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From self-1.md (Oct 2024 – Feb 2026)
padaguttu — Kannada Grammar Blog A blog exploring Kannada grammar and word formation from a native speaker’s perspective — covering topics like verb conjugation patterns, noun case usage, sandhi rules, and the distinction between formal and colloquial Kannada. A practitioner’s complement to academic treatments by DNS Bhat. padaguttu.blogspot.com — https://padaguttu.blogspot.com/
Heege Hage Hege Blog A blog exploring the distinction between the three demonstrative adverbs hīge (“like this”), hāge (“like that”), and hēge (“how”) in Kannada — a subtle three-way deictic contrast (proximal/distal/interrogative) that parallels similar systems in other Dravidian languages and is often confused by learners. heegehage.blogspot.com — https://heegehage.blogspot.com/
Eke Proposal Summary in 5 Slides (Dec 2024) A personal 5-slide summary of the Eke Kannada romanization scheme — the systematic romanization system for Kannada developed for the ettuge project, designed to be reversible (any Eke string maps to exactly one Kannada string), phonemically complete, and readable by English speakers without training. The 5-slide format distills the key design decisions.
Kannada Akshara Bhandara (Nov 2024) A GitHub resource documenting the complete Kannada script character inventory — Unicode code points, character names, phonological categories (vowels, consonants, dependent vowel signs, combiners), and historical notes on usage frequency and archaic characters like ಱ and ೞ. github.com — https://github.com/mythicsociety/AksharaBhandara
Kannada Script Evolution (Dec 2024) A historical overview of how the Kannada script developed from the Brahmi script through the Kadamba, Ganga, and Rashtrakuta epigraphic traditions — tracing the evolution of individual character forms across centuries and identifying the major branch points where Kannada, Telugu, and Grantha scripts diverged. karnatakaitihasaacademy.org — https://karnatakaitihasaacademy.org/evolution-of-kannada-script/
Not the ‘City of Boiled Beans’ — Bengaluru Name Origin Research (Nov 2024) An article debunking the popular folk etymology that “Bengaluru” derives from benda kāḷu ūru (“village of boiled beans”), based on a legendary story about King Veeraballa being fed boiled beans. The research presents alternative etymologies, including the Benga tree hypothesis and epigraphic evidence for early forms of the name. scroll.in — https://scroll.in/
D.N. Shankara Bhat — Open Library Open Library’s page for D.N. Shankara Bhat’s published works — including Dravidian Linguistics, A Descriptive Grammar of Kannada, Kannada Grammar, and his books on grammatical typology. The Open Library provides free digital access to works not otherwise available online, making DNS Bhat’s scholarship accessible to a global audience. openlibrary.org — https://openlibrary.org/authors/OL110226A/Shankara_Bhat_D._N.
Shankara Bhat DNS Books — Standard Kannada Textbook + Generative Grammar of Kannada (Feb 2025) Two major DNS Bhat references: his standard Kannada language textbook (designed for non-native learners) and his Generative Grammar of Kannada — an analysis of Kannada syntax and morphology within the generative linguistics framework, covering transformational rules, case grammar, and the formal characterization of Kannada sentence structure. openlibrary.org — https://openlibrary.org/authors/OL110226A/Shankara_Bhat_D._N.
Brahui vs Kannada Vocabulary Comparisons (personal research, Mar 2025) Personal research notes comparing Brahui — the Dravidian language spoken in Balochistan (Pakistan/Afghanistan) — with Kannada across body parts, animal names, and common nouns. Brahui is the northernmost Dravidian language, and its isolation from other Dravidian languages makes it a valuable data point for reconstructing Proto-Dravidian vocabulary. Cognates between Brahui and Kannada that also appear in Tamil demonstrate Pan-Dravidian origin.
