When sounds warp in Kannada

Checking the Kannada Diction

Sujatha R
2 min readSep 13

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Some of the Kannada diction is actually quiet close Telugu/Sanskrit/Tamil. And this gives a chance to connect deeper with the songs in Kannada.

Kannada seems to have words beginning with ba, ha, sa, jo, which lends it a solid character.

“P” is seen to become “H” in Kannada

paalu >> haalu :: milk
puvvu >> huvvu :: flower
pEru >> hesaru :: name
pulla >> Huli :: sour
pADu >> hADu :: song
palli >> halli :: village

Like in Bengali/Oriya, and sometimes in Hindi, “V” is seen to become “B”

vegam >> bege :: fast
vaa (Tamil) >> baa :: come
venna >> beNNa :: butter
vaddinchu >> badisu :: serve
viDu >> biDu :: leave
Vedinchu >> bedu >> pray/request

vaayi(Tamil) >> baayi : mouth
vela >> bela :: price
vraayu >> barayu :: write
vETa >> bETe :: hunt
vesavi >> bEsagi :: summer
velugu >> belage :: light (Tamil valakku)

“Ch” is seen to become “S” . This is also seen in rural side Telugu.

cheera >> seere :: saree
chaavu >> saavu :: die
cHeru >> sEru :: reach
cikku >> sikku :: to find / caught up
chakkara >> sakkare :: sugar

“nn” becoming “NN”

anna >> aNNa : older brother
annam >> aNNa : rice
venna >> beNNa : butter

“ja” words from Persian? ‘ya’ to ‘ja’

jodi, jothe

And some of the vocabulary in these songs find a cousin today..

Krishna nE bEgane bArO
Krishna, you please come quickly
vegam > bega > fast
vaa > baa > come

beraLalli ongura
Rings on your finger
veLLu >> beraLalli :: finger

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gajavadhanaa bEduvE gowri thanaya
I pray to You.. O elephant-faced son of Parvathi!
vedinchu >> bedu >> pray

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rAma nAma pAyasakke krSNa nAma sakkare
To the sweet dish called Rama, add the sugar called Krishna
chakkara >> sakkare >> sugar

buddhiyinda pAka mADi harivANake baDisikoNDu
Make a broth called devotion, Serving it in a plate
vaDDinchu >> baDisi >> serve

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bhAgyada lakShmI bArammA
O Goddess of prosperity, Lakshmi, come in
vaa > baa > come

majjigeyoLagina beNNeyante
show up like the butter in the buttermilk
venna > benna > butter

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hasivAdare UroLage bhikShAnnaMgaLuMTu
If hungry, there is food in the town to beg for
pasi (tamil) >> hasi >> hunger

Is there a word or a song that comes to your mind?

Looks like there is much more structure than my limited observation.
https://www.quora.com/Is-Kannada-more-similar-to-Telugu-or-Tamil

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Sujatha R

I write.. I weave.. I walk.. कवयामि.. वयामि.. यामि.. Musings on Music, Linguistics & Patterns