Comparing Devanagari and Kannada Scripts

Over the past several years, I have studied Kannada script, and it is fascinating that Devanagari and Kannada scripts have many similarities. Language experts tell us that both the scripts (in fact, most Indian scripts, including Tamil, Malayalam, Bengali etc) have been derived from Brahmi script, so it is not a surprise that there are immense similarities. I hope this article gives you a healthy appreciation of similarities and also differences between the two scripts. You will be able to completely appreciate the article only if you understand both the scripts, but you can still follow along if you know only one of them.

Vowels

Like most Indian languages, there is the standard set of vowels - but there are some differences. Let's look at all the vowels in Hindi and Kannada. First six vowels are the same.

अ / ಆ

आ / ಆ

इ / ಇ

ई / ಈ

उ / ಉ

ऊ / ಊ

What is noticeable is that in Hindi as well as Kannada, अ / ಆ and आ / ಆ are similar to each other and उ / ಉ and ऊ / ಊ are similar to each other. However while Hindi keeps इ and ई similar to each other, Kannada decides to write ಇ and ಈ very differently from each other.

One can argue that short and long vowels being similar to each other in written form is a good idea, but Hindi does a half good job at it. Using the quarter circle above इ to make ई and then later using the same pattern for half र, as in कर्म leads to confusion.

And then I have another gripe against how vowels are written. Since we have in Hindi -
क का कि की कु कू के कै को कौ कं कः
or in Kannada - roughly analogously -
ಕ ಕಾ ಕಿ ಕೀ ಕು ಕೊ ಕೆ ಕೇ ಕೈ ಕು ಕೊ ಕೌ ಕಂ ಕಃ
We could just have had, in Hindi -
अ आ अि अी अु अू अे अै ओ औ अं अः
or in Kannada -

That would be so harmonious. But somehow we have special symbols for so many, but not all vowels. And Hindi and Kannada take a bit different route. In Hindi ओ ,औ are on the base of अ, but in Kannada ಒ, ಓ, ಔ are on a different base.

Let's look at the next set of vowels in the both the scripts.

_ / ಎ / e as in met	ए / ಏ / a as in mate	ऐ / ಐ / a as in mat
_ / ಒ / roughly aw as in hawk	ओ / ಓ / o as in cold	औ / ಔ / o as in now

Note that in vowels corresponding to ಎ and ಒ don't exist in Hindi. This leads to following related observations.

First Kannada transliterations of English are more accurate than Hindi transliterations. Eg. "Jab we met" is जब वी मेट while "classmate" is क्लासमेट. You just need to know that the two मेट have different pronunciations. In Kannada you can write ಮೆಟ್ vs ಮೇಟ್ .

Secondly Kannada has lot of words of Sanskrit origin and lot of words of Dravidian origin. Since Sanskrit too does not have ಎ or ಒ sounds, Kannada words of these sounds are of dravidian origins. Thus words that Hindi people would recognize - ಚೇತನ(Chetan), ರಮೇಶ (Ramesh), ಬಸವೇಶ್ವರ(Basaveshwar), ಮೋಹನ(Mohan), ಭೂಗೋಲ (Bhoogol) none of them have ಎ or ಒ matras. Conversely ಎ or ಒ matra words:

ಎಲೆ (ele) - leaf	ಒಂದು (ondu) - one
ಎಲ್ಲಿ (elli) - where	ಒಡೆ (ode) - break
ಎರಡು (eradu) - two	ಒಳ್ಳೆ (olle) - good
ಎಷ್ಟು (eshtu) - how much	ಒಳಗೆ (olage) - inside
ಎದೆ (ede) - chest/heart	ಒಲೆ (ole) - stove
ಎಮ್ಮೆ (emme) - buffalo	ಒಡೆಯ (odeya) - owner/master
ಎತ್ತು (ettu) - lift/bull	ಒಣ (ona) - dry
ಎಚ್ಚರ (echara) - careful/alert	ಒತ್ತು (ottu) - pressure
ಎಣ್ಣೆ (enne) - oil	ಒಡನಾಟ (odanaata) - companionship
ಎಲ್ಲ (ella) - all	ಒಂಟಿ (onti) - alone/single
ಹೆಸರು (hesaru) - name	ಕೊನೆ (kone) - end
ಕೆಳಗೆ (kelage) - below/down	ಹೊಸ (hosa) - new
ನೆಲ (nela) - ground/floor	ಮೊದಲು (modalu) - first/beginning
ತೆರೆ (tere) - screen/curtain	ಹೊಟ್ಟೆ (hotte) - stomach
ಹೆಜ್ಜೆ (hejje) - footstep	ಕೊಡು (kodu) - give
ಬೆಳೆ (bele) - crop/grow	ನೊಡು (nodu) - see/look
ಮೆಣಸು (menasu) - chili	ಹೊರಗೆ (horage) - outside
ಬೆಳಗ್ಗೆ (belagge) - morning	ತೊಳೆ (tole) - wash
ಹೆಂಡತಿ (hendati) - wife	ಕೊರಳು (koralu) - neck
ಮೆದುಳು (medulu) - brain	ಹೊಲ (hola) - field

won't be recognizable by Hindi speaking people since their roots are dravidian.

