Kannada | |
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ಕನ್ನಡ | |
Pronunciation | [ˈkʌnnəɖɑː] |
Native to | India |
Region | Karnataka with border communities in neighbouring states |
Ethnicity | Kannadigas |
Native speakers
|
37.9 million (2001) |
Dravidian
|
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Early forms
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Old Kannada
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Kannada alphabet Kannada Braille |
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Official status | |
Official language in
|
India |
Regulated by | Various academies and the government of Karnataka |
Language codes | |
ISO 639-1 | kn |
ISO 639-2 |
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ISO 639-3 |
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Glottolog | nucl1305 |
Linguasphere | 49-EBA-a |
Distribution of Kannada native speakers, majority regions in orange and minority regions in yellow.
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Kannada /ˈkɑːnədə, ˈkæ-/ (ಕನ್ನಡ kannaḍa; IPA: [ˈkʌnːəɖɑː]), also known as Canarese or Kanarese /kænəˈriːz/, is a Dravidian language spoken predominantly by Kannada people in India, mainly in the state of Karnataka, and by linguistic minorities in the states of Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra, Kerala, and Goa. The language has roughly 40 million native speakers who are called Kannadigas (Kannaḍigaru), and a total of 50.8 million speakers according to a 2001 census. It is one of the scheduled languages of India and the official and administrative language of the state of Karnataka.