431. The case of extra vowels in Tulu language

The Tulu language has preserved a few extra vowels (or additional phonemes) which are not explicitly found or preserved now in many of the sister languages.

Are you aware of these extra vowels? Or do you use them in writing in Tulu? We shall make a review of these extra vowels in this post.

English alphabets basically have only five vowels namely: a, e, i, o and u.   However most of the Indian languages have detailed vowel structures based on refined phoneme structure of Sanskrit alphabets. Because of the limited number of 26 alphabets in English the non-English people have to specifically learn the pronunciation of different words to match the language as spoken by the natives of England or America, whereas in the case of Indian languages the pronunciation of words is mostly fixed, as there are generalized pronunciation guides, specifically earmarked for each phoneme and thankfully you need not learn pronunciation of each and every individual word.

Do you write in Tulu language? In case you are a regular Tulu writer chances are that you are adopting the existing Kannada script for writing in Tulu. The ancient Tulu script (which was evolved based on the   ancient Tigalāri script) even though actively promoted nowadays in Tulu circles is still in the initial stages in terms of popularity.

In case you are habituated in writing Tulu adopting the existing Kannada fonts you must have encountered problems in writing or reading certain words that have dual pronunciations though spellings are the same! The problem is due to the presence of extra vowels in Tulu - which are not found in modern Kannada alphabets.

Modern Tulu script

Modern printing in Tulu language was initiated by the Basel Mission at Mangaluru in the year 1842. The Basel Mission Press established at Mangaluru in the year 1834 was the deciding factor in adopting Kannada script for writing/printing in modern Tulu. The decision was made probably on the ground that the local people were familiar with the Kannada script and language. Brigel in his first Tulu grammar (1872) stated that in the case of Tulu: “For writing a modification of the Malayalam alphabet was in vogue till the Basel Mission Press employed Canarese characters in printing.”

 The first printed book was the Tulu translation of Gospel of St Mathew, employing the Kannada script. This was followed by Tulu translation of New Testament in the year 1847 and a new typographical edition of the same in the year 1859. In the year 1856 Rev. G. Kammarer compiled a compiled a collection of about 2000 Tulu words, but unfortunately he died in 1858 before it could be printed and published in a book format. In the year 1872 Rev J. Brigel compiled “A grammar of Tulu language” printed at the Basel Mission Press, Mangaluru. Rev A. Manner updated the collection of Tulu words undertaken by Rev. Makkerer and published the first Tulu English Dictionary in the year 1886 followed by another English Tulu Dictionary in the year 1888.

Brigel (1872) in his “A Grammar of the Tuḷu language” suggested that Kannada (known as “Canarese” then) can be considered as the modern Tulu alphabet. He reported 15 vowels for Tuḷu which consists of 14 standard vowels (6 short, 6 long and 2 diphthongal) common in Kannada and Tulu plus an indefinite vowel for which he showed English equivalent of ụ (Fig 430-1). He gave example of “ ತ್ “ (t’) to show how it attaches to the consonants.

Fig 430.1 Indefinite vowels in Tulu. (1.) Basel Mission print style up to 1872. (2.) Adopted by Brigel (1872).

 [However, it should be noted that he has also used an alternate symbol especially in “remark” sections in the same book.(Fig 431-1)] though no explanations were given for the usage of the alternate symbol.  Probably, this was the symbol in vogue before]

Indefinite vowel : ಉ್

S.U. Paniyadi (Srinivasa Upadhyaya Paniyadi: 1897-1959) in his youth was highly inspired and impressed by the contribution of Basel Missionaries to the exposition of Tulu grammar and Tulu dictionary. He improvised the Tulu grammar pioneered the missionaries and brought out “Tulu Vyākarana” in Tulu language in the year 1932. He has also used Kannada alphabets for the Tulu script.

