Badaga language
| Badaga | |
|---|---|
| Native to | India |
| Region | Tamil Nadu, The Nilgiris |
|
Native speakers
|
140,000 (2001)[1] 400,000 (date missing)[2] |
| Kannada alphabet Tamil script |
|
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-3 | bfq |
| Glottolog | bada1257[3] |
Badaga (Kannada: ಬಡಗ ಭಾಷೆ) is a southern Dravidian language (Tamil–Kannada branch) spoken by approximately 400,000 people in the Nilgiri Hills of Southern India.[2] It is known for its retroflex vowels. It has similarities with neighbouring Kannada language and it was earlier considered as a dialect of Kannada and now identified as an independent language.[4] The word Badaga refers to the Badaga language as well as the Badaga indigenous people that speak it.
Sounds[edit]
Badaga has five vowels /i e a o u/, all of which can be contrastively half and fully retroflexed. Only the most conservative dialects have the complete set of contrasts (that is, contrasts of pharyngealized and retroflexed vowels[not in citation given]).[5]
| IPA | Gloss |
|---|---|
| /noː/ | disease |
| /pọː/ | scar |
| /mo˞e˞/ | sprout |
| /a˞e˞/ | tiger's den |
| /ha˞ːsu/ | to spread out |
| /kạːʃu/ | to remove |
| /i˞ːụ/ | seven |
| /hụːj/ | tamarind |
| /be˞ː/ | bangle |
| /bẹː/ | banana |
| /huj/ | to strike |
| /hu˞j/ | tamarind |
| /ụj/ | chisel |
Note on transcriptions: rhoticity (e.g. [i˞], [e˞]) indicates half-retroflexion or pharyngealization; an underdot (e.g. [ị], [ẹ]) indicates full retroflexion.
Badaga script[edit]
Several attempts at constructing an orthography based on English and Kannada.
Dictionary[edit]
Badaga language is well studied, mainly by missionaries and several Badaga-English Dictionaries are produced since the latter part of nineteenth century.[7]
References[edit]
- ^ Badaga at Ethnologue (17th ed., 2013)
- ^ a b Steever, Sanford B. (1998). The Dravidian languages. Taylor & Francis. pp. 6–7. ISBN 978-0-415-10023-6.
- ^ Nordhoff, Sebastian; Hammarström, Harald; Forkel, Robert; Haspelmath, Martin, eds. (2013). "Badaga". Glottolog 2.2. Leipzig: Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology.
- ^ Thiagarajan, Shantha (4 December 2012). "Badaga language not a dialect of Kannada, claims French linguistic scholar". The Times of India. Retrieved 4 February 2013.
- ^ "Badaga". UCLA Phonetics Lab. Retrieved 9 May 2013.
- ^ "Word List for Badaga". UCLA Phonetics Lab. Retrieved 9 May 2013.
- ^ Paul Hockings, Christiane Pilot-Raichoor (Reprint 1992). Badaga-English Dictionary. Walter de Gruyter. Retrieved 6 February 2013.
External links[edit]
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Badaga language test of Wikipedia at Wikimedia Incubator |
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