{"id":21666,"date":"2020-11-05T06:29:43","date_gmt":"2020-11-05T06:29:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.alllanguageresources.com\/?p=21666"},"modified":"2024-03-07T20:55:42","modified_gmt":"2024-03-08T03:55:42","slug":"learn-kannada","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.alllanguageresources.com\/learn-kannada\/","title":{"rendered":"How To Learn Kannada – The Ultimate Guide to Fast-Track Your Learning"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Learning Kannada is a rewarding, fascinating, and occasionally frustrating experience. Yet sometimes the most challenging thing can be finding good learning resources and \u2013 especially if you\u2019re not in Karnataka \u2013 practice opportunities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

Learn Kannada on your own efficiently with this ultimate guide. Learn how to get started, explore grammar, resources, tips, and answers to FAQs. Dive in.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\t\t\t\t

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  1. A Quick Introduction to the Kannada Language<\/a>
  2. How Difficult Is Kannada?<\/a>
  3. How to Learn Kannada: Some Quick Tips<\/a>
  4. How Can I Teach Myself Kannada?<\/a>
  5. What\u2019s the Best Way to Learn Kannada?<\/a>
  6. What\u2019s the Easiest Way to Learn Kannada?<\/a>
  7. How Long Does it Take to Learn Kannada?<\/a>
  8. How to Learn Kannada Fast<\/a>
  9. Additional Resources for Learning Kannada<\/a><\/ol>\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\n\n\n

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    Never fear: we\u2019re here to give you recommendations on the best courses, apps, classes, textbooks, and more for learning this poetic language, as well as several study tips. We\u2019ll also explore how difficult Kannada is and the best way to learn the Kannada script.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    <\/a>A Quick Introduction to the Kannada Language<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

    Kannada is the language of Sandalwood cinema, some of India\u2019s oldest literature, and roughly 50 million people<\/span><\/a> across the globe.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    The earliest existing example of written Kannada, the Halmidi Inscription<\/span><\/a>, dates back around 2,500 years. (Living in or visiting Karnataka? You can see it for yourself in the striking Government Museum in Bengaluru<\/span><\/a>.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    The prolific quantity of Old Kannada literature has led to Kannada being officially labeled a Classical language of India<\/span><\/a>. And as a Dravidian language<\/span><\/a>, it has a lot in common with other major literary languages such as Tamil<\/span><\/a>, Telugu, and Malayalam (but a bit less in common with Hindi and Urdu<\/span><\/a>).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Today, it\u2019s spoken mainly in the South Indian state of Karnataka, home to major cities such as Bengaluru and Mysuru (previously known<\/span><\/a> as Bangalore and Mysore); heritage sites such as Hampi and Pattadakal; and incredible natural sights such as Agumbe and the Kudremukh mountain range. You will also hear it spoken in neighboring states, however, and among diaspora communities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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    Depending on where exactly you are in Karnataka, you might overhear a different variant of this language. There are significant southern, northern, and coastal differences, not to mention social and class-based ones.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Kannada also has something called diglossia<\/span><\/a>: a feature in which there are multiple variants of a language in the same community. This means that formal, written Kannada is different from spoken Kannada \u2013 although, depending on who you ask, this difference can either be \u201cnot strongly marked<\/span><\/a>\u201d or \u201cconsiderable<\/span><\/a>.\u201d Realistically speaking, how big the difference seems will depend on the dialect you\u2019ve learned.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    And like many Indian languages, Kannada has its own \u2013 beautiful, flowing \u2013 script and several loan words from Sanskrit, Arabic, Persian, and English.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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    <\/a>How Difficult Is Kannada?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