Another interesting thing is that for a lot of the dravid origin words, their translations in Tamil are very similar (Since Tamil - as far as I know - though I don't know Tamil a lot - is a more dravidian language). E.g. for above 40 words that we chose, here are Tamil translations:

Kannada Word	Kannada Pronunciation	Tamil Translation	Tamil Pronunciation
ಎಲೆ	ele	இலை	ilai
ಎಲ್ಲಿ	elli	எங்கே	enge
ಎರಡು	eradu	இரண்டு	irandu
ಎಷ್ಟು	eshtu	எவ்வளவு	evvalavu
ಎದೆ	ede	மார்பு	maarbu
ಎಮ್ಮೆ	emme	எருமை	erumai
ಎತ್ತು	ettu	தூக்கு	thookku
ಎಚ್ಚರ	echara	எச்சரிக்கை	echarikkai
ಎಣ್ಣೆ	enne	எண்ணெய்	ennei
ಎಲ್ಲ	ella	எல்லாம்	ellaam
ಹೆಸರು	hesaru	பெயர்	peyar
ಕೆಳಗೆ	kelage	கீழே	keezhe
ನೆಲ	nela	தரை	tharai
ತೆರೆ	tere	திரை	thirai
ಹೆಜ್ಜೆ	hejje	காலடி	kaadi
ಬೆಳೆ	bele	பயிர்	payir
ಮೆಣಸು	menasu	மிளகாய்	milagaai
ಬೆಳಗ್ಗೆ	belagge	காலை	kaalai
ಹೆಂಡತಿ	hendati	மனைவி	manaivi
ಬೆನ್ನು	bennu	முதுகு	mudhugu
ಒಂದು	ondu	ஒன்று	ondru
ಒಡೆ	ode	உடை	udai
ಒಳ್ಳೆ	olle	நல்ல	nalla
ಒಳಗೆ	olage	உள்ளே	ulle
ಒಲೆ	ole	அடுப்பு	aduppu
ಒಡೆಯ	odeya	உரிமையாளர்	urimaiyaalar
ಒಣ	ona	உலர்	ular
ಒತ್ತು	ottu	அழுத்தம்	azhuttam
ಒಡನಾಟ	odanaata	நட்பு	natpu
ಒಂಟಿ	onti	தனிமை	thanimai
ಕೊನೆ	kone	முடிவு	mudivu
ಹೊಸ	hosa	புதிய	pudhiya
ಮೊದಲು	modalu	முதல்	mudhal
ಹೊಟ್ಟೆ	hotte	வயிறு	vayiru
ಕೊಡು	kodu	கொடு	kodu
ನೊಡು	nodu	பார்	paar
ಹೊರಗೆ	horage	வெளியே	veliye
ತೊಳೆ	tole	கழுவு	kazhuvu
ಕೊರಳು	koralu	கழுத்து	kazhuththu
ಹೊಲ	hola	வயல்	vayal

One can notice that there are big similarities.

Continuing on our journey of vowel comparison between Hindi and Kannada, final sets of vowels are very similar.

It is easy to see similarities: अं /ಅಂ have a single dot/circle and अः/ಅಃ have two dots/circles.

In summary here is the complete vowel set (I have omitted ऋ / ಋ)

अ / ಆ	आ / ಆ	इ / ಇ	ई / ಈ	उ / ಉ	ऊ / ಊ
_ / ಎ / e as in met	ए / ಏ / a as in mate	ऐ / ಐ / a as in mat
_ / ಒ / roughly aw as in hawk	ओ / ಓ / o as in cold	औ / ಔ / o as in now
अं /ಅಂ	अः/ಅಃ

Consonants

Next, let's look at the consonants:

It is easy to see that the sets of consonants in the two languages are nearly the same. What is interesting is to focus on their differences.

ल vs ಲ/ಳ

Since Kannada and Hindi differ on writing these words, it is interesting to see the opinion of Marathi - another language which has ळ.

