Tulu

Tulu is a Dravidian language spoken mainly in the southwest Indian state of Karnataka, in the district of Dakshina Kannada and in the northernmost part of the Kasaragod district in the state of Kerala. It is one of the 22 scheduled languages of India and is also one of the four Dravidian languages with official status in the state of Karnataka. Tulu is also spoken in the United Arab Emirates, United States, and Fiji. It is estimated that there are over 2 million native speakers of the language. Tulu is written using the Kannada script. It is one of the few languages in India that does not have a distinctive script of its own and instead uses the script of another language. The Tulu language is believed to have developed from a mix of proto-Dravidian, Brahui and Prakrit languages. The earliest known inscriptions in the language date back to the 13th century CE. The Tulu people are thought to have migrated from the southern parts of India to the coastal regions of Karnataka and Kerala. The language has a rich oral tradition and is known for its folk songs and epics. The Tulu epic, the Aipattu, is one of the longest epics in any language, with over 10,000 verses. The Tulu language is currently facing the threat of extinction due to the increasing use of other languages, such as Kannada and English, by the Tulu people. There is a need to promote the use of Tulu in order to preserve the language and its rich cultural heritage.