    The US Foreign Services Institute (FSI) is many people\u2019s port of call when deciding how difficult a language really is for English speakers. While the FSI\u2019s website doesn\u2019t explicitly mention<\/span><\/a> Kannada, many people consider it to be in line with their Category III languages, meaning it would sit alongside Tamil, Telugu, Urdu, and Hindi.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    So, what does that mean for you? Well, the FSI reckon that if you were to intensively study a Category III language for 25 hours a week, you\u2019d reach professional working proficiency after 44 weeks, or roughly 10 months.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Of course, \u201cprofessional working proficiency\u201d is a pretty vague description. It\u2019s been compared to both the B2 and C1 CEFR levels, so if you\u2019re considering an intensive course, take a look at the description of the levels<\/span><\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Now, ten months to get to B2\/C1 really isn\u2019t bad, but most of us won\u2019t be able to study for 25 hours a week (plus homework!). So, realistically speaking, how difficult is Kannada and how long will it take you to learn it?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    The (frustrating) answer is: it depends.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Let\u2019s say you already speak a similar language \u2013 perhaps Malayalam, Telugu, or Tamil \u2013 and get to use Kannada every day. You\u2019ll find yourself picking it up a bit quicker.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    On the other hand, let\u2019s say that you only speak English and rarely get to speak Kannada outside of your classroom or dedicated studies. You\u2019ll find yourself forced to be more of a tortoise than a hare. You\u2019ll likely need to review your notes more frequently, do extra exercises and drills, and actively seek practice opportunities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Still, if you\u2019re considering Kannada, don\u2019t get discouraged by the idea that it might be difficult. Learning a language is fascinating, fun, and incredibly rewarding. While it\u2019s a clich\u00e9, treat it as a marathon rather than a sprint, and focus on what you can do rather than what you can\u2019t.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Instead of obsessing over fluency, give yourself smaller goals: aim to have a 5-, 20-, or 45-minute conversation; read a short story, newspaper article, or a book; keep a diary; listen to a podcast; or sing along to a song.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    When you break it down into achievable goals, learning Kannada doesn\u2019t seem quite so challenging.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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    <\/a>How to Learn Kannada: Some Quick Tips<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

    There\u2019s no foolproof way to learn a language, but we can offer you some tips:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Identify your goals<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

    What do you actually want to do with the Kannada language? If your aim is to speak with the Kannadiga side of your family, then you\u2019ll need to hone in on your speaking and listening skills. It will also make sense to learn some of the vocabulary specific to the topics your family likes to talk about.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    So, if discussions over politics typically break out, start reviewing phrases for talking about politicians and taxes. Or if your family likes to talk about the movies instead, drill up on genre-specific vocabulary.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Perhaps you\u2019d actually like to use Kannada for work emails. Practice your reading and writing, and make a list of the business-specific phrases you\u2019ll need to know.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Or maybe you\u2019re planning to go on vacation in Karnataka. (Count us jealous: Hampi is awe-inspiring and the food is mouthwateringly good.) You probably won\u2019t need as great a mastery of political or business phrases, but you\u2019ll want to learn a lot of basic travel, hotel, and directions-based vocabulary.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Create a study plan <\/h3>\n\n\n\n

    Now you know what you want to study, decide how and when you\u2019re going to do it. But be realistic! If you\u2019re a busy person, you\u2019re unlikely to have two hours a day, seven days a week to study.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Go at a manageable rhythm. You don\u2019t want to dread your study sessions. And if you\u2019re struggling to fit them in, try to study for less time but more frequently. It will be more effective than a long, intense session of cramming once a week.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    If you get busy, re-evaluate your schedule. And if you fall off the wagon and skip a week? Relax, it happens. Just start again. Perhaps try doing a quick refresher of the most recent material to ease your way back into it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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    Decide how you\u2019re going to study <\/h3>\n\n\n\n

    We\u2019re going to explore a huge number of courses, textbooks, apps, podcasts, YouTube channels, online classes, and more in this article. We\u2019ll tell you our honest opinion of them, and for many of them, you can click through and read a more detailed review along with a rating.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    But not every resource is well suited to every learner. You might prefer visually attractive worksheets and grammar-based explanations. Or you find you learn best by speaking and or listening. So, take this into account when choosing between resources, and don\u2019t be afraid to try a few out to see what works best.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    As well as the resources we\u2019re about to cover, you can also:<\/p>\n\n\n\n