Sankethi language

Sankethi (sometimes spelled Sanketi) is a South Dravidian language that is closely related to Kannada and 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 (particularly in the colloquial form), as well as borrowings from Sanskrit. It is most commonly spoken in Karnataka, India by the Sankethi people, who migrated from Sengottai in Tamil Nadu.

Sankethi
Native to	Karnataka
Language family	Dravidian Southern Southern I Tamil–Kannada Tamil–Kota Tamil–Toda Tamil–Irula Tamil–Kodava–Urali Tamil–Malayalam Tamiloid Tamil–Paliyan Tamil Sankethi
Early forms	Old Tamil Middle Tamil
Language codes
ISO 639-3	–
Glottolog	sank1249

The language is most often written in the Kannada script. However, Sankethi (especially in the spoken form) 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 (ಒತ್ತಕ್ಷರ - ottakṣara). 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. These dialects are all located in a sprachbund which includes not only Kannada but also Tulu, due to Sankethi villages being located in the Malnad region. As Sankethi has no standardized form, it can be difficult to assess what the "true" grammar and features of Sankethi is, as evidenced in the literature by H.S. Ananthanaryana and Kikkeri Narayana. The grammar and semantic features of Kannada are those most often assimilated into Sankethi, as many Sankethis are bilingual in Kannada.

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: [ʋʰ], [nʰ], and [ʃʰ], though both most often appear in their palatalized forms. Its presence is often marked by the presence of long vowels, as well as syllable finally (where they are often palatalized in that position). See the table below for the range of Sankethi consonants.

		Labial		Dental		Alveolar		Retroflex		Palatal		Velar		Glottal
Nasal	plain	m ಮ ⟨m⟩		n̪ ನ ⟨n⟩				ɳ ಣ ⟨ṇ⟩		ɲ ಞ ⟨ñ⟩		ŋ ಙ ⟨ṅ⟩
	aspirated			n̪ʰ ನ್ಹ ⟨nʰ⟩
Stop	plain	p ಪ ⟨p⟩	b ಬ ⟨b⟩	t̪ ತ ⟨t⟩	d̪ ದ ⟨d⟩			ʈ ಟ ⟨ṭ⟩	ɖ ಡ ⟨ḍ⟩	t͡ʃ ಚ ⟨c⟩	d͡ʒ ಜ ⟨j⟩	k ಕ ⟨k⟩	ɡ ಗ ⟨g⟩
	aspirated	pʰ ಫ ⟨ph⟩	bʱ ಭ ⟨bh⟩	t̪ʰ ಥ ⟨th⟩	d̪ʱ ಧ ⟨dh⟩			ʈʰ ಠ ⟨ṭh⟩	ɖʱ ಢ ⟨ḍh⟩	t͡ʃʰ ಛ ⟨ch⟩	d͡ʒʱ ಝ ⟨jh⟩	kʰ ಖ ⟨kh⟩	ɡʱ ಘ ⟨gh⟩
Fricative				s̪ ಸ ⟨s⟩				ʂ ಷ ⟨ṣ⟩		ʃ ಶ ⟨ś⟩				h ಹ ⟨h⟩
	aspirated									ʃʰ ಶ್ಹ ⟨śh⟩
Approximant	central	ʋ ವ ⟨v⟩								j ಯ ⟨y⟩
	aspirated	ʋʰ ವ್ಹ ⟨vh⟩
	lateral					l ಲ ⟨l⟩		ɭ ಳ ⟨ḷ⟩
Rhotic						r ರ ⟨r⟩

Sankethi vowels are very similar to Tamil and Kannada vowels:

Vowel	ISO 15919	IPA
ಅ	a	[ʌ]
ಆ	ā	[ɑː]
ಇ	i	[i]
ಈ	ī	[iː]
ಉ	u	[u], [ɯ]
ಊ	ū	[uː]
ಎ	e	[e]
ಏ	ē	[eː]
ಐ	ai	[ʌj]
ಒ	o	[o]
ಓ	ō	[oː]
ಔ	au	[ʌʋ]

In Sankethi, some nouns that end in ಒ (o) 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, Tamil and Thigala.

