Kodava language

The Kodava (Kannada script: ಕೊಡವ ತಕ್ಕ್, Kodava takk, meaning ‘speech of Kodavas’, in the Kodava language, alternate names:Coorgi is an endangered Dravidian language and the original language of the Kodagu district in Southern Karnataka, India. The term Kodava has two related usages. Firstly, it is the name of the Kodava language and culture followed by a number of communities from Kodagu. Secondly, within the Kodava-speaking communities and region (Kodagu), it is a demonym for the dominant Kodava people. Hence, the Kodava language is not only the primary language of the Kodavas but also of many other castes and tribes in Kodagu. The language has two dialects: Mendele (spoken in Northern and Central Kodagu, i.e. outside Kodagu’s Kiggat naadu) and Kiggat (spoken in Kiggat naadu, in Southern Kodagu).

Historically, it has been referred to as a dialect of Kannada. However it has been re-analysed as a language by early 20th century academics.

It is traditionally written using the Kannada script which is an abugida. The 2011 Census of India reports 96,918 persons who returned Kodava as their mother tongue and 16,939 for Coorgi/Kodagu, for a total of 113,857 persons who identified one of these languages as their mother tongue.

Grammar

The grammar of Kodagu has been systematically studied and documented since at least around 1867 when Captain R.A. Cole published the seminal work An Elementary Grammar of the Coorg Language.

Phonology

Vowels

Dravidian vowel systems contain five vowel qualities i.e. those usually corresponding to a, e, i, o and u., with a short and long variants for each. However, Kodava has two more: the mid and high (close) back unrounded vowels, with corresponding long variants.

Kodagu has 14 vowels. 7 of these, i, e, ɛ, a, ɑ, o, u, have long equivalents.

	Front	Central	Back
			unrounded	rounded
Close	i	ɨ	ɯ	u
Near-close	ɪ			ʊ
Close-mid	e			o
Mid		ə
Open-mid	ɛ		ʌ	ɔ
Open	a		ɑ

Consonants

Kodava has 25 consonants.

		Bilabial	Dental	Alveolar	Retroflex	Palatal	Velar	Glottal
Stop	voiceless	p	t̪		ʈ		k
	voiced	b	d̪		ɖ		g
Fricative			ð	s	ʂ	ç		h
Nasal		m	n̪	n	ɳ	ɲ	ŋ
Approximant				l	ɭ	j
Trill				r
Flap					ɽ

Kodava and Kannada share a lack of palatalization of word-initial *k-, which is a feature found in the Tamil-Malayalam branch.

Comparisons

Linguistically, Kodava/Kodagu language belongs to the South Dravidian subfamily of the Dravidian family. Further within the South Dravidian subfamily , it belongs to the subgroup Tamil-Malayalam-Kodagu-Kota-Toda. It is closely related to and influenced by Kannada, Malayalam, Tamil and Tulu. A majority of the words are common between Kodava and Beary bashe, a dialect which is a mixture of Tulu and Malayalam spoken by the Beary muslims and Kodava Thiyyar communities. Kodava is also closely related to the Kasaragod and Kannur dialects of Malayalam, which are in turn related to Beary.

Literature

Family histories, rituals and other records were scripted on palm leaves called Pattole (patt=palm, ole=leaf) by astrologers in the ancient times. When Kodava was written, it was usually with Kannada script, sometimes with minor modifications. The folk songs of the Kodavas, called the Palame (also known as the Balo Patt or Dudi Patt), were orally transmitted across several generations. The language had no significant written literature until the twentieth century. Appachcha Kavi, a playwright, and Nadikerianda Chinnappa, a folk compiler, are the two important poets and writers of the Kodava language. Other important writers in the language were B D Ganapathy and I M Muthanna.

In 2005, after requests from the Kodagu community, German linguist Gerard Cox created a script unique to Kodava called the Coorgi-Cox script. It uses straight lines for 5 vowels, and has circles for diphthongs.

The Pattole Palame, a collection of Kodava folksongs and traditions compiled in the early 1900s by Nadikerianda Chinnappa, was first published in 1924. The most important Kodava literature, it is said to be one of the earliest, if not the earliest, collection of folklore of a community in an Indian language. Nearly two-thirds of the book consists of folksongs that were handed down orally through generations, sung even today during marriage and death ceremonies and during festivals relating to the seasons and in honour of local deities and heroes. Traditionally known as Balo Pat, these songs are sung by four men who beat dudis (drums) as they sing. Kodava folk dances are performed to the beat of many of these songs. The Pattole Palame was written using the Kannada script originally; it has been translated into English by Boverianda Nanjamma and Chinnappa, grandchildren of Nadikerianda Chinnappa, and has been published by Rupa & Co., New Delhi.

