Kannada Grammar Book for a Non Kannada-Speaking Person Going to Karnataka - Suggestions

Tue Jul 6 07:33:03 UTC 1999

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Subject : Kannada Grammar Book for a Non Kannada-Speaking Person Going to
Karnataka
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Dear Prof  Ferenc Ruzsa <f_ruzsa at ISIS.ELTE.HU>,
Here are some suggestions for your query on grammar of Spoken Kannada:
(Here I am refering to some of the letters that appeared on Indology
Website, given at the end) :
1 Prof  Dominik Wujastyk is right. If you are proficient in Samskrita or at
least have a working knowledge of spoken Sanskrit, you will not be lost
there in Melukote, Karnataka. Many Sanskrit scholars live there.
2    With reference to Prof  Gail M. Coelho's suggestion:
A.  Prof Harold F. Schiffman's "A Reference Grammar of Spoken Kannada"
(Univ of Washington Press, Seattle & London, 1988, 178 pages) is helpful
for an exhaustive study.
B.  Prof  Shikaripur N.Sridhar, Professor of Linguistics in NY State Univ
in Stonybrook, NY has done extensive research on Kannada and has published
many books (including one on Kannada Grammar, that is very good) and papers
that may be helpful to you to meet your present need. You may contact him
at: "Prof S. N. Sridhar" <ssridhar at notes.cc.sunysb.edu>
C. Regarding:Central Institute of Indian Languages in Mysore (it's near
Manasagangotri campus, University of  Mysore). That is also right.
"Kannada Nudi -Ghatta (Stage/Level ) I and Ghatta  II " will be very
helpful to you. Volume I is basic book. The Objectives of Second Level
Volume ( Compiled by DR KP Acharya, 1980, pp xx +212) will help you to read
with ease and comprehension, make your own sentences and rewrite passages
in your own words, translate simple passages from Kannada to English and
vice versa.
There are books published by the Institute that may be useful to you,
please check about them, when you get there.
3.  With reference to Shri Mani Varadarajan's suggestion:
Kannada is the spoken language there in Melukote. If you know Tamil, it is
good, no doubt, as quite a few people know Tamil there, especially all Shri
Vaishnava Iyengar families. But it is better if you know Kannada. If at all
you want to learn a new spoken language while visiting a new place, I
suggest you learn the local language - which is Kannada in this case. At
least a working knowledge of it will help you immensely.  It will be easy
to master it you being in that locality. Your letter suggests that you want
to do this. Good luck!

4.  Now there are some other books, which you may consider owning /
borrowing from the Libraries., wherever you are. I will try to describe
them briefly. If you need more info on these, you may please eMail to me:

A.  "Learn Kannada in 30 Days" ( by Ranga Rao, Balaji Publications, 103,
Pycrofts Road, Madras -14, 1984, pp160). A simple, but useful guide to
learn Kannada thru' English. Words in Kannada are transliterated in
English, pronounciation, a little bit of grammar, verbs, nouns, catogerized
equivalent words in English, sentence formation, glossary of useful words
in Kannada.( Glossary in English would have been more helpgul!)
B.  "Spoken Kannada" (mAthanAduva Kannada) published by Kanadda
Sahitya Parishat (Kannada Literary Academi), Chamaraj Pet, Bangalore 560
018 ( 1982, pp 100). This is an excellent book for non-Kannadigas to learn
Kannada thru' English. This was the out come of lot of training & research
in the field. Yo need NOT know the Kannada script AT ALL to begin with.
Every thing is transliterated into English.
Lessons starting directly in the form of conversations, are simple but
gradually encompass wider ares of complexity. Grammar is taught in a very
subtle manner, through sentence formation building needed Vocabulary  all
along. An introduction to the Script is given at the end, briefly (in Eight
pages). The aim of the book is to teach a basic knowledge of Kannada to
those who live in the Metropolitan Cities of Karnataka and to those who
visit them.
C.  "Conversational Kannada" (By Dr UP Upadhyaya & Prof N D Krishnamurthy,
pub by NDK Institute of Languages, 418, 41st Cross, Fifth Block, Jayanagar,
Bangalore 560 041,  Second Edn 1981, pp 380)
"The general format is to begin with a dialogue relevant to the
socio-topical matrix of the learner's need and break down into tiniest
grammatical bits on syntax, morphology, etc."  The Director of Central
Institute of Indian Languages, Mysore mentions in his Foreward that the
"present book was originally designed for the Peace Corps, and has now been
revised to make it a little broad based." Startibg with  Verb-less
sentences and expressions of noun phrases, the book deals with Tense forms
, modal and other verb forms, complex sentence formation, idiomatic
expression. A Note on Kannada phonetics & Script and a Vocabulary list are
at the end.
It is a good book for  a formal study of the Conversational Kannada.through
'micro-wave approach' as the authors term it.
D. I have quite a few other books which are equally good in several
respects. But, I am afraid this letter itself has taken more space than I
originally intended to use, hence I conclude this with a request that you
or any body who need/s more info to eMail to me directly. I will try to
help to the best I can.
Sincerely,
-Harihareswara
Stockton, California.
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My letter is in response to these letters that appeared on Indology Website :
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Date:    Mon, 5 Jul 1999 10:07:55 +0200
From:    Ferenc Ruzsa <f_ruzsa at ISIS.ELTE.HU>
Subject: Q: Kannada grammar
Friends,
I am going to spend three months in Melkote (near Mysore), and I thought it
would be nice to have some preliminary knowledge of the local dialect. So
could someone, please, recommend a basic grammar or text-book of Kannada?
If it is in print, so much the better. (We have nothing of the kind in
Hungarian libraries).

Thank you
Ferenc
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Date:    Mon, 5 Jul 1999 09:49:57 +0100
From:    Dominik Wujastyk <ucgadkw at UCL.AC.UK>
Subject: Re: Q: Kannada grammar

It would be practical to have some Kannada, of course, but it would be
equally, if not more appropriate to brush up your spoken Sanskrit.  I
visited Melkote briefly a couple of years ago, and there are many brahmins
and scholars there, both in the Academy and based at the temple (where
there is another manuscript collection), and Sanskrit is a very practical
and appropriate means of communication in that milieu.

Best,
Dominik
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Date:    Mon, 5 Jul 1999 13:32:42 -0500
From:    "Gail M. Coelho" <gail at UTXVMS.CC.UTEXAS.EDU>
Subject: Re: Q: Kannada grammar

There's a description of "Spoken" or Informal Kannada by Harold Schiffman
and a description of Literary Kannada by Sridhar (this also has some info
on the Spoken form). I don't have details about date of publication, etc.
with me right now. But you could do a keyword search in the library,
perhaps? I'll send the full information on these books tomorrow.

Also, while you're in Mysore, you could drop in at the Central Institute of
Indian Languages in Mysore (it's near Manasagangotri campus, University of
Mysore). They have a lot of publications on languages with an emphasis on
language learning.

Gail Coelho.
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Date:    Mon, 5 Jul 1999 13:06:43 PDT
From:    Mani Varadarajan <mani at SHASTA.STANFORD.EDU>
Subject: Re: Q: Kannada grammar

> It would be practical to have some Kannada, of course, but it would be
> equally, if not more appropriate to brush up your spoken Sanskrit.  I
> visited Melkote briefly a couple of years ago, ...

You can also get by quite easily in Melkote if you
know Tamil, since nearly all the scholars there,
being Sri Vaishnavas, speak it fluently.
Mani
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