Paniyadi (1932) recognized the indefinite vowel proposed by Brigel assigned it a status as a milder form of   ಉ with the indefinite or pause   symbol attached to it ie., ಉ್ (ụ) . He suggested that there are only six basic vowels in Tulu, namely: ಅ (a), ಇ (i) ಉ್(ụ), ಎ್(є), ಎ(e) ,ಒ (o). Further, Paniyadi emphasized that the Tuḷu alphabets in modern usage need more vowels especially to accommodate, express and write words borrowed from other languages. Thus, he concluded a set of 16 vowels for Tuḷu as follows:

ಅ, ಆ, ಇ, ಈ, ಉ್,ಊ್, ಉ, ಊ, ಎ್, ಏ್, ಎ,  ಏ, ಐ,ಒ, ಓ, ಔ

Fig. 430.2. Special e vowels introduced by Paniyadi (1932)

In my opinion, the greatest contribution of Paniyadi (1932) is the recognition of special allophone of vowel e existing in Tulu and assigning it a vowel symbol of: ಎ್. He also added a long form of the two vowels as: ಏ್ and ಊ್.

Significance of Tulu vowel: ಎ್

Why do we need this extra vowel ಎ್ in Tulu?  - We need this extra vowel, because in Tulu, there is a characteristic difference in the pronunciation of verbs in the first person and in third person singulars, though in both cases the words are spelt similarly. The   vowel ಎ್ is pronounced like a in words such as “apple” or “bat”, “badge” or “man”.

 For example: The verb:  ಪೋಪೆ in the following two cases, though written/spelt same, are required in routine usage to be pronounced with different accents so as to convey the exact intended meaning.

1. First person singular:    “ ಯಾನ್ ಪೋಪೆ್ ” . (Yaan poh-peyh.) [= I shall go.]

2. Third person singular:  “ ಆಯೆ ಪೋಪೆ “.  ( Aaye po-pey.)  [= He shall go.]

[Note: ಪೋಪೆ 2 (popey ) is the usual standard style of pronunciation assigned/vogue in Kannada from we have borrowed the modern Tulu script. Since ಪೋಪೆ 1 (ಪೋಪೆ್ poh-peyh ) has an unusual special accent or allophone, it needs to be distinguished with a specified symbol or diacritic affixed to it.]

Even Rev. Brigel (1872, p.47, remarks) had noted that….“though the first person singular in all tenses is spelt like the 3^rd person masculine, they are pronounced differently; the terminating  ಎ e in the former sounding nearly like ‘a’ in man, that in the latter like ‘e’ in men.”

There are many verbs in Tulu that have different accents for first and third person singulars such as: ಬರ್ಪೆ, ತಿನ್ಪೆ, ಮಳ್ಪೆ, ದೀಪೆ, ದೆಪ್ಪುವೆ, ದಿಂಜಾವೆ,ತೂಪೆ, ಸೈಪೆ, ಕೋಂಪೆ, ಬಲಿಪುವೆ, ತೋಜಾವೆ etc that need to be pronounced differently when used in first and third person singular case.

Besides, there are also numerous other words in Tulu that make use of the specific allophone of e such as :  ಅಪ್ಪೆ, ಅಮ್ಮೆ, ಆನೆ, ಆಸೆ,ಅಳೆ, ಇತ್ತೆ, , ಕತೆ, ಕತ್ತಲೆ, ಕರಂಡೆ, ಗಂಟೆ, ಬೇತೆ, ಬೇನೆ, ಮಾಲೆ, ಮೋಕೆ ….etc.

Therefore, in order to distinguish the two distinctly different accents or allophones of the vowel ಎ (ey) we need to introduce a special symbol to distinguish the two accents or allophones. Brigel recognized the necessity but probably could not implement it for want of a suitable symbol in the Kannada font at that time. Paniyadi employed a special symbol to distinguish the first person singular verbs, the symbol being made up of the combination of ಎ (“ey”) attachment symbol (ಿ) plus an indefinite symbol of Brigel (್) that existed in the Kannada alphabets.

