| Havigannada | |
|---|---|
| ಹವಿಗನ್ನಡ | |
| Pronunciation | [hɐviˈgɐnːɐɖa] |
| Native to | India |
| Region | South India |
| Ethnicity | Havyakas |
Dravidian
| |
Early form | |
| Kannada script Kannada Braille | |
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-1 | kn |
| ISO 639-2 | kan |
| ISO 639-3 | kan |
| Glottolog | havy1234 |
| Linguasphere | 49-EBA-a |
 | |
Havigannada, also called asHavyaka Bhaashe andHavyaka Kannada, is the dialect ofKannada spoken byHavyaka Brahmins inMalenadu andcoastal region ofKarnataka andKasargod district ofKerala.[2][3]
Havigannada differs substantially from mainstream Kannada, in terms of vocabulary, pronouns and verb-endings. It preserves many features ofOld Kannada which are lost in other Kannada dialects. This is the reason why even nativeKannadigas of other regions find it difficult to comprehend it.
In 1883, the dialect was described byJames Campbell in theGazetteer of the Bombay Presidency, where it was said to be Kannada spoken with a strongMalayalam influence. The Malayalam influence was assumed due to the similarities between the Havigannada dialect and Malayalam in terms of accent and words. For example, Havigannada useseṅgaḷ for "our" or "we" and this is comparable to Malayalameṅṅaḷ and Tamileṅgaḷ; similarly,naṅgaḷ is used for "we" in Havigannada, comparable to Malayalamñaṅṅaḷ and Tamilnāṅgaḷ. On the other hand, standard Kannada usesnamma andnāvu for "our" and "we" respectively. This supposed Malayalam influence was then used as a basis to theorize that the Malayalam language was perhaps initially prevalent along theKanara coast before it was settled by Kannada speakers from inland regions. However, this theory is not true as it does not explain the lack of Malayalam influence on other languages and Kannada dialects spoken along the Kanara coast.
It is now known that these similarities are not due to Malayalam influence but rather due to the fact that because Havigannada is closer toOld Kannada than the modern Kannada dialects are, it preserves many archaic features which are lost in other Kannada dialects but are parallelly preserved in Tamil and Malayalam.
The Havigannada spoken inUttara Kannada differs from the Havigannada spoken inDakshina Kannada. The Havigannada spoken in Dakshina Kannada is influenced byTulu (due to its prevalence in South Canara) andMalayalam (due to its close proximity toKerala). In some parts of Uttara Kannada, especially inGokarna, where there is a high concentration of Havyaka Brahmin priests, a Marathi influence has been observed in terms of vocabulary:āi for "mother",pyele for "drinking glass", etc. This might be because of the patronage of Marathi clients who regularly come to Gokarna to have their religious rituals performed by Havyaka priests.
In Havigannada, /o/ and /e/ are pronounced /wa/ and /ye/ respectively when they occur at the beginning of a word. For example,ole (stove/fireplace) is pronounced /ole/ in standard Kannada but /wale/ in Havigannada;ondu (one) as /wandu/ andele (leaf) is pronounced /ele/ in standard Kannada but /yele/ in Havigannada. This is also observed in other non-standard Kannada dialects.
The difference between Havigannada and standard Kannada is mainly observed in the inflection of verbs. For example, in standard Kannada,māḍalu means "[in order] to do", which is an infinitive form. Havigannada usesmāḍale ormāḍule. While standard Kannada useside for "[it] is", Havigannada usesiddu. In standard Kannada, one would sayavaḷu bandiddāḷe for "she has come" but in Havigannada it would beadu banju oradu baindu (the Havyakas of Uttara Kannada saybanju, while those from Dakshina Kannada saybaindu). The Havigannada spoken inUttara Kannada bears a resemblance toKundagannada, a Kannada dialect spoken in Kundapura and other Kannada-speaking regions of theUdupi district.
Havigannada has retained many words and features from Old Kannada. Some examples are the wordkūsu which means "little girl" which comes from Old Kannadakūsu which means "little child/little girl". This word is not seen elsewhere in other Kannada dialects. The verboragu in Havigannada means "to sleep" and is inherited from Old Kannadaoṟagu; this verb is likewise not seen elsewhere in other Kannada dialects. In Tamil,urangu meansto sleep.
It is spoken in theUttara Kannada,Dakshina Kannada andShivamogga districts of Karnataka and theKasaragod district of Kerala. In these districts, it is common in places where there is a higher density of Havyakas in relation to other places, such asThirthahalli,Shivamogga,Sagara andHosanagara in Shivamogga,Sirsi,Yellapur,Siddapura,Honnavar,Kumta,Bhatkal, inUttara Kannada andPuttur inDakshina Kannada. It is also spoken by Havyakas who are settled in metropolitan cities such asBangalore,Mumbai, etc. InBangalore, where a substantial percentage of Havyaka Brahmins have migrated to in the preceding decades, there is alanguage shift among Havigannada speakers towardsBangalore Kannada, especially among the younger generation who were born and brought up in Bangalore.
In some parts ofUttara Kannada District such as Kumta, Honnavara, Bhatkal,Sirsi, andSiddapur,neuter gender is often used instead offeminine gender.
Havigannada was partly used inSandalwood films:Bettada Jeeva,Nammoora Mandara Hoove andNaayi Neralu, which was shot in and aroundYana.
| English | Kannada | Havigannada |
|---|---|---|
| I | ನಾನು (Naanu) | ನಾನು / ನಾ (Naa) / ಆನು (Aanu) |
| We | ನಾವು (Naavu) | ನಾವು / ನಂಗ (Nanga) / ಎಂಗ (yanga) |
| You (Singular) | ನೀನು (Neenu) | ನೀನು / ನೀ (Nee) |
| You (Plural) | ನೀವು (Neevu) | ನೀವು / ನಿಂಗ (Ninga) |
| He | ಅವನು (Avanu) | ಅವನು / ಅವ (Ava) / ಅಂವ (Amva) |
| She | ಅವಳು (Avalu) | ಅವಳು / ಅದು (Adu) / ಅವ (Ava)/ ಅವಳ್ (Avalu) |
| It | ಅದು (Adu) | ಅದು |
| They (Neutral) | ಅವು (Avu) | ಅವು |
| English | Kannada | Havigannada |
|---|---|---|
| will go | Hoguttene(ಹೋಗುತ್ತೇನೆ ) | Hogti(ಹೋಗ್ತಿ)/Hogte(ಹೋಗ್ತೆ)/Hovthe(ಹೋವ್ತೆ) |
| will come | Baruttene(ಬರುತ್ತೇನೆ) | Batte(ಬತ್ತೆ)/Batti(ಬತ್ತಿ) |
| will do | Maaduttene(ಮಾಡುತ್ತೇನೆ) | Maadte(ಮಾಡ್ತೆ)/Maadti(ಮಾಡ್ತಿ) |
| English | Kannada | Havigannada |
|---|---|---|
| Why | yaake(ಯಾಕೆ) | Entakke(ಎಂತಕೆ) |
| How | hege(ಹೇಗೆ) | Henge(ಹೇಂಗೆ) |
| What | enu(ಏನು) | Entadu(ಎಂತದು)/Enta(ಎಂತ)/Entu(ಎಂತು)/Ensu(ಎನ್ಸು) |