Sankethi dialect


Sankethi is a South Dravidian language that is closely related to 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, as well as Sanskrit, Tamil and Tulu. 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 has relatively higher frequencies of consonant clusters of more than two consonants and semivowels. This makes it difficult to write in the Kannada script, which would require multiple subscripted letters. As a result, Sankethi is rarely found in printed or any written form, and has no standardized form. Three main dialects exist of the Sankethi language: Kaushika, Bettadpura and Lingadahalli, each associated with the three primary Sankethi communities located in Karnataka.

Phonology

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, the language has a few uncommon aspirates: , , and , though both most often appear in their palatalized forms. Its presence is usually marked by the presence of long vowels, as well as syllable finally. See the table below for the range of Sankethi consonants.
Sankethi vowels are very similar to Tamil vowels:
VowelISO 15919IPA
a
ā
i
ī
u,
ū
e
ē
ai
o
ō
au

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

Vocabulary

Below is a table comparing some basic words in Sankethi, Kannada, and Tamil.
SankethiKannadaTamilThigalaEnglish
ಪಲ್ಯು/ತಾಳ್ದುಪಲ್ಯபொரியல்ಪಲ್ಯುsauteed/fried vegetable dish
ಚಾರು ಸಾರುரசம்ಸಾರುbroth/soup
ತಯಿರುಮೊಸರುತಯಿರುதயிர் yogurt
ಮೋರುಮಜ್ಜಿಗೆமோர் ಮೋರುbuttermilk
ನೆಲ್ಲ್ಭತ್ತநெல் ನೆಲ್ಲ್unhusked rice
ಅರಶಿ ಅಕ್ಕಿ அரிசி ಅರಶಿ uncooked rice
ಸಾಂ ಅನ್ನசாதம்cooked rice-
ತೇನು ಜೇನಿನತುಪ್ಪதேன் ತೇನು honey
ವಣ್ಣ ಬೆಣ್ಣೆவெண்ணெய்ವಣ್ butter
ನೈ ತುಪ್ಪநெய் ghee-
ವೆಲ್ಲು ಬೆಲ್ಲவெல்லம்jaggery-
ಮಂಜಅರಶಿನமஞ்சள்turmeric-
ಪರ್ಪುಬೇಳೆபருப்புlentil-

Word formation strategies

One peculiar feature of Sankethi is its use of words and structures of both Sanskrit and Dravidian origin to form new words. A study by H.S. Ananthanarayana details a number of noun formation strategies in Sankethi.
-ಮಯು - "full of"

Grammar

Nouns
Sankethi grammar is fairly similar to those of most other Dravidian languages, with six cases: nominative, 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.
Like Tamil, there is clusivity distinction: ನಾಂಗ VS ನಾಂಬು, though the frequency usage varies. A good example of its usage is the Sankethi endonym for the language: ಎಂಗಡೆ ವಾರ್ಥೆ, which implies that the language belongs to the speaker and the Sankethi community, so as to distinguish it from a shared language.
Below is a table of pronouns:
ನಾ - na - Iನಾಂಗ/ನಾಂಬ - nānga/nāṃba - we
ನೀ - ni - youನೀಂಗ/ತಾಂಗ - nīnga/tānga - /you
/ - / - he/sheಇವ್ಹಾ/ಅವ್ಹ- ivhāḷu/avhāḷu- they
ಇದು/ಅದು- idu/adu - this/that ಇವ್ಹ್ಯ/ಅವ್ಹ್ಯ - ivhya/avhya - they

