A Catalogue - Of the Kannada, Badaga, and Kurg Books in the Library of the British Museum - Preface

Sep 2, 2026

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Catalogue preface describing Kannada (also called Karnatakca/Canarese/Carnatic) as the principal language of Mysore and adjacent regions, and sketching its geographic spread, dialectal presence, and linguistic background. It outlines Kannada literary periods from early purvada hala-gannada to Old and Modern Kannada, then briefly characterizes Badaga as an archaic dialect and the Kurg (Kodagu) language and its limited literature. It also explains the transliteration scheme used and thanks contributors for philological and bibliographical help.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryLiterature

FormatPDF

Pages152

Reading Time3 h 54 min

AccessFree to download

Preface

Language background and geographic scope

Kannada literary periods and major authors

Badaga and Kurg (Kodagu) language notes

Catalogue methods and name order

Transliteration scheme and abbreviations

Acknowledgements and publication date

N 7049 I3B846 120 Digitized by the Internet Archivein 2007 with funding fromMicrosoft Corporation 65/- # A CATALOGUE OF THE # KANNADA,BADAGA,AND KURG BOOKS IN THE # LIBRARY OF THE # B RITI S H MU SEU M COMPILED BY L.D.BARNETT,M.A,LITT.D. KEEPER OF THE DEPABTMENT OE ORIENTAL PRINTED BOOKS AND MSs, PRINTED BY ORDEB OF THE TRUSTEES OF THE BRITISH MUSEUM. 征ondon: SOLD AT THE BRITISH MUSEUM; AND BY MeSR8.LONGMANS &Co.,39,PATERNOSTER Row;MR.BERNARD QUARITCH,11,GRAFTON STREET,NRW BoND STREET,W.;ME88RS.ASHER &CO.,14,BEDFORD STREET,CoVBNT GARDEN;ANDMR.HENRY FROWDE,OxFORD UNIVERSITY PREss WAREHOUSE,AMEN CoRNBR. 1910. LONDON: PRTNTLL mwIt二(AM CLOWES AND SONS,LTMTED,DUKE JYIEET BAMFORt eT,8.B.,AND GREAT WINDMILI STRRET,W. Z7049 I3B846 # PREFACE. Kannada or Karnatakca,less correctly styled Canarese,Kanarese,or Carnatic,is"theprincipal language of Mysore and the adjoining parts of Coimbatore,Salem,Anantapur,and Bellary.The frontier line thence goes northwards,through the dominions of HisHighness the Nizam,as far as Bidar,where it turns almost due west on to about the78th degree,and,further,southwards so as to include the south-eastern portion of Jatand Daphlapur.Kanarese is also spoken in the extreme south-east of Satara,in TalukaTasgaon;to some extent in the Aundh State of the Satara Agency;and in the southof Belgaum,and,further to the west,in Kolhapur,almost so far west as the town ofKolhapur.The line then turns southwards,following the Ghats to about Honawar,where it goes down to the sea.In North Kanara Kanarese is the official language allover the district.It is the principal language of South Kanara,with the exception of thesouthernmost corner.The frontier line thence coincides with the southern frontier ofMysore.Kanarese dialects are also spoken in the Nilgiris,and the language has,lastly,been brought by immigrants to Madura and to the Central Provinces"(Linguistic Surveyof India,vol.4,pp.362-3).The word Kannada,which from very ancient times hasbeen applied both to the country and the language of its inhabitants,*is of verydoubtful origin;its doublet,Karnata or Karnataka,seems to be the result of anattempt to find a Sanskrit etymology at all costs.T Like the Tamil,the Kannada language possesses an ancient and rich literature.Of its earliest period,reaching down to the end of the 7th century,when the languagewas in the stage known later as purvada hala-gannada,or"Primitive Old Kannada,"no works have survived.The second is the classical period,the age of hala-gannada,or“Old Kannada,”which ended about the 14th century.To this belongs the oldestsurviving monument of Kannada,the Kavi-raja-marga.Until the middle of the 12thcentury most of the classical writers were Jains;we may mention Pampa,Ranna,Naga Varma,Naga-chandra,Aggala,Nemi-chandra,Janna,Kesi-raja,and Andayya.After them came a series of Saiva poets,among the earliest of whom were Hari-haraDeva,Raghavanka,and Somesvara.About the 14th century begins the period of the“Modern Kannada,”hosa-gannada. Badaga,i.e.the"Northern"language,in which are written one or two booksincluded in this Catalogue,is merely an archaic dialect of Kannada,and is spoken, *It is estimated on the basis of the Census of 1901 that Kannada is spoken by 10,319,447 persons(Linguistie Survey,vol.4,p.364). 十The usually accepted derivation is from Kar-nudu or Kan-ncdu,the“black region,”referring to the black cotton soil of trappean character found in a large part of the Kannada country. PREFACE. iv according to the census of 1901,by 34,229 persons,chiefly Badagas resident in theNilgiris. The Kurg or Coorg language(properly Kodagu)is spoken,according to the latestcensus,by 39,148 natives of the province of Coorg.It has affinities on the one handto Old Kannada and on the other to Tulu and Malayalam.Like Badaga,it is stillalmost without a literature. In preparing the following catalogue the same methods have generally beenfollowed as were observed in th

FAQs

Which languages does the preface focus on, and how are they related?

The preface focuses on Kannada, Badaga, and Kurg (Kodagu). Badaga is described as an archaic dialect of Kannada, while Kurg is said to have affinities with Old Kannada and also with Tulu and Malayalam.

How does the preface describe the development of Kannada literature?

It divides Kannada’s early and later periods: the earliest stage up to the 7th century (with no surviving works), then the classical Old Kannada period ending around the 14th century, and finally the Modern Kannada period beginning about the 14th century.

What does the preface state about transliteration in the catalogue?

It explains that a transliteration scheme has been adopted and notes specific rare or obsolete letters that do not occur among the titles transliterated in the catalogue.

Sep 2, 2026

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