kannaDa padagaLa oLaracane

Internal Structure of Kannada Words

Title (Kannada): ಕನ್ನಡ ಪದಗಳ ಒಳರಚನೆ Author: D. N. Shankara Bhat (ಡಿ. ಎನ್. ಶಂಕರ ಭಟ್) Year: 2014 Publisher: Bhasha Prakashan Pages: 239 Language: Kannada Topic: Morphology — the internal structure of Kannada words

Book Overview

This book is a systematic descriptive study of how Kannada words are internally structured. It covers morphology — the branch of linguistics that studies how words are composed from smaller units — and presents Kannada word formation on its own Dravidian terms, free from the distorting imposition of Sanskrit grammatical categories. The author begins with the fundamental distinction between words that have internal structure (ಒಳರಚನೆಯಿರುವ ಪದಗಳು, composed of multiple components) and those that do not (simple, unanalysable words like ತಲೆ “head”). The two main types of internal structure explored throughout the book are: affixed words (where a base word combines with a lexical or inflectional suffix) and compound words (where two or more words join to form a single new word).

A central organisational principle of the book is the distinction between the three primary word classes in Kannada: nouns (ಹೆಸರುಪದ, hesaru pada), verbs (ಎಸಕಪದ, esaka pada), and qualifiers/adjectives (ಪರಿಚೆಪದ, parice pada). The author argues that these three classes are independently defined in Kannada by their syntactic functions, not derived from or subordinate to one another — unlike in Sanskrit, where verbal roots are primary and nouns are derived from them. This fundamental structural claim shapes the entire analysis: each word class is given its own chapters exploring its characteristic internal structures, possible affixes, and compound-formation patterns.

The book is also a sustained methodological argument for describing Kannada on its own terms. Throughout, the author shows how applying Sanskrit grammatical tools — such as the tripartite Sanskrit compound taxonomy (tatpurusha, dvandva, bahuvrihi) — to Kannada compounds systematically distorts and misrepresents what Kannada actually does. The book proposes a Kannada-native classification instead, grounded in the actual syntactic and semantic properties of Kannada compounds and affixes. A final chapter covers borrowed words (primarily from Sanskrit) and how they are adapted and integrated into Kannada word formation.

Table of Contents

Chapter 1 — Introduction

(ಪೀಠಿಕೆ)

ಕನ್ನಡ → Eke →

1.1 Internal Structure (ಒಳರಚನೆ)

The chapter opens by establishing the basic distinction between words with internal structure and words without. A word like ಮುನ್ನುಡಿ (preface) has internal structure: it is formed from ಮುಂದೆ (before/forward) and ನುಡಿ (word/speech), with ಮುಂದೆ appearing in its contracted form ಮುನ್ as first component. A word like ತಲೆ (head) has no internal structure in modern Kannada — it consists of phonemes assembled together, but cannot be further analysed into two words or a word plus an affix (ಒಟ್ಟು) in the way ಕುಣಿತ (dance) = ಕುಣಿ (verb “to dance”) + ತ (nominalising suffix) can be.

The chapter explains why knowledge of internal structure matters. Speakers need not analyse a word’s structure to use it correctly — they can simply memorise its meaning. However, internal structure helps readers interpret unfamiliar words through context, enables writers and researchers to coin new words productively, and helps translators create Kannada equivalents of foreign technical vocabulary. Word-internal structure thus has both cognitive and practical significance.

1.2 Internal Structure and History (ಒಳರಚನೆ ಮತ್ತು ಚರಿತ್ರೆ)

A word’s internal structure and its history are related but not identical. When a compound word or derived word is first created, its structure and its etymology are one and the same. But over time, words change: some components lose their independent existence and become opaque affixes (ಒಟ್ಟು); others change so much phonologically that the connection to the source words is no longer perceptible without historical scholarship. The word ಎಣ್ಣೆ (oil) historically derives from ಎಳ್ಳು (sesame) + ನೆಯ್ (fat/butter), but in modern Kannada that etymological connection is invisible, and ಎಣ್ಣೆ has no internal structure from a synchronic standpoint.

