Kannada

Kannada () is a language,sometimes called 'Canarese' and it is a script used for writing the language. Most people in the southern Indian state of Karnataka speak Kannada. There are also many speakers in Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra, Kerala and Goa. There are some differences in the way Kannada is spoken in these places. There are about 44 million people who speak the language. The oldest Kannada writings that still exist today are called the "Halmidi inscription" from the 5th Century.

Language profile
Kannada is a Dravidian language, which is a different language family from the Indo-European or Aryan languages of the north, such as Hindi but close to the other southern languages like Telugu. It has about 1200 years of written history. The first version is known as the Old Kannada script, which was used between 450 - 1200 CE. Modern Kannada has existed since about 1700 CE. Printing presses introduced by Christian missionaries at the beginning of the 19th century standardized the Kannada and Telugu scripts. Kannada also has a Braille writing system for people who are blind or visually impaired.

Script
The Kannada script is a type of writing system called an alphasyllabary. All consonants have a built-in vowel. Other vowels are indicated with diacritics, which appear next to the consonants.above, below, before or after When they appear at the beginning of a syllable, vowels are written as separate letters. When consonants appear together without intervening vowels, the second consonant is written as a special joint symbol, usually below the first. The direction of writing: left to right in horizontal lines.

Literature
Many songs, poems and religious texts have been written in Kannada. It is called a "classical language" by the Government of India, which means it is historically and culturally valuable. Kannada has the highest number of Janapeeta literary awards compared to any Indian language. Kannada had a huge boost during the Vijayanagar period.

References

 Other websites 

Category:Dravidian languages
Category:Languages of India
Category:State symbols of Karnataka