Badaga language

Badaga, like modern Kannada, likely originates from Old Kannada. This is suggested by the fact that Badaga shares many common features with modern Kannada. One such feature shared by both Badaga and Kannada is initial /h/ where other Dravidian languages, and Old Kannada, have an initial /p/, a process which began around the 13th century.^[3]

Badaga has five vowel qualities, /i e a o u/, where each of them may be long or short, and until the 1930s they were contrastively half and fully retroflexed, for a total of 30 vowel phonemes.^[a] Current speakers only distinguish retroflection of a few vowels.^[4]

Note on transcription: rhoticity ⟨◌˞⟩ indicates half-retroflexion; doubled ⟨◌˞˞⟩ it indicates full retroflexion.

Badaga is presently written in the Kannada and Tamil scripts, but they pose difficulties in accurately representing the sounds of Badaga. Several attempts have been made at constructing an orthography based on English, Kannada and Tamil. Among these, the Badagu script developed by Yogesh Raj has seen the most acceptance within the community.

Badagu script

Main article: Badagu script

Quick facts Badagu script Badagu Barego, Script type ...

Badagu script Badagu Barego
Badaga Barego (Alphabet Chart)
Script type	Abugida
Creator	Yogesh Raj Kadasoley
Created	1968
Period	1968–present
Direction	Left-to-right
Languages	Badaga
Related scripts
Parent systems	Brahmic scripts Original Invention Badagu script
This article contains phonetic transcriptions in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA). For an introductory guide on IPA symbols, see Help:IPA. For the distinction between [ ], / / and ⟨ ⟩, see IPA § Brackets and transcription delimiters.

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The Badagu script is a Brahmic abugida used to write the Badaga language. It was invented by Yogesh Raj in 1968, and various school primers and educational materials have been published in this script. It has 12 consonants, 27 basic consonants and 16 diacritic markers. Though the predominant script for writing Badaga remains Tamil, community-led efforts have increased its use across Ooty.^[6]

Badaga has been studied and documented by linguists. Several Badaga-English Dictionaries have been produced since the latter part of the nineteenth century.^[13]

A collection of proverbs and other traditional sayings of the Badaga has been collated and edited by Paul Hockings.^[14] It is the result of the work of many people, collecting material over many decades.