Sankethi	Kannada	Tamil	Thigala	English
ಪಲ್ಯು/ತಾಳ್ದು (palyu/tāḷdu)	ಪಲ್ಯ (palya)	பொரியல் (poriyal)	ಪಲ್ಯು (palyu)	sauteed/fried vegetable dish
ಚಾರು (cāru)	ಸಾರು (sāru)	ரசம் (rasam)	ಸಾರು (sāru)	broth/soup
ತಯಿರು (tayiru)	ಮೊಸರು (mosaru)	தயிர் (tayir)	ತಯಿರು (tayiru)	curd / yoghurt
ಮೋರು (mōru)	ಮಜ್ಜಿಗೆ (majjige)	மோர் (mōr)	ಮೋರು (mōru)	buttermilk
ನೆಲ್ಲ್ (nell)	ಭತ್ತ (bhatta)	நெல் (nel)	ನೆಲ್ಲ್ (nell)	unhusked rice
ಅರಶಿ (araśi)	ಅಕ್ಕಿ (akki)	அரிசி (arici)	ಅರಶಿ (araśi)	uncooked rice
ಸಾಂ (sāṃ)	ಅನ್ನ(anna)	சாதம்(sādam)		cooked rice
ತೇನು (tēnu)	ಜೇನಿನತುಪ್ಪ (jēnina tuppa)	தேன் (tēn)	ತೇನು (tēnu)	honey
ವಣ್ಣ (vaṇṇa)	ಬೆಣ್ಣೆ (beṇṇe)	வெண்ணெய் (veṇṇey)	ವಣ್ (vaṇ)	butter
ನೈ (nai)	ತುಪ್ಪ (tuppa)	நெய் (ney)		ghee
ವೆಲ್ಲು (vellu)	ಬೆಲ್ಲ (bella)	வெல்லம் (vellam)		jaggery
ಮಂಜ (mañja)	ಅರಶಿನ (araśina)	மஞ்சள் (maṇjaḷ)		turmeric
ಪರ್ಪು (parpu)	ಬೇಳೆ (bēḷe)	பருப்பு (paruppu)		lentil
ಕಾವೇರಿ (kāvēri)	ನದಿ (nadi)	ஆறு (āṟu), நதி (nati)		river

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" (ex. ಪೂವಮಯು - full of flowers)

Grammar

Nouns

Sankethi grammar is fairly similar to those of most other Dravidian languages, with six cases: nominative (unmarked), 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. The grammar detailed below pertains to the Kaushika dialect.

As in Tamil and Malayalam, there is clusivity distinction for first person plural pronouns in Sankethi: ನಾಂಗ (nānga; exclusive) VS ನಾಂಬು (nāmbu/ inclusive), though the frequency usage varies. A good example of its usage is the Sankethi endonym for the language: ಎಂಗಡೆ ವಾರ್ಥೆ (eṃgaḍe vārthe), 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 - I	ನಾಂಗ/ನಾಂಬ - nānga/nāṃba - we (exclusive/inclusive)
ನೀ - ni - you	ನೀಂಗ/ತಾಂಗ - nīnga/tānga - (you all/you (polite))/you (very polite)
(ಇವು/ಅವು)/(ಇವೆ/ಅವೆ) - (ivu/avu)/(ive/ave) - (proximal/distal) he/she	ಇವ್ಹಾ(ಳು)/ಅವ್ಹ(ಳು)- ivhāḷu/avhāḷu- they (human)
ಇದು/ಅದು- idu/adu - this/that (non-human) (it/[this/that])	ಇವ್ಹ್ಯ/ಅವ್ಹ್ಯ - ivhya/avhya - they (non-human)

Polite versions of he and she are ಇವ್ಹು/ಅವ್ಹು (ivhu/avhu) and ಇವ್ಹೆ/ಅವ್ಹೆ (ivhe/avhe), which are increasingly considered archaic. They are most frequently replaced by ಇವ್ಹಾ/ಅವ್ಹಾ (ivhā/avhā), perhaps as an influence from Kannada. Tānga is usually found only in religious contexts, and even then, nīnga is often preferred. Tānga and nīnga have the same inflections and verb conjugations. The use of ಇವ್ಹ್ಯ/ಅವ್ಹ್ಯ is 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 (outsiders)”, and as such is rarely used.