Cinema

The Kodava Cinema industry is very small. A few movies portraying the native culture and traditions of the Kodavas have been produced in this language. The first Kodava film ‘Nada Mann Nada Kool’ was directed by S.R.Rajan and produced in the year 1972.

Words for family members

Mother	Avvo
Father	Appo
Grandfather	Ajjo
Grandmother	Ajjavo Thaayi
Maternal Uncle / Paternal Aunt’s husband	Thammaavo / Maavo
Maternal Uncle’s wife / Paternal Aunt	Maavi / Thammaavi
Eldest Paternal Uncle / Eldest Maternal Aunt’s husband	Baliappo
Eldest Paternal Uncle’s wife / Eldest Maternal Aunt	Baliavvo
Elder Paternal Uncle / Elder Maternal Aunt’s husband	Bojappo
Elder Paternal Uncle’s wife / Elder Maternal Aunt	Bojavvo
Younger Paternal Uncle / Younger Maternal Aunt’s husband	Kunjappo
Younger Paternal Uncle’s wife/ Younger Maternal Aunt	Kunjavvo
Youngest Paternal Uncle / Youngest Maternal Aunt’s husband	Cheriappo
Youngest Paternal Uncle’s wife/ Youngest Maternal Aunt	Cheriavvo
Father-in-law	Maavo
Mother-in-law	Maavi
brother-in-law (elder) / cross-cousin (elder, brother) / lineal cousin (elder, sister)’s husband	Baavo
sister-in-law (elder)/ cross-cousin (elder, sister) / lineal-cousin (elder, brother)’s wife	Mammo
brother (elder) / lineal cousin (elder brother) / cross-cousin (elder, sister)’s husband	Anno / Annaiah
sister (elder) / lineal-cousin (elder, sister) / cross-cousin (elder, brother)’s wife	Akko / Akkaiah
brother (younger)	Thammanno
sister (younger)	Thange
Wife	Ponne
Husband	Wadiyye
Son	Movo
Daughter	Mova

Kodava words

Kodava	Kannada	Malayalam	Tulu	English
Moodi	Hudugi	Penkutti	Ponnu	Girl
Kinha	Huduga	Aankutti	Aan/Kinni	Boy
Poyi	Hogu	Poyko	Poyi	Go
Kanni	Saaru	Chaar	Kajipu	Stew (lentils, vegetables, others)
Koole	Anna	Chor	Nuppu	Cooked Rice
Id	Idu	Ide	Dee	Put
Thimbak	Tinnakke	Tinnuka/Kazhikkuka	Thinere	To Eat
kuLi	snana	kuLi	Meela	To Bath
Unda?	Unta/ideya?	Undo?	Unda?	Is There?
Bappi	Bartini	Varam	Barpe	I will Come (Farewell Greeting)
Ullo	iddene	Ulle	Ulle	Am There
Bandan Ullo	Baruta iddene	Varunnund	Barond ulle	Am coming
Yenene Ulliya?	Hege iddiya?	Engane und?	Encha ulla/ya?	How are you?
Māṅge	Maavu	Māṅga	Mudi/Kukku	Mango
Kaḷḷa	Kaḷla	Kaḷḷan	Kalva	Thief
Suroole /Minyathele	Modalu	Adyam	Suru	First
Kere Pamb	Kere Haavu	Chēra Pamb	Keri	Rat Snake
Mūle	Mūle	Mūla	Mudye/mūle	Corner
Āme	Āme	Āma	Eme	Tortoise
Bēli	Bēli	Vēli	Bēli	Fence
Bithe/Kuru	Beeja	Vitth/Kuru	Bitth	Seed
Bādege	Bādige	Vādaka	Badige	Rent
Chaththe	Sante	Chantha	Santhe	Market
Ēni	Ēni	Ēni	Ēni	Ladder
Pulunja Puḷi	Hunase Huli	PuLi	Punke puli	Tamarind
Gaali/Kaath	Gaali	Kaatt	Gaali	Wind
Thaari	Kodu	Tharu	Koru	give
Kaapi	Kaapi	Kaapi	Kaapi	Coffee
Paaduvo	Haadu	Paaduka	Pada paad	to sing