Keeping Kannada
🎯 Build a habit, and find the writing that rewards it.
🗣️ Say these out loud
- ಇದನ್ನು ಕನ್ನಡದಲ್ಲಿ ಏನು ಅಂತಾರೆ? — idannu Kannadadalli enu antaare? 🔊 i-DAN-nu kan-na-da-DAL-li AY-nu an-TAA-re What is this called in Kannada? Point and ask.
- ನಿಧಾನವಾಗಿ ಹೇಳಿ — nidhaanavaagi heli 🔊 ni-DHAA-na-vaa-gi HAY-li Please say it slowly.
- ಅಭ್ಯಾಸ — abhyaasa 🔊 abh-YAA-sa practice The same Sanskrit word again, across six of these courses.
- ಪ್ರಯತ್ನ ಮಾಡ್ತಾ ಇರಿ — prayatna maadtaa iri 🔊 pra-YAT-na MAAD-taa i-RI Keep trying.
- ಮಾತು ಬಲ್ಲವನಿಗೆ ಜಗಳವಿಲ್ಲ 🔊 MAA-tu BAL-la-va-ni-ge ja-ga-la-VIL-la One who knows how to speak has no quarrels. A Kannada proverb — and a fair argument for learning any language.
- ಶುಭಾಶಯಗಳು — shubhaashayagalu 🔊 shu-BHAA-sha-ya-ga-lu Best wishes! Before an exam or a journey.
Read every line aloud twice before moving on. The mouth learns a language, not the eye.
🔍 Where to read next
Kannada has eight Jnanpith awards — more than any other Indian language — so the reading list is unusually strong.
- Start with the vachanas of Basavanna: short, plain, twelfth-century free verse about how to live.
- Then Kuvempu, D. R. Bendre or Shivaram Karanth — all Jnanpith winners.
- Read Prajavani or Vijaya Karnataka headlines each morning.
- Watch Kannada films with Kannada subtitles.
🌍 Among the people
Kannada was declared a classical language of India in 2008. Kannada University at Hampi and the Kannada Sahitya Parishat run courses and examinations for non-native learners.
🔁 Practise today
- Learn one vachana of Basavanna by heart.
- Read Lesson 1 aloud in the Kannada script.
- Use ಎಷ್ಟು, ಸರಿ and ಸ್ವಲ್ಪ in real conversation this week.