Polite versions of he and she are ಇವ್ಹು/ಅವ್ಹು and ಇವ್ಹೆ/ಅವ್ಹೆ. However, these are increasingly rare and replaced by ಇವ್ಹಾ/ಅವ್ಹಾ, perhaps as an influence from Kannada. ತಾಂಗ is usually found only in religious contexts, and even then, nīnga is often preferred. ತಾಂಗ and ನೀಂಗ 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 ”, and as such is rarely used.
Case Declension
The declensional classes are similar to Kannada, marked by animate versus inanimate and weak versus strong vowel endings. Gender only exists for human nouns, and is only relevant in the third person verb conjugations. Generally, the verb classes are delineated as 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and 4th.
Though Sankethi vocabulary is not systematized, there are some general rules for taking nouns from Sanskrit, Tamil, Kannada, or Malayalam.
See the table below for case declensions. The nominative is the base form of a given noun, and as such is not included in the table below.
Case1st Class2nd Class3rd Class4th Class
Accusative-ಅ/-ನ್
-ಅಂಗಳ
-ತ-ಯ-ವ
Instrumental-Ablative-ೊಣ್ಣು/- ್ನಣ್ಣು
-ಂಗಳಣ್ಣು
-ತಣ್ಣು-ಯಣ್ಣು-ಅಣ್ಣು
Dative-ಂಕ್ಕು
-ಗಳಕ್ಕು
-ತಕ್ಕು-ಕ್ಕು-ಅಕ್ಕಾಹ
Genitive-ಂದು/ಂದೆ
-ಗಡು/ಗಡೆ
-ತದು/ತದೆ/ತೆ-ಂದು/ಂದೆ-ಅದು/ಅದೆ/ಅತ್ತೆ/ಅತ್ತು
Locative- ್ನಲ್ಲೆ
-ಂಗಳಲ್ಲೆ
-ತಲ್ಲೆ-ಲ್ಲೆ-ಅಲ್ಲೆ

Verbs
Verbs in Sankethi have two kinds of verbs stems. There are verbs that end in ಉ/ಒ and ಇ/ಎ. Generally speaking, they undergo the following changes during conjugation
Below are tables that show different tenses, given for the verb ಸಾಪಡು :
Non-Past Simple
ನಾ ಸಾಪಡಣಿ - nā sāpaḍaṇiಅದು ಸಾಪಡಂದು - adu sāpaḍaṃdu
*ನೀ ಸಾಪಡಂಡ್ಯ/ಸಾಪಡಾಂದೆಯ -
nī sapaḍaṃḍya/sāpaḍāṃdeyā
ನಾಂಗ ಸಾಪಡಣೂಂ/ಸಾಪಡಣೊ - nanga sāpaḍaṇūṃ/sāpaḍaṇo
ಅವು ಸಾಪಡಣ/ಸಾಪಡಣು - avu sāpaḍaṇa*ನೀಂಗ ಸಾಪಡಂಢ್ಯೊ/ಸಾಪಡಂಢಿಳ -
nīnga sāpaḍaṃḍhyo/sāpaḍaṃḍhiḷa
ಅವೆ ಸಾಪಡಂಡ - ave sāpaḍaṃḍaಅವ್ಹಾಳ ಸಾಪಡಂಡ - avhāḷa sāpaḍaṃḍa

*In all tenses, the ನೀ form's final -್ಯ becomes -ಎಯ as a question, and the ನೀಂಗ form changes from -್ಯೊ to -ಿಳ as a question.
Non-Past/Present Perfect
ನಾ ಸಾಪಡಾಂಡ್ರಾಣಿ- nā sāpaḍānḍrāṇiಅದು ಸಾಪಡಾಂಡ್ರಾಂದು - adu sāpaḍānḍrāndu
ನೀ ಸಾಪಡಾಂಡ್ರಾಂಡ್ಯ - nī sāpaḍāṇḍrānḍya ನಾಂಗ ಸಾಪಡಾಂಡ್ರಾಣೂಂ- nanga sāpaḍanḍrāṇūṃ
ಅವುಸಾಪಡಾಂಡ್ರಾಣು - avu sāpaḍāṇḍrāṇuನೀಂಗ ಸಾಪಡಾಂಡ್ರಾಂಢ್ಯೊ- nīnga sāpaḍāṇḍrānḍhyo
ಅವೆ ಸಾಪಡಡ್ರಾಂಡ - ave sāpaḍāṇḍrānḍaಅವ್ಹಾಳ ಸಾಪಡಾಂಡ್ರಾಂಡ - avhāḷa sāpaḍāṇḍrānḍa

