Etymological Dictionaries in the Context of Kannada – A Dravidian Language
- B V Maheedasa Balagaru, Retd. Joint director, Dept. of Public Instruction, Karnataka, Bengaluru
Linguistic units such as the suffix, prefix, words etc will not have the same form at all times in any language. For different reasons they transform and somewhat a new form takes its place in due course. In this process a combination of words may become seemingly a single word; there can be changes in orthography and pronunciation of words; phonetic changes might occur. Thus the linguistic unit at a particular time may seem to be a completely a different one when compared to its original form.
Identifying the original form and meaning of a linguistic unit by elaborating its historical development, including examples of its ancient use, changes in its form and meaning, the way it enters into the language from another if it is a loan word and comparing it with its cognates in other languages is called the science of etymology. A dictionary which has all these elements in it is called an etymological dictionary. Though etymological dictionaries of a pure nature are rare, at least in connection with the Dravidian languages, Dravidian dictionaries which give the definition of entry words in a specific language and cite the cognates of other sister languages therein have been compiled. This type of arrangement in dictionaries gives an insight to the etymology of the word. A beginning in this direction is inevitably a comparison of cognate words or cognate linguistic forms of sister languages of the family. Hence comparison of cognate words is fundamental to etymological dictionaries. In this back ground history of etymological dictionaries in the context of Kannada language dates back to early nineteenth century.
Grammarian Sree Krishnamacharya of Srirangapattana authored the first modern Kannada grammar in 1835. It is here that trends of comparing Kannada words with cognates of other languages appear for the first time. Sanskrit was considered to be the mother of Kannada language till that time and how Sanskrit words are accepted into Kannada was the only discussed topic in Kannada grammars in this respect. Themes such as words received into
Kannada without any changes, the phonetic changes that take place while receiving other Sanskrit words, the way such words compound with pure Kannada words were discussed in this connection. Krishnamacharya took a different position and tried to relate Kannada to Tamil. He theorized that Tamil, or Dramida as he preferred to call it, is also a divine language and is the mother of languages as is Sanskrit and that Dramida is in the mother’s position to Kannada(Krishnamacharya, iii and 129-130). Though this is an overstatement and cannot be accepted in toto, that there is substance in it is now established to the extent that Thamil also a sister language to Kannada. In the context of Kannada the comparison of its words with those of Tamil commenced from this work of his.
After Krishnamacharya, Robert Caldwell called the southern Indian languages the Dravidian languages in 1856.He wrote a comparative grammar of Dravidian languages by comparing the grammar of these languages and the core words in each of them. While only the southern Indian languages were termed Dravidian languages originally, later on the languages such as Brahui, kuvi, kui etc from other parts of India were also added to the family. Caldwell’s grammar prepared the forum to compare the nature of these languages including their vocabulary.
Ferdinand Kittel went a step forward in his Kannada - English Dictionary published in 1894. He not only identified and marked the certain entry words as original Kannada or deshya and others as accepted from other languages or anyadeshya but also enlisted the cognate words from sister languages under every entry. Kittel’s is not simply a bilingual dictionary. It is a historical dictionary, a cultural thesaurus and it has an important place in the history of etymological dictionaries with respect to Kannada. The first Dravidian Etymological Dictionary was authored by T Burrow and M B Emeneau and was published in 1961. In 1984 a revised edition of this work was brought and it was reprinted in 1998. It consisted of 640 pages and 4572 main entries. The era of etymological dictionaries in Dravidian linguistics began from this work. As it is suggested in the title itself the selection of entry words in this dictionary are limited to those of Dravidian origin.
Words accepted in Dravidian languages from Nondravidian sources are not included. At the end of the work, lists of words pertaining to each Dravidian language are separately given and this facilitates to find the word one is interested in the main dictionary.
Main entries are selected in a unique way in this dictionary. The main entry word is from that language which has preserved the ancient Dravida form of that word and the definitions are given in English. Cognate words are given from all other sister languages. If no language seems to preserve the Dravida form of the word a form is reconstructed and mentioned. The importance of Burrow-Emeneau dictionary can be realized by the fact that it is quoted in almost all studies connected with Dravidian languages even today.
As recently as 2013 a Kannada – English Etymological Dictionary has been published which is compiled by B B Rajapurohit and J Takashima.This is a bilingual dictionary wherein the entry language is Kannada and the target language is English. No reconstruction of proto-dravidian words can be found in this as was the case in Burrow-Emeneau dictionary . But an attempt has been made to identify obsolete words, and to illustrate from Kannada dialectical studies. Words which have remained in textual usage have been marked as such. In spite of all this, there is no attempt to compare the cognate words from sister languages and marking of the ancient form of the word. But wherever possible cross reference to Burrow emeneau dictionary has been given and by this some details regarding the etymology of the word is made available.
After this a dictionary of Dravidian cognates entitled Dravidabhaasha Jnaatipdakosha has been compiled, and published in 2014 by the Kannada Sahitya parishad a premier organization promoting literary activities in Kannada without commercial interests. The compilers of the dictionary are K P Bhatt, A V Navada, P Kekunnaya, G S Mohan, M kuntara, Selva kumara and M T Rathi under the leadership of Ham Pa Nagarajaiah a veteran in the field. This dictionary is different from the previous ones in several ways and it can be a new tool for the researchers in the field.
