Kannada is actually an easy language to learn. Some of the words are very similar to Hindi. Most of the answers here already tell about the basic and most commonly used Kannada words and phrases. It is indeed a very beautiful language with rich history and heritage. I’m sure you’ll appreciate its magnificence and glamour once you grasp the basics. Kannada is a member of the Dravidian language family. These languages are primarily spoken in southern India. Kannada is not related to the Indo-Aryan languages of northern India. Approximately 40 million people speak Kannada as their native language. It is recognized as one of the 22 national languages of India. Kannada is an agglutinating language. That means that affixes express grammatical functions. The language is divided into four regional dialect groups. The dialect indicates where the speakers come from. Additionally, their social class can also be identified based on their language.
8 Tips To Learn Kannada:
1. IDENTIFY YOUR GOALS
What do you actually want to do with the Kannada language? If your aim is to speak with the Kannadiga side of your family, then you’ll need to hone in on your speaking and listening skills. It will also make sense to learn some of the vocabulary specific to the topics your family likes to talk about.
So, if discussions over politics typically break out, start reviewing phrases for talking about politicians and taxes. Or if your family likes to talk about the movies instead, drill up on genre-specific vocabulary.
Perhaps you’d actually like to use Kannada for work emails. Practice your reading and writing, and make a list of the business-specific phrases you’ll need to know.
Or maybe you’re planning to go on vacation in Karnataka. (Count us jealous: Hampi is awe-inspiring and the food is mouthwateringly good.) You probably won’t need as great a mastery of political or business phrases, but you’ll want to learn a lot of basic travel, hotel, and directions-based vocabulary.
2. CREATE A STUDY PLAN
Now you know what you want to study, decide how and when you’re going to do it. But be realistic! If you’re a busy person, you’re unlikely to have two hours a day, seven days a week to study.
Go at a manageable rhythm. You don’t want to dread your study sessions. And if you’re struggling to fit them in, try to study for less time but more frequently. It will be more effective than a long, intense session of cramming once a week.
If you get busy, re-evaluate your schedule. And if you fall off the wagon and skip a week? Relax, it happens. Just start again. Perhaps try doing a quick refresher of the most recent material to ease your way back into it.
3. DECIDE HOW YOU’RE GOING TO STUDY
We’re going to explore a huge number of courses, textbooks, apps, podcasts, YouTube channels, online classes, and more in this article. We’ll tell you our honest opinion of them, and for many of them, you can click through and read a more detailed review along with a rating.
But not every resource is well suited to every learner. You might prefer visually attractive worksheets and grammar-based explanations. Or you find you learn best by speaking and or listening. So, take this into account when choosing between resources, and don’t be afraid to try a few out to see what works best.
As well as the resources we’re about to cover, you can also:
- Follow Kannada-language vloggers, influencers, and hashtags
- Find Kannada-language Facebook groups or forums related to your hobbies
- Write book/movie reviews, a blog, or short stories in Kannada
- Attend comedy shows or poetry readings (you’ll find virtual ones online)
- Write a letter to the editor of a Kannada-language newspaper or site
- Change the settings on your search engine so that it shows you Kannada-language results first
- Create flash cards
- Label things around the house in Kannada
- No matter what methods you choose, try to do a bit of speaking, listening, reading, and writing. And look for a certain degree of balance between grammar, vocabulary, and culture.
4. TRACK YOUR PROGRESS
It can be hard to see your progress on a day-to-day basis, and this can make learning a language demotivating. Some days, you’ll feel like your listening ability has deteriorated. Other days, you’ll struggle to remember “basic” vocabulary that you learned and drilled five months ago, only to never use again. (After all, how often do you say the words “mouse,” “accountant,” and “ice” in everyday life?)
First, don’t feel bad about this: it is a normal part of learning a language and doesn’t actually mean your Kannada knowledge has decreased. In fact, if you track your progress, you will still see an overall improvement.
So, instead of beating yourself up because you didn’t understand someone, reread something you read or wrote a few months ago, rewatch a TV show, or relisten to a podcast. You’ll be pleasantly surprised by just how far you’ve come.
5. REWARD YOURSELF BY DOING FUN THINGS IN KANNADA
We’re not talking about reading a level-appropriate book to practice your reading. Sure, it’s a great way to study – but we want you to actually reward yourself, not just add to your homework list.
Try watching a movie because the trailer looks amazing. Don’t worry about whether you have subtitles on, pause to look up what a word means, or do any “good” language-learning tricks: this is fun, not studying.
6. RESOURCES FOR LEARNING KANNADA
Courses, classes, apps, podcasts, movies, textbooks, fiction books: you might be surprised to discover just how many options there are for studying Kannada.
7. LEARNING THE KANNADA SCRIPT
Even if your main goal is to speak Kannada, you’ll need to learn the script in order to decipher bus timetables, read menus and prices, and understand street signs. Fortunately, it shouldn’t take you too long.
The Kannada Alphabet app from Bhasha.io will help you read and pronounce the Kannada script. In each mini-lesson, you’re introduced to four or five different characters and asked to select the right sound. We found it surprisingly effective at helping you recognize different characters, but it won’t teach you to write.
8. KANNADA LANGUAGE COURSES: ONLINE, APP-BASED, & AUDIO
Signing up for a course will give your learning structure and make it easier to measure your progress. You might find it keeps you motivated. And while you won’t find Kannada courses on Rosetta Stone, Duolingo, Busuu, or Babbel, we’ve found plenty of alternatives that are worth trying out.