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Kannada script
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Kannada script (Kannada: కనడ ) is an Kannada

alphasyllabary (sometimes called an abugida) of the
Brahmic family,[1] used primarily to write the Kannada
language, one of the southern language in India and also
Sanskrit in the past. The Telugu script is derived from
Telugu-Kannada script, and resembles Kannada script .The
Kannada script displays the typical rounded edges and
curves, and not either straight or wedge shapes as other
Type Abugida
scripts.This script is also used to write Konkani by the
Konkani diaspora in coastal Karnataka. Spoken Kannada, Konkani
[2]
Similarly,Goykanadi, a variant of Halekannada and languages
Kadamba lipi has been historically used to write Konkani
Time period c. 230BCE–present
in the state of Goa.[3]
Parent Proto-Sinaitic alphabet
systems Phoenician alphabet
Aramaic alphabet
Brāhmī
Kadamba
Kannada

Sister Telugu
systems
Unicode U+0C80–U+0CFF
range (http://www.unicode.org/charts
/PDF/U0C80.pdf)
Halmidi Inscription Replica ISO 15924 Knda

Contents
1 History
2 Evolution
3 General
4 Vowels
5 Yogavaahaka's
6 Consonants
6.1 Structured consonants
6.2 Unstructured consonants
7 Numerals
8 Kagunita
9 Unicode
10 Script similarities
11 See also
12 External links
13 References

History

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See also: Kannada script evolution

Kannada (Kanarese or Canarese) script is derived from the Old Kannada script.[4] Old Kannada script[5]
which evolved around 10th century, is the continuation of the Kadamba script which in turn came during 4th
century CE. Old Kannada was used for writing Kannada and Telugu languages, and therefore aptly called as
Kannada-Telugu script. Modern scripts of Kannada and Telugu started to separate as early as the 13th
century CE (During 1100 CE – 1400 CE).

The Kadamba script is said to have evolved from the Proto-Kannada script (during 4th century CE).[6] The
Kadamba script is also known as Pre-Old-Kannada script. The Proto-Kannada evolved from the ancient
Brahmi script around 3rd century BCE.

Evolution
Over the centuries some changes have been made to the Kannada script. These changes consist of:

1. Modification of existing glyphs: In the early Kannada [Telugu-Kannada] script, no orthographic

distinction was made between the short mid [e, o] ఎ, ఒ and long mid [eː, oː] ఏ, ఓ. However, distinct
signs were employed to denote the special consonants viz. the trill [r] ఱ the retroflex lateral [ɭ] ళ and
the retroflex palatal [ɺ] ఁ found only in South Indian languages, by 5th century.
2. Introduction of new characters: Kannada script includes characters like [ç] శ, [ʂ] ష, [rɨ] ఋ, [rɨː] ౠ, [lɨ]
, ,
ఌ [lɨː] ౡ [eʲ] ఐ, [oʷ] ఔ, [am] అం, [ah] అః, and mahāprāṇa characters like [kʰ] ఖ, [ɡʱ] ఘ, [tʃʰ] ఛ, [dʒʱ]
ఝ, [t̪ʰ] థ, [d̪ʱ] ధ, [ʈʰ] ఠ, [ɖʱ] ఢ, [pʰ] ఫ, [bʱ] భ. The introduction was done so that Sanskrit and also
loanwords into the Kannada language from the donor language Sanskrit) could be written using the
Kannada script.

These changes have facilitated the use of the Kannada script for writing many of the literary Indic languages,
including Sanskrit.

General
Kannada script has forty-nine characters in its alphasyllabary
and is phonemic. The Kannada character set is almost identical
to that of other Indian languages. The number of written
symbols, however, is far more than the 49 characters in the
alphasyllabary, because different characters can be combined
to form compound characters (ottaksharas). Each written
symbol in the Kannada script corresponds with one syllable, as
opposed to one phoneme in languages like English. The
A Bilingual sign board in Kannada script Kannada writing system is an abugida, with consonants
appearing with an inherent vowel.

The characters are classified into three categories: swaras (vowels), vyanjanas (consonants) and yogavaahas
(part vowel, part consonants).

The name given for a pure, true letter is akshara, akkara or varna. Each letter has its own form (ākāra) and
sound (shabda); providing the visible and audible representations, respectively. Kannada is written from left
to right.[7] Kannada alphabet (aksharamale or varnamale) now consists of 49 letters.[8]

Each sound has its own distinct letter, and therefore every word is pronounced exactly as it is spelt; so the

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ear is a sufficient guide. After the exact sounds of the letters have been once gained, every word can be
pronounced with perfect accuracy. The accent falls on the first syllable.[7]

Vowels
There are thirteen vowels (swaras).