Case Declension

The declensional classes are similar to Kannada, marked by animate versus inanimate and weak (ಇ, ಈ, ಎ, ಏ, ಐ) versus strong vowel (ಅ, ಆ, ಉ, ಊ, ಒ, ಓ, ಔ, ಋ) 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 (animate strong vowel ending), 2nd (inanimate strong vowel ending), 3rd (animate weak vowel ending), and 4th (inanimate weak vowel ending).

Though Sankethi vocabulary is not systematized, there are some general rules for taking nouns from Sanskrit, Tamil, Kannada, or Malayalam.

• Most words of Dravidian origin in Kannada that end in ಅ (a) in Kannada and Tamil/Malayalam words ending in உ/ന് (the half u), including proper nouns, end in the half ಉ [ɯ] in Sankethi.
• Words of Sanskrit origin (though there are exceptions) tend to end in ಒ (oṃ); a way to tell if this is the case is to see if the Telugu, Tamil, or Malayalam cognate ends in the anusvāra (the ṃ) or the ending -am. If it does, the word will most likely end in the nasalized oṃ, which is usually written with ಒ because there is no way to indicate a nasalized vowel in the Kannada script (as noted before). Ex. Sankethi ಪಳೊ is related to Tamil பழம், which ends in -am. Therefore, ಪಳೊ is pronounced with a final ಒಂ.
• However, as a rule, most words that end in e in Kannada and ai in Tamil end in a in Sankethi (even if the second rule applies; is especially true of Sanskrit loans). Ex. Compare Kannada ಪ್ರಾರ್ಥನೆ (prārthane) and Tamil பிரார்த்தனை (prārthanai), which is ಪ್ರಾರ್ಥನ (prārthana) in Sankethi.

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.

Case	1st Class	2nd Class	3rd Class	4th Class
Accusative	-ಅ/-ನ್ (singular) -ಅಂಗಳ (plural)	-ತ	-ಯ	-ವ
Instrumental-Ablative	-ೊಣ್ಣು/- ್ನಣ್ಣು (singular) -ಂಗಳಣ್ಣು (plural)	-ತಣ್ಣು	-ಯಣ್ಣು	-ಅಣ್ಣು
Dative	-ಂಕ್ಕು(singular) -ಗಳಕ್ಕು(plural)	-ತಕ್ಕು	-ಕ್ಕು	-ಅಕ್ಕಾಹ
Genitive	-ಂದು/ಂದೆ (singular) -ಗಡು/ಗಡೆ (plural)	-ತದು/ತದೆ/ತೆ	-ಂದು/ಂದೆ	-ಅದು/ಅದೆ/ಅತ್ತೆ/ಅತ್ತು
Locative	- ್ನಲ್ಲೆ (singular) -ಂಗಳಲ್ಲೆ (plural)	-ತಲ್ಲೆ	-(ಯ)ಲ್ಲೆ	-ಅಲ್ಲೆ

Verbs

Verbs in Sankethi have two kinds of verbs stems. There are verbs that end in ಉ/ಒ (u/o) and ಇ/ಎ (i/e). Generally speaking, they undergo the following changes during conjugation

• -ಉ/ಒ verbs (strong vowel stems) simply drop their final vowel before taking endings
• -ಇ/ಎ verbs (weak vowel stems) add the euphonic ಯ್ (y) before adding the endings. However, in speech, the ಎ is reduced to ಇ, and even then the final vowel disappears, resulting in a palatalized consonant between the stem and ending.

Below are tables that show different tenses, given for the verb ಸಾಪಡು (to eat/drink):

Non-Past Simple

ನಾ ಸಾಪಡಣಿ - nā sāpaḍaṇi	ಅದು ಸಾಪಡಂದು - adu sāpaḍandu
*ನೀ ಸಾಪಡಂಡ್ಯ/ಸಾಪಡಾಂದೆಯ - nī sapaḍaṇḍya/sāpaḍāṇdeyā (statement/question)	ನಾಂಗ ಸಾಪಡಣೂಂ/ಸಾಪಡಣೊ - nanga sāpaḍaṇūṃ/sāpaḍaṇo
ಅವು ಸಾಪಡಣ/ಸಾಪಡಣು - avu sāpaḍaṇa	*ನೀಂಗ ಸಾಪಡಂಢ್ಯೊ/ಸಾಪಡಂಢಿಳ - nīnga sāpaḍaṇḍhyo/sāpaḍaṇḍhiḷa (statement/question)
ಅವೆ ಸಾಪಡಂಡ - ave sāpaḍaṇḍa	ಅವ್ಹಾಳ ಸಾಪಡಂಡ - avhāḷa sāpaḍaṇḍa

*In all tenses, the ನೀ form's final -್ಯ (-ya) becomes -ಎಯ (-eya) as a question, and the ನೀಂಗ form changes from -್ಯೊ (-yo) to -ಿಳ (-iḷa) as a question.

