Tulu is a Dravidian language of India with fewer than two million speakers, known as Tuluvas. Most Tuluvas live in the districts of Dakshina Kannada and Udupi in the west of the state of Karnataka. It is also spoken in the Kasaragod taluk of Kerala. The original written script of the language, similar to Malayalam script, is rarely used today. It is normally written in the Kannada script now.

Geographic distribution

There are indications in a few Malayalam works that the region stretching from the Chandragiri river, now part of the Kasaragod district of Kerala, to Gokarna, now part of Uttara Kannada district of Karnataka, was called Tulu Nadu. However, the present day Tulu linguistic boundary is confined to Dakshina Kannada and the Udupi district. Northern Kasaragod, Dakshina Kannada and the Udupi district (except Kundapur) are the major Tulu cultural regions.

Tuluvas have a saying: "Oorudu nanjaanda paarad badkodu". A loose translation would be: "If it's tough at home; run away and survive". Tuluvas are true to this character and have migrated to other places in great numbers. Mumbai and Thane in Maharastra state has a sizable population of Tuluvas. Tulu is widely spoken in the Dakshina Kannada, Udupi and Uttara Kannada districts of Karnataka state. Efforts are also being made to get Tulu included in the list of national languages of India^[1].

Script

19th century missionaries used the Kannada script to transcribe Tulu works, but it soon fell out of use. Tulu is mostly written in the Kannada script since most people study Kannada in schools. Attempts are being made to revive the original script Tulu Script. Tulu Script is similar to Malayalam script

Mandara Ramayana is a modern epic written in Tulu by Mandara Keshav Bhat.

Some inscriptions in Tulu languages may be found in and around the village of Barkur.

The language

The paucity of literary works has rendered the precise dating of the origin of this language very difficult. It is considered to be one of the oldest Dravidian language by some scholars.

Spoken Tulu changes as we move from South to North. There is a common perception that there are only two Tulu dialects, namely Shivalli and Common. But a study of the language and pronunciation suggests there are four distinct dialects of this language: Shivalli, Jain, Common, and Tribal.

Brahmin dialect

Spoken by Tulu Brahmins ( Sthanika Brahmins and Shivalli Brahmins ).^[2]

Jain dialect

Spoken by the Jains in the northern part of Tulu Nadu.

Common dialect

Spoken by the majority of people of Tulu Nadu; the dialect of commerce, entertainment and art.

Tribal dialect

Spoken by tribal people; closely resembles the Common dialect.

Tulu is not taught in schools. Schedule 8B of the Constitution of India does not recognize it as an official language. Tulu is also considered an endangered language.

References

1. ↑ Why Tulu language deserves recognition from Kendra Sahithya Academy and why it should be included in schedule 8B of the constitution
2. ↑ Tulunadu and Tulu community around the world - www.tuluver.com - Home

See also

• Languages of India
• Madhava
• Kanakana kindi
• List of national languages of India
• List of Indian languages by total speakers
• Tuluva
• Kasaragod Tulu
• Beary bashe

External links

• The Tulu Script www.yakshagana.com
• Tulu Language: Its Script and Dialects www.boloji.com
• Common Kannada, Tulu and Konkani phrases www.mangalore.com
• Community Website for Tulu speaking community www.buntsworld.com

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