Eke — Ellara Kannada Romanisation

Eke (ಏಕೆ) is the romanisation system for Kannada used in the ettuge project. It adapts Harvard-Kyoto conventions for native Kannada phonology, with two operating modes:

Mode Use Aspirates
Eke Romanising existing Kannada text Preserved — bh, dh, kh, Sh, etc.
Eke(ek) Coining new native (Dravidian) words Dropped — native Kannada has no mahaprāṇa

Case Sensitivity

Uppercase letters mark retroflex consonants, long vowels, or special sounds:

Symbol Sound Example
T retroflex ಟ (vs dental t = ತ) TamaTe ಟಮಟೆ
D retroflex ಡ (vs dental d = ದ) Du ಡು
N retroflex ಣ (vs dental n = ನ) — never anusvara kaNNu ಕಣ್ಣು
L retroflex ಳ (vs dental l = ಲ) kaLLa ಕಳ್ಳ
S palatal sibilant ಶ — exclusively ಶ, not ಷ SabdA ಶಬ್ದ
Sh retroflex sibilant ಷ bhAShe ಭಾಷೆ
A long ಆ (vs a = ಅ) mAtu ಮಾತು
I long ಈ (vs i = ಇ) nIru ನೀರು
U long ಊ (vs u = ಉ) hUvu ಹೂವು
E long ಏ (vs e = ಎ) Enu ಏನು
O long ಓ (vs o = ಒ) Odu ಓದು
H visarga ಃ (vs h = ಹ) namaH ನಮಃ
G velar nasal ಙ — anusvara form preferred in modern Kannada; appears word-initially in Tamil, Tulu, older Kannada anka ಅಂಕ (cf. aGka); word-initial: GkAra ಙಕಾರ
Y palatal nasal ಞ — anusvara form preferred in modern Kannada; appears word-initially in Tamil, Tulu, older Kannada ance ಅಂಚೆ (cf. aYce); word-initial: YanDu ಞಂಡು, jYAna ಜ್ಞಾನ
R archaic retroflex ಱ — rare, preserved in Eke romanisation of old texts eRagu ಎಱಗು
Z old Kannada ೞ — appears in Tamil, Tulu, Old Kannada tamiZ ತಮಿೞ್
x vocalic ṛ ಋ/ೃ (short) samskxta ಸಂಸ್ಕೃತ
X vocalic ṝ ೠ/ೄ (long) — extremely rare —
q vocalic ḷ ಌ/ೢ (short) — rare; Sanskrit only —
Q vocalic ḹ ೡ/ೣ (long) — extremely rare —
: nuktā diacritic — marks dialect sounds absent from standard Kannada (e.g. Toda retroflex laterals) —
^ rounding modifier — marks Havyaka unrounded-u vowel ಉ್ u^ ಉ್

Critical distinction: r (lowercase) is always ರ. R (uppercase) is only archaic ಱ. Never use R for ರ.

Vowels

Kannada Eke Note
ಅ a short
ಆ A long
ಇ i short
ಈ I long
ಉ u short
ಊ U long
ಎ e short
ಏ E long
ಒ o short
ಓ O long
ಐ ay diphthong — ಅ + ಯ್; not ai
ಔ av diphthong — ಅ + ವ್; not au
ಋ / ೃ x vocalic ṛ (short) — e.g. ಕೃಷ್ಣ → kxShNa
ೠ / ೄ X vocalic ṝ (long) — extremely rare
ಌ / ೢ q vocalic ḷ (short) — rare; Sanskrit only
ೡ / ೣ Q vocalic ḹ (long) — extremely rare
ಃ H visarga — uppercase

Diphthong note

In EK phonology, ಐ and ಔ are sequences, not single vowels:

  • ಐ = ಅ + ಯ್ → ay (e.g. ಐದು → aydu)
  • ಔ = ಅ + ವ್ → av (e.g. ಔಷಧ → avShaDha)

Consonants

Stops (ordered plosives)

