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Language code: kn

Technical information about ISO 639 language code kn

Documentation

The table below provides technical details for the Kannada language, designated by the kn code from the ISO 639-1 standard.

Code

kn

Name

Official

Kannada

Native

ಕನ್ನಡ

Family
Southern
Text direction

Left-to-Right

Language varieties
Mysore (Standard) KannadaDharwad KannadaHavigannada (Havyaka)KundagannadaArebhasheSoliga
Related languages
TuluKodavaBadagaMalayalamTelugu
Key facts
The earliest lengthy Kannada inscription (Halmidi) dates to around 450 CEIts script descends from the Kadamba script and visually resembles Telugu lettersKannada exhibits split-ergativity, marking the subject with ergative case in past tenses but not in present/futureThere is marked diglossia between formal/written and colloquial speech varietiesKannada was the first Dravidian language to receive India’s Jnanpith literary award (1965, to poet Kuvempu).
Sample phrase

ನಮಸ್ಕಾರ, ನೀವು ಹೇಗಿದ್ದೀರಾ?

Character encodings

UTF-8, UTF-16, UTF-32

Supported in Localizely

Kannada belongs to the Dravidian language family, specifically to the Southern group. It is an official language of the state of Karnataka, located in the southwestern part of India. It is written using the Kannada script. It is estimated that there are more than 44 million speakers worldwide.

Language presence globally

Speakers

India

44M

*The graph shows a rough estimate of Kannada speakers in countries where it is an official or minority language.

Related locale codes

kn-IN – Kannada (India)

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