The author draws a careful distinction between historical analysis (tracing etymology using comparative Dravidian evidence) and synchronic structural analysis (describing the internal organisation of words as they exist in the language today). This book, he states, is primarily about the latter. However, historical evidence is sometimes invoked to understand why certain forms occur.

1.3 Words and Word Forms (ಪದಗಳು ಮತ್ತು ಪದರೂಪಗಳು)

A sentence like ಬಡ ಮುದುಕನನ್ನು, ರಾಜು ಬಿಸಿನೀರಿನಲ್ಲಿ ಮೆಲ್ಲಗೆ ಮುಳುಗಿಸಿದ (Raju slowly immersed the poor old man in hot water) illustrates the distinction between words and word forms. The sentence contains words like ಮುದುಕ (old man), ನೀರು (water), ಮುಳುಗಿಸು (to immerse); but these words appear in inflected forms: ಮುದುಕನನ್ನು (with accusative suffix -ಅನ್ನು), ನೀರಿನಲ್ಲಿ (with locative suffix -ಅಲ್ಲಿ), ಮುಳುಗಿಸಿದ (with past-tense and third-person agreement suffixes). The inflectional suffixes (ಪದರೂಪದ ಒಟ್ಟುಗಳು) that create these word forms are distinct from the lexical suffixes (ಪದದೊಟ್ಟುಗಳು) that create new words. This foundational distinction underpins the entire book’s organisation.

1.4 Words and Affixes (ಪದಗಳು ಮತ್ತು ಒಟ್ಟುಗಳು)

The chapter then clarifies the distinction between words (ಪದಗಳು) and affixes (ಒಟ್ಟುಗಳು) as components within a morphologically complex word. A component is a word if it can appear independently with the same or related form and meaning elsewhere in the language: the first component of ಕಾಲ್ಮಣೆ (footstool) is ಕಾಲ್, which relates to the independent word ಕಾಲು (foot), so both parts are words. The component ತ in ಕುಣಿತ (dance) cannot appear independently as a word, so it is an affix. Some components — like the ಹಾರಯ್ in ಹಾರಯ್ಸು (to look/cause to see, a causative) — cannot be clearly categorised as either word or affix; such elements are described as “bound roots” (ಹೊರಕುಳಿ ಪದ), which can only appear when accompanied by a suffix.

1.5–1.8 Lexical vs. Inflectional Affixes; Productive Structures

Sections 1.5–1.7 systematically lay out six diagnostic properties that distinguish lexical affixes (which create new words) from inflectional affixes (which create word forms). Lexical affixes: (a) are involved in word creation, not mandatory in every use of a word; (b) apply selectively to some words of a class, not all; (c) do not form paradigms; (d) can be borrowed from other languages (e.g., Sanskrit prefixes like ಅಪ- have entered Kannada through loanwords); (e) do not have a single, consistent meaning; (f) typically do not apply to borrowed words. Inflectional affixes are the complement on all six points. Section 1.7 distinguishes productive from non-productive word-formation patterns: a productive pattern is one speakers actively use to create new words; a non-productive pattern is one whose results are known only as stored lexical items. Section 1.8 states the book’s scope: it will describe Kannada morphology using Kannada-native grammatical concepts, covering all major word classes and borrowed vocabulary.

Chapter 2 — Word Classes in Kannada

(ಕನ್ನಡದ ಪದಗುಂಪುಗಳು)

ಕನ್ನಡ → Eke →

2.1 Overview (ಮುನ್ನೋಟ)

This chapter establishes the three-way word-class division — nouns (ಹೆಸರುಪದ), verbs (ಎಸಕಪದ), qualifiers (ಪರಿಚೆಪದ) — that organises all subsequent chapters. The three classes perform three distinct functions in Kannada sentences: nouns identify persons, objects, states, and matters; verbs predicate actions or states; and qualifiers describe properties of nouns or modulate verbs. The author uses concrete sentence examples to illustrate that all three classes are independently necessary and cannot be collapsed into one another.