Hindi	Kannada	Marathi
तुलसी	ತುಳಸಿ	तुळसी
पालक	ಪಾಳೆ	पालक
कला	ಕಳೆ	कला
जल	ಜಳ	जल
फल	ಫಳ	फळ
कुल	ಕುಳ	कुळ
बल	ಬಳ	बळ
मूल	ಮೂಳ	मूळ

So, it is not the case that Marathi sides with either Hindi or Kannada - it has its own opinion which sometimes coincides with Hindi and sometimes with Kannada.

क्ष त्र ज्ञ

Three compound consonants find place in Hindi script in the list of consonants. This is inexplicable. Hindi agrees (like Sanskrit/Kannada) that they are compound consonants:

क्ष = क् + ष

त्र = त् + र

ज्ञ = ज् + ञ

But Hindi goes ahead and includes them as first class consonants anyway. We have lots of other compound consonants and some are written too in a way that hides their compound nature: द्य = द् + य as in विद्या or श्र as in श्रीमान् but they are not counted in consonant list.

Kannada, on the other hand takes a principled approach:

ಕ್ಷ = ಕ್ + ಷ

ತ್ರ = ತ್ + ರ

ಜ್ಞ = ಜ್ + ಞ

They exist in Kannada but are not enumerated in consonant list. Their way of writing makes clear their compound nature. I find this more clarifying than giving special shapes to क्ष त्र ज्ञ or for that matter to द्य or श्र. Kannada retains the compound nature of compound consonants in writing:

ದ್ಯ = ದ್ + ಯ

ಶ್ರ = ಶ್ + ರ

The result of not inventing new symbol, and retaining the compound nature of consonant explicit in writing is that Hindi speaking people pronounce ज्ञ as ग्य . For them ग्य as in भाग्य is same as ज्ञ as in ज्ञान. Kannada people perhaps because of explicit writing, have a pronunciation of ಜ್ಞ closer to Sanskrit pronunciation.

More on half consonants

Look at the following words - all containing compound consonants -

पद्म/ಪದ್ಮ	कृष्ण/ಕೃಷ್ಣ	मुक्त/ಮುಕ್ತ	श्री/ಶ್ರೀ
विद्या/ವಿದ್ಯಾ	अक्षत/ಅಕ್ಷತ	ज्ञान/ಜ್ಞಾನ	अष्ट/ಅಷ್ಟ
ब्रह्म/ಬ್ರಹ್ಮ	कश्यप/ಕಶ್ಯಪ	कच्छप/ಕಚ್ಛಪ	क्लेश/ಕ್ಲೇಶ

In Kannada, the way of writing compound consonant is uniform (except for a notable exception which we consider later) - the first consonant comes first, and the second consonant comes in a partial form below the first one - ದ್ಮ, ಷ್ಣ, ಕ್ತ, ಕ್ಷ, ಹ್ಮ etc. In Hindi it is all over the place. In some case you write partial form of first consonant followed by the second consonant - as in श्य, क्त, ष्ण. In some other cases, the two consonants are joined together - द्म, ह्म. In some cases they are a new symbol altogether - क्ष, ज्ञ , श्र .

While Kannada is consistent in its treatment of compound consonants, I don't like the convention that the letter which is spoken in partial way is written in a full way - e.g. in ದ್ಮ, ದ is spoken in partial way and ಮ is spoken completely.

Half consonant followed by र/ರ

A very popular set of compound consonants is where the second consonant is र/ರ. Here is how they are written.

क्र/ಕ್ರ	ख्र/ಖ್ರ	ग्र/ಗ್ರ	घ्र/ಘ್ರ
च्र/ಚ್ರ	छ्र/ಛ್ರ	ज्र/ಜ್ರ	झ्र/ಝ್ರ
ट्र/ಟ್ರ	ठ्र/ಠ್ರ	ड्र/ಡ್ರ	ढ्र/ಢ್ರ
त्र/ತ್ರ	थ्र/ಥ್ರ	द्र/ದ್ರ	ध्र/ಧ್ರ
प्र/ಪ್ರ	फ्र/ಫ್ರ	ब्र/ಬ್ರ	भ्र/ಭ್ರ	म्र/ಮ್ರ

Both the scripts provide a uniform treatment on this topic. Hindi is having a tough time finding the spot on the base consonant where to attach its diagonal slash. And in some cases, like ट, ठ, ड, ढ, it gives up and goes for a different symbol which is easier to attach.

Half र/ರ followed by a consonant

The notable exception where Kannada veers away from its principled writing of compound consonants is where the first consonant is र/ರ. There are lots of words with this compound consonant. E.g.