Place Voiceless Voiced Nasal
Velar k ಕ, kh ಖ g ಗ, gh ಘ G ಙ (anusvara preferred; GkAra ಙಕಾರ word-initially)
Palatal c ಚ, ch ಛ j ಜ, jh ಝ Y ಞ (anusvara preferred; YanDu ಞಂಡು, jYAna ಜ್ಞಾನ)
Retroflex T ಟ, Th ಠ D ಡ, Dh ಢ N ಣ
Dental t ತ, th ಥ d ದ, dh ಧ n ನ
Labial p ಪ, ph ಫ b ಬ, bh ಭ m ಮ

In Eke(ek) (new word coining), aspirate digraphs drop the h: kh→k, gh→g, ch→c, jh→j, Th→T, Dh→D, th→t, dh→d, ph→p, bh→b

G and Y: These velar and palatal nasals have dedicated symbols. In modern Kannada the anusvara + plosive form is preferred (nka / nca). Word-initial use survives in Tamil, Tulu, older Kannada, and Sanskrit clusters: GkAra ಙಕಾರ (the name of the letter ಙ); YanDu ಞಂಡು (old Kannada); jYAna ಜ್ಞಾನ (Sanskrit “knowledge” — Y in cluster ಜ್ಞ).

Sonorants and Sibilants

Symbol Sound
y ಯ
r ರ (always lowercase — the common r)
l ಲ
v ವ
S ಶ (palatal sibilant — exclusively S, never Sh)
Sh ಷ (retroflex sibilant — in Eke(ek), merges with ಶ → S)
s ಸ (alveolar)
h ಹ
L ಳ (retroflex lateral)
R ಱ (archaic retroflex — rare old texts)
Z ೞ (old Kannada / Tamil / Tulu — e.g. tamiZ)

Anusvara — Nasal Assimilation

The anusvara ಂ is never written as standalone M. It always assimilates to the following consonant:

Following consonant Prefix
ಕ k, ಗ g n → nk, ng
ಚ c, ಜ j n → nc, nj
ಟ T, ಡ D n → nT, nD
ತ t, ದ d n → nt, nd
ಪ p, ಬ b m → mp, mb
y, l, S, Sh, s, h, L m
r, v n

Examples: ಕಂಬ → kamba; ಕಂಠ → kanTha; ಸಂಸ್ಕೃತ → samskxta; ಬಂಧ → bandha

Critical disambiguation: N (uppercase) = exclusively retroflex ಣ.

  • Write linga (ಲಿಂಗ), NOT liNga — that would mean ಲಿಣ್ಗ
  • Write tunDu (ತುಂಡು), NOT tuNDu — that would mean ತುಣ್ಡು

Inherent Vowel and Conjuncts

  • Every Kannada consonant has an inherent a: ಕ = ka, ನ = na, etc.
  • The virama ್ suppresses it in consonant clusters: ಕ್ನ = kna
  • Word-final consonants lose the inherent a in spoken EK: ಕನ್ನಡ = kannaDa (not kannaDaa)

Quick Examples

Kannada Eke Notes
ಕನ್ನಡ kannaDa D = retroflex ಡ
ಮಾತು mAtu A = long ಆ
ಸೂರ್ಯ sUrya U = long ಊ, r = ರ
ಸಂಸ್ಕೃತ samskxta m = assimilated anusvara; x = vocalic ṛ
ಎಲ್ಲರ ಕನ್ನಡ ellara kannaDa (Ellara Kannada — everyone’s Kannada)
ಭಾಷೆ bhAShe bh = ಭ, A = long ಆ, Sh = ಷ, e = short
ಕೃಷ್ಣ kxShNa x = ಋ/ೃ, Sh = ಷ, N = retroflex ಣ
ಐದು aydu ay = diphthong ಐ
ಔಷಧ avShaDha av = diphthong ಔ, Sh = ಷ, dh = ಧ

Two-Mode Summary

Feature Eke (romanising text) Eke(ek) (coining words)
Aspirates Preserved: bh, dh, kh, etc. Dropped: b, d, k, etc.
ಷ vs ಶ Sh (ಷ) distinct from S (ಶ) Merged — both → S
Retroflexes Uppercase: T D N L Same
Long vowels Uppercase: A I U E O Same
Diphthongs ay, av Same
Anusvara Assimilated nasal (never M) Same
Vocalic ṛ / ṝ x / X Same
Vocalic ḷ / ḹ q / Q Same

Full specification: Eke.md (153KB, authoritative).