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Tulu language

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Tulu
തുളു / ತುಳು
File:Tigliari.PNG
Native toIndia
RegionCoastal Karnataka (Udupi and Dakshina Kannada) and parts of northern Kerala (Kasargod). (historically known as Tulu Nadu)
Native speakers
3-5 Million [1][2]
Tigalari, ModifiedKannada script
Language codes
ISO 639-2dra
ISO 639-3tcy

Tulu (തുളു/ತುಳು) is a Dravidian language of India spoken by an estimated native speakers between 3 to 5 million speakers[3][4], known as Tuluvas. It is one of the oldest language born almost during the same time when Tamil & Prakrit was born.[5] Most Tuluvas live in the districts of Dakshina Kannada and Udupi in the west of the state of Karnataka. It is also spoken in the Kasaragod taluk of Kerala also known as the Tulu Nadu region. There are a sizeable number of Tuluvas in the gulf as well as in Mumbai and other parts of Maharashtra. The original written script of the language Tigalari, adapted from the Grantha Script, from which the present day Malayalam script is also adapted, is rarely used today. Since the beginning of the twentieth century, it has mostly been written in the modified Kannada script.[6]

Geographic distribution

There are indications in a few Malayalam works that the region stretching from the Chandragiri river, now part of the Kasaragod district of Kerala, to Gokarna, now part of Uttara Kannada district of Karnataka, was called Tulu Nadu[citation needed]. However, the present day Tulu linguistic boundary is confined to Dakshina Kannada and the Udupi district. Northern Kasaragod, Dakshina Kannada and the Udupi district are the major Tulu cultural regions.

Tuluvas have a saying: "Oorudu nanjaanda paarad badkodu". A loose translation would be: "If it's tough at home; run away and survive". Tuluvas are true to this character and have migrated to other places in great numbers.Early migration was to neighbouring regions like Malabar ( Kerala now ) , Mysore kingdom, Madras Presidency ( Tamil Nadu now). The large scale migration of Tulu speaking people from undivided South Canara district to other provinces ( regions ) of India is believed to happened during World War I, but there are no concrete materialistic evidence to prove. The reason being rationing of food grains by British who where ruling India then and spread of communicable diseases . The next wave of emigration was during World War II , now they settled in interior parts of Karnataka, coastal Andhra Pradesh and also to far off cities like Mumbai and Chennai.They mostly did business of running restaurants serving Udupi cuisine. Mumbai and Thane in Maharastra state has a sizable population of Tuluvas. Tulu is widely spoken in the Dakshina Kannada, Udupi and Uttara Kannada districts of Karnataka state. Efforts are also being made to include Tulu in the list of Official languages of India.[7]

Language Tree

The languages recognized as Official languages of India are in boldface.

Dravidian 
 Southern 
 Tamil-Kannada 
 Tamil-Kodagu 
 Kannada 
 Tulu 

Koraga

Tulu

 Central 
 Telugu-Kui 
 Telugu 
 Gondi-Kui 
 Gondi 

Konda

Kui

Kuvi

Koya

Manda

Pengo

 Kolami-Parji 

Naiki

Kolami

Ollari (Gadaba)

Parji

 Northern 
 Kurukh-Malto 

Brahui

Script

Tulu script was originally adapted from the Grantha Script, from which the present day Malayalam script is also adapted, by Tulu Brahmins who used it to translate Sanskrit text. 19th century missionaries used the Kannada script to transcribe Tulu works and to translate the Bible into Tulu. During the Tulu literature renaissance of the 1900s, the practice of writing Tulu in Kannada script became increasingly common; today, the original script is rarely used.[6] Attempts are being made by Tuluva linguists to revive the original script.[8]

The relationship between Tulunad and Kerala was very harmonious even in ancient times as Tulunadu was also considered as a part of Kerala according to the puranas. Nairs of kerala are originally migrated from Tulunadu.Nairs perhaps never talked Tamil but the Prakrit or Tulu or some other Aryan tongue. Nairs did mix with few Dravidian clans including Vellalas. The arrival of Nairs led to the mixture of Tamil with Prakrit Sanskrit and Tulu words converting the language to Malayalam.[citation required] Tulu Brahmins were also traveling and settling in Kerala for further studies in agama shastras or for conducting rituals in temples. The Tulu Brahmins used to write down the slokas on palmyra leaves (taalegari), which were used then for writing, in a curvy, floral style of script. Earlier it was considered as a variant of Malayalam script. But recent studies showed that this was the script used by the Brahmin scholars and later was adopted by the Kerala kings which is the present Malayalam script.(This has been proved in detail by Vidwan P V Puninchathaya in 'Tulu -Nadu-Nudi').

The language

The paucity of literary works has rendered the precise dating of the origin of this language very difficult. It is considered to be one of the oldest Dravidian language by some scholars.[citation needed]

Spoken Tulu changes from South to North. There is a common perception that there are only two Tulu dialects, namely Brahmin and Common. However, a study of the language and pronunciation suggests there are four distinct dialects of this language: Brahmin, Jain, Common, and Tribal.[citation needed]

Brahmin dialect
Spoken by Tulu Brahmins namely the (Sthanika Brahmins and Shivalli Brahmins).[9]
Jain dialect
Spoken by the Jains in the northern part of Tulu Nadu.
Common dialect
Spoken by the majority of people of Tulu Nadu; the dialect of commerce, entertainment and art.
Tribal dialect
Spoken by tribal people; closely resembles the Common dialect.

