Кодава тілі: тарихы, диалектілері мен жазу жүйесі

Dravidian language spoken in India

The Kodava (Kodava takk, , meaning 'speech of Kodavas', in the Kodava language, alternate name: Codava, Coorgi, Kodagu) is an endangered Dravidian language and it is spoken in Kodagu district in Southern Karnataka, India. The term Kodava has two related usages. Firstly, it is the name of the Kodava language and culture followed by a number of communities from Kodagu. Secondly, within the Kodava speaking communities and region (Kodagu), it is a demonym for the dominant Kodava people. Hence, the Kodava language is not only the primary language of the Kodavas but also of many other castes and tribes in Kodagu. The language has two dialects: Mendele (spoken in Northern and Central Kodagu, i. e. outside Kodagu's Kiggat naadu) and Kiggat (spoken in Kiggat naadu, in Southern Kodagu). Historically, it has been referred to as a dialect of Centmil, in some Tamil texts the Kodagu language is referred to as Kudakan Tamil. However, it has been re analysed as a language by early 20th century academics. Now it is considered as an intermediate language between Kannada, Malayalam, Tamil, and Tulu in comparative linguistics. The 2011 Census of India reports 96,918 persons who returned Kodava as their mother tongue and 16,939 who returned Coorgi/Kodagu, for a total of 113,857 persons coming under the parent group which is again identified as Coorgi/Kodagu (another name for Kodava) as the mother tongue.

In Kannada, the region was called Kodagu and the people Kodaga. Natively, the people were called Kodava and the land was called Kodavu in the folksongs. Comparative Dravidian studies show that the Kodava language belongs to the South Dravidian language group.

The grammar of Kodagu has been systematically studied and documented since at least around 1867 when Captain R. A. Cole published the seminal work An Elementary Grammar of the Coorg Language.

Dr. IM Muthanna, developed a script to Kodava Thakk in 1971, and as of 2022, Karnataka Kodava Sahitya Academy, a government body for the development of Kodava Language, accepted the script developed by Dr IM Muthanna as the official script of Kodava Language. It is also widely used across Kodagu, Although around 7 scripts were developed over a period from 1889 to 2008, Only Dr. IM Muthanna's script is considered as the most acceptable script for Kodava Language. The Coorgi is an alphabet developed by the linguist Gregg M. Cox that is used by a number of individuals within Kodagu district of India to write the endangered Dravidian language of Kodava, also known sometimes as Coorgi. The script uses a combination of 26 consonant letters, eight vowel letters and a diphthong marker. Each letter represents a single sound and there are no capital letters. The script was developed out of the request by a group of Kodava individuals to have a distinct script for Kodava Takk, to distinguish the language. Kodava Takk is generally written in the Kannada script, but can also be found written in the Malayalam script, especially along the borders with Kerala. The new script is intended as a unified writing system for all Kodava Takk speakers. Recently an old Kodava script from the 14th century was discovered, it is now called the Thirke script.

Linguistically, Kodava/Kodagu language belongs to the South Dravidian subfamily of the Dravidian family. Further within the South Dravidian subfamily, it belongs to the subgroup Tamil Malayalam Kodagu Kota Toda. It is closely related to and influenced by Kannada, Malayalam, Tamil and Tulu. A majority of the words are common between Kodava and Beary bashe, a dialect which is a mixture of Tulu and Malayalam spoken by the Beary Muslims and Kodava Thiyyar communities. Kodava is also closely related to the Kasaragod and Kannur dialects of Malayalam, which are in turn related to Beary.

The Kodava Cinema industry is very small. A few movies portraying the native culture and traditions of the Kodavas have been produced in this language. The first Kodava film 'Nada Mann Nada Kool' was directed by S. R. Rajan and produced in the year 1972.

Kodava Kannada Tamil Malayalam Tulu English Moodi Hudugi Peṇ/Peḍai/Ponnŭ Penkutti Ponnu Girl Kinha Huduga Aan/Peḍiyan/Paiyan/Chiruvan Aankutti Aan/Kinni Boy Po(Singular); Poyi(Plural) Hogu Pō(y) Poyko Poyi Go Kanni Saaru/ganji Kañji/Kūṭṭŭ/Chārŭ Chaar Kajipu Stew (lentils, vegetables, etc.) Koole Anna/Koolu Chōr/Kūḻ Chor Nuppu Cooked Rice Id Idu Iḍŭ/Vai Ide Dee Put Thimbak Tinnakke Thinnŭ/Uṇṇŭ/Sāppiḍŭ Tinnuka/Kazhikkuka Thinere To Eat kuLi snana kuLi kuLi Meela To Bath Unda? Unta/ideya? Uṇḍā?/Irukkuthā? Undo? Unda? Is There? Bappi Bartini Var(uk)iṟēn/Varuvēn Varam Barpe I will Come (Farewell Greeting) Ullo iddene/ulle irukkiṟēn/uḷḷēn Ulle Ulle Am There Bandand Ullo Baruta iddene Var(uk)iṟēn Varunnund Barond ulle Am coming Yenene Ulliya? Hege iddiya? Eppaḍi/Enneṇdŭ (uḷḷ /irukkiṟ )( ai/ āi/ īrgaḷ) Engane und? Encha ulla/ya? How are you?MāṅgeMaavuMāṅgā(y)/MāmpaḻamMāṅga/MāmpaḻamMudi/KukkuMangoKaḷḷaKaḷlaKaḷḷan/Kaḷvan/ThiruḍanKaḷḷanKalvaThiefSuroole /MinyatheleModalu/SuroonalliMudal(il)AdyamSuruFirstKere PambKere HaavuChārai Pāmbŭ Chēra PambKeriRat SnakeMūleMūleMūlaiMūlaMudye/mūleCornerĀmeĀmeĀmaiĀmaEmeTortoiseBēliBēliVēliVēliBēliFenceBithe/KuruBeeja/bithaVitthŭ/VithaiVitth/KuruBitthSeedBādegeBādigeVādakaiVādakaBadigeRentChaththeSanteChanthaiChanthaSantheMarketĒniĒniĒṇiĒṇiĒniLadderPulunja PuḷiHunase HuliPuLiPuLiPunke puliTamarindGaali/KaathGaaliKāṟṟŭ/KāththŭKaattGaaliWindThaariKodu/tha Tharŭ/KoḍŭTharuKorugiveKaapiKaapiKaapiKaapiKaapiCoffeePaaduvoHaaduPaadŭPaadukaPada paadto sing

Since 2021, the Mangalore University teaches an MA degree in the Kodava language.