11.1 Kannada Grammar I — Varnamale & Sandhi
Key Takeaways
- The Kannada varnamale has 49 letters — 13 svaras (vowels), 34 vyanjanas (consonants) and two yogavahas, the anusvara and the visarga.
- Kannada has three sandhis of its own: lopa sandhi (a sound is dropped), agama sandhi (a sound such as y or v is inserted) and adesha sandhi (a sound is substituted).
- mane + alli becomes maneyalli by agama sandhi, because the glide y is inserted between the two vowels — not manelli.
- The main Sanskrit sandhis used in Kannada are savarna deergha, guna, vruddhi, yanadesha, jashtva and shchutva.
- Consonants are classified into vargeeya (the five stop series ka to pa) and avargeeya (ya, ra, la, va, sha, sha, sa, ha), and each stop series has alpaprana, mahaprana and anunasika members.
11.1 Kannada Grammar I — Varnamale and Sandhi
Kannada grammar (vyaakarana) is examined at SSLC level in Paper 2 and again, in a language-only format, in the compulsory Kannada Language Test. This chapter explains each system in English with the Kannada script, transliteration in italics and an English gloss, so that a candidate reading in English can verify every term.
Start with the sound inventory, because every sandhi rule is a statement about sounds.
Varnamale (ವರ್ಣಮಾಲೆ) — The Alphabet
The Kannada varnamale has 49 letters (akshara), grouped as follows.
| Group | Count | Members |
|---|---|---|
| Svara (ಸ್ವರ, vowels) | 13 | ಅ ಆ ಇ ಈ ಉ ಊ ಋ ಎ ಏ ಐ ಒ ಓ ಔ |
| Yogavaha (ಯೋಗವಾಹ) | 2 | Anusvara ಂ (aṁ) and Visarga ಃ (aḥ) — they cannot be pronounced without a preceding vowel |
| Vyanjana (ವ್ಯಂಜನ, consonants) | 34 | 25 vargeeya + 9 avargeeya |
Svaras divide into hrasva (short: ಅ ಇ ಉ ಋ ಎ ಒ) and deergha (long: ಆ ಈ ಊ ಏ ಓ), with ಐ and ಔ classed as sandhyakshara (diphthongs).
Vargeeya vyanjanas are the 25 stops arranged in five series of five, and the internal order of each series is itself examinable:
| Series (varga) | Members | Pattern |
|---|---|---|
| ಕ ವರ್ಗ (ka) | ಕ ಖ ಗ ಘ ಙ | alpaprana, mahaprana, alpaprana, mahaprana, anunasika |
| ಚ ವರ್ಗ (cha) | ಚ ಛ ಜ ಝ ಞ | same pattern |
| ಟ ವರ್ಗ (ṭa) | ಟ ಠ ಡ ಢ ಣ | same pattern |
| ತ ವರ್ಗ (ta) | ತ ಥ ದ ಧ ನ | same pattern |
| ಪ ವರ್ಗ (pa) | ಪ ಫ ಬ ಭ ಮ | same pattern |
- Alpaprana (ಅಲ್ಪಪ್ರಾಣ) — unaspirated, little breath: ಕ, ಗ, ಚ, ಜ …
- Mahaprana (ಮಹಾಪ್ರಾಣ) — aspirated, more breath: ಖ, ಘ, ಛ, ಝ …
- Anunasika (ಅನುನಾಸಿಕ) — nasal, the fifth of each series: ಙ, ಞ, ಣ, ನ, ಮ
Avargeeya vyanjanas are the nine that fall outside the five series: ಯ ರ ಲ ವ ಶ ಷ ಸ ಹ ಳ.
Sandhi (ಸಂಧಿ) — Joining Two Sounds
Sandhi means "joining". When two words or morphemes meet, the sound at the boundary may be dropped, added or substituted. Kannada grammar recognises three sandhis of its own (Kannada sandhigalu) and borrows several from Sanskrit (Samskruta sandhigalu). Getting this two-family classification right is the single most important thing in this section, because questions ask you to name the sandhi.
