Arebhashe (, ''Arebhāṣe''), or Aregannada or Gowda Kannada, is a dialect of

Kannada Kannada () is a Dravidian language spoken predominantly in the state of Karnataka in southwestern India, and spoken by a minority of the population in all neighbouring states. It has 44 million native speakers, and is additionally a ...

mainly by Gowda communities in the regions of Madikeri, Somwarpet, and Kushalnagar taluks of

Kodagu Kodagu district () (also known by its former name Coorg) is an administrative List of districts of Karnataka, district in the Karnataka state of India. Before 1956, it was an administratively separate Coorg State at which point it was merged ...

district, Coorg, Sullia and Puttur taluks of Dakshina Kannada district, as well as Bandadka, Kasaragod District in the Indian state of

Kerala Kerala ( , ) is a States and union territories of India, state on the Malabar Coast of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, following the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, by combining Malayalam-speaking regions of the erstwhile ...

. The language was recognized by the Karnataka State government and formed an academy in 2011 to preserve the culture and literature of the Arebhahse Region which is named as Karnataka Arebhashe Samskruthi mathu Sahitya Academy supported by then Chief Minister D. V. Sadananda Gowda.

History

Arebhashe has a history of approximately 500 years. According to linguistic scientists, it is very close to the

Badaga language Badaga is a southern Dravidian language spoken by the Badagas, Badaga people of the Nilgiris district of Tamil Nadu. The language is closely related to the Kannada language with heavy influence from the Tamil language, Tamil language. Of al ...

in the Dravidian language. There was a time when Vokkaliga Gowda came from Iguru and started living in Dakshina Kannada and Kodagu district, also Kasaragod District of Kerala State. They migrated to Coorg (Kodagu) from

Mangalore Mangaluru (), formerly called Mangalore ( ), is a major industrial port city in the Indian state of Karnataka and on the west coast of India. It is located between the Laccadive Sea and the Western Ghats about west of Bengaluru, the st ...

Udupi Udupi () also known as 'Odipu' () is a city in the Indian state of Karnataka. It is the administrative headquarters of Udupi district, and one of the fastest-growing cities in Karnataka. Udupi is one of the top tourist attractions in Karnataka an ...

(Dakshina Kannada-Udupi) region, to settle among the Canarese Tulu speaking people. And different communities in this region speak Arebhashe as a communication language. Arebhashe-speaking people in Sulya Taluk are bilingual with Tulu.

Geographic distribution

Arebhashe is mainly concentrated in the state of Karnataka. There are more than five hundred thousand people speaking Arebhashe in Dakshina Kannada, Kodagu districts in Karnataka and Kasaragod in Kerala are the districts where Arebhashe speaking people live for centuries. They are now spread all over India, especially in metropolitan cities of Mumbai, Bengaluru, and other industrial and business centers. Arebhashigas are also in large numbers in countries like the United States of America, the United Kingdom, United Arab Emirates, GCC countries and other places outside India.

Grammar

The accepted word order of Arebhashe is SOV (subject-object-verb), same as of Kannada languages. This language has less breathy letters. This is one of the specialties of the Dravidian Language. There is a very close connection to Kundagannada and Havigannada dialect. The gender distinction in Arebhashe is as similar to Brahui, a member of the North Dravidian linguistic system. There is no female gender distinction and no difference in the plural masculine, neuter gender. Arebhashe is different from the Kannada language and has difficult to understand accent and words because of its special vowels and colloquialism. Arebhashe is also influenced and got words from Southwestern languages such as Tulu and Malayalam.

Phonology

The study of sounds in speech is known as

phonology Phonology (formerly also phonemics or phonematics: "phonemics ''n.'' 'obsolescent''1. Any procedure for identifying the phonemes of a language from a corpus of data. 2. (formerly also phonematics) A former synonym for phonology, often pre ...

. The Arebhashe has 22 consonants and 13 vowels. There are no breathy letters in Arebhashe like Kannada language.

Vowels

* and are phonetically central . may be as open as () or higher .

Consonants

Pronouns

Cases

Arebhashe has eight cases: Because the traditional study of Arebhashe grammar is based on Kannada grammar and in turn, Kannada grammar is based on

Sanskrit Sanskrit (; stem form ; nominal singular , ,) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in northwest South Asia after its predecessor languages had Trans-cultural ...

grammar, a fifth case (since the dative case is the fourth case and the genitive case is the sixth in the traditional order of the cases) is sometimes considered: the

ablative case In grammar, the ablative case (pronounced ; list of glossing abbreviations, abbreviated ) is a grammatical case for nouns, pronouns, and adjectives in the grammars of various languages. It is used to indicate motion away from something, make ...

