I understand Kannada, but I can’t speak it well. Why?

The Dravidian language Kannada or Kanarese is a language spoken chiefly by the people in Karnataka and its neighbouring areas in South-west India by the linguistic minorities of Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Kerala and Goa and native Kannada speakers abroad. By 2011, it was found that there were about 43M native Kannada speakers, besides 12.9 million non-native speakers in Karnataka who speak Kannada as a second and third language, raising the total number of speakers to 56.9M.

To begin with, if you seem to understand Kannada but cannot seem to speak it then that would mean that you have avoided the speaking skill of the language either because of its fear or because you presumed it would be too easy. If you seem to understand the language, then you have very clearly focused only on listening, reading and writing skills. Nevertheless, it will not be difficult for you to master the speaking skills of the language, if you can understand it.

If you can understand what others are saying to you, but just cannot reply to the same, then the road ahead is not as difficult as it may seem. There are multiple tips that you can incorporate in order to improve your speaking skills in Kannada. Firstly, in my opinion, if you have to improve your speaking skills in any language, you have to, at all costs, speak. There are no two ways to do this skill. In order to improve it, you have to practice it. If you are not confident enough to speak to natives or any other Kannada speakers, then I suggest you first try to hold a conversation with yourself. Or you can practise your reading skills but instead of reading in your mind, read out loud. Engage in any activity that would mandate speaking the Kannada language. Focus on how you pronounce each and every word, form sentences as well as the vocabulary that you seem to use.

Now pay close attention to the natives or other Kannada speakers and how they speak the language. Take note of the differences in the way you speak the language and the way they do, and then rectify all the mistakes that you made while speaking. By incorporating all these tips,  and putting in your best efforts, I definitely believe that you can master the speaking skills of the language of Kannada in no time. Since you already have mastered the listening skill of the language, speaking is not as far.

The ancient language is written with the Kannada script, which further evolved from the Kadamba script of the 5th century. The literary old Kannada enjoyed great patronage and flourished during the Ganga dynasty in the 6th century and during the 9th-century Rashtrakuta dynasty, epigraphically attested. Kannada has over a thousand years of unbroken literary history. It proudly stands tall with 8 Jnanapith awards, the best for any Dravidian language and the second-highest of all Indian languages presented to it’s literature.