Kannada Grammar — Wikipedia (Jun 2025) The Wikipedia article on Kannada grammar, covering the language’s phonology (34 consonants, 13 vowels), morphology (agglutinative case system, verb conjugation with person/number/gender agreement), syntax (SOV order, postpositions, relative clauses preceding nouns), and the distinction between written (grantha) and colloquial Kannada. en.wikipedia.org — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kannada_grammar
Misconceptions About Kannada and Sanskrit (Mar 2025) The News Minute article debunking the widespread belief that Kannada is derived from or is a dialect of Sanskrit — explaining family tree linguistics, the Dravidian language family, the age of Kannada inscriptions (450 CE, though proto-Kannada is much older), and why Sanskrit loanwords in Kannada don’t make it a Sanskrit-derived language any more than English loanwords in Japanese make Japanese Indo-European. thenewsminute.com — https://www.thenewsminute.com/features/misconceptions-about-kannada-and-sanskrit-26222
Kannada Intellectual History (Feb 2025) A chapter on Kannada’s intellectual and literary history from the South Indian Horizons volume on Wisdomlib — covering the Halegannada (Old Kannada) period’s Jain and Shaiva literary traditions, the medieval Veerashaiva Vachana revolution, Vijayanagara-era court poetry, and the 19th-20th century literary renaissance (navōdaya). wisdomlib.org — https://www.wisdomlib.org/history/book/south-indian-horizons/d/doc1540540.html
Sangam Poetry Translations — A.K. Ramanujan (Jun 2025) A.K. Ramanujan’s translations of classical Tamil Sangam poetry (in Poems of Love and War and Interior Landscape) — the most celebrated English renderings of the 2,000-year-old Tamil literary tradition. Relevant as a comparative reference for Kannada’s parallel ancient literary tradition (Halegannada) and for understanding how Dravidian poetic conventions differ from Sanskrit and Western models. poetryfoundation.org — https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poets/a-k-ramanujan
KANNADA’S OWN WORDS — YouTube Playlist (Feb 2025) A YouTube playlist exploring native Kannada vocabulary and word formation, focusing on Dravidian-origin words that are less commonly known because Sanskrit loanwords have displaced them in educated speech. The playlist advances the goal of reviving and normalizing native Kannada vocabulary in everyday usage.
Deccan Lipi — Alternative Script for Deccan Languages (Feb 2025) A GitHub project proposing a unified script for Deccan languages (Kannada, Telugu, Tulu, Kodava, and others) — an alternative to the existing region-specific scripts that would enable interoperability across closely related languages while reducing the learning burden for multi-language literacy in the Deccan. github.com — https://github.com/
OmLambda Eke Transliteration (Mar 2025) An implementation of the Eke transliteration scheme at omlambda.in — a web tool for converting between Kannada script and Eke romanization. The tool supports the broader ettuge and ellara Kannada project goals of making Kannada text accessible in romanized form without losing phonemic precision. omlambda.in — https://omlambda.in/
Cousin Marriage and Dravidian Kinship — YouTube (Nov 2025) A detailed YouTube explanation of Dravidian kinship terminology and why cross-cousin marriage is not only permitted but traditionally preferred in South Indian (and many Dravidian-speaking) communities — rooted in the kinship system’s classification of cross-cousins as “marriageable” relatives, which is why māma (maternal uncle) can also mean father-in-law and attimma (paternal aunt) can mean mother-in-law. https://youtu.be/TlvLIKrjOlg
