (or by radical and stroke for ideographic languages), which may include information on definitions, usage, etymologies ...
in the country in 1996. In September 2011, the Academic Council of Mangalore University accepted a proposal, to allow the university and the colleges affiliated to it to offer certificates, diplomas and postgraduate diploma courses in Tulu, both in regular and correspondence modes


See also

*
Gokak agitation The Gokak agitation ( kn, ಗೋಕಾಕ್ ಚಳುವಳಿ) was a successful language rights agitation in the 1980s that fought for the first-language status of the Kannada language in the South Indian state of Karnataka. It was named aft ...
*
List of Tulu films This is a list of lists of films produced in the Tulu cinema and in the Tulu language. * List of Tulu films of 2014 * List of Tulu films of 2015 * List of Tulu films of 2016 * List of Tulu films of 2017 * List of Tulu films of 2018 * List ...
*
Aliya Kattu Aliyasantana, literally "son in law as heir" in Kanarese, is the matrilineal system of inheritance practiced by Tuluver community in the Tulunaad area of Karnataka, India. It is similar to the ''Marumakkathayam'' system of the Malabar region. ...


Notes


References


Further reading

* Caldwell, R., '' A Comparative Grammar of the Dravidian or South-Indian family of languages'', London: Harrison, 1856.; Reprinted London, K. Paul, Trench, Trubner & co., ltd., 1913; rev. ed. by J. L. Wyatt and T. Ramakrishna Pillai, Madras, University of Madras, 1961, reprint Asian Educational Services, 1998. * C. (1875). '' A Comparative Grammar of the Dravidian or South-Indian family of languages''. London: Trübner and Co., Ludgate Hill. * Danielou, Alain (1985), ''Histoire de l'Inde'', Fayard, Paris. * Hall, Edith (2002), "The singing actors of antiquity" in Pat Easterling & Edith Hall, ed., ''Greek and Roman Actors: Aspects of an Ancient Profession'', Cambridge University Press, Cambridge. *
Lauri Honko Lauri Olavi Honko (born in Hanko 6 March 1932, died in Turku 15 July 2002) was a Finnish professor of folklore studies and comparative religion. Life and work Honko was a disciple of Martti Haavio. His 1959 doctoral dissertation at the Universi ...
, ''Textualisation of Oral Epics''. * William Pais, ''Land Called South Canara''. * Bhat, S.L. ''A Grammar of Tulu: a Dravidian language''. * Männer, A. ''Tuḷu-English dictionary'', Mangalore: Printed at the Basel Mission Press 1886 * Männer, A. ''English-Tuḷu dictionary'', Mangalore: Printed at the Basel Mission Press 1888 * Brigel, J. ''A Grammar of the Tulu language'', Mangalore, published by C. Stolz, Basel Mission Book & Tract Depository, 1872 * * Bhat D. N. S. (1967). Descriptive analysis of Tulu. Poona: Deccan College Postgraduate and Research Institute. * Vinson, Julien (1878), , Maisonneuve et cie., Paris * Burnell, Arthur Coke (1874), ''Elements of South-Indian Palæography from the Fourth to the Seventeenth Century A.D.'', Trübner & Co. * Krishnamurti, Bhadriraju (2003), ''The Dravidian Languages'', Cambridge University Press. * G., L. R. (2013). Elements of comparative philology. Place of publication not identified: Hardpress Ltd. * Bhatt, S. L. (2005). A grammar of Tulu: a Dravidian language. Thiruvananthapuram: Dravidian linguistics association. * Goddard, C. (2009). The languages of East and Southeast Asia: an introduction. Oxford: Oxford Univ. Press. * Padmanabha, Kekunnaya. K. (1994). A comparative study of Tulu dialects. Udupi. * Narayana, S. B. (1967). Descriptive analysis of Tulu. Poona: Deccan College Postgraduate and Research Institute. * Upadhyaya, U. P. (n.d.). Tulu Lexicon: Tulu-Kannada-English Dictionary. Udupi. * Aiyar, L. R. (1936). Materials for a sketch of Tulu phonology. Lahore. * * * * * * * *


External links


Official Website of Karnataka Government's Tulu Academy



Tuluver.com

Kopparige Tulu Dictionary


{{DEFAULTSORT:Tulu Language Dravidian languages Udupi Culture of Kasaragod district Agglutinative languages Vowel-harmony languages Dakshina Kannada district Tulu Nadu Culture of Tulu Nadu