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Cultural Notes in Kannada phrasebook


Cultural Notes in Kannada phrasebook

Greetings: There are no time elemental greetings in Kannada such as good morning, good afternoon, etc. And each language has its own greetings. It is considered very gracious to address a person by their respective greetings. In India, Namaskāra is the most ubiquitous greeting, and though of Sanskrit origin is now mostly used all across India. It is said with hands folded and a small gesture of bowing. Namaskāra literally means "I bow to you." Namaste has the same meaning, but is used less often in Kannada. After meeting someone for the first time nimmanna kaNDu bahaLa khushi āyitu [ನಿಮ್ಮನ್ನ ಕಂಡು ಬಹಳ ಖುಶಿ’ಆಯಿತು] may be said, meaning "I am delighted/happy to see you" Civilities: In Western cultures saying phrases like please, thank you, you're welcome, excuse me, sorry, etc. are so ingrained into them from a young age that they use these phrases without a second thought. Not so for Indians. In India, saying such phrases in an inappropriate circumstance might even embarrass the person, or cheapen the gravity of the phrase itself. These phrases are only said in a sincere sense. For example, don't say dhanyavāda [ಧನ್ಯವಾದ] / nimminda bahaLa upakāra vāyitu [ನಿಮ್ಮಿಂದ ಬಹಳ ಉಪಕಾರವಾಯಿತು] (thank you) after a clerk hands you your grocery bag, but don't forget to use it when someone goes out of their way to do something nice for you. Sometimes English words themselves are used; due to the British colonial influence, especially in urban areas and among the upper class. In this case use them as you would in English. In India, a majority of times these kind of phrases/sentiments are merely communicated through body language rather than verbally. To show your thanks, a simple smile will do the trick. Other common gestures include the infamous "head bobble"; and a hand gesture made by swiftly swinging the wrist so your palm is facing the sky and your forefingers slightly elongated. Prefixes & Suffixes: While referring to a person For majority of words (ರೀ) may be added as a suffix to give it a more polite tone. The word itself could be used to refer a person. For Example, Mr. Murray please come over here may be said as ರೀ Murray ಬರ್ರಿ ಇಲ್ಲಿ [ rI Murray barri illi]. The suffix avaru is used with a person's name as a sign of respect. For Example: Mr. Murray is often referred to as Murray avaru. Few more suffixes which are indispensable are avanu [ಅವನು] avaLu [ಅವಳು] and avaru [ಅವರು]. With nouns it gives the meaning "the person(he, she) that does" and with verbs, it indicates something is happening. Examples:
  • noun – shop (ಅಂಗಡಿ angaDi) + avanu = shopkeeper (ಅಂಗಡಿಯವನು... angaDiyavanu)
  • verb – to see (ನೋಡು nODu) + avaru = onlookers (ನೋಡುವವರು ... nODuvavaru)
  • English Loan Words: The British colonial influence spread into the language itself, and this continues today with American culture being exported throughout the world. So, an English word or phrase may almost always be inserted into any Kannada sentence. You will often hear Indians, whom while talking in their native languages, pepper their sentences with English words. English loan words are particularly used for modern inventions/technologies, so words like TV, computer and microwave are the same as in English apart from the slight change of accent. However; this is mostly in the cities, and learning Kannada will have been all the more rewarding when in rural or non-tourist areas, as well as allowing you to communicate with a wider variety of people in the cities.

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    Kannada phrasebook Travel Guide from Wikitravel. Many thanks to all Wikitravel contributors. Text is available under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0, images are available under various licenses, see each image for details.

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