Kannada ISO notation Unicode name

అ a KANNADA LETTER A

ఆ ā KANNADA LETTER AA

ఇ i KANNADA LETTER I

ఈ ī KANNADA LETTER II
Brahmi script, Kanheri Caves

ఉ u KANNADA LETTER U

ఊ ū KANNADA LETTER UU

ఋ r̥ KANNADA LETTER VOCALIC R

ఎ e KANNADA LETTER E

ఏ ē KANNADA LETTER EE

ఐ ai KANNADA LETTER AI

ఒ o KANNADA LETTER O

ఓ ō KANNADA LETTER OO

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ఔ au KANNADA LETTER AU

Note: ౠ (U+0CE1) was removed during 1990[1].

Yogavaahaka's
The Yogavaahaka's (part-vowel, part consonant) include two letters:

1. The anusvara: ◌ం (am)

2. The visarga: ◌ః (ah)

Consonants
Two types of consonants are identified in Kannada: the structured consonants and the unstructured
consonants. The structured consonants are classified according to where the tongue touches the palate of the
mouth and are classified accordingly into five structured groups.

Structured consonants

These consonants are shown here with the IAST symbols and the unicode name following.

voiceless
voiceless voiced voiced aspirate nasal
aspirate

Velars క (ka) ఖ (kha) గ (ga) ఘ (gha) ఙ (nga)

Palatals చ (ca) ఛ (cha) జ (ja) ఝ (jha) ఞ (IAST ña,

Unicode nya)

Retroflex
ట (IAST ṭa, ఠ (IAST ṭha, డ (IAST ḍa, ఢ (IAST ḍha, ణ (IAST ṇa,
Unicode tta) Unicode ttha) Unicode dda) Unicode ddha) Unicode nna)

Dentals త (ta) థ (tha) ద (da) ధ (dha) న (na)

Labials ప (pa) ఫ (pha) బ (ba) భ (bha) మ (ma)

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See place of articulation for more information on tongue positions.

Unstructured consonants

The unstructured consonants are consonants that do not fall into any of the above structures:

య (ya), ర (ra), ఱ (ṟ), ల (la), వ (va), శ (IAST śa, Unicode sha), ష (IAST ṣa, Unicode ssa), స
(sa), హ (ha), ళ (IAST ḷa, Unicode lla), ఁ (ll).

Numerals
The decimal numerals in the script are:

౦ (0), ౧ (1), ౨ (2), ౩ (3), ౪ (4), ౫ (5), ౬ (6), ౭ (7), ౮ (8), ౯ (9).
Kagunita
Written Kannada is composed of kagunita, corresponding to syllables. The signs for consonants may
combine with the signs for vowels to form ligatures. Each kagunita corresponds to a syllable. In the table
below the top row lists the vowels, and the leftmost column from row 2 down the consonants (actually
represented by kagunita, namely that obtained by combining each consonant with the "neutral" vowel 'a').
The remaining cells contain the corresponding kagunita obtained by combining the consonant of that row
with the vowel of that column.

అ ఆ ఇ ఈ ఉ ఊ ఋ ఎ ఏ ఐ ఒ ఓ ఔ అం అః

క Cా E Eౕ కు కూ కృ Cె Cెౕ Cై Cెూ Cెూౕ Cౌ కం కః

ఖ Mా N Nౕ ఖు ఖూ ఖృ Mె Mెౕ Mై Mెూ Mెూౕ Mౌ ఖం ఖః

గ Oా P Pౕ గు గూ గృ Oె Oెౕ Oై Oెూ Oెూౕ Oౌ గం గః

ఘ Q R Rౕ ఘS ఘూ ఘT U Uౕ Uౖ Uూ Uూౕ Vౌ ఘం ఘః

ఙ WXా Wి Wిౕ ఙు ఙూ ఙృ WZ WZౕ WZౖ WZ[ WZ[ౕ WXౌ ఙం ఙః

చ \ా ] ]ౕ చు చూ చృ \ె \ెౕ \ై \ెూ \ెూౕ \ౌ చం చః

ఛ ^ా _ _ౕ ఛు ఛూ ఛృ ^ె ^ెౕ ^ై ^ెూ ^ెూౕ ^ౌ ఛం ఛః

జ `ా a aౕ జు జూ జృ `ె `ెౕ `ై `ెూ `ెూౕ `ౌ జం జః

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ఝ bా c cౕ ఝు ఝూ ఝృ d dౕ dౖ e eౕ bౌ ఝం ఝః