2.2 Differences among Word Groups (ಪದಗುಂಪುಗಳಲ್ಲಿ ವ್ಯತ್ಯಾಸಗಳು)

Languages vary in how they classify words. The four major language families of India — Dravidian, Indo-Aryan, Tibeto-Burman, and Austro-Asiatic — each organise their word classes differently. In Sanskrit, there is no fully independent adjective/qualifier class separate from nouns: Sanskrit adjectives agree in case, gender, and number with their head noun and behave syntactically like nouns. Kannada qualifiers, by contrast, do not inflect for case or number and function differently from nouns in numerous syntactic environments.

2.3 Differences in Defining Properties (ಪರಿಚೆಧರ್ಮಗಳಲ್ಲಿ ವ್ಯತ್ಯಾಸ)

This section is the empirical heart of the chapter. The author provides seven distinct syntactic tests that differentiate the three word classes:

  1. Direct use (2.3.1): Only qualifiers and nouns can directly precede and modify a head noun; verbs cannot.
  2. Meaning differences (2.3.2): Nouns identify referents (entities with independent existence); qualifiers predicate a specific property; verbs predicate an action or state. Nouns such as ಕುರುಡ (blind person) carry a cluster of properties, while qualifiers like ಕುರುಡ used adjectivally express only the property of blindness.
  3. Comparative constructions (2.3.3): Only qualifiers can appear in comparatives (e.g., ಇದು ಆ ಮನೆಗಿಂತ ದೊಡ್ಡ ಮನೆ — this is a bigger house than that one). Neither nouns nor verbs can fill this role.
  4. Exclamative constructions (2.3.4): Only qualifiers can be the basis for exclamatives using ಎಷ್ಟು (how!).
  5. Echo-word formation (2.3.5): Kannada has a productive pattern of forming echo words (ಮಾರ್ದನಿ ಪದಗಳು) by replacing the initial consonant with gi/gi: (e.g., ಮನೆ-ಗಿನೆ). This pattern applies freely to nouns and verbs but not to qualifiers, because qualifiers express specific properties that must not be blurred.
  6. Independence in use (2.3.6): Qualifiers cannot appear as standalone predicates in the way nouns and verbs can.
  7. Stable vs. transient properties (2.3.7): Qualifiers typically express stable properties; when a verb is used to describe a temporary state, it fills a different syntactic role.

2.4–2.5 Class Membership and Summary

Section 2.4 notes that class membership is not always categorical — some words can shift between classes. The chapter concludes that the tripartite classification is both empirically motivated by Kannada syntax and necessary for any accurate description of Kannada morphology.

Chapter 3 — Internal Structure of Nouns

(ನಾಮಪದಗಳ ಒಳರಚನೆ)

ಕನ್ನಡ → Eke →

Nouns in Kannada identify referents — they “name” (ಹೆಸರಿಸು) entities or describe (ವರಿಸು) their properties. The chapter begins by distinguishing these two functions and then explores how compound nouns differ from noun phrases: a compound noun (ಜೋಡುಪದ) is a single lexical item whose overall meaning is not necessarily predictable from the sum of its parts, whereas a noun phrase (ನಾಮಪದ ಕಂತೆ) is a compositional phrase assembled in syntax.

The chapter provides seven diagnostic tests to distinguish compound nouns from noun phrases. These tests concern: (1) productivity — can a new item be freely formed, or only stored in memory? (2) property selection — which properties of the constituent words are preserved in the compound? (3) meaning divergence — does the compound have a meaning distinct from the literal composition? (4) scope limitations — can the compound’s components be separately modified? (5) phonological changes — does joining trigger sandhi or other phonological alterations? (6) structural constraints — can the components appear in different orders? (7) the relationship between noun-noun compounds and noun-head-noun phrases.

The chapter also examines proper nouns (ರೂಢನಾಮ) versus common nouns (ಅಂಕಿತನಾಮ), showing how their structural properties differ. Proper nouns function differently in constructions involving quantification and definiteness.

