Tulu language
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| Tulu (Tulu) | |
|---|---|
| Spoken in: | India |
| Region: | mainly Karnataka |
| Total speakers: | 1,949,000 |
| Ranking: | Not in top 100 |
| Genetic classification: | Dravidian Southern |
| Official status | |
| Official language of: | - |
| Regulated by: | - |
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-1 | - |
| ISO 639-2 | dra |
| SIL | TCY |
| See also: Language – List of languages | |
Tulu is one of the minor languages of India with under 2,000,000 speakers. Most of its speakers are in the district of South Kanara in the west of the state of Karnataka. The original written script of the language is rarely used today. It is normally written in the syllabic script of the principal language of the state, Kannada. Tulu has its own script, similar to that of Malayalam. However, 19th century German missionaries used the Kannada script to transcribe Tulu works, and it soon fell out of use due to the fact that Tulu was a lingual minority in the princely state of Mysore. Tulu is generally spoken as the local language by the Mangaloreans. Daily use of the language has propelled its popularity to higher than that of Kannada, the state language. The local population relates closely to any tulu speaker and this fact has its own far reaching consequences and it is now a recognized language in the southern districts of Karnataka.
'Bhagavata' (a purana katha) has been half-written in Tulu script by a Brahmin belonging to Udyavara, Udupi, Karnataka. 'Mandara Ramayana' has also been written in Tulu.
External link
- TULU SCRIPT (http://www.boloji.com/places/0020.htm)
- TULU PEOPLE - TULUVA (http://www.boloji.com/places/0018a.htm)
- The Tulu Language (http://www.yakshagana.com/tulu.htm)
- Tulu language -- Encyclopædia Britannica (http://www.britannica.com/eb/article?tocId=9073734)
- TULUNAD HISTORY (http://www.udupipages.com/culture/tulu1.html)
- Ethnologue entry for Tulu (http://www.ethnologue.com/show_language.asp?code=tcy)