Sankethi language: Difference between revisions

{{RefimproveMore citations needed|date=June 2008}}

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'''Sankethi''' (sometimes spelled '''Sanketi''') is a [[Dravidian_languages#Classification|South Dravidian language]] that is closely related to [[Kannada language|Kannada]] and [[Tamil language|Tamil]]. It is sometimes considered a dialect of [[Kannada]] or Tamil, but there are considerable differences that make it unintelligible to speakers of both languages. It has strong lexical influences from [[Kannada]] (particularly in the colloquial languageform), as well as [[Sanskrit]],borrowings [[Tamil language|Tamil]] andfrom [[Tulu language|TuluSanskrit]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.sankethi.org/Culture/History/SankethiSaga.html|title=NASA - Fostering the global Sankethi community}}</ref><ref>{{e18|tam|Tamil}}</ref>. It is most commonly spoken in [[Karnataka]], [[India]] by the [[Sankethi people]], who migrated from [[Sengottai]] in [[Tamilnadu]].

The language is most often written in the [[Kannada script, though it could be written in Tamil as well]]. However, Sankethi (especially in the spoken form) has relatively higher frequencies of [[Consonant cluster|consonant clusters]] of more than two consonants and [[semivowel|semivowels]]. This makes it difficult to write in the Kannada script, which would require multiple subscripted letters (ಒತ್ತಕ್ಷರ - ottakṣara). As a result, Sankethi is rarely found in printed or any written form, and has no standardized form.

Sankethi phonology is very similar to Kannada and Tamil, with the classical Sanskrit aspirates and retroflex laterals characteristic of many Dravidian languages. Like a few other South Indian languages including Konkani, Marathi, and [[Saurashtra language|Saurashtra]], the language has a few uncommon aspirates: [{{IPA|ʋʰ}}], [nʰ], and [ʃʰ], though both most often appear in their palatalized forms. Its presence is usuallyoften marked by the presence of long vowels, as well as syllable finally (where they are often palatalized in that position). See the table below for the range of Sankethi consonants.

| colspan="2" |{{IPA link|m}} ಮ {{angbr|m}}

| colspan="2" |{{IPA link|n̪}} ನ {{angbr|n}}

| colspan="2" |{{IPA link|ɳ}} ಣ {{angbr|ṇ}}

| colspan="2" |{{IPA link|ɲ}} ಞ {{angbr|ñ}}

| colspan="2" |{{IPA link|ŋ}} ಙ {{angbr|ṅ}}

| colspan="2" |{{IPA link|n̪}}ʰ ನ್ಹ {{angbr|nʰ}}

|{{IPA link|p}} ಪ {{angbr|p}}

|{{IPA link|b}} ಬ {{angbr|b}}

|{{IPA link|t̪}} ತ {{angbr|t}}

|{{IPA link|d̪}} ದ {{angbr|d}}

|{{IPA link|ʈ}} ಟ {{angbr|ṭ}}

|{{IPA link|ɖ}} ಡ {{angbr|ḍ}}

|{{IPA link|t͡ʃ}} ಚ {{angbr|c}}

|{{IPA link|d͡ʒ}} ಜ {{angbr|j}}

|{{IPA link|k}} ಕ {{angbr|k}}

|{{IPA link|ɡ}} ಗ {{angbr|g}}

|{{IPA link|pʰ}} ಫ {{angbr|ph}}

|{{IPA link|bʱ}} ಭ {{angbr|bh}}

|{{IPA link|t̪ʰ}} ಥ {{angbr|th}}

|{{IPA link|d̪ʱ}} ಧ {{angbr|dh}}

|{{IPA link|ʈʰ}} ಠ {{angbr|ṭh}}

|{{IPA link|ɖʱ}} ಢ {{angbr|ḍh}}

|{{IPA link|t͡ʃʰ}} ಛ {{angbr|ch}}

|{{IPA link|d͡ʒʱ}} ಝ {{angbr|jh}}

|{{IPA link|kʰ}} ಖ {{angbr|kh}}

|{{IPA link|ɡʱ}} ಘ {{angbr|gh}}

| colspan="2" |{{IPA link|s̪}} ಸ {{angbr|s}}

| colspan="2" |{{IPA link|ʂ}} ಷ {{angbr|ṣ}}

| colspan="2" |{{IPA link|ʃ}} ಶ {{angbr|ś}}

|{{IPA link|h}} ಹ {{angbr|h}}

| colspan="2" |{{IPA link|ʃʰ}} ಶ್ಹ {{angbr|śh}}

| colspan="2" |{{IPA link|ʋ}} ವ {{angbr|v}}

| colspan="2" |y{{IPA link|j}} ಯ {{angbr|y}}

| colspan="2" |{{IPA link|ʋʰ}} ವ್ಹ {{angbr|vh}}

| colspan="2" |{{IPA link|l}} ಲ {{angbr|l}}

| colspan="2" |{{IPA link|ɭ}} ಳ {{angbr|ḷ}}

| colspan="2" |{{IPA link|r}} ರ {{angbr|r}}

Sankethi vowels are very similar to Tamil and Kannada vowels:

|{{IPAIPAblink|[ɑː]}}

|{{IPAIPAblink|[i]}}

|{{IPAIPAblink|[iː]}}

|{{IPAIPAblink|[u]}}, {{IPAIPAblink|[ɯ]}}

|{{IPAIPAblink|[uː]}}

|{{IPAIPAblink|[e]}}

|{{IPAIPAblink|[eː]}}

|{{IPAIPAblink|[o]}}

|{{IPAIPAblink|[oː]}}

In Sankethi, some nouns that end in ಒ (o) have a final nasal sound, which is not indicated with the anusvāra when written down. This is especially prevalent in the KaushikaLingadahalli dialect.

Below is a table comparing some basic words in Sankethi, Kannada, Tamil and TamilThigala.

|ಪಲ್ಯು/ತಾಳ್ದು (palyu/tāḷdu)

|ಪಲ್ಯ (palya)

|பொரியல் (poriyal)

|ಪಲ್ಯು (palyu)

|ಸಾರು (sāru)

|ரசம் (rasam)

|ಸಾರು (sāru)

|ತಯಿರು (tayiru)

|ಮೊಸರು (mosaru)

|ತಯಿರು (tayiru)

|ಮೋರು (mōru)

|ಮಜ್ಜಿಗೆ (majjige)

|ಮೋರು (mōru)

|ನೆಲ್ಲ್ (nelnell)

|ಭತ್ತ (bhatta)

|ನೆಲ್ಲ್ (nelnell)

|ಜೇನಿನತುಪ್ಪ (jēnina tuppa)

|ಬೆಣ್ಣೆ (beṇṇe)

|வெண்ணெய் (veṇṇey)

|ವಣ್ (vaṇṇavaṇ)

|ತುಪ್ಪ (tuppa)

|ಬೆಲ್ಲ (bella)

|வெல்லம் (vellam)

|ಮಂಜ (maṃjamañja)

|ಅರಶಿನ (araśina)

|மஞ்சள் (maṇjaḷ)

|ಪರ್ಪು (parpu)

|ಬೇಳೆ (bēḷe)

|பருப்பு (paruppu)

'''Nouns'''

Sankethi grammar is fairly similar to those of most other Dravidian languages, with six cases: nominative (unmarked), accusative, instrumental-ablative, dative, genitive, and locative. The vocative is not fully functional case, and not all nouns have a separate form for it, and as such is not included in the traditional list. The grammar detailed below pertains to the Kaushika dialect.

LikeAs in Tamil and Malayalam, there is clusivity distinction for first person plural pronouns in Sankethi: ನಾಂಗ (nānga; exclusive) VS ನಾಂಬು (nāmbu/ inclusive), though the frequency usage varies. A good example of its usage is the Sankethi endonym for the language: ಎಂಗಡೆ ವಾರ್ಥೆ (eṃgaḍe vārthe), which implies that the language belongs to the speaker and the Sankethi community, so as to distinguish it from a shared language.

Polite versions of ''he'' and ''she'' are ಇವ್ಹು/ಅವ್ಹು (ivhu/avhu) and ಇವ್ಹೆ/ಅವ್ಹೆ (ivhe/avhe). However, thesewhich are increasingly rareconsidered andarchaic. They are most frequently replaced by ಇವ್ಹಾ/ಅವ್ಹಾ (ivhā/avhā), perhaps as an influence from Kannada. ತಾಂಗ''Tānga'' is usually found only in religious contexts, and even then, ''nīnga'' is often preferred. ತಾಂಗ''Tānga'' and ''ನೀಂಗnīnga'' have the same inflections and verb conjugations. The use of ಇವ್ಹ್ಯ/ಅವ್ಹ್ಯ is increasingly rare, since the word was historically used to refer to people outside the Sankethi community. Eventually it acquired a more general, pejorative meaning of “those people (outsiders)”, and as such is rarely used.