Chapter 4 — Nouns with Suffixes

(ಪ್ರತ್ಯಯವಿರುವ ನಾಮಪದಗಳು)

ಕನ್ನಡ → Eke →

This chapter is the most detailed in the book, cataloguing the productive lexical suffixes that derive nouns from verbs, from other nouns, and from qualifiers. The central section (4.3) analyses ten suffixes that derive nouns from verbal bases:

  • -ike/-ige (ಇಕೆ/ಇಗೆ): the most productive and polysemous nominalising suffix in Kannada. It forms action nouns (ಹೊಗಳಿಕೆ “praise” from ಹೊಗಳು “to praise”), result nouns (ಕೆತ್ತಿಗೆ “carving” from ಕೆತ್ತು), and instrument/object nouns (ಮೊಳಕೆ “sprout” from ಮೊಳೆ “to sprout”). The same suffix also serves as an inflectional affix in some contexts (the “ikke” case suffix), a fact that illustrates the blurring between lexical and inflectional morphology.
  • -ta/-t (ತ/ತ್): derives action nouns with an event-nominalisation meaning (ಕುಣಿತ “dancing”, ನಗೆ “laughter”).
  • -a (ಅ): derives abstract nouns from verbs (ತಿರುಗ > ತಿರುಗ “rotation”, ಎಳೆ > ಎಳೆ).
  • -vu (ವು): an archaic or restricted nominaliser.
  • -vaLi (ವಳಿ): denotes the person who performs the action.
  • -vaN (ವಣ್): related to manner or characteristic.
  • -e (ಎ): derives nouns from verb roots.
  • -alu (ಅಲು): denotes instruments or nominal action (ಮೆಟ್ಟಲು “step/stair” from ಮೆಟ್ಟು “to tread”).
  • -ku (ಕು): derives nouns from verb roots.
  • Zero suffix (ಸೊನ್ನೆ ಪ್ರತ್ಯಯ): many Kannada nouns are derived from verbs with no overt suffix at all — the verb root itself serves as a noun (ನಗು “laughter/to laugh”, ಓಡು “running/to run”).

Section 4.4 examines noun-to-noun derivation (where one noun is derived from another by suffix), and section 4.5 covers noun derivation from qualifier bases, with discussion of both direct use and affixed forms.

Chapter 5 — Compound Nouns

(ಜೋಡುಪದಗಳು)

ಕನ್ನಡ → Eke →

This chapter gives the fullest treatment of compounding (ಜೋಡಿಕೆ) in Kannada, first clarifying what compounds are and are not, then classifying them exhaustively. The opening sections (5.1–5.3) address potential confusions between compound words and: (a) noun phrases that merely juxtapose two words, (b) affixed words, and (c) reduplications. The chapter then provides four classification criteria for Kannada compounds.

Classification by the number of components (5.6.1): most Kannada compounds are binary (two-part). Classification by the word class of the first component (5.6.2): this is the most important criterion, giving three main compound types: (a) Noun + Noun or Noun + Verb compounds (first member is a noun), (b) Verb + Noun or Verb + Verb compounds (first member is a verb), and (c) Qualifier + Noun compounds (first member is a qualifier). Classification by variety in the second component (5.6.3). Classification by the position of the head (centre-point, ಕೇಂದ್ರಬಿಂದು) (5.6.4): in most Kannada compounds the head is the final member (right-headed), but some compounds are exocentric (the head is not either member, but an implied outside referent).

Section 5.7 describes the phonological changes that occur when words join in compounds: changes to the second word (5.7.1) and to the first word (5.7.2). Section 5.8 critically examines how traditional Kannada grammars have classified compounds using the Sanskrit samasa taxonomy (tatpurusha, dvandva, bahuvrihi, avyayibhava, karmadharaya), showing in detail where the Sanskrit categories misrepresent Kannada compound structure and where they are simply inapplicable.