Past
The past tense in Sankethi is complex due to stem rules inherited from Tamil. The past tense is also notable in that the ನೀಂಗ 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.
ಪಣ್ಣು - -ಉ ending verbs
ನಾ ಪಣ್ಣಿನೆ - nā paṇṇineಅದು ಪಣ್ಣಿತು - adu paṇṇitu
ನೀ ಪಣ್ಣಿನೆಯ -
nī paṇṇine/paṇṇinya
ನಾಂಗ ಪಣ್ಣಿನೊಂ - nanga paṇṇinoṃ
ಅವುಂ ಪಣ್ಣಿನಾ - avu paṇṇināನೀಂಗ ಪಣ್ಣಿನ್ಹ್ಯೊ - nīnga paṇṇinhyo
ಅವೆ ಪಣ್ಣಿನಾ - ave paṇṇināಅವ್ಹಾಳ ಪಣ್ಣಿನಾ - avhāḷa paṇṇinā

ಉಡು - -ಡು ending verbs without an stressed penultimate syllable
ನಾ ಉಟ್ಟೆ - nā uṭṭeಅದು ಉಟ್ಟದು - adu uṭṭadu
ನೀ ಉಟ್ಟೆಯ - nī uṭṭeya/uṭṭya ನಾಂಗ ಉಟ್ಟುಂ - nanga uṭṭuṃ
ಅವುಂ ಉಟ್ಟಾಂ - avu uṭṭāṃನೀಂಗ ಉಟ್ಠ್ಯೊ - nīnga uṭṭhyo
ಅವೆ ಉಟ್ಟಾ - ave uṭṭāಅವ್ಹಾಳ ಉಟ್ಟಾ - avhāḷa uṭṭā

ಸಾಪಡು - -ಡು ending verbs with an unstressed penultimate syllable
ನಾ ಸಾಪಟೆ - nā sāpaṭeಅದು ಸಾಪಟುದು - adu sāpaṭudu
ನೀ ಸಾಪಟೆಯ/ಸಾಪಟ್ಯ -
nī sāpaṭeya/sāpaṭya
ನಾಂಗ ಸಾಪಟುಂ - nanga sāpaṭuṃ
ಅವುಂ ಸಾಪಟಾಂ - avu sāpaṭāṃನೀಂಗ ಸಾಪಠ್ಯೊ - nīnga sāpaṭhyo
ಅವೆ ಸಾಪಟಾ - ave sāpaṭāಅವ್ಹಾಳ ಸಾಪಟಾ - avhāḷa sāpaṭā

ಪಾರು - stressed long vowel as the penultimate syllable
ನಾ ಪಾತೆ - nā pāteಅದು ಪಾತದು - adu pātadu
ನೀ ಪಾತ್ಯ/ಪಾತೆಯ -
nī pātya/pāteya
ನಾಂಗ ಪಾತೊಂ - nanga pātoṃ
ಅವು ಪಾತಾಂ - avu pātāṃನೀಂಗ ಪಾಥ್ಯೊ - nīnga pāthyo
ಅವೆ ಪಾತಾ - ave pātāಅವ್ಹಾಳ ಪಾತಾ - avhāḷa pātā

ಇಳಿ - -ಇ ending verbs
ನಾ ಇಳಿಂಜೆ - nā iḷiṃjeಅದು ಇಳಿಂಜುದು - adu iḷimjudu
ನೀ ಇಳಿಂಜೆಯ - nī iḷiṃjeyaನಾಂಗ ಇಳಿಂಜುಂ - nanga iḷimjuṃ
ಅವು ಇಳಿಂಜಾಂ - avu iḷiṃjāṃನೀಂಗ ಇಳಿಂಝ್ಯೊ - nīnga iḷiṃjhyo
ಅವೆ ಇಳಿಂಜಾ - ave iḷimjāಅವ್ಹಾಳ ಇಳಿಂಜಾ - avhāḷa iḷiṃjā