Imperfective and Perfective Aspects

The imperfective aspect is marked by taking the gerundial form of a verb (the stem takes the ending -āṇḍu), and then attaching the conjugated form of iru in its auxiliary form (rāṇi, rāṇḍeya, etc.).

ನಾ ಸಾಪಡಾಂಡ್ರಾಣಿ- nā sāpaḍānḍrāṇi	ಅದು ಸಾಪಡಾಂಡ್ರಾಂದು - adu sāpaḍānḍrāndu
ನೀ ಸಾಪಡಾಂಡ್ರಾಂಡ್ಯ - nī sāpaḍāṇḍrānḍya	ನಾಂಗ ಸಾಪಡಾಂಡ್ರಾಣೂಂ- nanga sāpaḍānḍrāṇūṃ
ಅವುಸಾಪಡಾಂಡ್ರಾಣು - avu sāpaḍāṇḍrāṇu	ನೀಂಗ ಸಾಪಡಾಂಡ್ರಾಂಢ್ಯೊ- nīnga sāpaḍāṇḍrānḍhyo
ಅವೆ ಸಾಪಡಡ್ರಾಂಡ - ave sāpaḍāṇḍrānḍa	ಅವ್ಹಾಳ ಸಾಪಡಾಂಡ್ರಾಂಡ - avhāḷa sāpaḍāṇḍrānḍa

This is contrasted with the perfect aspect, where the past participle is placed first instead of the gerundial aspect. In addition, because

ನಾ ಸಾಪಡ್ರಾಣಿ- nā sāpaḍrāṇi	ಅದು ಸಾಪಡ್ರಾಂದು - adu sāpaḍrāndu
ನೀ ಸಾಪಡ್ರಾಂಡ್ಯ - nī sāpaḍrānḍya	ನಾಂಗ ಸಾಪಡ್ರಾಣೂಂ- nanga sāpaḍrāṇūṃ
ಅವುಸಾಪಡ್ರಾಣು - avu sāpaḍrāṇu	ನೀಂಗ ಸಾಪಡ್ರಾಂಢ್ಯೊ- nīnga sāpaḍrānḍhyo
ಅವೆ ಸಾಪಡ್ರಾಂಡ - ave sāpaḍrānḍa	ಅವ್ಹಾಳ ಸಾಪಡ್ರಾಂಡ - avhāḷa sāpaḍrānḍa

Past

The past tense in Sankethi is complex due to a number of stem rules inherited from Tamil. The past tense is also notable in that the ನೀಂಗ (nīnga) 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 paṇṇine	ಅದು ಪಣ್ಣಿತು - adu paṇṇitu
ನೀ ಪಣ್ಣಿನೆಯ - nī paṇṇine/paṇṇinya (statement/question)	ನಾಂಗ ಪಣ್ಣಿನೊಂ - nanga paṇṇinoṃ
ಅವುಂ ಪಣ್ಣಿನಾ - avu paṇṇinā	ನೀಂಗ ಪಣ್ಣಿನ್ಹ್ಯೊ - nīnga paṇṇinhyo
ಅವೆ ಪಣ್ಣಿನಾ - ave paṇṇinā	ಅವ್ಹಾಳ ಪಣ್ಣಿನಾ - avhāḷa paṇṇinā

ಉಡು - -ಡು ending verbs without a stressed penultimate syllable (change to -ಟ್ಟ-)

ನಾ ಉಟ್ಟೆ - nā uṭṭe	ಅದು ಉಟ್ಟದು - adu uṭṭadu
ನೀ ಉಟ್ಟೆಯ - nī uṭṭeya/uṭṭya (statement/question)	ನಾಂಗ ಉಟ್ಟುಂ - nanga uṭṭuṃ
ಅವುಂ ಉಟ್ಟಾಂ - avu uṭṭāṃ	ನೀಂಗ ಉಟ್ಠ್ಯೊ - nīnga uṭṭhyo
ಅವೆ ಉಟ್ಟಾ - ave uṭṭā	ಅವ್ಹಾಳ ಉಟ್ಟಾ - avhāḷa uṭṭā