ఞ fXా fి fిౕ ఞS ఞ[ ఞృ f Z f Zౕ f Zౖ f Z[ f Z[ౕ fXౌ ఞం ఞః

ట gా h hౕ టు టూ టృ gె gెౕ gై gెూ gెూౕ gౌ టం టః

ఠ iా j jౕ ఠు ఠూ ఠృ iె iెౕ iై iెూ iెూౕ iౌ ఠం ఠః

డ kా l lౕ డు డూ డృ kె kెౕ kై kెూ kెూౕ kౌ డం డః

ఢ mా n nౕ ఢు ఢూ ఢృ mె mెౕ mై mెూ mెూౕ mౌ ఢం ఢః

ణ oా p pౕ ణు ణూ ణృ oె oెౕ oై oెూ oెూౕ oౌ ణం ణః

త qా r rౕ తు తూ తృ qె qెౕ qై qెూ qెూౕ qౌ తం తః

థ sా t tౕ థు థూ థృ sె sెౕ sై sెూ sెూౕ sౌ థం థః

ద uా v vౕ దు దూ దృ uె uెౕ uై uెూ uెూౕ uౌ దం దః

ధ wా x xౕ ధు ధూ ధృ wె wెౕ wై wెూ wెూౕ wౌ ధం ధః

న yా z zౕ ను నూ నృ yె yెౕ yై yెూ yెూౕ yౌ నం నః

ప {ా  ౕ ప| ప} పృ {ె {ెౕ {ై ~ ~ౕ {ౌ పం పః

ఫ ా € €ౕ  ‚ ఫృ ె ెౕ ై ƒ ƒౕ ౌ ఫం ఫః

బ „ా … …ౕ బు బూ బృ „ె „ెౕ „ై „ెూ „ెూౕ „ౌ బం బః

భ †ా ‡ ‡ౕ భు భూ భృ †ె †ెౕ †ై †ెూ †ెూౕ †ౌ భం భః

మ ˆా ‰ ‰ౕ ము మూ మృ Š Šౕ Šౖ ‹ ‹ౕ ˆౌ మం మః

య Œా  ౕ యు యూ యృ Ž Žౕ Žౖ  ౕ Œౌ యం యః

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ర ా ‘ ‘ౕ రు రూ రృ ె ెౕ ై ెూ ెూౕ ౌ రం రః

ఱ ’Xా ’ి ’ిౕ ఱు ఱూ ఱృ ’ె ’ెౕ ’ై ’ె[ ’ె[ౕ ’Xౌ ఱం ఱః

ల “ా  ౕ లు లూ లృ “ె “ెౕ “ై “ెూ “ెూౕ “ౌ లం లః

వ ”ా • •ౕ వ| వ} వృ ”ె ”ెౕ ”ై – –ౕ ”ౌ వం వః

శ —ా ˜ ˜ౕ శు శ[ శృ —ె —ెౕ —ై —ె[ —ె[ౕ —ౌ శం శః

ష ™ా š šౕ షు షూ షృ ™ె ™ెౕ ™ై ™ెూ ™ెూౕ ™ౌ షం షః

స ›ా œ œౕ సు సూ సృ ›ె ›ెౕ ›ై ›ెూ ›ెూౕ ›ౌ సం సః

హ ా ž žౕ హు హూ హృ ె ెౕ ై ెూ ెూౕ ౌ హం హః

ళ Ÿా    ౕ ళ¡ ళ¢ ళT Ÿె Ÿెౕ Ÿై Ÿె¢ Ÿె¢ ౕ Ÿౌ ళం ళః

ఁ ఁXా £ి £ిౕ ఁు ఁూ ఁృ £Z £Zౕ £Zౖ £Zూ £Zూ ౕ £ౌ ఁం ఁః

Unicode
Kannada script was added to the Unicode Standard in October, 1991 with the release of version 1.0.

Four rare letters used for writing Sanskrit in Kannada script were added to the Unicode Standard in July, 2006
with the release of version 5.0.[9]

The Unicode block for Kannada is U+0C80–U+0CFF. Grey areas indicate non-assigned code points:

Kannada[1]
Unicode.org chart (http://www.unicode.org/charts/PDF/U0C80.pdf) (PDF)
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 A B C D E F

U+0C8x ◌ం ◌ః అ ఆ ఇ ఈ ఉ ఊ ఋ ఌ ఎ ఏ

U+0C9x ఐ ఒ ఓ ఔ క ఖ గ ఘ ఙ చ ఛ జ ఝ ఞ ట

U+0CAx ఠ డ ఢ ణ త థ ద ధ న ప ఫ బ భ మ య

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U+0CBx ర ఱ ల ళ వ శ ష స హ ◌ా ◌ి