ಉಳು
ನಾ ಉಳಂದೆ - nā uḷundeಅದುಉಳುಂದದು- adu uḷuṃdadu
ನೀ ಉಳುಂದ್ಯ/ಉಳುಂದೆಯ - nī uḷuṃdya/uḷuṃdeyaನಾಂಗಉಳುಂದುಂ- nanga uḷumḍuṃ
ಅವು ಉಳುಂದಾಂ - avu uḷuṃdāṃನೀಂಗಉಳುಂಢ್ಯೊ- nīnga uḷuṃḍhyo
ಅವೆ ಉಳುಂದಾ - ave uḷuṃdāಅವ್ಹಾಳಉಳುಂಡಾ - avhāḷa uḷuṃḍa

This is a special pattern unique to ನಿಲ್ಲಿ and -ಕ್ಯೊ ending verbs
ನಾ ನಿಂಡೆ/ತುಂಕಿಂಡೆ - nā niṃḍe/tuṃkiṃḍeಅದು ನಿಂಡದು/ತುಂಕಿಂಡದು - adu niṃḍadu/tuṃkiṃḍadu
ನೀ / -
nī /
ನಾಂಗ ನಿಂಡುಂ/ತುಂಕಿಂಡುಂ - nanga niṃḍuṃ/tuṃkiṃḍuṃ
ಅವು ನಿಂಡಾಂ/ತುಂಕಿಂಡಾಂ - avu niṃḍāṃ/tuṃkiṃḍāṃನೀಂಗ ನಿಂಢ್ಯೊ/ತುಂಕಿಂಢ್ಯೊ - nīnga niṃḍhyo/tuṃkiṃḍhyo
ಅವೆ ನಿಂಡಾ/ತುಂಕಿಂಡಾ - ave niṃḍā/tuṃkiṃḍāಅವ್ಹಾಳ ನಿಂಡಾ/ತುಂಕಿಂಡಾ - avhāḷa niṃḍā/tuṃkiṃḍā

The following verbs are irregular:
ಕುಡು
ನಾ ಕುಡ್ತೆ - nā kuḍteಅದು ಕುಡ್ತದು - adu kuḍtadu
ನೀ ಕುಡ್ತ್ಯ/ಕುಡ್ತೆಯ - nī kuḍtya/kuḍteya ನಾಂಗ ಕುಡ್ತೊಂ - nanga kuḍtoṃ
ಅವು ಕುಡ್ತಾಂ - avu kuḍtāṃನೀಂಗ ಕುಡ್ಥ್ಯೊ - nīnga kuḍthyo
ಅವೆ ಕುಡ್ತಾ - ave kuḍtāಅವ್ಹಾಳ ಕುಡ್ತಾ - avhāḷa kuḍtā

ಪುಡಿ
ನಾ ಪುಡಿಚೆ - nā puḍiceಅದು ಪುಡಿಚದು - adu puḍicā
ನೀ ಪುಡಿಚ್ಯ/ಪುಡಿಚೆಯ -
nī puḍicya/puḍiceya
ನಾಂಗ ಪುಡಿಚುಂ - nanga puḍicuṃ
ಅವು ಪುಡಿಚಾಂ - avu puḍicāṃನೀಂಗ ಪುಡಿಛ್ಯೊ - nīnga puḍichyo
ಅವೆ ಪುಡಿಚಾ - ave puḍicāಅವ್ಹಾಳ ಪುಡಿಚಾ - avhāḷa puḍicā