कर्म/ಕರ್ಮ	मर्कट/ಮರ್ಕಟ	पर्व/ಪರ್ವ	सूर्य/ಸೂರ್ಯ
अर्चन/ಅರ್ಚನ	वर्जित/ವರ್ಜಿತ	अर्पण/ಅರ್ಪಣ	वर्ष/ವರ್ಷ

First, let's see the tribulations that Hindi faces. Shape of र is such that it is difficult to write a partial form of it, like we have

Hindi could have given up, and simply opted for र्, but that looks too unsophisticated / ugly. So, Hindi says that I will put a semi cirle on top of next letter - as shown in above examples.

This is what we live with - but this is an ugly choice. Firstly, it leads to the intuition that र् sounds should come after the second consonant. And so people start speaking कर्म as कमर्. And are often confused whether the right spelling is आशीर्वाद or आर्शीवाद. Secondly, same semi circle is present in ई , so why should the semi circle stand for the corresponding matra?

So Hindi goofs up, but there were no good choices available to begin with. Kannada goofs up without a reason, they had a good convention of compound consonant that they follow everywhere else and shape of ರ presented no challenges. However, they decide to have a special symbol for half ರ (See the last symbol in ಕರ್ಮ) which they decide to put after the second consonant. So now everyone needs to remember the special rule that in ಕರ್ಮ ರ sound comes before ಮ sound even though the ordering is opposite in writing.

It is a testament to the common brahmi roots of both scripts that they make poor choices at the same place.

The topic of हलन्त / ವಿರಾಮ

Next let's look at how the two scripts treat a partial consonant at the end of a word. Here the treatment is very uniform:

क्/ಕ್	ख्/ಖ್	ग्/ಗ್	घ्/ಘ್	ङ्/ಙ್
च्/ಚ್	छ्/ಛ್	ज्/ಜ್	झ्/ಝ್	ञ्/ಞ್
ट्/ಟ್	ठ्/ಠ್	ड्/ಡ್	ढ्/ಢ್	ण्/ಣ್
त्/ತ್	थ्/ಥ್	द्/ದ್	ध्/ಧ್	न्/ನ್
प्/ಪ್	फ्/ಫ್	ब्/ಬ್	भ्/ಭ್	म्/ಮ್
य्/ಯ್	र्/ರ್	ल्/ಲ್	व्/ವ್	_/ಳ್
श्/ಶ್	ष्/ಷ್	स्/ಸ್	ह्/ಹ್

Here Hindi just puts a small slash (called हलन्त) below the letter while Kannada has a design to the top right). There is consistency in both scripts.

A curious similarity: प/ಪ vs ष/ಷ

It is very interesting to note that in Hindi ष is formed by a backward slash across प. In Kannada too corresponding ಷ is formed by a backwards slash across corresponding ಪ , suggesting a common origin of the two scripts.

Combining consonants and vowels

Both the languages are largely consisnt in how they add vowels to consonants. First, let's look at Hindi.

All good except for one unexplicable glitch - why is it रु / रू rather than how it is in मु / मू or नु / नू or तु / तू or with any other consonant? Just as in previous cases - script gives a special treatment to र and makes needless exceptions.

How about Kannada?

This is completely consistent, no exceptions for ರ.

The headstroke or शिरोरेखा

Lastly we come the funny construct of Devanagari script the शिरोरेखा- the horizonal line which is drawn at the top of each word and helps separate the words from each other. Proponents of this line might say it helps separate the words but the spacing itself suffices for word separation. Indeed Gujrati - a close cousin of Devanagri script (see for instance - મારે નમસ્તે, હું ગુજરાતી છું) does not use शिरोरेखा and manages just fine. Note however, that Punjabi (ਸਤ ਸ੍ਰੀ ਅਕਾਲ, ਮੈਂ ਪੰਜਾਬੀ ਹਾਂ) does have शिरोरेखा .

I have got used to शिरोरेखा in Hindi since I have used it from birth, but logically I think it destroys the beauty of the script for an outsider. Indeed to foreigners (who don't know Devanagri at all) Hindi words appear to be "hanging snakes, coiled and ready to strike".

There is no horizonal line in Kannada script.

Summary

There is immense correspondence between the two scripts, and as such someone who is proficient in one script can transfer their proficiency in the other one with small effort. While the way letters are written is completely different, beyond this superficial difference - the idea of vowel and consonants, how the matras are applied to consonants, compound consonants, etc are very similar. There are some common idiosyncracies too - like प/ಪ vs ष/ಷ and special treatment of र / ರ.