Thursday, June 25, 2020

Saving the Komarpanth Kannada (Halegannada)

I had posted a query on Quora : 

Can anyone guide me in preserving the Kshatriya Komarpant Halegannada language spoken by a few thousands in Karwar Ankola region.


To elaborate on the question:

Our Kshatriya Komarpant - Wikipedia Halegannada (Old Kannada) is unique :

Bande (coming) - bandi (Coming) - batti (Coming / will come)

Yenu (what) - Eenn / yenn (what)

Aaythu (okay / done) - Aaith (okay / done)

Hoguttiyaa (going?) - Hottya (Going?)

“Hoy-Sala” - The word "strike" literally translates to "hoy" in Hale Kannada (Old Kannada). This word “Hoy” is even today used in this Komarpanth-Halegannada language with the same meaning and context.

Nammadu (Ours) - Naamked (ours)

Naavu (we) - Naav (we)

Ollage (inside) - Wallg (inside)

Horage (outside) - Hyaarg (outside)

Naanu (I/me/myself) - Naa (I/me/myself)

I could go on like this. 

This Halegannada (or, may correspond to Nadugannada) does not match with the Halimidi Inscription and may have been changed over a period of time. 

That Kannada has metamorphised into a language that is now taught in the text books.

However, within the Kshatriya Komarpant community this language is dying, and I need to find methods to record it.

Konkani has made inroads into the Komarpant families, to a large extent, so much that many think Konkani is their default language. There are Kannada speaking families too, as you move away from Karwar towards Ankola, Kumta or even Yellapur.

One reply from a fellow Quoran has directed me towards the Endangered Languages Project, backed by Google whose mission is to preserve endangered languages, and also the Central Institute of Indian Languages - Wikipedia in Mysore which may be a place to explore too.

Ref: How to save a dying language - Times of India