ಚಿರಿ/ಉರಿ
ನಾ ಚಿರ್ಚೆ/ಉರ್ಚೆ - nā circe/urceಅದು ಚಿರ್ಚದು/ಉರ್ಚದು - adu circadu/urcadu
ನೀ / -
nī /
ನಾಂಗ ಚಿರ್ಚೊಂ/ಉರ್ಚೊಂ - nanga circoṃ/urcoṃ
ಅವು ಚಿರ್ಚಾಂ/ಉರ್ಚಾಂ - avu circāṃ/urcāṃನೀಂಗ ಚಿರ್ಛ್ಯೊ/ಉರ್ಛ್ಯೊ - nīnga circhyo/urchyo
ಅವೆ ಚಿರ್ಚಾ/ಉರ್ಚಾ- ave circā/urcāಅವ್ಹಾಳ ಚಿರ್ಚಾ/ಉರ್ಚಾ - avhāḷa circā/urcā

ತೋಯಿ
ನಾ ತೋಚೆ - nā toceಅದು ತೋಚದು - adu tōcadu
ನೀ ತೋಚ್ಯ/ತೋಚೆಯ -
nī tōcya/tōceya
ನಾಂಗ ತೋಚುಂ - nanga tōcuṃ
ಅವು ತೋಚಾಂ - avu tōcāṃನೀಂಗ ತೋಛ್ಯೊ - nīnga tōchyo
ಅವೆ ತೋಚಾ - ave tōcāṃಅವ್ಹಾಳ ತೋಚಾ - avhāḷa tōcā

ವಯ್ಯಿ
ನಾ ವಶ್ಶೆ - nā vaśśeಅದು ವಶ್ಶದು - adu vaśśadu
ನೀ ವಶ್ಶ್ಯ/ವಶ್ಶೆಯ -
nī vaśśye/vaśśeya
ನಾಂಗ ವಶ್ಶುಂ - nanga vaśśuṃ
ಅವು ವಶ್ಶಾಂ - avu vaśśāṃನೀಂಗ ವಶ್ಶ್ಹ್ಯೊ - nīnga vaśśhyo
ಅವೆ ವಶ್ಶಾ - ave vaśśāಅವ್ಹಾಳ ವಶ್ಶಾ - avhāḷa vaśśā

ಇರು
ನಾ ಇಂದೆ - nā indeಅದು ಇಂದದು - adu iṃdadu
ನೀ ಇರಂಡೆಯ - nī iraṃḍeyaನಾಂಗ ಇಂದ್ನೂಂ/ಇನ್ನೂಂ - nanga iṃdnūṃ/innuṃ
ಅವುಂ ಇನ್ನ - avu innaನೀಂಗ ಇಂಢ್ಯೊ - nīnga iṃḍhyo
ಅವೆ ಇಂದ - ave iṃdaಅವ್ಹಾಳ ಇಂದ - avhāḷa iṃda

ವರು
ನಾ ವಂದೆ - nā indeಅದು ವಂದು - adu vaṃdadu
ನೀ ವಂದ್ಯ/ವಂದೆಯ - nī vaṃdya/vaṃdeyaನಾಂಗ ವನ್ನೂಂ - nanga vannuṃ
ಅವುಂ ವನ್ನ - avu vannaನೀಂಗ ವಂಧ್ಯೊ - nīnga vaṃdhyo
ಅವೆ ವಂದ - ave vaṃdaಅವ್ಹಾಳ ವಂದ - avhāḷa vaṃda

ಪೋಹು
ನಾ ಪೋನೆ - nā pōneಅದು ಪೋಚು - adu pōcu
ನೀ ಪೋನ್ಯ/ಪೋನೆಯ -
nī pōnya/pōneya
ನಾಂಗ ಪೋನ್ನುಂ - nanga pōnnuṃ
ಅವುಂ ಪೋನ್ನ - avu pōnnaನೀಂಗ ಪೋನ್ಹ್ಯೊ - nīnga ponhyo
ಅವೆ ಪೋನ - ave pōnaಅವ್ಹಾಳ ಪೋನ - avhāḷa pōna

