Arebhashe | |
---|---|
ಅರೆಭಾಷೆ | |
Native to | India |
Region | Kodagu, Dakshina Kannada Kasaragodu |
Ethnicity | Gowda |
Native speakers
|
400,000 (2011) |
Kannada script | |
Language codes | |
ISO 639-3 | – |
Arebhashe is a dialect of Hale Kannada and Tulu languages. It is spoken by more than 400,000 people, particularly Hindus in the Gowda community in the regions of Kodagu and Sullia of Dakshina Kannada in the Indian state of Karnataka..
Linguists have suggested that the word Arebhashe means 'half-tongue,' from the Arebhashe word "a're" meaning "half" and bhashe, meaning "speech." Arebhashe pronunciation and accent are distinct from Kannada.
Arebhashe is written in the Kannada script.The Arebhashe dialect is believed to have originated during the transformation of Hale Kannada to Hosa Kannada, and according to some historians the dialect may be five-hundred years old.