It is a unique work in that only Kannada words are used as entry words. In its 685 pages there are 3808 main entries. At the outset this may seem to be a limitation, the number being lesser than that of Burrow-Emeneau dictionary. But it is not so and in the index at the end are listed 11632 words in the alphabetical order. This shows the vastness of the book and has increased the usefulness of the same. Using the index any word can be identified and located in the dictionary and its meaning known.
In the main part of the dictionary all main entries are arranged in the alphabetical order, definitions are given in Kannada and then cognates of the word in five Dravidian languages are mentioned. This helps the reader to know equivalents of a Kannada word in Tamil, Malayalam, Kodava, Tulu and Telugu languages. The dialectical studies available have been extensively used and the way main words are used in these dialects are also recorded.
This work is not so much a new one as it is innovative. Depending on Burrow-Emeneau dictionary it has been compiled as is relevant to Kannada language. In several ways it updates Burrow-Emeneau dictionary. Among the dialects of Kannada, Burrow-Emeneau gave illustrations mainly from the Havyaka. But in present Dravidabhaasha Jnaatipadkosha illustrations are selected from nine dialects viz. Havyaka, Halakki Kannada, Jenukuruba Kannada, Nanjanagoodu Kannada, Barkooru Kannada, Gowda Kannada, Tipturu Kannada, Soliga Kannada and Madikeri Kannada. It is the first work of the type printed only in Kannada letters and no transliteration. All main entries are Kannada words only. In Burrow- Emeneau dictionary main entries are selected from that language which has preserved the ancient Dravidian form. Hence, there, entry words are from all Dravidian tongues. In fact the majority of main entries in it are Tamil words. As an example we can illustrate the word banni from Kannada: 5330 Ka. banni : (page 482)
5330 Ka. banni
5330 Ta. vaṉṉi Prosopia spicigera. Ma. vanni id. Ka. banni a prickly tree with an eatable pod, P. spicigera Lin.; Acacia ferruginea. Te. (Inscr.) vani-mrānu P. spicigera. DED(N)
The word is chosen as the main one in Burrow-Emeneau because it is the ancient form and is preserved in Kannada. But the Kannada word “kudi” is not a main entry and it is arranged under “Kota” of Tamil as it is the ancient form. There is no room for such things in the present work. In the new Dravidabhaasha Jnaatipadkosha both these words are main entries. The new dictionary is also different in selection of entry words entries being chosen from already published standard dictionaries such as the Kittel Dictionary, the Burrow Emeneau Dictionary, The Sahitya Parishat Dictionary etc. Words are not selected from the spoken language as was the case with the earlier one. The compilers have limited themselves to six of Dravidian tongues only as against nineteen of such languages in Burrow Emeneau dictionary. But in the context of Kannada the work has been updated adding new words.
This dictionary is a monolingual one where as the Burrow’s is of a bilingual nature. Hence in the present dictionary, definitions are given in Kannada and cognates from other sister languages are listed thereafter. But the way they are explained give an insight to the etymology of the word in question. For instance: under “kudi”(=to boil) cognate of the Tulu language “kodi” is given and Tulu word “koddelu” is also mentioned. Thus the etymology of koddelu is suggested as that which is obtained by boiling. Many words which were not included in the previous dictionary have been included here to update the same. Examples of such words are kurka (=a cheetah) taragu (=rebate), netti(=centre of the head), barani(=a cylindrical box) etc. If a loan word from Sanskrit, Hindi or Marathi is found in these Dravidian languages as if they are cognates such words are also included in the dictionary. For instance the word vade (=a fried eatable) is included and indicated that it is of Sanskrit
origin. Similarly dokkara is indicated to be from Hindi and Dhaala is indicated to be from Marathi. The dictionary is full of such specialties.
Though this is a new addition to the tradition of etymological dictionaries it cannot be said that it has responded to all the needs of such works. Dividing a compound word into its parts and adding the meanings of parts to get the meaning of the whole, inclusion of rare words like ittiga (=irtrika=ir+trika meaning two threes or six), duga(=two)etc. which are from Sanskrit but are Kannadised will go a long way in increasing the usefulness of the work. Jaann, (a corrupt form of Jnaana from Sanskrit) Topi (=a cap from Hindustaani) such words are also are used as if they are Kannada words themselves and need to be included in any Kannada etymological dictionary. They are not included in any of such dictionaries published so far.
It is satisfying that a tradition of etymological dictionaries has emerged in Kannada. This will not only encourage etymological researches in Kannada language but will boost similar studies in other sister languages. However more perfect etymological dictionary in Kannada is yet to be compiled.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Burrow, T and Emeneau M B, 1984. A Dravidian Etymological Dictionary. (Oxford: Clarendan Press)
Caldwell, Roberts, Rt. Rev., 1974. A Comparative Grammar of Dravidian or South Indian Family of Languages. Third Edition (New Delhi: Oriental Books Reprint Corporation) First Edition 1856, Second Edition 1875.
Kittel, Ferdinand, Rev. 1894. A Kannada – English Dictionary. (Manglore : Basel Mission Book and Track Depository).
Krishnamacharya, of Srirangapattana, 1836. Hosagannada Nudigannadi (Madras)
Nagarajayya, H P (principle editor), 2014. Dravidabhaasha jnaatipdakosha. (Bengaluru: Kannada Sahitya Parishttu).
Rajapurohit, BB and Ucida, N, 2013. Kannada-English Etymological Dictionary. (Tokyo University of Foreign Studies.3-11-1, Asahi-cho, Fuchu-shi,183-8534)
