Dialects of Kannada language

Post-independence the development of Indian languages and dialects of the four language families became an urgent need. These languages were expected to take on the responsibility of serving as vehicles of both literary and scientific works, and in due course of time to function as media of education and instruction. The state of linguistic studies in Indian universities at the time was not adequate to handle such problems and the need to expand, modernize and reorient language studies became a pressing need. Under the circumstances, a lead was taken by the Poona University by calling a conference in 1953 to discuss these issues in addition to the urgent problem of a common medium in Indian universities. This was followed by another conference called by the Deccan College for developing linguistic studies in the universities with the specific purpose of applying their findings to problems of cross-cultural communication. As a consequence of these two conferences, the Deccan College started a large-scale language project with a magnificent grant made by the Rockefeller Foundation of New York over a period of six years (1954-1960).

Kannada Dialect Survey (KDS) & post KDS 
Brahmin’s Kannada (Gulbarga-Karnataka) 

Non-Brahmin’s Kannada* (Gulbarga- Karnataka) 

Non-Brahmin’s Kannada (Bijapur- Karnataka) 
Non-Brahmin’s Kannada (Bijapur- Karnataka) 
Halakki Kannada* (Kumta- Karnataka) 
Shivalli Kannada* (Barkur- Karnataka) 
Koraga Language (Udupi- Karnataka) 
Havyaka Kannada* (Puttur- Karnataka) 
Kuruba Kannada* (Coorg- Karnataka) 
Brahmin’s Kannada* (Nanjangud- Karnataka) 
Non-Brahmin’s Kannada (Nanjangud- Karnataka) 
Non-Brahmin’s Kannada (Nanjangud- Karnataka) 
Kannada (Madurai-Tamilnadu) 
Kannada (Coimbatore-Tamilnadu) 
Tiptur Kannada* (Hasan, Karnataka) 
Rabakavi Kannada* (Rabakvi, Jamkhandi, Bijapur, Karnataka) 

The Kannada language has many about 20 dialects.


Kannada Dialect Survey by Deccan College (Pune).

§  Havyaka Kannada §  Sanketi Kannada §  Kundapura Kannada §  Gowda Kannada §  Badagu or Badaga	§  Kannada Kurumba §  Komarpant §  Halepaiki §  Nadavara-Kannada	§  Soliganudi §  Bangalore Kannada §  Holiya §  Urali §  Barkur Kannada	§  Tiptur Kannada §  Dharwad Kannada §  North Karnataka Kannada §  Nanjangud Kannada (Vakkaliga dialect) §  Mysore Kannada[1]

§  Chola Naikar (Chola Naickans) tribes in Nilambur jungle in Kerala speak a dialect of Kannada.^[2]

§  Kodava language also historically considered as dialect of Kannada language.

History of Kannada

Halmidi Inscription replica
Kannada is one of the oldest south indian languages with an antiquity of at least 2000 years. However, archaeological evidence would indicate a written tradition for this language of around 1500–1600 years. The initial development of the Kannada language is similar to that of other south indian languages and independent of Sanskrit.

Stages of development

By the time Halmidi shasana (stone inscription) Kannada had become an official language. It is said that the halekannnada later developed and deviated into 2 currently coexisting languages Kannada and Telugu.
600AD-1200AD
During this era language underwent a lot of changes as seen from the literary works of great poets of the era viz Pampa, Ranna, Ponna.
1400AD-1600AD
Vijayanagar Empire which is called the Golden era in the history of medieval India saw a lot of development in all literary form of both Kannada and Telugu. During the ruling of the King Krishnadevaraya many wonderful works. Poet Kumaravyasa wrote Mahabharata in Kannada in a unique style called "shatpadi" (six lines is a stanza of the poem).. This era also saw the origin of Dasa sahitya, the Carnatic music. Purandaradasa and Kanakadasa wrote several songs praising lord Krishna. This gave a new dimension to Kannada literature.
With the disintegration of the Vijayanagara empire in the late 16th and early 17th centuries, the centres of Kannada literature moved to the courts of the emerging independent kingdoms, the Kingdom of Mysore and the Keladi Nayakas. Kannada literature flourished for a short while in the court of the neighbouring kingdom of the Nayakas of Keladi whose territory was annexed by Mysore in 1763.
Stone inscriptions
The first written record in the Kannada language is traced to Emperor Ashoka's Brahmagiri edict dated 230 BC. The first example of a full-length Kannada language stone inscription (shilashaasana) containing Brahmi characters with characteristics attributed to those of protokannada in Hale Kannada (Old Kannada) script can be found in the Halmidi inscription, dated c. 450, indicating that Kannada had become an administrative language by this time. Over 30,000 inscriptions written in the Kannada language have been discovered so far. The Chikkamagaluru inscription of 500 AD is another example. Prior to the Halmidi inscription, there is an abundance of inscriptions containing Kannada words, phrases and sentences, proving its antiquity. The 543 AD Badami cliff shilashaasana of Pulakesi I is an example of a Sanskrit inscription in Hale Kannada script.


Sources - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kannada_dialects and http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Halegannada, http://www.deccancollegepune.ac.in/dept_linguistics.asp