ಸಾಪಡು - -ಡು ending verbs with an unstressed penultimate syllable

ನಾ ಸಾಪಟೆ - nā sāpaṭe	ಅದು ಸಾಪಟುದು - adu sāpaṭudu
ನೀ ಸಾಪಟೆಯ/ಸಾಪಟ್ಯ - nī sāpaṭeya/sāpaṭya (statement/question)	ನಾಂಗ ಸಾಪಟುಂ - nanga sāpaṭuṃ
ಅವುಂ ಸಾಪಟಾಂ - avu sāpaṭāṃ	ನೀಂಗ ಸಾಪಠ್ಯೊ - nīnga sāpaṭhyo
ಅವೆ ಸಾಪಟಾ - ave sāpaṭā	ಅವ್ಹಾಳ ಸಾಪಟಾ - avhāḷa sāpaṭā

ಪಾರು - stressed long vowel as the penultimate syllable (change the final syllable to -ತು)

ನಾ ಪಾತೆ - nā pāte	ಅದು ಪಾತದು - adu pātadu
ನೀ ಪಾತ್ಯ/ಪಾತೆಯ - nī pātya/pāteya (statement/question)	ನಾಂಗ ಪಾತೊಂ - nanga pātoṃ
ಅವು ಪಾತಾಂ - avu pātāṃ	ನೀಂಗ ಪಾಥ್ಯೊ - nīnga pāthyo
ಅವೆ ಪಾತಾ - ave pātā	ಅವ್ಹಾಳ ಪಾತಾ - avhāḷa pātā

ಇಳಿ - -ಇ ending verbs

ನಾ ಇಳಿಂಜೆ - nā iḷiṃje	ಅದು ಇಳಿಂಜುದು - adu iḷimjudu
ನೀ ಇಳಿಂಜೆಯ - nī iḷiṃjeya	ನಾಂಗ ಇಳಿಂಜುಂ - nanga iḷimjuṃ
ಅವು ಇಳಿಂಜಾಂ - avu iḷiṃjāṃ	ನೀಂಗ ಇಳಿಂಝ್ಯೊ - nīnga iḷiṃjhyo
ಅವೆ ಇಳಿಂಜಾ - ave iḷimjā	ಅವ್ಹಾಳ ಇಳಿಂಜಾ - avhāḷa iḷiṃjā

ಉಳು (uḷu to fall) (also ಅಳಿ, ನಡಿ)

ನಾ ಉಳಂದೆ - nā uḷunde	ಅದುಉಳುಂದದು- adu uḷuṃdadu
ನೀ ಉಳುಂದ್ಯ/ಉಳುಂದೆಯ - nī uḷuṃdya/uḷuṃdeya	ನಾಂಗಉಳುಂದುಂ- nanga uḷunduṃ
ಅವು ಉಳುಂಡಾಂ - avu uḷuṃdāṃ	ನೀಂಗಉಳುಂಢ್ಯೊ- nīnga uḷuṃḍhyo
ಅವೆ ಉಳುಂಡಾ - ave uḷuṃḍā	ಅವ್ಹಾಳಉಳುಂಡಾ - avhāḷa uḷuṃḍā

This is a special pattern unique to ನಿಲ್ಲಿ (nilli) and -ಕ್ಯೊ (-kyo) ending verbs (ex. ತುಂಕ್ಯೊ - tuṃkyo)

