How is Kannada Different From English?

While the context is specifically for Kannada, many points below apply to other Indian languages as well for their differences with the English language

Alphabet

The study of any language begins with the study of the alphabet – both pronunciation and script.

Despite there being just 26 letters in the English language there are approximately 44 unique sounds, also known as phonemes. Meaning, the pronunciation of the English alphabet is not the same on all occasions.

In Kannada, each letter (akshara / varna) represents one and only one sound. In English, the letter “a” may indicate many sounds.

For example – cut / put, cat / chat etc.

Most Indian languages follow or have borrowed the alphabet structure from Sanskrit, another classical language of India. Each alphabet has a specific pronunciation that is consistent. Kannada also has a similar alphabet structure that of Sanksrit and each alphabet is pronounced the same way on all occasions. So Kannada has more alphabets (59) than English (26) to cover the different sounds.

Kannada is a phonetic language, word is pronounced according to its spelling.

The beauty of Kannada is that you READ THE WAY IT IS WRITTEN! No guesswork!

Grammar

There are so many grammatical differences between languages, that it would be difficult to capture here. Only a few items are highlighted here

In sentence structuring, English uses subject-verb-object word order whereas Kannada uses subject-object-verb word order

English – Raju loves reading (Subject-Verb-Object)

Kannada – Rajuvige oduvudu ishta. ರಾಜುವಿಗೆ ಓದುವುದು ಇಷ್ಟ (Subject-Object-Verb)

Kannada Sentence – ನಾನು ಮನೆ ಕಟ್ಟಿದೆನು.

Transliteration – Naanu mane kaTTidenu

Gloss – I, the house, built

Parts – Subject Object Verb

English translation – I built the house

Sandhi or “joining”

One of the unique features of many Indian languages is the concept of “sandhi” or “joining”. Grammar rules apply when words come together and form a new sound, as a result of joining at the word boundaries.

In Kannada, for example,

“hesaru” (name) + “enu?” (what) = “hesarenu”

ಹೆಸರು + ಏನು = ಹೆಸರೇನು?

mane + annu = maneyannu

ಮನೆ(ಎ)+ಅನ್ನು=ಮನೆಯನ್ನು.ಇಲ್ಲಿ ಉತ್ತರಪದದ ಆದಿಯಲ್ಲಿ ‘ಯ್ ಕಾರ’ ‘ಆಗಮ’ವಾಗಿದೆ.

magu + ige = maguvige

ಮಗು(ಉ)+ಇಗೆ=ಮಗುವಿಗೆ.ಇಲ್ಲಿ ಉತ್ತರಪದದ ಆದಿಯಲ್ಲಿ ‘ವ್ ಕಾರ’ ‘ಆಗಮ’ವಾಗಿದೆ.

Cultural

Some words are used in cultural context, beyond grammatical sense.

For example, “You” in English can be applied for both singular or plural. In Kannada, “You” can be “Neenu (singular) / Neevu (plural)”. In addition to the grammatical usage, “Neevu” can be used in the singular form when addressing people with respect.

“How are you?” is translated in Kannada as follows

If you are addressing someone who is a friend or younger than you – “Neenu hegiddeeya?”

If you are addressing a group of people or someone who is elder to you or to show respect – “Neevu Hegiddeeri?”