Team-BHP - How to learn conversational Kannada?

Quote:

Originally Posted by trrk (Post 1569543)

Hi,

What do you say for 'thanks'? Can't really remember that while 'Kshamisri' is still fresh in my mind.

We use Thanks in kannada freely in bangalore though Dhanyavaada is the kannada word. Kshamisi is for sorry or Pardon me.

If you observe, both words are similar to Hindi.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Su-47 (Post 1567684)

I've been living in Bangalore quite a while, and feel sad (and ashamed) that I can't converse in Kannada. It's not that I've not tried, but, the efforts to learn have not been very successful. Books like "Learn Kannada in 30 days" and "Rapidex for Kannada" are uninspiring and difficult to follow.

Su-47, I am from MP as well and it is very easy to learn enough Kannada to be able to have basic conversations because the structure of sentence, the verb usage etc is very very similar to Hindi (or any other Indian language for that matter).

I recommend that catch hold of a Kannadiga friend and learn the following

- Kannada words for 'what' 'why' 'when' 'how' 'how much' etc.
- Kannada words for verbs like eating, doing, sleeping, drinking, reading, talking etc. Target only 10 verbs to start with.
- Learn basic sentence. Take one verb, for example 'to do' and find out how a sentence in Kannada sounds like for
+ What are you doing?
+ What did you do ?
+ What will you do ?

(stick to only above three forms for starters to keep it simple).

Armed with the knowledge above (if you try to learn too much at the same time, it will all fall apart so keep it simple), try talking to your friends by asking questions like
- How are you ?
- where did you go ?
- What are you eating ? etc

Listen to their answers and then ask what you don't understand in their answers.

Keep doing the above and before you know it, you will be able to converse enough. It shouldn't take more than a couple of weeks. Yup, it is that simple.

I read somewhere in the earlier pages that the language and culture was dying. I don't think so. The biggest evidence is the Kannada film industry. Its huge.
Big industry gets big because there are audiences to cater to. That means there is still a huge populus for Kannada.
Culture..maybe in BLR but not in Davanagere, Chitradurga, Belagavi etc.
But, I read some time back in the papers that there are 41~% Tamils in Blr, 36~% orig Kannadigas and 13~% Maharashtrians in BLR.

Quote:

Originally Posted by prince_pervez (Post 1569681)

There is a lot more to culture than just films. Even then, Kannada film industry is not big, definitely not big in comparison to Telugu and Tamil film industry. And the quality is almost non existent, except for a few films once in a while.

You are right about the BLR population though.

Quote:

Originally Posted by muni (Post 1569560)

We use Thanks in kannada freely in bangalore though Dhanyavaada is the kannada word. Kshamisi is for sorry or Pardon me.

You can stun a Bangalore Kannadiga with those words.:D Dhanyavaada is too heavy for common usage, I prefer "Bahala Upakara Aitu". Kshamisi should be fine.

Quote:

Originally Posted by prince_pervez (Post 1569681)

But, I read some time back in the papers that there are 41~% Tamils in Blr, 36~% orig Kannadigas and 13~% Maharashtrians in BLR.

Totally wrong statistics, considering it doesn't even a mention Telugu population who are big in number. Not too mention North Indians too.

Quote:

Originally Posted by NetfreakBombay (Post 1569742)

Does Kannada kanguage has its roots in Sanskrit?

Don't know about that. But Kannada has lots of Sanskrit words.

Kannada gets purer as you move further from Bangalore. I remember walking around in Mandya and hearing long unheard words.

Quote:

Originally Posted by NetfreakBombay (Post 1569742)

Does Kannada kanguage has its roots in Sanskrit?

Yes kannada and so are Tamil and Telugu languages influenced by Sanskrit. I do not know Malayalam so cannot comment on that. Sanskrit used be part of the education curriculum as optional language till PUC here when we studied ( I donno what is the scene now).

The Movie scene in Kannada is not big by any standards and its only the TV and that too only in some parts where you can find a bit of cultural and language depth.

In Bangalore, one can more or less manage with Hindi / English/ Tamil/ Telugu/ Malayalam/Marathi as there is a healthy mix of people who can understand and speak these languages. One of the few places in India where this may be pssoble I reckon.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Samurai (Post 1570061)

You can stun a Bangalore Kannadiga with those words.:D Dhanyavaada is too heavy for common usage, I prefer "Bahala Upakara Aitu". Kshamisi should be fine.

.

Samurai, If you see "Bahala upkaara aaithu" is used like as in a Favour tone.
Example: "Nimmindha vandh Upkaara aagbeku" ( I need a favour from you)

Though I must admit that it can be used. Thats why I mentioned we can very well say "bahala/thumba thanks" in kannada which is quite Okie.

Most Sanskrit derived words used mostly in books, but not in daily usage. Terms like Arthika (financial), Tantrika (Technical), Yantrika (mechanical), Vygnanika (Scienitific), Vymanika (Aeronautical), Shyshenika (Educational), Moulika (Values), Samskritika (Cultural), Dharmika (Religious), etc are generally used in speeches and writings. If used in normal talk people use simpler terms, mostly English words instead of the Sanskrit derived Kannada words, many wouldn't even understand the words otherwise.

Example:

English: He can't be trusted in financial matters.
Pure Kannada: Arthika vishayadalli avananna nombokagalla.
Common Kannada: Duddina vishayadalli avananna nombokagalla.

So financial matter is changed to money (duddu) matter. So common Kannada generally avoids Sanskrit words and swaps them with simpler words or just English words.

Adding au to most common objects is another aspect. Bus=Bassu Car=Caru etc, etc.

Quote:

Originally Posted by prince_pervez (Post 1570423)

Those stats featured in TOI an year back I guess.

All the more reason not to believe it.:D Actually it gets lot trickier.

There was a huge exodus of Telugu people in the early part of 20th century (I don't know why, may be famine), and then there was another huge exodus of Tamil people during the 50s-60s due to Dravida movement in TN. However, these people assimilated so well over time, they all speak Kannada like any locals. So, how do you classify them?

I had a guru who was teaching me Silambam (ancient fighting art from TN), he was originally from Madurai area, settled in Bangalore. Then one day I hear him speaking Telugu to his mother.:eek: How do you classify him?

So, let's not worry about how much of who lives in Bangalore. It pays to know the local language for one simple reason, it is the language of the local government. And everybody needs to interact with the government one way or the other.

Quote:

Originally Posted by muni (Post 1570065)

Yes kannada and so are Tamil and Telugu languages influenced by Sanskrit. I do not know Malayalam so cannot comment on that.

This is just for info and not to stoke a debate. Tamil has many Sanskrit words in daily usage, but is independent of that language. It is entirely possible to speak/write in Tamil without using even a single Sanskrit word. Guys, this is just a nugget - no more, no less.