Change of half vowel: ಉ್ to ಅ್

Prof. M. Mariappa Bhat and Dr Shankara Kedilaya (1967) while brought out a revised Tulu English dictionary discussed the existence of ụ (or the half u or ್ diacritic) in Tulu and assigned it as vowel ಅ್. The vowel ಅ್ assigned by Bhat & Kedilaya (1967) is equivalent to the ಉ್ proposed by Paniaydi (1932). The preference for ಅ್ over ಉ್ is purely individualistic based on the geographic location of the individual speaker/writer. The Tulu language has wide regional variations in accents, and as such the accents and usages in the Puttur Tulu vary from those in Udupi Tulu. Some Tulu speakers/writers have felt that the exact place of the indefinite half vowel discussed above is somewhat in between ಅ್ and ಉ್. Thus, for all practical purposes, we can conclude that in Tulu ಅ್ = ಉ್.

The set of vowels for Tulu adopted by Mariappa Bhat and Shankar Kedilaya (1967)are as follows:

ಅ್ ಅ ಆ ಇ ಈ, ಉ ಊ, ಎ, ಎ’ ಏ ಒ ಓ, ಐ, ಔ

Note that here Bhat & Kedilaya showed the special ಎ as plain vowel without any diacritics or added symbols, and they preferred to add the accent on the second (ಎ’) which incidentally is the regular ಎ in Kannada alphabets.

Budhananda  Shivalli 

B. K. Shivalli  (1923-1982)  in his Tulu grammar “Tulu Pātero” (p.84 - manuscript composed in the years 1980-82; but the book published posthumously in 2005)  adopted the following set of 14 vowels for Tulu.

ಅ್, ಅ, ಆ, ಇ, ಈ, ಉ, ಊ, ಎ್, ಎ, ಏ, ಐ, ಒ ಓ, ಔ

Special Vowels in Tulu Lexicon

Tulu lexicon: volume I (1988), in section on methodology, (page 30-31), has adopted the centralized back vowel ಅ್(ụ) and ಅ್ೕ (ụụ- as)and lower mid front vowels ಎ್(є) ಎ್(єє)  in the lexicon.  The lexicon emphasized that “..the Tulu sound which is different from the Kannada e should be given a separate symbol.”  The list of vowels adopted in the lexicon is as follows:

ಅ್, ಅ್ೕ, ಅ, ಆ, ಇ ಈ, ಉ, ಊ, ಋ, ಋ, ಎ್ ಎ್ೕ, ಎ ಏ, ಒ ಓ, ಐ, ಔ 

Tulu Lexicon, Volume One, p.31

“ The vowels do have a lower allophone in the word final position before pause but the lower mid front vowel noticed in Tulu is much lower than that and secondly these two vowels show contrast and hence should be treated as distinct entities. Since the system followed by us in conformity with the principles of modern linguistics and since the symbol given by us is already in vogue in the writings of the Tulu texts from the beginning of this century we did not feel it necessary to change the symbol.”

Fig. 430.3 List of Vowels in Tulu language as proposed by various authors.

Tulu Patero (2005)

While composing the manuscript of Tulu Pātero (2005) using   the Baraha Kannada software in my desktop I found it difficult to put to together the ಎ್ symbol.  I tried to solve the problem by selecting the degree superscript symbol (°) which was available in the Standard English fonts used for MS Word in my computer.  Similarly in case of problems in composing the indefinite symbols in the middle of words apostrophe (‘) symbol can be used.

ಅ° ಅ ಆ, ಇ, ಈ, ಉ ಊ, ಎ° ಎ ಏ, ಒ ಓ, ಐ ಔ

 

Sediyapu Krishna Bhat

Apparently Sediyapu Krishna Bhat concurred with the view of Bhat and Kedilaya who allotted apostrophe symbol for the central e rather than the one proposed by Srinivasa Paniyadi (1932). Sediyapu, as a member of the Tulu Lexicon project in a letter addressed to the committee dated 1986 (vide his letters cited in Tulu Lexicon, 1988) held that the special accent symbol should be given to the other allophone of the vowel e rather than the one proposed at present.