(ಅಪಾದಾನವಿಭಕ್ತಿ). This case is formed periphrastically by combining the

genitive case In grammar, the genitive case ( abbreviated ) is the grammatical case that marks a word, usually a noun, as modifying another word, also usually a noun—thus indicating an attributive relationship of one noun to the other noun. A genitive ca ...

of the noun supposedly in the ablative with the instrumental-case form of the noun 'ದೆಸೆ', meaning 'cause, vicinity, place, point'. Thus the Kannada ablative literally translates to 'from/by the cause/point of the '. However, this 'ablative' form is not commonly used colloquially, and exists only for propriety—it is not a true case, serving only to provide a parallel to the Sanskrit ablative.Ziegler, F. ''A Practical Key to the

Kannada Language Kannada () is a Dravidian languages, Dravidian language spoken predominantly in the state of Karnataka in southwestern India, and spoken by a minority of the population in all neighbouring states. It has 44 million native speakers, an ...

''. New Delhi: Asian Educational Services, 1984. Print. In its place, the third case, the instrumental-ablative case, is normally used. The

nominative In grammar, the nominative case ( abbreviated ), subjective case, straight case, or upright case is one of the grammatical cases of a noun or other part of speech, which generally marks the subject of a verb, or (in Latin and formal variants of E ...

is unmarked in Arebhashe. The Accusative-Genitive and Instrumental-Ablative are homophonous pairs in Arebhashe, while in Kannada, only the latter pair is met with. The Locative marker occurs only in inanimate nouns. in Arebhashe, but in Kannada, it occurs inanimate nouns also. However, inanimate nouns in Kannada, when necessary, the Locative sense is expressed by Postpositions. The distinction between the Accusative and

Genitive In grammar, the genitive case ( abbreviated ) is the grammatical case that marks a word, usually a noun, as modifying another word, also usually a noun—thus indicating an attributive relationship of one noun to the other noun. A genitive can ...

is sometimes determined in -a ending inanimate nouns, by the kind of Inflexional increments with which they occur. e.g. mara-n-a kaɖi ಮರ-ನ-ಕಡಿ 'cut the tree' (Acc), mara-d-a gellɨ ಮರ-ದ-ಅ-ಗೆಲ್ಲ್ 'branch of the tree'. Such instances are rare in number and moreover, -n- is sometimes used in both functions. e.g. mara-n-a gellɨ mara-d-a gellɨ 'branch of the tree', mara-n-a kad̪i‌ ಮರ-ನ-ಅ-ಕಡಿ 'cut the tree'. This variation, perhaps be explained through old Kannada examples, where we come across a few words of the inanimate class taking the same ending as the animate class. e.g. mara-n-a ಮರ-ನ-ಅ 'of the tree', koɭan-a ಕೊಲನ-ಅ 'of the lake', polan-a ಪೊಲನ-ಅ 'of the field' etc. -n occurring before the case marker, perhaps indicates the Singular number, since, these are the concrete objects and therefore countable. Abstract nouns, or the objects which occur in a group or mass, are treated with -m ending. e.g. guɳam ಗುಣಂ 'good character' (Nom), and such nouns will have -d- as Inflexional increment before case markers other than the Dative. e.g. guna-d-a ಗುಣ-ದ-ಅ of the good character', ku:ʈa-d-a ಕೂಟ-ದ-ಅ 'of the gathering', ru:pa-d-a ರೂಪ-ದ-ಅ 'of the beauty. Though this irregularity in pattern was levelled in middle and modern Kannada Arebhashe, seems to have retained the old pattern in having the variation regarding the Inflexional Increments, referred to above.

Cases table

Accusative case

: / -a / -na :''/ -a occurs after

noun In grammar, a noun is a word that represents a concrete or abstract thing, like living creatures, places, actions, qualities, states of existence, and ideas. A noun may serve as an Object (grammar), object or Subject (grammar), subject within a p ...

s stem ending in

consonant In articulatory phonetics, a consonant is a speech sound that is articulated with complete or partial closure of the vocal tract, except for the h sound, which is pronounced without any stricture in the vocal tract. Examples are and pronou ...

s.'' :E.g. / -a : 'It' - ad-ar-a - ಅದ್‌-ಅರ್‌-ಅ; 'them' - av-ar-a - ಅವ್-ಅರ್-ಅ; 'whom' - ya:r-a - ಯಾ-ರ್-ಅ :''/ -na occurs elsewhere''. :E.g. / -na : 'elder sister'-akka-na-ಅಕ್ಕ-ನ; 'mother'-avva-na-ಅವ್ವ-ನ; 'father'-appa-na-ಅಪ್ಪ-ನ; 'the tree'-mara-na-ಮರ-ನ; 'the blind woman'-kurd-i-na-ಕುರ್ಡ್-ಇ-ನ