Places where it is taught

Tulu as a language continues to thrive in coastal Karnataka and Kasargod in Kerala. It has mainly survived due to the love of the Tuluvas towards their language. Tulu Sahitya Academy has introduce Tulu as an language in schools around coastal Karnataka namely Alva's High School, Moodbidri; Dattanjaneya High School, Odiyoor; Ramakunjeshwara English-medium High School, Ramakunja; and Vani Composite Pre-University College, Belthangady. It is planning to add more schools awaiting government permission.Tulu is also thought as a language in post graduate level in Mangalore University and also there is a dedicated department for Tulu studies,Translation and research at Dravidian University[10] in Kuppam Andhra Pradesh.The Government Degree College at Kasaragod in Kerala has introduced a certificate course in Tulu from the academic year 2009-2010. It has introduced Tulu as an optional subject in its Kannada post-graduation course also. It has adopted syllabi from the books published from the Tulu Sahitya Academy.

The Govinda Pai Research Centre at MGM College, Udupi started an 18-year Tulu lexicon project in the year 1979.[11] Different dialects, special vocabularies used for different occupational activities, rituals, and folk literature in the forms of Paād-danāas were included in this project. The Centre has also released a six-volume, trilingual, modestly priced Tulu-Kannada-English lexicon. The Tulu lexicon was awarded the Gundert Award for the best dictionary in the country in 1996.

List of tulu dictionaries and research papers

  • Bhat, D.N.S. 1967. Descriptive Analysis of Tulu. Poona: Deccan College
  • Bhat, S.L. 1971. "A grammar of Tulu", PhD dissertation, University of Wisconsin, Madidon, Wisconsin
  • Brigel, J. 1872. A Grammar of the Tulu Language. Mangalore
  • Claus, P. 1979. “Spirit Possession and Spirit Mediumship from the Perspective of Tulu Oral Traditions.” Culture, Medicine and Psychiatry 3:29-52
  • Devi, A.U. 1978. "A note on Tulu tense forms", Osmania Papers in Linguistics 4: 35-42
  • Manner, A. 1886. A Tulu in English Dictionary. Mangalore
  • Manner, A. 1888. English-Tulu Dictionary. Mangalore
  • Padmanabha, K. 1990. "A comparative study of Tulu dialects", PhD dissertation, Mangalore University
  • Paniyadi, S.U. 1932. Tulu Vyaakara.na (in Tulu). Udupi
  • Rama, M. 1978. "Structural description of Tulu – Kulala (Kumbara) dialect", PhD dissertation, University of Kerala
  • Ramaswami Aiyar, L.V. 1928. “The Tulu Verb.” Educational Review, Madras
  • Ramaswami Aiyar, L.V. 1932. “Tulu Prose Text in Two Dialects.” Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies, 6
  • Ramaswami Aiyar, L.V. 1963. “Materials for a Sketch of Tulu Phonology.” Indian Linguistics, 6
  • Rao, B.R. 1982. "Inter-relation of Tulu with other Dravidian languages", Intenational Journal of Dravidian Linguistics 11: 244-52
  • Shetty, R.T. 1986. Var.nanaatmaka Tulu Vyaakarana (in Kannada). Puttur: Kannada Sangha, Vivekananda College
  • Subrahmanyam, P.S. 1968. "Position of Tulu in Dravidian", Indian Linguistics 29: 47-66


Demand for a separate Tulunadu state

Main article: Mangalorean regionalism

The Tulu speakers of Southern India are a separate culture from the Kannadigas within India. From India's independence and the following reorganization of states, the Tuluvas have been demanding official language status for Tulu and a separate state for themselves. Though a bit subdued in between, this demand has grown stronger in recent years. Several organizations like the Tulu Rajya Horata Samiti have taken up the cause of the Tuluvas and frequent meetings and demonstrations are held across towns in Tulunadu (like Mangalore, Udupi etc) to voice their demands.[12][13]

See also

References

  1. ^ http://www.yakshagana.com/tulu-recog.htm
  2. ^ http://www.hindu.com/2005/05/05/stories/2005050515070300.htm
  3. ^ http://www.yakshagana.com/tulu-recog.htm
  4. ^ http://www.hindu.com/2005/05/05/stories/2005050515070300.htm
  5. ^ http://books.google.co.in/books?id=5DPDE2zBgHoC&pg=PA2497&dq=Tulu+Nadu+Konkani+Tulu+Kannada&lr=
  6. ^ a b Steever, Sanford B. (1998). The Dravidian Languages. Taylor & Francis. p. 162. ISBN 0415100232. {{cite book}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
  7. ^ Why Tulu language deserves recognition from Kendra Sahithya Academy and why it should be included in schedule 8B of the constitution
  8. ^ Radhika, M. (2005-10-08). "Dharam Singh pushes for Tulu rights". Tehelka. Retrieved 2008-11-03. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help); Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help); Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  9. ^ Tulunadu and Tulu community around the world - www.tuluver.com - Home
  10. ^ http://www.dravidianuniversity.ac.in/tuludept.html
  11. ^ http://www.rediff.com/news/sep/22udupi.htm
  12. ^ [1]
  13. ^ [2]
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