Learning Kannada script, part 3: reading aloud

Kannada is written almost exactly as it is said, so reading it aloud is the fastest way in. The last part of three.

Part of

Reading Kannada aloud is easier than it looks, because the script is written almost exactly as it is said. Read one syllable at a time, and the word arrives on its own.

One block, one syllable

Each block on the page is one syllable, with its vowel signs and any joined letter included. ಮನೆ is ಮ-ನೆ, ma-ne, a house. ಹೂವು is ಹೂ-ವು, huu-vu, a flower. ಪುಸ್ತಕ is ಪು-ಸ್ತ-ಕ, pu-sta-ka, a book.

Long and short are different words

Hold a long vowel a little longer than a short one, because the difference changes the word. ದಿನ (dina) is a day; ದೀನ (diina) is someone poor and helpless. The only thing between them is one small sign.

Practise on what is around you

Shop signs, bus boards and the first line of a newspaper make good practice: they are short, the letters are large, and you see them every day. Read them aloud quietly, and check the English if there is one. This is one place where reading slowly pays off at once.

Do this

  • Read one sign aloud every day.
  • Say each syllable fully, even when it feels slow.
  • If a shape stops you, go back to part 1. If a sign stops you, go back to part 2.

That is the end of the series. The pieces in the Kannada section are there for when you are ready.

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