Kannada grammar
Encyclopedia
The Kannada grammar is primarily based on Keshiraja's Shabdamanidarpana
(c. 1260 CE), which provides the fullest systematic exposition of the Kannada language
. The earlier grammatical works include portions of Kavirajamarga
(a treatise on alańkāra) of the 9th century, and Kavyavalokana and Karnatakabhashabhushana (both authored by Nagavarma II
in the
first half of the 12th century).
Kannada language classifies nouns as human, and non-human, like Tamil and other Dravidian languages. The terminations for declension are added accordingly. In the class of human nouns, there is masculine and feminine genders. All non human nouns are treated as neuters with some exceptions.
Various grammatical aspects of Kannada include, tatsama–tadbhava, vibhakti pratyaya, kāla (tense
forms), linga (gender
forms), sandhi
, samāsa, chandassu, alańkāra; and different poetrical metres such as vritta, tripadi
, kanda (also called, choupadi or chaturpadi), shatpadi, and sāngatya.
Examples: tangaaLi , hemmara , immadi .
only three gender forms are used in practice: masculine, feminine, and neuter.
Masculine
Words that denote male
persons are considered to have masculine gender.
Feminine
Words that denote female
persons are considered to have feminine gender.
Neuter
Nouns that do not belong to either of the above two classes are considered to have neuter gender.
Shabdamanidarpana
Shabhamanidarpana , also spelled Śabdamaṇidarpaṇa, is a comprehensive and authoritative work on Kannada grammar authored by Kesiraja in 1260 CE. This work, which literally means "Jewel-mirror of Grammar", remains till now as the comprehensive and early authoritative work on Kannada grammar...
(c. 1260 CE), which provides the fullest systematic exposition of the Kannada language
Kannada language
Kannada or , is a language spoken in India predominantly in the state of Karnataka. Kannada, whose native speakers are called Kannadigas and number roughly 50 million, is one of the 30 most spoken languages in the world...
. The earlier grammatical works include portions of Kavirajamarga
Kavirajamarga
Kavirajamarga is the earliest available writing on rhetoric, poetics and grammar in the Kannada language. It was written by the famous Rashtrakuta King "Nripatunga" Amoghavarsha I and some say that it is based partly on an earlier Sanskrit writing, Kavyadarsa...
(a treatise on alańkāra) of the 9th century, and Kavyavalokana and Karnatakabhashabhushana (both authored by Nagavarma II
Nagavarma II
Nagavarma II was a Kannada language scholar and grammarian of the 11th or 12th century Western Chalukya court centred in Basavakalyan, modern Karnataka state, India. He was the earliest among the three most notable and authoritative grammarians of Old-Kannada language...
in the
first half of the 12th century).
Kannada language classifies nouns as human, and non-human, like Tamil and other Dravidian languages. The terminations for declension are added accordingly. In the class of human nouns, there is masculine and feminine genders. All non human nouns are treated as neuters with some exceptions.
Various grammatical aspects of Kannada include, tatsama–tadbhava, vibhakti pratyaya, kāla (tense
Grammatical tense
A tense is a grammatical category that locates a situation in time, to indicate when the situation takes place.Bernard Comrie, Aspect, 1976:6:...
forms), linga (gender
Grammatical gender
Grammatical gender is defined linguistically as a system of classes of nouns which trigger specific types of inflections in associated words, such as adjectives, verbs and others. For a system of noun classes to be a gender system, every noun must belong to one of the classes and there should be...
forms), sandhi
Sandhi
Sandhi is a cover term for a wide variety of phonological processes that occur at morpheme or word boundaries . Examples include the fusion of sounds across word boundaries and the alteration of sounds due to neighboring sounds or due to the grammatical function of adjacent words...
, samāsa, chandassu, alańkāra; and different poetrical metres such as vritta, tripadi
Tripadi
Tripadi is a metre in the Kannada language dating back to c. 700 CE.-Definition:...
, kanda (also called, choupadi or chaturpadi), shatpadi, and sāngatya.
Terminology
- wordWordIn language, a word is the smallest free form that may be uttered in isolation with semantic or pragmatic content . This contrasts with a morpheme, which is the smallest unit of meaning but will not necessarily stand on its own...
– pada or shabda or sapLa - letterLetter (alphabet)A letter is a grapheme in an alphabetic system of writing, such as the Greek alphabet and its descendants. Letters compose phonemes and each phoneme represents a phone in the spoken form of the language....
– akshara - vowelVowelIn phonetics, a vowel is a sound in spoken language, such as English ah! or oh! , pronounced with an open vocal tract so that there is no build-up of air pressure at any point above the glottis. This contrasts with consonants, such as English sh! , where there is a constriction or closure at some...
– swara - consonantConsonantIn articulatory phonetics, a consonant is a speech sound that is articulated with complete or partial closure of the vocal tract. Examples are , pronounced with the lips; , pronounced with the front of the tongue; , pronounced with the back of the tongue; , pronounced in the throat; and ,...
