Tulu



Tulu is one of the chief languages that are spoken in the city of Mangalore in Karnataka. In fact, Tulu is one of the languages with Dravidian origin that are widely spoken in the southern part of the country. There are four other such languages, namely, Telugu, Tamil, Malayalam and Kannada. The Tulu language is a descendant of the proto-Dravidian language. This language is mainly spoken by people following the religions of Jainism and Hinduism.

The script of the language of Tulu is almost extinct. It is quite similar to that of Malayalam. Tulu language has its own script, which was formed before the script of Malayalam language came into being. Malayalam script is probably influenced by the Tulu script. The script of Tulu is a descendant of the scipt of Grantha.

This language of Mangalore has ceased to be an important language. There is not sufficient literary works in Tulu that can boost up the language. This is why the language is not widely researched upon and taught in the educational centers of Mangalore. The earliest Tulu literature dates back to the 15th century. Most of the written documents in Tulu have been lost, as they were recorded on palm leaves.

Out of the 24 languages of Dravidian origin that have been widely recognized, Tulu is one of the main languages that have been developed. But, it is yet to get the large-scale acknowledgment that it deserves. Tulu of Mangalore is supposed to be one of the most ancient languages with Dravidian origin.



Last Updated on 21 September 2011