ನಾ ನಿಂಡೆ/ತುಂಕಿಂಡೆ - nā niṃḍe/tuṃkiṃḍe	ಅದು ನಿಂಡದು/ತುಂಕಿಂಡದು - adu niṃḍadu/tuṃkiṃḍadu
ನೀ (ನಿಂಡ್ಯ/ತುಂಕಿಂಡ್ಯ)/(ನಿಂಡೆಯ/ತುಂಕಿಂಡೆಯ) - nī (niṃḍya/tuṃkiṃḍya)/(niṃḍeya/tuṃkiṃḍeya)(statement/question)	ನಾಂಗ ನಿಂಡುಂ/ತುಂಕಿಂಡುಂ - nanga niṃḍuṃ/tuṃkiṃḍuṃ
ಅವು ನಿಂಡಾಂ/ತುಂಕಿಂಡಾಂ - avu niṃḍāṃ/tuṃkiṃḍāṃ	ನೀಂಗ ನಿಂಢ್ಯೊ/ತುಂಕಿಂಢ್ಯೊ - nīnga niṃḍhyo/tuṃkiṃḍhyo
ಅವೆ ನಿಂಡಾ/ತುಂಕಿಂಡಾ - ave niṃḍā/tuṃkiṃḍā	ಅವ್ಹಾಳ ನಿಂಡಾ/ತುಂಕಿಂಡಾ - avhāḷa niṃḍā/tuṃkiṃḍā

The following verbs are irregular:

ಕುಡು (to give)

ನಾ ಕುಡ್ತೆ - nā kuḍte	ಅದು ಕುಡ್ತದು - adu kuḍtadu
ನೀ ಕುಡ್ತ್ಯ/ಕುಡ್ತೆಯ - nī kuḍtya/kuḍteya (statement/question)	ನಾಂಗ ಕುಡ್ತೊಂ - nanga kuḍtoṃ
ಅವು ಕುಡ್ತಾಂ - avu kuḍtāṃ	ನೀಂಗ ಕುಡ್ಥ್ಯೊ - nīnga kuḍthyo
ಅವೆ ಕುಡ್ತಾ - ave kuḍtā	ಅವ್ಹಾಳ ಕುಡ್ತಾ - avhāḷa kuḍtā

ಪುಡಿ (to carry)

ನಾ ಪುಡಿಚೆ - nā puḍice	ಅದು ಪುಡಿಚದು - adu puḍicā
ನೀ ಪುಡಿಚ್ಯ/ಪುಡಿಚೆಯ - nī puḍicya/puḍiceya (statement/question)	ನಾಂಗ ಪುಡಿಚುಂ - nanga puḍicuṃ
ಅವು ಪುಡಿಚಾಂ - avu puḍicāṃ	ನೀಂಗ ಪುಡಿಛ್ಯೊ - nīnga puḍichyo
ಅವೆ ಪುಡಿಚಾ - ave puḍicā	ಅವ್ಹಾಳ ಪುಡಿಚಾ - avhāḷa puḍicā

ಚಿರಿ/ಉರಿ (to smile/peel) (add -ಚ- before adding endings)

ನಾ ಚಿರ್ಚೆ/ಉರ್ಚೆ - nā circe/urce	ಅದು ಚಿರ್ಚದು/ಉರ್ಚದು - adu circadu/urcadu
ನೀ (ಚಿರ್ಚ್ಯ/ಚಿರ್ಚೆಯ)/(ಉರ್ಚ್ಯ/ಉರ್ಚೆಯ) - nī (circya/circeya)/(urcya/urceya) (statement/question)	ನಾಂಗ ಚಿರ್ಚೊಂ/ಉರ್ಚೊಂ - nanga circoṃ/urcoṃ
ಅವು ಚಿರ್ಚಾಂ/ಉರ್ಚಾಂ - avu circāṃ/urcāṃ	ನೀಂಗ ಚಿರ್ಛ್ಯೊ/ಉರ್ಛ್ಯೊ - nīnga circhyo/urchyo
ಅವೆ ಚಿರ್ಚಾ/ಉರ್ಚಾ- ave circā/urcā	ಅವ್ಹಾಳ ಚಿರ್ಚಾ/ಉರ್ಚಾ - avhāḷa circā/urcā

ತೋಯಿ (to wash)

ನಾ ತೋಚೆ - nā toce	ಅದು ತೋಚದು - adu tōcadu
ನೀ ತೋಚ್ಯ/ತೋಚೆಯ - nī tōcya/tōceya (statement/question)	ನಾಂಗ ತೋಚುಂ - nanga tōcuṃ
ಅವು ತೋಚಾಂ - avu tōcāṃ	ನೀಂಗ ತೋಛ್ಯೊ - nīnga tōchyo
ಅವೆ ತೋಚಾ - ave tōcāṃ	ಅವ್ಹಾಳ ತೋಚಾ - avhāḷa tōcā