Instrumental case

-da nda : ''/ -da occurs after -n ending stems in

demonstrative Demonstratives (list of glossing abbreviations, abbreviated ) are words, such as ''this'' and ''that'', used to indicate which entities are being referred to and to distinguish those entities from others. They are typically deictic, their meaning ...

s''. : E.g. / -da : 'by him'-av-á-n-da-ಅವ್-ಅ-ನ್‌-ದ 'by this man'-iv-a-n-da-ಇವ್-‌ಅ-ನ್‌-ದ : ''/ -nda occurs elsewhere''. :E.g. / -nda : 'by father'-appa-nda-ಅಪ್ಪ-ನ್‌ದ; 'by the tree'-mara-nda-ಮರ-ನ್‌ದ; 'by it or her'-ad-ar-nda-ಅದ್‌-ಅರ್‌-ನ್‌ದ 'by the cat'-kotti-nda-ಕೊತ್ತಿ-ನ್‌ದ 'by the ladder'-e:ni-nda-ಏಣಿ-ನ್‌ದ

Dative case

/-ke /-ɲge /-ge : ''/-ke occurs after the noun stems having the Inflexional increment -k, and also after the

Demonstrative Demonstratives (list of glossing abbreviations, abbreviated ) are words, such as ''this'' and ''that'', used to indicate which entities are being referred to and to distinguish those entities from others. They are typically deictic, their meaning ...

and

Interrogative An interrogative clause is a clause whose form is typically associated with question-like meanings. For instance, the English sentence (linguistics), sentence "Is Hannah sick?" has interrogative syntax which distinguishes it from its Declarative ...

pronoun In linguistics and grammar, a pronoun (Interlinear gloss, glossed ) is a word or a group of words that one may substitute for a noun or noun phrase. Pronouns have traditionally been regarded as one of the part of speech, parts of speech, but so ...

s.'' : E.g. /-ke : 'to the tree'-mara-k-ke-ಮರ-ಕ್‌-ಕೆ(ಮರಕ್ಕೆ) 'to the book'-pustaka-k-ke-ಪುಸ್ತಕ-ಕ-ಕೆ; 'to the money-haɲa-k-ke-ಹಣ-ಕ-ಕೆ; 'to it'-adi-ke- ಅದಿ-ಕೆ 'to this'-idi-ke-ಇದಿ-ಕೆ; 'to which'-ya-di-ke-ಯಾ-ದಿ-ಕೆ; to which (pl)-ya:vu-ke-ಯಾ-ಉ-ಕೆ(ಯಾವಕ್ಕೆ) : ''/-ɲge occurs after -a ending Noun stems belonging to animate class.'' : E.g. /-ɲge : 'to father'-appa-ɲge-ಅಪ್ಪ-ನ್‌ಗೆ; 'to mother'-avva-ɲge-ಅವ್ವ-ನ್‌ಗೆ; 'to elder sister'-akka-ɲge-ಅಕ್ಕ-ನ್‌ಗೆ; to the buffalo-ko:ɲa-ɲge-ಕೋಣ-ನ್‌ಗೆ to the parrot-gi:ɲa-ɲge-ಗಿಣ-ನ್‌ಗೆ : /-ge occurs elsewhere. : E.g. /-ge : 'to the donkey'-katte-ge-ಕತ್ತೆ-ಗೆ 'to the coat'-ko:țu-ge-ಕೋಟು-ಗೆ 'to the car'ka:rɨ-ge-ಕಾರ್-ಗೆ

Literature

Arebhashe has all kind of literature like Epics, Novels, Drama, Dictionaries, Poem, riddles, adverbs and rich oral literature. *The epic "''Manasa Bharatha''" written by Dr.Kodi Kushalappa Gowda *Dictionary " Arebhashe Shabdakosha" by Gangadhara and Arebhahse - Kannada English Dictionary by Karnataka Arebhashe Samskruthi Mattu Sahithya Academy *Arebhahse Grammar by Prof. K Kushalappa Gowda *Arebhahshe paramparika Kosha

