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| Byari | |
|---|---|
| Beary | |
| ಬ್ಯಾರಿ | |
| Pronunciation | IPA: [bjaːɾi] |
| Native to | India |
| Region | Tulu Nadu |
| Ethnicity | Byari |
Native speakers | 1,500,000 |
Early forms | |
| Kannada script, Malayalam script, Byari script[1] | |
| Official status | |
| Regulated by | Karnataka Beary Sahitya Academy |
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-3 | – |
| External videos | |
|---|---|
 A Byari speaker speaking Byari |
Byari or Beary (ಬ್ಯಾರಿ IPA: [bjaːɾi]) is a geographically isolated dialect of Malayalam spoken predominantly by the Byari Muslim community in the Tulu Nadu region of Karnataka, particularly in Dakshina Kannada and Udupi districts. It is also spoken in parts of coastal and western Karnataka outside Tulu Nadu, including central coastal Karnataka, western Malenadu, and Kodagu. The community is often recognized as Beary or Byari Muslims.[2][3][page needed] Beary dialect has some influences of Tulu phonology and grammar. Due to the trading role of the community, the dialect acquired loan words from other languages of Persian and Arabic sources.[3][need quotation to verify].
Etymology
[edit]See Beary#Etymology.
Features
[edit]The dialect generally uses the Malayalam and Kannada alphabets for writing. In 2007, the state government established the Karnataka Beary Sahitya Academy for the preservation and promotion of the Beary literature and culture.[4] Being a distant cousin of other dialects of Malayalam and surrounded by other linguistic groups for centuries, mainly Tulu, the dialect exhibits ancient features as well as modern innovations not seen in other well-known dialects of Malayalam.[5] Surrounded by Tulu-speaking populations, the impact of Tulu on the phonological, morphological and syntactic structure of the dialect is evident.[6]
Distinction of ḻ, ṇ, ṟ
[edit]Sounds peculiar to Standard Malayalam such as 'ḻ', 'ṇ', 'ṟ' are not found in this dialect.[7] 'ḷ' and 'ṇ' are merged with l and n, respectively.[7] 'ṟ' is merged with r and tt, 'tt' to t.[8] This resembles Tulu.[8]
| Byari | Kannada | Standard Malayalam | English |
|---|---|---|---|
| sante | sante | canta | 'market' |
| ēni | ēṇi | ēṇi | 'ladder' |
| puli | huḷi | puḷi | 'tamarind' |
| kāt | gāḷi | kāṯṯu | 'wind' |
| cor | anna | cor | 'rice' |
v > b
[edit]The initial v of standard Malayalam corresponds to an initial b in Byari.[8] The same change has taken place in Tulu, too.
| Byari | Standard Malayalam | Tulu | Kannada | English |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| bēli | vēli | bēli | bēli | 'fence' |
| bitt | vittu | bitte | bitta 1 | 'seed' |
| bādige | vāṭaka 2 | bādai | bādege | 'rent' |
- Some dialects.
- This orthographic representation is phonemic. On a phonetic level, it often becomes [ˈʋaːɖəɡə], which is closer to the Tulu and Byari forms. This occurs because of a rule whereby voiced plosive consonants are intervocalic allophones of their unvoiced counterparts. However, this only applies to native Dravidian words, and as vāṭaka is a Sanskrit loanword, the prescriptively correct pronunciation is indeed [ˈʋaːʈəkə].
Distinction of 'a' and 'e'
[edit]The final 'a' of standard Malayalam corresponds to the final 'e' in Byari.[8]
| Byari | Kannada | Standard Malayalam | English |
|---|---|---|---|
| āme | āme | āma | 'tortoise' |
| cēre | kere | cēra | 'rat snake' |
| mūle | mūle | mūla | corner |
Distinction of 'n' and 'm'
[edit]The word final 'n' and 'm' of standard Malayalam are dropped in Byari.[8]
| Byari | Standard Malayalam | Kannada | English |
|---|---|---|---|
| ādya | ādyam | (modalu) | 'first' |
| kalla | kaḷḷan | kaḷḷa | 'thief' |
| cattae | kuppāyam(catta) | (batte) | 'cloth' |
Degeminated consonants
[edit]Geminated consonants occurring after a long vowel and also after a second short vowel of a word in standard Malayalam get degeminated in Byari.[9]
| Byari | Standard Malayalam | Tulu | English |
|---|---|---|---|
| pūce | pūcca | pucce | 'cat' |
Lexical relations
[edit]Almost all lexical items in Byari dialect can be related to corresponding lexical items in other Malayalam varieties, Tulu or Perso-Arabic origin.[10] However, some equivalents can only be found in Mappila dialects of Malayalam in Kerala.[10]
Person endings
[edit]Verbs in old Dravidian languages did not have any person marking.[11] Person endings of verbs observed in modern Dravidian languages are later innovations.[11] Malayalam is the only Dravidian language that does not show any verbal person suffixes,[11] so Malayalam verbs can be said to represent the original stage of Dravidian verbs (though Old Malayalam did have verbal person suffixes at some point).[11] Person suffixes in Byari closely resemble those of Tulu,[11] although the past tense in this dialect agrees with that of standard Malayalam in shape as well as in the distribution of allomorphs.[11]
Arabic influence
[edit]Byari has a strong lexical influence of the Arabic language.[12] Nativised Arabic words are very common in everyday speech, especially in coastal areas. Byari also has words related to Tamil. Tamil and Standard Malayalam Speakers can understand Byari dialect upto a great extent.
| Byari | Arabic | English |
|---|---|---|
| saan | ṣaḥn صحن | Plate |
| pinjhana | finjān فنجان | Bowl/cup |
| kayeen | nikāḥ نكاح | Nuptials |
| Seithaan | Šayṭān شيطان | Evil spirit |
| patthre | faṭīra فطيرة | Bread |
| Kalbu | qalb قلب | Heart |
| Rabbu | rabb رب | God |
| Supra | sufra سفرة | Dining Mat |
| Kubboosu | ḵubz خبز | Bread |
Byari dialect films
[edit]The first Byari-dialect feature film Byari shared the award for the best feature film at the 59th Indian National Film Awards.[13]
See also
[edit]- Arabi Malayalam
- Mygurudu secret-language from Malabar Muslims of Northern Kerala
References
[edit]- ↑ "Beary Script".
- ↑ Beary Language's Struggle for Identity
- 1 2 Upadhyaya 1996, p. ix
- ↑ "About the Academy". Karnataka Beary Sahitya Academy. Retrieved 10 January 2026.
- ↑ Upadhyaya 1996, p. 63
- ↑ Upadhyaya 1996, p. 64
- 1 2 Upadhyaya 1996, p.65
- 1 2 3 4 5 Upadhyaya 1996, p.66
- ↑ Upadhyaya 1996, p.67
- 1 2 Upadhyaya 1996, p.79
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 Upadhyaya 1996, p.68
- ↑ Arabic and other language influence Archived 15 June 2011 at the Wayback Machine
- ↑ Here's why Byari won the National Award for Best Film. Rediff.com (7 March 2012). Retrieved on 2017-04-26.
Bibliography
[edit]- Upadhyaya, U. Padmanabha, ed. (1996). Coastal Karnataka: studies in folkloristic and linguistic traditions of Dakshina Kannada Region of the western coast of India. Udupi: Ku. Shi. Abhinandana Samiti, Rashtrakavi Govind Pai Samshodhana Kendra. ISBN 978-81-86668-06-1.