ವಯ್ಯಿ (to scold)

ನಾ ವಶ್ಶೆ - nā vaśśe	ಅದು ವಶ್ಶದು - adu vaśśadu
ನೀ ವಶ್ಶ್ಯ/ವಶ್ಶೆಯ - nī vaśśye/vaśśeya (statement/question)	ನಾಂಗ ವಶ್ಶುಂ - nanga vaśśuṃ
ಅವು ವಶ್ಶಾಂ - avu vaśśāṃ	ನೀಂಗ ವಶ್ಶ್ಹ್ಯೊ - nīnga vaśśhyo
ಅವೆ ವಶ್ಶಾ - ave vaśśā	ಅವ್ಹಾಳ ವಶ್ಶಾ - avhāḷa vaśśā

ಇರು (to be)

ನಾ ಇಂದೆ - nā inde	ಅದು ಇಂದದು - adu iṃdadu
ನೀ ಇರಂಡೆಯ - nī iraṃḍeya	ನಾಂಗ ಇಂದ್ನೂಂ/ಇನ್ನೂಂ - nanga iṃdnūṃ/innuṃ
ಅವುಂ ಇನ್ನ - avu inna	ನೀಂಗ ಇಂಢ್ಯೊ - nīnga iṃḍhyo
ಅವೆ ಇಂದ - ave iṃda	ಅವ್ಹಾಳ ಇಂದ - avhāḷa iṃda

ವರು (to come)

ನಾ ವಂದೆ - nā inde	ಅದು ವಂದು - adu vaṃdadu
ನೀ ವಂದ್ಯ/ವಂದೆಯ - nī vaṃdya/vaṃdeya	ನಾಂಗ ವನ್ನೂಂ - nanga vannuṃ
ಅವುಂ ವನ್ನ - avu vanna	ನೀಂಗ ವಂಧ್ಯೊ - nīnga vaṃdhyo
ಅವೆ ವಂದ - ave vaṃda	ಅವ್ಹಾಳ ವಂದ - avhāḷa vaṃda

ಪೋಹು (to go)

ನಾ ಪೋನೆ - nā pōne	ಅದು ಪೋಚು - adu pōcu
ನೀ ಪೋನ್ಯ/ಪೋನೆಯ - nī pōnya/pōneya	ನಾಂಗ ಪೋನ್ನುಂ - nanga pōnnuṃ
ಅವುಂ ಪೋನ್ನ - avu pōnna	ನೀಂಗ ಪೋನ್ಹ್ಯೊ - nīnga ponhyo
ಅವೆ ಪೋನ - ave pōna	ಅವ್ಹಾಳ ಪೋನ - avhāḷa pōna

ಆಹು (to happen/become)

ನಾ ಆಯ್ರಾಣಿ - nā āyraṇi	ಅದು ಆಚು - adu ācu
ನೀ ಆನಾ/ಆನೆಯ - nī ānā/āneya (statement/question)	ನಾಂಗ ಆನುಂ - nanga ānuṃ
ಅವುಂ ಆನಾ - avu ānā	ನೀಂಗ ಅನ್ಹ್ಯೊ - nīnga ānhyo
ಅವೆ ಆನಾ - ave ānā	ಅವ್ಹಾಳ 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 sāpaḍānninde	ಅದುಸಾಪಡಾನ್ನಿಂದು - adu sāpaḍānnindu
ನೀಸಾಪಡಾನ್ನಿಂಡೆಯ- nī sāpaḍānninḍeya	ನಾಂಗಸಾಪಡಾನ್ನಿನೂಂ - nanga sāpaḍānninūṃ
ಅವು ಸಾಪಡಾನ್ನಿನ- avu sāpaḍānninna	ನೀಂಗಸಾಪಡಾನ್ನಿಂಢ್ಯೊ - nīnga sāpaḍānninḍhyō
ಅವೆಸಾಪಡಾನ್ನಿಂದ - ave sāpaḍānninda	ಅವ್ಹಾಳಸಾಪಡಾನ್ನಿಂದ - avhāḷa sāpaḍānninda

Future

This is a hypothetical construction for the future tense in Sankethi, though it functions more like a hypothetical ("Shall I...?"). 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 (hence very hypothetical) circumstance.