Kannada/Relations — Wikibooks (Dec 2025) A Wikibooks page on Kannada kinship terms and family vocabulary — covering the complex system of terms for different types of relatives (cross vs. parallel cousins, elder vs. younger siblings, maternal vs. paternal relatives) that reflects Dravidian kinship structure. en.wikibooks.org — https://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/Kannada/Relations
Learn Kannada from Scratch Part 4: Simple Past Tense (Substack, Jan 2026) Part 4 of a beginner Kannada learning series covering the simple past tense formation — how the past tense marker attaches to verb stems, with variations based on verb class (strong/weak stems, consonant-final/vowel-final), and how past tense agreement works with subject person/number/gender. kannadakaranakannadaka.substack.com — https://kannadakaranakannadaka.substack.com/p/learn-kannada-from-scratch-part-4
KANNADA Lessons in KANGLISH — YouTube Channel A YouTube channel teaching Kannada to English speakers through a “Kanglish” (Kannada + English) approach — using English explanations and mixed-language examples to make Kannada grammar accessible without presupposing any Dravidian language background. An example of the code-switching pedagogy common in diaspora language education. https://youtube.com/@kannadalessonsinkanglish
Eklavya’s Blog — Learning Kannada as a Hindi Speaker A personal blog by Eklavya Sharma documenting the experience of learning Kannada from the perspective of a Hindi/Sanskrit-familiar learner — noting where Kannada grammar is typologically similar (SOV order, postpositions) and where it differs fundamentally (Dravidian vs. Indo-Aryan morphology, case system, absence of grammatical gender in the same sense). sharmaeklavya2.github.io — https://sharmaeklavya2.github.io/blog/drafts/learning-kannada.html
Fedoa Books — Kannada Linguistics (University of Naples) An academic Kannada linguistics publication available through the University of Naples Federico II’s open access repository — likely a formal linguistic analysis of Kannada phonology, morphology, or syntax in the Western academic tradition. Naples has a significant South Asian studies tradition through the Istituto Universitario Orientale. fedoabooks.unina.it — http://www.fedoabooks.unina.it/index.php/fedoapress/catalog/view/616/651/3082
computer — Kannada Wiktionary The Kannada Wiktionary entry for the English word “computer” — documenting whether a native Kannada or Sanskrit-derived equivalent (gaṇaka, saṅganaka) is recognized, and how the English loanword is adapted in colloquial Kannada usage. A microcosm of the broader debate about technology vocabulary in Indian languages. kn.wiktionary.org — https://kn.wiktionary.org/wiki/computer
Native Kannada Month Names (Personal Note, Aug 2025) All 12 months in native (non-Sanskrit) Kannada — naAlcaLi, aycaLi, mobbEsige, ibbEsige, mubbEsige, mommale, immale, mummale, nAlmale, moccaLi, iccaLi, muccaLi — a system based on counting by threes and fours rather than the Sanskrit lunar calendar month names typically used. A remarkable demonstration of the native number system’s capacity to organize the year.
‘Why Is She Here?’ — Bank Employee and Kannada Language Confrontation (Jul 2025) A viral video of a language confrontation in a Karnataka bank, where an employee faces backlash for not speaking Kannada to a Kannada-speaking customer. The incident captures the ongoing tension between the constitutional right to conduct business in the local language and the practical reality of Bengaluru’s cosmopolitan workforce. dnaindia.com — https://www.dnaindia.com/viral/report-why-is-she-here-bank-employee-faces-backlash-for-not-speaking-kannada-watch-viral-video-3166017
Udaya Kumar Tweet — Lalbagh Rock Article in Deccan Herald (Dec 2025) A tweet by Udaya Kumar — the Kannada script scholar who designed the Nudi typeface and has written on script history — linking his Deccan Herald article on the Lalbagh rock inscription, one of Bengaluru’s oldest known epigraphic monuments. Udaya Kumar’s work bridges technical script design and historical epigraphy. x.com — https://x.com/pluday/status/1998936671744921969