U+0CCx ◌ిౕ ◌ు ◌ూ ◌ృ ◌ౄ ◌ె ◌ెౕ ◌ై ◌ెూ ◌ెూౕ ◌ౌ ◌్

U+0CDx ◌ౕ ◌ౖ ఁ

U+0CEx ౠ ౡ ౦ ౧ ౨ ౩ ౪ ౫ ౬ ౭ ౮ ౯

U+0CFx

Notes

1.^ As of Unicode version 6.0

Script similarities
Telugu script is closely related to the Kannada script because both scripts are derived from the Telugu-
Kannada script.[10] Scripts which are close to Kannada script other than Telugu script are Sinhala script[11]
(which included some elements from the Kadamba script[12]), and old Peguan script (used in Burma).[13]

Old-Kannada Text from Kavirajamarga:

See also
Kannada
Telugu script
Tamil script
Malayalam script
Grantha script
Kannada grammar
Kannada literature
Kannada poetry
Karnataka
Kannada script evolution
Timeline of Karnataka
ఠ_ఠ

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External links
The Unicode Book: Chapter 9 (http://www.unicode.org/unicode/uni2book/ch09.pdf) PDF (634 KB) —
South and Southeast Asian Scripts
The Unicode Standard 5.0 (http://www.unicode.org/charts/PDF/U0C80.pdf) — Kannada Code Chart
PDF (111 KB)
Kannada alphabet (http://www.omniglot.com/writing/kannada.htm) — From Omniglot
Kannada lessons, alphabet worksheet (http://www.kannadalibrary.com) — Kannada library

References
1. ^ Campbell, George L. (1997-11-06). Handbook of scripts and alphabets (1st Ed. ed.). Routledge, New York.
pp. 84–5. ISBN 9780415137157. OCLC 34473667 (http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/34473667) .
2. ^ George Cardona,, Dhanesh Jain (2007). The Indo-Aryan Languages. Routledge,. pp. 804,805.
ISBN 041577294X, 9780415772945.
3. ^ National Archives of India (1985). Indian archives, Volume 34. National Archives of India.,. pp. 4.
4. ^ "Kannada" (http://www.ancientscripts.com/kannada.html) . http://www.ancientscripts.com/kannada.html.
Retrieved 2009-05-07.
5. ^ "Old Kannada" (http://www.ancientscripts.com/old_kannada.html) . http://www.ancientscripts.com
/old_kannada.html. Retrieved 2009-05-07.
6. ^ "Kadamba" (http://www.ancientscripts.com/kadamba.html) . http://www.ancientscripts.com/kadamba.html.
Retrieved 2009-05-07.
7. ^ a b A Grammar of the Kannada Language F. Kittel (1993), p. 5
8. ^ "BhashaIndia.com :: Kannada" (http://web.archive.org/web/20080414012744/http://www.bhashaindia.com
/Patrons/LanguageTech/Kannada.aspx) . Archived from the original (http://www.bhashaindia.com/Patrons
/LanguageTech/Kannada.aspx) on 2008-04-14. http://web.archive.org/web/20080414012744/http:
//www.bhashaindia.com/Patrons/LanguageTech/Kannada.aspx. Retrieved 2008-05-01.
9. ^ Proposal to add six characters for Kannada to the BMP of the UCS (http://std.dkuug.dk/jtc1/sc2/wg2/docs
/n2860.pdf)
10. ^ "Ancient scripts, Telugu" (http://www.ancientscripts.com/telugu.html) . http://www.ancientscripts.com
/telugu.html. Retrieved 2009-05-07.
11. ^ "Romanization, Sinhala (Sinhalese) Script" (http://www.atla.com/tsig/Foreign_Lang_presentation/files2
/9_22SinhalaRomanization.pdf) . http://www.atla.com/tsig/Foreign_Lang_presentation/files2
/9_22SinhalaRomanization.pdf. Retrieved 2009-05-07.
12. ^ "Ancient scripts, Sinhala" (http://www.ancientscripts.com/sinhala.html) . http://www.ancientscripts.com
/sinhala.html. Retrieved 2009-05-07.
13. ^ "Telugu & Sinhalese script similarities" (http://www.bhaavana.net/telusa/jan96/0155.html) .
http://www.bhaavana.net/telusa/jan96/0155.html. Retrieved 2009-05-07.
Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kannada_script"
Categories: Scripts with ISO 15924 four-letter codes | Brahmic scripts | Kannada language | Konkani | Tulu
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