Chapter 6 — Internal Structure of Verbs

(ಕ್ರಿಯಾಪದಗಳ ಒಳರಚನೆ)

ಕನ್ನಡ → Eke →

Kannada verbs are structurally different from nouns. Most primary (simple) verbs have no internal morphological structure — they are unanalysable root forms. The chapter begins (6.1) by describing the function of verbs in sentences: they predicate actions, states, or processes and require participants to complete their meaning (agent, patient, location, time). Section 6.1.2 briefly notes the Sanskrit concept of “kriyasamasa” (verbal compound) and its limited applicability to Kannada.

Section 6.2 describes simplex verbs (ಒಳರಚನೆಯಿಲ್ಲದ ಕ್ರಿಯಾಪದಗಳು) — verb roots that have no derivational history visible in modern Kannada. Section 6.3 covers fossil affixes (ಪಳೆಯಳಿಕೆಗಳು): archaic suffixes like -ಚು that once productively formed verbs from noun or adjective bases but are no longer productive in modern Kannada. Section 6.4 describes the highly productive causative suffix -ಇಸು, which derives causative verbs from intransitive bases (e.g., ಮುಳುಗು “to sink” → ಮುಳುಗಿಸು “to cause to sink/to immerse”). Section 6.5 covers compound verbs (ಕೂಡುಪದಗಳು): verbal compounds formed by joining a noun or qualifier with a verb, where the first component enriches the meaning of the whole (distinguished from compound nouns, which belong to chapter 5). Several sub-types of compound verb formation are illustrated with examples.

Chapter 7 — Internal Structure of Qualifiers

(ಗುಣಪದಗಳ ಒಳರಚನೆ)

ಕನ್ನಡ → Eke →

Qualifiers (ಪರಿಚೆಪದ / ಗುಣಪದ) have the simplest internal structure of the three major word classes. Most Kannada qualifiers are either primary (underived) — such as ಬಿಳಿ (white), ದೊಡ್ಡ (big), ಒಳ್ಳೆ (good) — or derived from nouns and verbs through a small set of suffixes. The chapter (7.1) begins by noting that qualifiers in Kannada do not inflect for gender, number, or case — a major typological difference from Sanskrit adjectives, which must agree with their head noun. This non-inflecting nature has direct consequences for their internal structure: there are no paradigmatic inflectional affixes to analyse.

Section 7.2 discusses subtle differences between qualifier sub-types: qualifiers that express stable properties (e.g., ಕಪ್ಪು “black”) versus those expressing more dynamic or relative properties. Section 7.3 describes the basic structural forms that qualifiers take: many are single morphemes; some are reduplicated forms; some are derived from nouns by the addition of -ಅ or other suffixes. Section 7.4 surveys the derivational suffixes used to form qualifiers from other word classes, noting that the set of such suffixes is much smaller than the set of noun-forming suffixes.

Chapter 8 — Internal Structure of Loanwords

(ಎರವಲಾಗಿ ಬಂದ ಪದಗಳ ಒಳರಚನೆ)

ಕನ್ನಡ → Eke →

This chapter deals with words borrowed into Kannada from other languages, principally from Sanskrit. Section 8.1 surveys the general phenomenon of borrowing (ಎರವಲು): it describes different types of borrowing across languages (8.1.1), distinguishes tatsama words (Sanskrit words adopted with minimal phonological change) from tadbhava words (Sanskrit-derived words that have undergone extensive phonological nativisation) (8.1.2), explains the reasons for phonological changes in borrowed words (8.1.3), and discusses how a word’s word-class membership can change in the borrowing process (8.1.4).