ettuge/dnsbhat — Kannada Grammar Chapters (GitHub) Markdown notes in the ettuge repository translating and summarizing chapters from DNS Bhat’s Kannada grammar books — covering morphological categories, word formation principles (the Ellara Kannada methodology), case suffix analysis, and verb conjugation patterns. The primary source for the ettuge project’s linguistic foundation. github.com — https://github.com/vwulf/ettuge/blob/master/src/main/md/kannada/dnsbhat/
‘Bengaluru Was Named After the Benga Tree’ (Jan 2026) An article proposing that Bengaluru’s name derives from beṅga (the Pongamia pinnata or honge tree, native to Karnataka) — a plausible botanical etymology supported by the fact that many Karnataka place names derive from local flora. An alternative to the popular “boiled beans” folk etymology. newindianexpress.com — https://www.newindianexpress.com/cities/chennai/2019/Oct/23/bengaluru-was-named-after-the-benga-tree-2051495.html
All Things Considered: My Favourite Native Tree — the Honge Marra (Pongamia) A blog post celebrating the Pongamia pinnata (Kannada: hoṅge mara or beṅga mara) — a nitrogen-fixing leguminous tree native to Karnataka, historically used for shade, timber, and seed oil. The post connects tree ecology with regional identity and the Sanskrit name karṇa (used in classical texts) as a possible precursor to “Karnataka.” mariannedenazareth.blogspot.com — https://mariannedenazareth.blogspot.com/2020/03/my-favourite-native-tree-honge-marra.html
Sreedharettan: The Beedi Worker Who Dreamt of Dictionaries (Documentary, Dec 2025) A short documentary on Njattyela Sreedharan — a self-taught Malayalam lexicographer who spent decades compiling a comprehensive Malayalam dictionary despite working as a beedi factory worker. The story is an inspiring example of passion-driven lexicographic work outside academia, directly relevant to grassroots language documentation efforts like alar.ink for Kannada. https://youtu.be/KNXuGl5gAgU
saakSi — SL Bhyrappa Novel Reflection (Sep 2025) Personal notes on S.L. Bhyrappa’s novel sākṣi (“Witness”) and its central character Manjayya — a man of deep moral consciousness who observes and is witness to the moral failures of those around him. Bhyrappa is Karnataka’s most celebrated living novelist and sākṣi is among his most philosophically dense works. rand-rambler.blogspot.com — https://rand-rambler.blogspot.com/2009/02/sl-bhyrappa-sakshi-quick-reflection.html
Roti Yengaay — New Karnataka Cuisine Restaurant in Milpitas (Nov 2025) Announcement of a pure vegetarian Karnataka cuisine restaurant opening in Milpitas, California — serving dishes like ragi mudde, bisi bele bath, holige, and other traditional Karnataka foods to the Bay Area diaspora community. A marker of the growing visibility and commercial viability of Karnataka’s regional cuisine outside India.
mEStre — Kannada AI App Concept (Personal Note, Feb 2026) A personal concept for a Kannada AI assistant named mEsṭre (“master/teacher” in colloquial Kannada, from Portuguese mestre) — that code-switches between pure Kannada and Kanglish (Kannada-English mix) based on context, provides Kannada autocomplete with native vocabulary suggestions, and integrates with agent platforms and an advertising system for monetization.
Personal Note: Eke/Ellara Kannada Project Priorities (Feb 2026) Project priorities for the ettuge Eke/Ellara Kannada initiative: (1) extended Wiktionary using DNS Bhat methodology for etymological entries; (2) autocomplete hinter suggesting native Kannada words as alternatives to Sanskrit/English loanwords; (3) team-of-rivals approach where multiple models debate the best native Kannada coinage for a concept; (4) newsfeed auto-summarization in native Kannada.
