What are the best Kannada movies to improve my Kannada?
Kannada, also known as Kanarese, is a Dravidian language spoken mostly by the people of Karnataka in India’s southwest. By 2011, it had about 43 million native speakers. Kannada is also spoken as a second and third language by over 12.9 million non-native speakers in Karnataka, bringing the total number of speakers to 56.9 million.The language is also spoken by linguistic minorities in Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Kerala, and Goa, as well as Kannadigas living in other countries.
To learn Kannada seriously, you would need to gather as much exposure as possible to the language besides insights about the culture. Learners at the beginning are not only intimidated about learning Kannada but to make matters worse, the thought of watching Kannada films disturbs their state of mind due to incomplete improper knowledge of Kannada
I sincerely suggest don’t let fears get to you and make you wary of watching a Kannada movie! Kannada cinema encompasses a wide variety of themes and ideas and there are bound to be some Kannada movies that you’d gladly watch over and over.
Let’s first discuss how watching Kannada movies would really help.
Besides imparting new vocabulary, Kannada movies can help you gain an intuitive sense of the rhythm and flow of actual spoken French, as well as introduce you to the types of spoken Kannada that are seldom encountered in daily Kannada lessons or textbooks. Some street slang, subcultural terms, condensed sentences, and even some lovely poetic lines are included.
Furthermore, watching movies is a calming and pleasurable experience that will help you break the monotony of learning a new language. It’s a nice activity to incorporate into your Kannada study routine.
Before you jump over movies let’s also discuss some important perquisites
1. Choose a movie for your level. Don’t go straight to the new vague gems by Kasturi Nivasa (ಕಸ್ತೂರಿ ನಿವಾಸ), Ondanondu Kaladalli (ಒಂದಾನೊಂದು ಕಾಲದಲ್ಲಿ) and Mayura (ಮಯೂರ) if you’re a beginner. Remember that the way the Kannada language was used in the 1900s differs from how it is spoken now. As a result, while some films may be considered classics of Kannada cinema, the vocabulary and phrases used in them may no longer be acceptable today.
2. I recommend that beginners watch simple films such as:
- Children’s films
- Action movies
- Action movies are perfect because even if you can’t really understand the dialogue, the action will give you a good understanding of what’s going on.
3. Also, don’t confuse Kannada and other South Indian languages which will sound similar to a beginner, such as Telugu Tamil and Malayalam. While to a newcomer, all these may sound similar, but all these are different languages that are written and spoken completely differently. It would, however, take some time to identify Kannada from all these languages especially because the hub of the Kannada speaking community, Karnataka is blessed with a number of Telugu Tamil and Malayalam speakers all over. Therefore you would be hearing all these four languages being spoken all around you at all points in time. So, it is no big deal that a beginner will get confused. To ensure as learners you are able to identify Kannada from the rest of the spoken languages I suggest you work diligently on your listening skills. This will help you differentiate between all the southern languages spoken in Karnataka.
4. Look for a movie with subtitles. Look for movies with both English and Kannada subtitles if at all necessary. Keep in mind, however, that the English subtitles do not fit the Kannada dialogue word for word. Kannada subtitles, on the other hand, can assist you in correctly spelling and assembling posts, which is crucial when studying new terms that you haven’t encountered before.
5. “Actively” watch the film. – By actively, I mean that you’d need a pen and paper or some other kind of writing instrument to jot down your thoughts.
6. Start by watching One Movie per Day. Here are a few movies for your 1st week you can start from.
- Roberrt
- Yuvarathnaa
- Hero
- Inspector Vikram
- Krishna Talkies
- Kode Muruga
- Munduvareda Adhyaya
Post 7 days, look for more movies here.
Finally,
The Halmidi inscription, typically dated about AD 450, contains the earliest examples of a full-length Kannada language stone inscription (shilaashaasana) containing Brahmi characters with characteristics attributed to those of proto-Kannada in Hale Kannada (lit Old Kannada) script, suggesting that Kannada had been an administrative language at the time. The Halmidi inscription contains invaluable details about Karnataka’s heritage and culture.The Kannada Lion balustrade inscription excavated at the Pranaveshwara temple complex at Talagunda near Shiralakoppa in Shivamogga district, dated 370–380 CE, has replaced the Halmidi inscription of 450 CE as the earliest Kannada inscriptions.
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