Section 8.2 examines the internal structure of borrowed words: how their internal structure may differ from that of native Kannada words (8.2.1), how the morphological rules of the donor language may be preserved inside the borrowed form (8.2.2), and how borrowed words are analysed by Kannada-native segmentation criteria (8.2.3). Section 8.3 focuses specifically on Sanskrit loans: word-class differences between Sanskrit and Kannada realisations of the same root (8.3.1), Sanskrit prefixes and suffixes that enter Kannada through borrowing (8.3.2), differences in verbal roots (8.3.3), and productivity of borrowed Sanskrit affixes in Kannada (8.3.4). Sections 8.4–8.6 cover borrowed affixed words (prefixes 8.4.1, suffixes 8.4.2, phonological changes 8.4.3), borrowed verbs (8.5), and borrowed compound words (8.6).

Chapter 9 — Conclusion

(ಮುಕ್ತಾಯ)

ಕನ್ನಡ → Eke →

The concluding chapter draws together the book’s major findings and situates them within the broader project of building a Kannada-native grammatical tradition. The author summarises how each word class — nouns, verbs, and qualifiers — has its own characteristic internal structure, its own set of productive lexical affixes, and its own compound-formation patterns. The diversity and productivity of noun morphology (chapters 3–5) contrasts with the relative simplicity of qualifier morphology (chapter 7) and the causative-focused verb morphology (chapter 6).

The chapter reflects on what it means to describe Kannada morphology on its own terms. For two millennia, Kannada grammarians worked with tools borrowed from Sanskrit grammar (Paninian categories of lopa, agama, adesa; the samasa taxonomy; the kaaraka system). These tools, the author argues, produced systematic misrepresentations of how Kannada actually works. The book’s proposed Kannada-native framework — using terms like oTTu (affix), padOTTu (lexical affix), padarUpa OTTu (inflectional affix), jODu pada (compound word), hesaru pada / esaka pada / parice pada for the three word classes — is a step toward a genuinely Dravidian descriptive linguistics. The book closes with a bibliography and a subject index.

Key Terms Glossary

English Kannada Eke (Romanisation)
Internal structure ಒಳರಚನೆ oLaracane
Word ಪದ pada
Affix ಒಟ್ಟು oTTu
Lexical affix ಪದದೊಟ್ಟು padoTTu
Inflectional affix ಪದರೂಪದೊಟ್ಟು padarUpadoTTu
Noun ಹೆಸರುಪದ hesaru pada
Verb ಎಸಕಪದ esaka pada
Qualifier / Adjective ಪರಿಚೆಪದ parice pada
Compound word ಜೋಡುಪದ jODu pada
Compound verb ಕೂಡುಪದ kUDu pada
Word form ಪದರೂಪ padarUpa
Suffix ಪ್ರತ್ಯಯ prataya
Prefix ಮುನ್ನೊಟ್ಟು munoTTu
Noun phrase ನಾಮಪದ ಕಂತೆ nAmapada kante
Word class ಪದಗುಂಪು padagunpu
Productivity ಉತ್ಪಾದಕತೆ utpAdakate
Loanword ಎರವಲು ಪದ eravalu pada
Bound root ಹೊರಕುಳಿ ಪದ horakuLi pada
Echo word ಮಾರ್ದನಿ ಪದ mArdani pada
Causative suffix ಇಸು ಪ್ರತ್ಯಯ isu prataya
Sanskrit loan (unadapted) ತತ್ಸಮ tatsama
Sanskrit loan (adapted) ತದ್ಭವ tadbava
Action noun ಎಸಕ ಹೆಸರು esaka hesaru
Grammar / morphology ಒಳರಚನೆ ಅರಿಮೆ oLaracane arime
Linguistics ನುಡಿಯರಿಮೆ nuDiyarime
Named / common noun ರೂಢನಾಮ rUDanAma
Proper noun ಅಂಕಿತನಾಮ ankitanAma
Comparative construction ಹೋಲಿಕೆ ರಚನೆ hOlike racane

This document is an English-language overview of D. N. Shankara Bhat’s ಕನ್ನಡ ಪದಗಳ ಒಳರಚನೆ (2014), based on the original Kannada text. The Kannada text can be read in the companion file 03-kannaDa-padagaLa-oLaracane-book.md. The Eke romanisation of this overview is in 03-kannaDa-padagaLa-oLaracane-kn-eke.md.