Karnataka Culture & History
Not the ‘city of boiled beans’: Bengaluru’s name origin hindustantimes.com — https://www.hindustantimes.com/cities/bengaluru-news/not-the-city-of-boiled-beans-a-relook-at-the-origin-of-bengaluru-s-name-101630306063095.html
A Hindustan Times article debunking the popular folk etymology of Bengaluru as “Bendakāluru” (town of boiled beans), arguing the name predates the legend and likely derives from the beṅga tree (Pterocarpus marsupium). [→ kannada-language-linguistics]
English and the ‘bhashas’ deccanherald.com — https://www.deccanherald.com/opinion/english-and-the-bhashas-3260559
A Deccan Herald opinion piece examining the relationship between English and India’s classical and regional languages (bhāṣā), discussing questions of linguistic prestige, medium of instruction, and the survival of Indian languages in a globalized world. [→ kannada-language-linguistics]
Kadlekai Parishe 2024 — Bengaluru’s unique groundnut festival deccanherald.com — https://www.deccanherald.com/india/karnataka/bengaluru/kadlekai-parishe-2024-all-you-need-to-know-about-bengalurus-unique-groundnut-festival-3292433
Coverage of the Kadlekai Parishe (groundnut fair), an annual festival held outside the Bull Temple in Basavanagudi, Bengaluru — one of the city’s oldest traditions where farmers offer the first groundnut harvest to the Nandi bull deity. [→ kannada-language-linguistics]
Congress peanuts renamed Modi masala? Nope, not true deccanherald.com — https://www.deccanherald.com/india/karnataka/bengaluru/congress-peanuts-renamed-modi-masala-nope-not-true-738503.html
A Deccan Herald fact-check on a social media claim that the famous Congress groundnuts (kadlekai) sold at Basavanagudi’s Congress party bakery were renamed “Modi Masala” — false, as confirmed by the Sreenivasa Brahmins Bakery. [→ kannada-language-linguistics; fact-check angle → current-events-politics]
Bengaluru Explorer: Musings of a New Zealander in Bengaluru deccanherald.com — https://www.deccanherald.com/india/karnataka/bengaluru/roaming-around-in-bengaluru-musings-through-the-eyes-of-a-new-zealander-3755495
A travelogue-style piece in Deccan Herald about an outsider’s (New Zealander’s) experience discovering Bengaluru — its neighbourhoods, food, culture, and contradictions. [→ kannada-language-linguistics; travel angle → travel-outdoors]
No Language Like Kannada — Tamil Selvi’s Powerful Statement https://youtu.be/TU2aF-ML-dA?si=QI7UvKThvyerToH
A YouTube video featuring Tamil Selvi making a passionate statement about the power and uniqueness of the Kannada language — perhaps in the context of language rights or the Rajyotsava celebrations. [→ kannada-language-linguistics]
Why Does Marathi Sound So Unique? https://youtu.be/tUDqGC_ITeg
A linguistic/cultural YouTube video exploring the phonology, vocabulary, and musical quality of Marathi — the Indo-Aryan language of Maharashtra. Useful comparative material for understanding how Marathi differs from neighboring Kannada. [→ kannada-language-linguistics]
Why is Kannada so Kasturi? https://youtu.be/c7M6n3YUDro
A YouTube video celebrating the distinctiveness and beauty of the Kannada language — the title uses kasturi (musk, fragrance) as a metaphor for linguistic richness. [→ kannada-language-linguistics]
Misconceptions about Kannada and Sanskrit thenewsminute.com — https://www.thenewsminute.com/features/misconceptions-about-kannada-and-sanskrit-26222
A The News Minute article debunking myths about Kannada being derived from Sanskrit, arguing for Kannada’s independence as a Dravidian language with its own ancient literary tradition. [→ kannada-language-linguistics]
Sangam Poetry — Translations by A.K.Ramanujan tamilliterature.in — https://tamilliterature.in/sangam-poetry-translations-k-ramanujan/
A resource for A. K. Ramanujan’s English translations of Classical Tamil Sangam poetry — a body of literature (c. 3rd century BCE–3rd century CE) considered among the finest in world literature. Ramanujan’s translations are the standard English versions. [→ kannada-language-linguistics; Dravidian literature]
Tamil loanwords in Ancient Greek — Wikipedia en.wikipedia.org — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tamil_loanwords_in_Ancient_Greek
The Wikipedia article documenting Tamil loanwords in Ancient Greek — evidence of direct trade contact between Tamil-speaking South India and the Graeco-Roman Mediterranean world (c. 1st century BCE–3rd century CE). [→ kannada-language-linguistics]