The Three Kannada Sandhis
| Sandhi | Rule | Example | What happened |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lopa sandhi (ಲೋಪ ಸಂಧಿ) | A vowel at the boundary is dropped (lopa = loss) | ūra + alli → ūralli (ಊರಲ್ಲಿ, "in the town"); māḍi + idanu → māḍidanu (ಮಾಡಿದನು) | The final vowel of the first word disappears |
| Agama sandhi (ಆಗಮ ಸಂಧಿ) | A new sound is inserted (agama = arrival) — usually ಯ (ya) or ವ (va) | mane + alli → maneyalli (ಮನೆಯಲ್ಲಿ, "in the house"); mara + annu → maravannu (ಮರವನ್ನು, "the tree" as object) | y is inserted after e/i, v after a/o/u |
| Adesha sandhi (ಆದೇಶ ಸಂಧಿ) | A sound is substituted (adesha = replacement); typically an initial k/t/p of the second word becomes g/d/b | mūru + kannu → mūrugaṇṇu (ಮೂರುಗಣ್ಣು); hola + ta<u>ṭṭ</u>u → holadaṭṭu | An unvoiced consonant is replaced by its voiced counterpart |
The correction to make if you have seen it otherwise: mane + alli is maneyalli, not "manelli". Two vowels cannot simply collide in Kannada; the glide ya is inserted, which is exactly what makes this agama sandhi and not lopa. Likewise the classification "svara sandhi / vyanjana sandhi" belongs to Sanskrit grammar, not to the Kannada three-sandhi scheme, and a question asking for "the Kannada sandhis" wants lopa, agama and adesha.
The Sanskrit Sandhis Used in Kannada
| Sandhi | Rule | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Savarna deergha (ಸವರ್ಣ ದೀರ್ಘ) | Two similar vowels combine into the corresponding long vowel | deva + alaya → devālaya (ದೇವಾಲಯ, "temple") |
| Guna (ಗುಣ) | a/ā + i/ī → e; a/ā + u/ū → o; a/ā + ṛ → ar | sura + indra → surendra; mahā + utsava → mahotsava |
| Vruddhi (ವೃದ್ಧಿ) | a/ā + e/ai → ai; a/ā + o/au → au | eka + ekavāgi → ekaikavāgi; jana + oghа → janaugha |
| Yanadesha (ಯಣಾದೇಶ) | i/ī, u/ū, ṛ before a dissimilar vowel become y, v, r | ati + anta → atyanta; manu + antara → manvantara |
| Jashtva (ಜಶ್ತ್ವ) | An unvoiced stop becomes voiced before a voiced sound | vāk + īsha → vāgīsha |
| Shchutva (ಶ್ಚುತ್ವ) | s/t-series sounds change to the sh/ch-series | sat + chitra → sacchitra |
How to Identify a Sandhi in the Exam
Work through three questions in order:
- Split the compound into its two parts. If you cannot split it, it is not a sandhi item.
- Compare the boundary. Did a sound disappear (lopa), did a new sound appear (agama, usually y or v), or was one sound replaced by another (adesha)?
- Ask whether both parts are Sanskrit words. If they are, and the change is a vowel merge, the answer is one of the Sanskrit sandhis — savarna deergha for similar vowels, guna or vruddhi for dissimilar ones.
Worked examples:
- hosa + annu → hosavannu. A v appeared → agama sandhi.
- bāla + aka → bālaka. The similar vowels merged → savarna deergha (Sanskrit).
- ūru + inda → ūrinda. The u disappeared → lopa sandhi.
- keḷa + kaṇṇu → keḷagaṇṇu. Initial k became g → adesha sandhi.
Exam Angle for Section 11.1
- Name the sandhi in a given word, and be able to say whether it is a Kannada or a Sanskrit sandhi.
- Split a joined form back into its two parts (sandhi vichchheda).
- Count the letters of the varnamale, and classify a given consonant as alpaprana, mahaprana or anunasika.
- Identify the yogavahas and explain why they are neither vowels nor consonants.
Almost every item here is a two-second answer if the three-sandhi scheme is secure and a guess if it is not, so learn lopa, agama and adesha with one example each before anything else in the Kannada paper.
Which sandhi is illustrated by mane + alli becoming maneyalli?
Which set correctly names the three sandhis that belong to Kannada grammar itself?
How many letters are there in the Kannada varnamale, and how are they distributed?