ಆಹು
ನಾ ಆಯ್ರಾಣಿ - nā āyraṇiಅದು ಆಚು - adu ācu
ನೀ ಆನಾ/ಆನೆಯ -
nī ānā/āneya
ನಾಂಗ ಆನುಂ - nanga ānuṃ
ಅವುಂ ಆನಾ - avu ānāನೀಂಗ ಅನ್ಹ್ಯೊ - nīnga ānhyo
ಅವೆ ಆನಾ - ave ānāಅವ್ಹಾಳ ಆನಾ - avhāḷa ānā

Past Perfect/Past Progressive or Remote Past
The past progressive and past perfect in Sankethi are the same, and their meaning is distinguished only by context. For this reason, the conjugations below may be referred to jointly as the remote past.
ನಾ ಸಾಪಡಾನ್ನಿಂದೆ- nā sāpaḍānnindeಅದುಸಾಪಡಾನ್ನಿಂದು - adu sāpaḍānnindu
ನೀಸಾಪಡಾನ್ನಿಂಡೆಯ- nī sāpaḍānninḍeyaನಾಂಗಸಾಪಡಾನ್ನಿನೂಂ - nanga sāpaḍānninūṃ
ಅವು ಸಾಪಡಾನ್ನಿನ- avu sāpaḍānninnaನೀಂಗಸಾಪಡಾನ್ನಿಂಢ್ಯೊ - nīnga sāpaḍānninḍhyō
ಅವೆಸಾಪಡಾನ್ನಿಂದ - ave sāpaḍānnindaಅವ್ಹಾಳಸಾಪಡಾನ್ನಿಂದ - avhāḷa sāpaḍānninda

Future
This is a hypothetical construction for the future tense in Sankethi, though it functions more like a hypothetical. C.T. Dathathreya reconstructs this set of conjugations by referring to Tamil and Kannada conjugations for the future tense. In a literary or poetic context, it would likely imply the future tense, and when appearing as an instruction, it has the jussive meaning of "must do" or the passive meaning "will be done". Dathathreya refers to this as the "future indefinite", suggesting a distant circumstance.
ನಾ ಸಾಪಡವೆ- nā sāpaḍaveಅದು ಸಾಪಮ್- adu sāpaḍum
ನೀಸಾಪಡವೆಯ- nī sāpaḍaveyaನಾಂಗಸಾಪಡವೊ - nanga sāpaḍavo
ಅವುಸಾಪಡವಾಂ- avu sāpāḍavāṃನೀಂಗಸಾಪಡವ್ಹ್ಯೊ - nīnga sāpaḍavhyo
ಅವೆಸಾಪಡವ - ave sāpaḍavaಅವ್ಹಾಳಸಾಪಡವ- avhāḷa sāpaḍava

Negation
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. Some Sankethi speakers negate with the ending -ಅಲ್ಲೆ and others with -ಅಲ್ಲ. 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.
Present: ಸಾಪಡಲ್ಲ
Present Progressive: ಸಾಪಡರಾಂಡಿಕ್ಕಲ್ಲ
Past/Present Perfect: ಸಾಪಡಿಕ್ಕಲ್ಲ
Past Progressive: ಸಾಪಡಾನ್ನಿಂದಲ್ಲ
Future: ಸಪಡವಿಲ್ಲ
Imperative
Low ಪಣ್ಡೋ
Low ಪಣ್ಡೇ
Standardಪಣ್ಣು
Politeಪಣ್ಣಂಗೊ
Optativeಪಣ್ಣಿಡು
Hortativeಪಣ್ದಮೊ

Prohibitive
Dismissive/Insistent/Low “don’t”ಪಣ್ಣವಾನಕಡೋ
Non-polite “don’t”ಪಣ್ಣವಾಣ
Polite “please don’t”ಪಣ್ಣವಾಣಂಗೊ
Recommending “shouldn’t”ಪಣ್ಣಕಾಹದು
Forbidding “mustn’t”ಪಣ್ಣಕುಡಾದು