Basic Kannada Conversation Phrases
Kannada had roughly 43 million native speakers by 2011. The language is also spoken as a second and third language by over 12.9 million non-native speakers in Karnataka, which adds up to 56.9 million speakers. It is a Dravidian language spoken predominantly by the people of Karnataka in the southwestern region of India. The language is also spoken by linguistic minorities in the states of Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Kerala and Goa and also by Kannadigas abroad. It is one of the scheduled languages of India and the official and administrative language of the state of Karnataka. Kannada is attested epigraphically for about one and a half millennia and literary Old Kannada flourished in the 6th-century Ganga dynasty and during the 9th-century Rashtrakuta Dynasty. Kannada was the court language of some of the most powerful empires of South and Central India, such as the Chalukya dynasty, the Rashtrakuta dynasty, the Vijayanagara Empire and the Hoysala Empire. The Kannada language is written using the Kannada script, which evolved from the 5th-century Kadamba script. Kannada has an unbroken literary history of over a thousand years. Kannada literature has been presented with 8 Jnanapith awards, the most for any Dravidian language and the second-highest for any Indian language. In July 2011, a centre for the study of classical Kannada was established as part of the Central Institute of Indian Languages in Mysore to facilitate research related to the language. Based on the recommendations of the Committee of Linguistic Experts, appointed by the ministry of culture, the government of India designated Kannada a classical language of India.
Kannada is especially recommended for those who plan on travelling to Karnataka, as it is extremely useful in such a scenario. With that said, the following are a few basic phrases that should help you survive when in Karnataka:
Hello
ನಮಸ್ತೆ
Pronounced as: namaste
Good morning
ಶುಭೋದಯ
Pronounced as: shubhodaya
Good night
ಶುಭರಾತ್ರಿ
Pronounced as: shubharātri
Excuse me
ಕ್ಷಮಿಸಿ!
Pronounced as: kshamisi
Sorry
ಕ್ಷಮಿಸಿ!
Pronounced as: kshamisi
Please
ದಯವಿಟ್ಟು
Pronounced as: dayaviṭṭu
Thank you
ಧನ್ಯವಾದ
Pronounced as: dhanyavāda
Or
ಧನ್ಯವಾದಗಳು
Pronounced as: dhanyavādagaḷu
Either works.
How are you?
ಹೇಗಿದ್ದೀರಾ?
Pronounced as: hegiddērā?
What’s your name?
ನಿಮ್ಮ ಹೆಸರೇನು?
Pronounced as: nimma hesarēnu?
My name is …
ನನ್ನ ಹೆಸರು …
Pronounced as: nanna hesaru …
Finally,
In my opinion, the above mention phrases should be extremely useful to you in any given scenario. These phrases should help you greet, initiate conversations, show gratitude, seek help, apologise or simply actively participate in a conversation held in Kannada. Memorizing these phrases should make your conversation with the Kannada speakers much easier. Karnataka values Kannada a lot, therefore, in order to feel welcomed into their land, it is suggested that you speak basic Kannada, which would be enough for you to hold a simple and small conversation with the natives.
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