Scholar throws light on the origin, evolution of Kannada numerals thehindu.com — https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/karnataka/scholar-throws-light-on-the-origin-evolution-of-kannada-numerals/article20811692.ece
A The Hindu article on a scholar’s research into the historical development of Kannada numerals — exploring how the numeral system evolved from Brahmi, through Kannada inscriptions, to modern form. [→ kannada-language-linguistics; mathematics history → mathematics-science]
Cousin Marriage is a Lot Deeper Than You Think | Dravidian Kinship https://youtu.be/TlvLIKrjOlg
A detailed YouTube video exploring Dravidian kinship terminology and the practice of cross-cousin and uncle-niece marriage in South Indian culture — explaining why terms like māma (maternal uncle) can also mean father-in-law. A deep dive into South Asian kinship systems. [→ kannada-language-linguistics; anthropology → indian-history-culture]
Bukka Raya’s 1368 Kalya inscription highlights religious harmony in Karnataka deccanherald.com — https://www.deccanherald.com/india/karnataka/bukka-rayas-inscription-at-karnatakas-kalya-3886672
A Deccan Herald article about a 14th-century Vijayanagara-era inscription from Kalya, Karnataka, attributed to Bukka Raya I — cited as evidence of religious pluralism between Hindu and Jain communities under the Vijayanagara Empire. [→ kannada-language-linguistics; epigraphy → indian-history-culture]
Basavanagudi inscriptions and hero stones — Wikipedia en.wikipedia.org — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Basavanagudi_inscriptions_and_hero_stones?wprov=sfti1
The Wikipedia article on inscriptions and hero stones (vīragallu) found in Basavanagudi, one of Bengaluru’s oldest neighbourhoods. Hero stones are commemorative monoliths for warriors who died in battle, a distinctive Karnataka historical tradition. [→ kannada-language-linguistics; epigraphy → indian-history-culture]
‘Bengaluru was named after the Benga tree’ newindianexpress.com — https://www.newindianexpress.com/cities/chennai/2019/Oct/23/bengaluru-was-named-after-the-benga-tree-2051495.html
A New Indian Express article presenting the “beṅga tree” (Pterocarpus marsupium, Indian kino tree) etymology for Bengaluru — an alternative to the folk “boiled beans” story that is supported by inscriptional and botanical evidence. [→ kannada-language-linguistics]
Baba Budan — Wikipedia (coffee history) en.wikipedia.org
The Wikipedia article on Baba Budan, the 17th-century Sufi saint who is credited with smuggling seven coffee beans from Mocha (Yemen) into India — planting them in the hills of Chikmagalur, Karnataka, beginning India’s coffee cultivation. [→ kannada-language-linguistics; coffee history → indian-history-culture]
All of Proto-Indo-European in less than 12 minutes https://youtu.be/kzP5Lq9fYi8?si=4oKm3oa0wgLYU5AY
A concise YouTube video summarizing the reconstructed Proto-Indo-European language — its phonology, morphology, vocabulary, and daughter languages — in under 12 minutes. A rapid overview useful for understanding the ancestor of Sanskrit, Greek, Latin, Germanic, and Celtic languages. [→ kannada-language-linguistics; Indo-European origins → indian-history-culture]
History of the Indo-Aryan Languages https://youtu.be/DyAZiBcW6aU?si=wuZoWDrPdep-1Lz2
A comprehensive YouTube video tracing the history of the Indo-Aryan branch of Indo-European — from Vedic Sanskrit through Middle Indo-Aryan (Prakrits, Pali) to modern languages like Hindi, Bengali, Marathi, and Punjabi. Essential context for understanding how Sanskrit became the classical ancestor of North Indian languages. [→ kannada-language-linguistics; history → indian-history-culture]
Language Learning & Linguistics Channels
ಹೊನಲು (YouTube) https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCiTTeuqYPvCbbWFLN1j2AkA
Kannada language and culture channel — Honalu (ಹೊನಲು = stream/flow) is a prominent Kannada digital media outlet producing journalism, culture, and discussion in Kannada. [→ kannada-language-linguistics; kannada-media]
ತಿಳಿ TiLi (YouTube) https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCJ9n_eab3VgrmRxe3eV17Kg
Kannada educational channel — TiLi (ತಿಳಿ = to know/understand) produces content about Kannada language, culture, and knowledge in Kannada. [→ kannada-language-linguistics; kannada-media]