Folk literature

The oral traditions of Arebhashe is one of the major traditions that show the finer aspects of the language. The following are various forms of Arebhashe oral tradition and literature. *Shobhane: One that is commonly recited on occasion marriage function. This is the theme of the way of life of Hindu gods Rama and Seeta. *Paddanas: This is recited in a ritualistic context by particular communities of the Arebhashe region on the occasion of the Hindu rituals of Bhuta Kola. These Paddanas are mostly legends about gods or historical personalities among the people. *Riddles and Adverbs: They are another important aspect of Arebahshe oral traditions. *Siddavesha: Siddavesa kind of religious and traditional folk dance it is also called as ''pursere kaṭṭunā'' and ''puruṣa makkaḷa kuṇita''. Arebhashe gowdas of Sullia, Belthangady, Puttur perform full moon summer dance in month of Tulu calendar Suggi. In this same month, Suggi Nalike is also performed. Siddavesha is performed from late evening until morning which includes visiting homes of people from all stratas of society. This song is sung during Siddavesha Kunita * Folktales : In Arebhashe cultures, there is no clear line separating myth from folk or fairy tale; all these together form the literature of preliterate societies. Fairy tales may be distinguished from other folk narratives such as

legend A legend is a genre of folklore that consists of a narrative featuring human actions, believed or perceived to have taken place in human history. Narratives in this genre may demonstrate human values, and possess certain qualities that give the ...

s (which generally involve belief in the veracity of the events described) and explicit moral tales, including beast

fable Fable is a literary genre defined as a succinct fictional story, in prose or verse, that features animals, legendary creatures, plants, inanimate objects, or forces of nature that are anthropomorphized, and that illustrates or leads to a parti ...

Theatre

Yakshagana

Yakshagana Yakshagana is a traditional theatre, found in Dakshina Kannada, Udupi, Kasaragod district and Uttara Kannada, Shimoga and western parts of Chikmagalur district, Chikmagalur districts, in the state of Karnataka and in Kasaragod district in Keral ...

is a traditional theater, developed in Dakshina Kannada,

, Uttara Kannada, Shimoga and western parts of Chikmagalur districts, in the state of

Karnataka Karnataka ( ) is a States and union territories of India, state in the southwestern region of India. It was Unification of Karnataka, formed as Mysore State on 1 November 1956, with the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, 1956, States Re ...

and in Kasaragod district in Kerala that combines dance, music, dialogue, costume, make-up, and stage techniques with a unique style and form. Theatre in the form of the traditional

, Yakshagana Tāḷamaddaḷe and Drama prevalent in Arebhashe speaking region has greatly preserved the finer aspects of the Arebhashe language. Yakshagana which is conducted in Arebhashe is very popular among the Arebhashe People, they often perform it in summer.

Talamaddale

Tala-Maddale is an ancient form of performance dialogue or debate performance in this Arebhashe Region. The plot and content of the conversation are drawn from popular mythology but the performance mainly consists of an impromptu debate between characters involving sarcasm, puns, philosophy positions, and humor. The main plot is sung from the same oral texts used for the Yakshagana form of dance- drama. Performers claim that this was a more intellectual rendition of the dance during the monsoon season.

Arebhashe plays

Arebhashe plays are among the major entertainment for admirers of art and culture in the Arebhashe Region. Which generally centered on particular theme or comic genre or issue related.

Centres of Arebhashe and government support

Arebhashe as a language continues to thrive in Sullia, Kodagu in Karnataka and part of Kasaragod in Kerala. Karnataka Arebhashe Samskruthi mathu Sahitya Academy, an institute established by the State Government of Karnataka in 2011. The academy focuses on the retrieval and Propagation of Arebhashe Language and Culture in part of Karnataka and part of Kerala through various activities such as creating glossary, translation, and archival work to preserve and develop the language and culture of the Arebhashe. The academy is also working on a documentary collection for veteran personalities of this region, Digitalization of Arebhashe Books, including a seminar on youth literature, a drama camp, art camp among the Arebhashe people etc. The academy is based in Madikeri. Number of colleges have Arebhahse Language units and conducting various activities.

Arebhashe Research Centre

State Government of Karnataka announced in the year 2022-23 for a research centre for "Arebhashe" in Mangaluru University.

Notable Arebhashe people

* Kedambadi Ramaiah Gowda, 19th Century Freedom fighter * D V Sadananda Gowda, 20th Chief Minister of Karnataka and Former Union Minister * K. G. Bopaiah, 19th Speaker of

Karnataka Legislative Assembly The Karnataka Legislative Assembly (formerly the Mysore Legislative Assembly) is the lower house of the bicameral legislature of the southern Indian state of Karnataka. Karnataka is one of the six states in India where the state legislature ...

* Shobha Karandlaje, Politician *Kurujni Venkatramana Gowda, Entrepreneur & Philanthropist * K Kushalappa Gowda, Writer and scholar * Aditi Chengappa, South Indian actress * N. Somanna, 1st Member of Parliament for Coorg State