Contrasting concepts

On review we can find two contrasting schools of thoughts on the adoption and implementation of the special e vowel existing in Tulu language. Paniyadi and followers are concerned with preserving the special vowel or phoneme in Tulu whereas the Sediyapu (and Bhat- Kedilaya) concept, while ignoring the special phoneme/vowel in Tulu, attempts   to streamline the existing phonemes that are common in the sister languages like Kannada. In a way, it is digression from the central theme of the issue. Our central concern should be providing a legitimate status for the special phoneme surviving in the heritage of the Tulu language. From the point of preserving the characteristic phoneme in Tulu we can continue with the vowel system adapted by the Tulu Lexicon project.

Nature of the special є vowel

In essence, we can understand this indefinite vowel symbol as a pause symbol, since it requires a brief pause while pronouncing it. The phoneme or the half vowel is characteristic of the Tulu language and heritage and we should preserve it for the posterity. It has been opined that similar some of the sister Dravidian languages had similar vowels. For example: Paniyadi (1932) mentions that some Tamil grammarians accept the cited indefinite symbol either as half u (ಉ) or as half i (ಇ). But currently you will not see the usage of these special vowels in Tamil alphabet chart.

The special vowel:  ಎ್ (є) when combined with consonants carries a pronunciation which can be analysed as: pause-(eh+ye)-pause. In other words the ಎ್, begins after a pause and has a pronunciation transitional in between ಎ (eh) and ಯೆ (ye) and ends with a pause. For example: (a) ಯಾನ್ ಬತ್ತೆ°. Yaan batt’eh+ye’ : (=I came) (b). ಆಯೆ ಬತ್ತೆ : Aaye batt’eh (=he came). The equivalents of the same expressions in Kannada would be: (a) ನಾನು ಬಂದೆ(ನು): Naanu bande(nu) (=I came) and (b) ಅವನು ಬಂದ(ನು): Avanu banda(nu). (=He came). Note that in Kannada the verb affix   changes for the first (ಬಂದೆ )and third (ಬಂದ) person singulars.

 

Adopting the special symbol

Paniyadi used a combination of e and pause affixing symbols (Fig 430-2) way back in 1932 when printing was done by letter press method. The Tulu Lexicon project was able to design a custom made symbol for the special e vowel. But, modern Tulu writers adopting the Kannada script do not have proper facilities to display the special vowels in the Tulu texts. The printing technology has evolved since the days of Paniyadi. And with prevailing desk top publishing technology, the Tulu writers have depended on the existing Kannada script software, like Nudi, Baraha, Pada etc. In general, these are designed to compose in standard Kannada and as such lack essential facilities for expressing the special Tulu words precisely. The Tulu Wikipedia, for example, makes use of the existing Kannada software without appropriate modifications for Tulu and the contributors are unable to display the special vowels of Tulu language. Even the indefinite vowel symbol of Brigel, though exists in Kannada also, cannot properly be displayed in Tulu especially when it comes in the middle of a word, because of the glyph combination encoding used specifically to suit Kannada.

Fig. 430.4.Affixing symbols proposed by (1) Paniyadi

                                        (2) Tulu Patero (3,4,5) This blog.

Dedicated fonts for Tulu

Most of us are currently using the existing Kannada script as modern Tulu script for writing and printing at least since last 150 years as the Basel Mission Press printed the initial Tulu books employing the Kannada fonts. Most of us, except those Tuluva people born and brought up in other parts of India or the world, we are quite familiar with the Kannada language and script. Hence we can 

continue to use the same script adapted as modern Tulu script, since already a wealth of Tulu data and literature published in the modern Tulu script.

The need of the hour is to update the modern Tulu script (which we are using currently) to update suitably to include its special and characteristic linguistic features, such as the special vowels. Thus, there is an imminent need for designing dedicated Unicode fonts for Tulu incorporating the desirable symbols and diacritics.  

The symbol for the phoneme ಎ್ may be made more attractive in design like for example as shown in Fig. 430-4 in this post.

How does it look when you implement the special  vowel ಎ್ in Tulu writing ? Check the following figure for examples.  

430-5 . Two examples for using the special vowel in Tulu words "poomaale" and "lekhanamaale".

- Ravindra Mundkur