Though Sankethi vocabulary is not systematized, there are some general rules for taking nouns from Sanskrit, Tamil, Kannada, or Malayalam.

* Most words of Dravidian origin in Kannada that end in ಅ (a) in Kannada and Tamil/Malayalam words ending in உ/ന് (the half ''u''), including proper nouns, end in the half ಉ {{IPA link|[ɯ]}} in Sankethi.

|ಅದು ಸಾಪಡಂದು - adu sāpaḍaṃdusāpaḍandu

nī sapaḍaṃḍyasapaḍaṇḍya/sāpaḍāṃdeyāsāpaḍāṇdeyā (statement/question)

nīnga sāpaḍaṃḍhyosāpaḍaṇḍhyo/sāpaḍaṃḍhiḷasāpaḍaṇḍhiḷa (statement/question)

|ಅವೆ ಸಾಪಡಂಡ - ave sāpaḍaṃḍasāpaḍaṇḍa

|ಅವ್ಹಾಳ ಸಾಪಡಂಡ - avhāḷa sāpaḍaṃḍasāpaḍaṇḍa

|ನೀ ಸಾಪಡಾಂಡ್ರಾಂಡ್ಯ - nī sāpaḍāṇḍrānḍya (statement/question)

|ನಾಂಗ ಸಾಪಡಾಂಡ್ರಾಣೂಂ- nanga sāpaḍanḍrāṇūṃsāpaḍānḍrāṇūṃ

The past tense in Sankethi is complex due to a number of stem rules inherited from Tamil.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Nagaraja|first=K.S.|date=1982|title=TENSETense INin SANKETISanketi TAMILTamila -Comparative A COMPARATIVE NOTENote|date=1982|journal=Bulletin of the Deccan College Research Institute|volume=Vol. 41|pages=126–129|jstor=42931419}}</ref> The past tense is also notable in that the ನೀಂಗ (nīnga) form is where Sankethi's uncommon aspirates are most visible. There a number of different kinds of past tense endings associated with certain verb endings. There are also a number of irregular verbs, with no necessarily discernible pattern.

|ನೀ ಪಣ್ಣಿನೆಯ -

ಉಡು - -ಡು ending verbs without ana stressed penultimate syllable (change to -ಟ್ಟ-)

|ನೀ ಸಾಪಟೆಯ/ಸಾಪಟ್ಯ -

|ನೀ ಪಾತ್ಯ/ಪಾತೆಯ -

|ನಾಂಗಉಳುಂದುಂ- nanga uḷumḍuṃuḷunduṃ

|ಅವು ಉಳುಂದಾಂಉಳುಂಡಾಂ - avu uḷuṃdāṃ

|ಅವೆ ಉಳುಂದಾಉಳುಂಡಾ - ave uḷuṃdāuḷuṃḍā

|ಅವ್ಹಾಳಉಳುಂಡಾ - avhāḷa uḷuṃḍauḷuṃḍā

|ನೀ (ನಿಂಡ್ಯ/ತುಂಕಿಂಡ್ಯ)/(ನಿಂಡೆಯ/ತುಂಕಿಂಡೆಯ) -

|ನೀ ಪುಡಿಚ್ಯ/ಪುಡಿಚೆಯ -

|ನೀ (ಚಿರ್ಚ್ಯ/ಚಿರ್ಚೆಯ)/(ಉರ್ಚ್ಯ/ಉರ್ಚೆಯ) -

|ನೀ ತೋಚ್ಯ/ತೋಚೆಯ -

|ನೀ ವಶ್ಶ್ಯ/ವಶ್ಶೆಯ -

|ನೀ ಪೋನ್ಯ/ಪೋನೆಯ -

|ನೀ ಆನಾ/ಆನೆಯ -

Negation is indicated by suffixing the appropriate ending, and similar to Kannada, there are separate forms for each tense. Again, the example verb is ಸಾಪಡು (sāpaḍu). Some Sankethi speakers negate with the ending -ಅಲ್ಲೆ (alle) and others with -ಅಲ್ಲ (alla). It varies with the generation of the speakers and their proximity to Tamil or Kannada communities. The negative future is a hypothetical construction based on C.T. Dathathreya's reconstruction.{{factcitation needed|date=August 2018}}

|Dismissive/Insistent/Low “don’t”"don't"

|Non-polite “don’t”"don't"

|Polite “please"please don’t”don't"

|Recommending “shouldn’t”"shouldn't"

|Forbidding “mustn’t”"mustn't"