– vyanjana - nounNounIn linguistics, a noun is a member of a large, open lexical category whose members can occur as the main word in the subject of a clause, the object of a verb, or the object of a preposition .Lexical categories are defined in terms of how their members combine with other kinds of...
– nāmapada - verbVerbA verb, from the Latin verbum meaning word, is a word that in syntax conveys an action , or a state of being . In the usual description of English, the basic form, with or without the particle to, is the infinitive...
– kriyāpada - pronounPronounIn linguistics and grammar, a pronoun is a pro-form that substitutes for a noun , such as, in English, the words it and he...
– sarvanāma - adjectiveAdjectiveIn grammar, an adjective is a 'describing' word; the main syntactic role of which is to qualify a noun or noun phrase, giving more information about the object signified....
– guṇavāchaka - sentenceSentence (linguistics)In the field of linguistics, a sentence is an expression in natural language, and often defined to indicate a grammatical unit consisting of one or more words that generally bear minimal syntactic relation to the words that precede or follow it...
– saalu / vaakya - case ending – vibhakti
- verbVerbA verb, from the Latin verbum meaning word, is a word that in syntax conveys an action , or a state of being . In the usual description of English, the basic form, with or without the particle to, is the infinitive...
rootRoot (linguistics)The root word is the primary lexical unit of a word, and of a word family , which carries the most significant aspects of semantic content and cannot be reduced into smaller constituents....
– dhātu - genderGenderGender is a range of characteristics used to distinguish between males and females, particularly in the cases of men and women and the masculine and feminine attributes assigned to them. Depending on the context, the discriminating characteristics vary from sex to social role to gender identity...
– linga - numeralNumeralThe term numeral can refer to:* Symbols for numbers used in mathematics.* Numeral , the basic words combined in a language represent numbers* Numerical digit, the glyphs used to represent numerals...
– anki
Compound bases
Compound bases, called samāsa in Kannada, are a set of two or more words compounded together. There are several types of compound bases, based on the rules followed for compounding.Examples: tangaaLi , hemmara , immadi .
Gender
According to Keshiraja's Shabdamanidarpana, there are nine gender forms in Kannada. However, in modern Kannada literatureModern Kannada literature
Modern Kannada literature refers to the body of literature written in the Kannada language, a language spoken mainly in the Indian state of Karnataka. The Kannada script is the writing system used in Kannada literature. In the last forty years, eight modern Kannada authors have been awarded the...
only three gender forms are used in practice: masculine, feminine, and neuter.
Masculine
Words that denote male
Male
Male refers to the biological sex of an organism, or part of an organism, which produces small mobile gametes, called spermatozoa. Each spermatozoon can fuse with a larger female gamete or ovum, in the process of fertilization...
persons are considered to have masculine gender.
- Examples: ShivaShivaShiva is a major Hindu deity, and is the destroyer god or transformer among the Trimurti, the Hindu Trinity of the primary aspects of the divine. God Shiva is a yogi who has notice of everything that happens in the world and is the main aspect of life. Yet one with great power lives a life of a...
, BhimaBhimaIn the Mahābhārata, Bhima is one of the central characters of Mahabharata and the second of the Pandava brothers...
, RamaRamaRama or full name Ramachandra is considered to be the seventh avatar of Vishnu in Hinduism, and a king of Ayodhya in ancient Indian...
, kingKing- Centers of population :* King, Ontario, CanadaIn USA:* King, Indiana* King, North Carolina* King, Lincoln County, Wisconsin* King, Waupaca County, Wisconsin* King County, Washington- Moving-image works :Television:...
- arasa
Feminine
Words that denote female
Female
Female is the sex of an organism, or a part of an organism, which produces non-mobile ova .- Defining characteristics :The ova are defined as the larger gametes in a heterogamous reproduction system, while the smaller, usually motile gamete, the spermatozoon, is produced by the male...
persons are considered to have feminine gender.
- Examples: ParvatiParvatiParvati is a Hindu goddess. Parvati is Shakti, the wife of Shiva and the gentle aspect of Mahadevi, the Great Goddess...
, LakshmiLakshmiLakshmi or Lakumi is the Hindu goddess of wealth, prosperity , light, wisdom, fortune, fertility, generosity and courage; and the embodiment of beauty, grace and charm. Representations of Lakshmi are also found in Jain monuments...
, SaraswatiSaraswatiIn Hinduism Saraswati , is the goddess of knowledge, music, arts, science and technology. She is the consort of Brahma, also revered as His Shakti....
, AmmaAmmaAmma or AMMA may refer to:As acronym*Association of Malayalam Movie Artists*All Malaysia Malayalee Association*American Medical Marijuana AssociationPeople...
Neuter
Nouns that do not belong to either of the above two classes are considered to have neuter gender.
- Examples: love , world , tree , bear , river