| Byari | |
|---|---|
| Beary | |
| ಬ್ಯಾರಿ | |
| Pronunciation | IPA:[bjaːɾi] |
| Native to | India |
| Region | Tulu Nadu |
| Ethnicity | Byari |
Native speakers | 1,500,000 |
Early forms | |
| Kannada script,Malayalam script,Byari script[1] | |
| Official status | |
| Regulated by | Karnataka Beary Sahitya Academy |
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-3 | – |
| This article containsIPA phonetic symbols. Without properrendering support, you may seequestion marks, boxes, or other symbols instead ofUnicode characters. For an introductory guide on IPA symbols, seeHelp:IPA. | |
| External videos | |
|---|---|
 A Byari speaker speaking Byari |
Byari orBeary (ಬ್ಯಾರಿIPA:[bjaːɾi]) is a geographically isolated dialect ofMalayalam spoken by the Byaris who are part of theMuslim community inTulu Nadu region ofKarnataka andKerala (ie,Dakshina Kannada district,Udupi district andManjeshwaram taluk ofKasaragod district). The community is often recognized asBeary or Byari Muslims.[2][3][page needed] Beary dialect is made of Tulu phonology and grammar with Malayalam idioms. Due to the trading role of the community, the dialect acquired loan words from other languages of Persian and Arabic sources.[3][need quotation to verify] While it is classified as a dialect ofMalayalam in international databases such asEthnologue and lacks a separateISO 639-3 code, it is officially recognized as a distinct language by theGovernment of Karnataka. In 2007, the state government established theKarnataka Beary Sahitya Academy for the preservation and promotion of the language and its literature.[4]
SeeBeary#Etymology.
The dialect generally uses theMalayalam andKannada alphabets for writing. Being a distant cousin of other dialects of Malayalam and surrounded by otherlinguistic groups for centuries, mainly Tulu, the dialect exhibits ancient features as well as modern innovations not seen in other well-known dialects of Malayalam.[5]Surrounded by Tulu-speaking populations, the impact of Tulu on the phonological, morphological and syntactic structure of the dialect is evident.[6]
Sounds peculiar to Standard Malayalam such as 'ḻ', 'ṇ', 'ṟ' are not found in this dialect.[7] 'ḷ' and 'ṇ' are merged with l and n, respectively.[7] 'ṟ' is merged with r and tt, 'tt' to t.[8] This resembles Tulu.[8]
| Byari | Kannada | Standard Malayalam | English |
|---|---|---|---|
| sante | sante | canta | 'market' |
| ēni | ēṇi | ēṇi | 'ladder' |
| puli | huḷi | puḷi | 'tamarind' |
| kāt | gāḷi | kāṯṯu | 'wind' |
| cor | anna | cor | 'rice' |
The initialv of standard Malayalam corresponds to an initialb in Byari.[8]The same change has taken place in Tulu, too.
| Byari | Standard Malayalam | Tulu | Kannada | English |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| bēli | vēli | bēli | bēli | 'fence' |
| bitt | vittu | bitte | bitta1 | 'seed' |
| bādige | vāṭaka2 | bādai | bādege | 'rent' |
The final 'a' of standard Malayalam corresponds to the final 'e' in Byari.[8]
| Byari | Kannada | Standard Malayalam | English |
|---|---|---|---|
| āme | āme | āma | 'tortoise' |
| cēre | kere | cēra | 'rat snake' |
| mūle | mūle | mūla | corner |
The word final 'n' and 'm' of standard Malayalam are dropped in Byari.[8]
| Byari | Standard Malayalam | Kannada | English |
|---|---|---|---|
| ādya | ādyam | (modalu) | 'first' |
| kalla | kaḷḷan | kaḷḷa | 'thief' |
| cattae | kuppāyam(catta) | (batte) | 'cloth' |
Geminated consonants occurring after a long vowel and also after a second short vowel of a word in standard Malayalam get degeminated in Byari.[9]
| Byari | Standard Malayalam | Tulu | English |
|---|---|---|---|
| pūce | pūcca | pucce | 'cat' |
Almost all lexical items in Byari dialect can be related to corresponding lexical items in other Malayalam varieties, Tulu or Perso-Arabic origin.[10]However, some equivalents can only be found inMappila dialects of Malayalam in Kerala.[10]
Verbs in oldDravidian languages did not have any person marking.[11] Person endings of verbs observed in modern Dravidian languages are later innovations.[11]Malayalam is the only Dravidian language that does not show any verbal person suffixes,[11] so Malayalam verbs can be said to represent the original stage of Dravidian verbs (though Old Malayalam did have verbal person suffixes at some point).[11] Person suffixes in Byari closely resemble those of Tulu,[11] although the past tense in this dialect agrees with that of standard Malayalam in shape as well as in the distribution of allomorphs.[11]
Byari has a strong lexical influence of the Arabic language.[12] Nativised Arabic words are very common in everyday speech, especially in coastal areas. Byari also has words related toTamil. Tamil and Standard Malayalam Speakers can understand Byari dialect upto a great extent.
| Byari | Arabic | English |
|---|---|---|
| saan | ṣaḥn صحن | Plate |
| pinjhana | finjān فنجان | Bowl/cup |
| kayeen | nikāḥ نكاح | Nuptials |
| Seithaan | Šayṭān شيطان | Evil spirit |
| patthre | faṭīra فطيرة | Bread |
| Kalbu | qalb قلب | Heart |
| Rabbu | rabb رب | God |
| Supra | sufra سفرة | Dining Mat |
| Kubboosu | ḵubz خبز | Bread |
The first Byari-dialect feature filmByari shared the award for the best feature film at the59th Indian National Film Awards.[13]