ನಾ ಸಾಪಡವೆ- nā sāpaḍave	ಅದು ಸಾಪಮ್- adu sāpaḍum
ನೀಸಾಪಡವೆಯ- nī sāpaḍaveya	ನಾಂಗಸಾಪಡವೊ(ಂ) - nanga sāpaḍavo(ṃ)
ಅವುಸಾಪಡವಾಂ- avu sāpāḍavāṃ	ನೀಂಗಸಾಪಡವ್ಹ್ಯೊ - nīnga sāpaḍavhyo
ಅವೆಸಾಪಡವ - ave sāpaḍava	ಅವ್ಹಾಳಸಾಪಡವ- 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 (sāpaḍu). Some Sankethi speakers negate with the ending -ಅಲ್ಲೆ (alle) and others with -ಅಲ್ಲ (alla). 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 (sāpaḍalla)

Present Progressive: ಸಾಪಡರಾಂಡಿಕ್ಕಲ್ಲ (sāpaḍarāṃḍikkalla)

Past/Present Perfect: ಸಾಪಡಿಕ್ಕಲ್ಲ (sāpaḍikkalla)

Past Progressive: ಸಾಪಡಾನ್ನಿಂದಲ್ಲ (sāpaḍānnindalla)

Future: ಸಪಡವಿಲ್ಲ (sāpaḍavilla)

Imperative

Low (male)	ಪಣ್ಡೋ (paṇḍō)
Low (female)	ಪಣ್ಡೇ (paṇḍē)
Standard	ಪಣ್ಣು (paṇṇu)
Polite	ಪಣ್ಣಂಗೊ (paṇṇango)
Optative	ಪಣ್ಣಿಡು (paṇṇiḍu)
Hortative	ಪಣ್ದಮೊ (paṇdamo)

Prohibitive

Dismissive/Insistent/Low "don't"	ಪಣ್ಣವಾನಕಡೋ (paṇṇavānakaḍō)
Non-polite "don't"	ಪಣ್ಣವಾಣ (paṇṇavāṇa)
Polite "please don't"	ಪಣ್ಣವಾಣಂಗೊ (paṇṇavāṇango)
Recommending "shouldn't"	ಪಣ್ಣಕಾಹದು (paṇṇakāhadu)
Forbidding "mustn't"	ಪಣ್ಣಕುಡಾದು (paṇṇakuḍādu)

See also

• Sankethi people
• Languages of India
• List of Indian languages by total speakers

Sample text

English

All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood.

Kannada script

ಏಲ್ಲಾ ಮನುಶ್ಯಂಗಳೂ ಸ್ವತಂತ್ರಮಯಿಟೆ ಹುಟ್ಟಂಡಾ. ಆವ್ಹಾಳುಕ್ಕುಮೆ ಆಂತಃಕರಣೂ ಘನತೆ ಹಕ್ಕು ರೆಂಡೂ ಉಂಡೂ. ವಿವೇಕೂ ಆಂತಃಕರಣೂ ಇಕರ್ತಣ್ಣೂ ಅವ್ಹಾಲೂಮೆ ವತ್ತರೂ ಕೊತ್ತರೂ ತಮಯೂಂ ತಮ್ಬ್ಯಾನ್ಯು ಪೋಲೆ ನಡಂಧ್ಗಣೂ.

Latin script

Ellā manuśyangaḷū svatantramayiṭe huṭṭanḍā. Avhāḷukkume āntahkaraṇū ghanate hakku renḍū unḍū. Vivēkū antaḥkaraṇū ikartaṇṇū avhālūme vattarū kottarū tamayūṃ tambyānyu pōle naḍandhgaṇū.

References

1. Dr.Shrikaanth K.Murthy- Article in Sanketi Sangama, February 2006 (Published from Shimoga)
2. Dravidabhashavijnana by Hampa Nagarajaiah (Published by D.V.K.Murthy publishers, Mysore, India)
3. Sanketi jananga, samskruti mattu bhashe- C.S.Ramachandarao (Published by Chaitra Pallavi Publishers, Mysore)
4. Nacharammana Jivana Carite- M. Keshaviah (published from Mysore)
5. Shreyash S -Article in Sanketi Sangama [Published by Chaitra Pallavi Publishers, Bangalore]

• Iyengar, Arvind. A Phonological Overview of the Hebbar Iyengar language. Australia: University of New England.