First Tulu-Malayalam dictionary released, 1 lakh Tulu words translated

Kasargod: The first Tulu-Malayalam dictionary written by AM Sreedharan, was released on Sunday at the Vishwa Tuluvera Ayano (Global Tulu Fest), a five-day world Tulu conference held in Badiyadka in Kerala’s Kasargod district.

According to reports, the dictionary was published by Kottayam-based Sahitya Pravarthaka Cooperative Society and distributed by the National Book Stall (NBS).

The dictionary has around one lakh Tulu words translated into Malayalam in 600 pages.

The 56-year-old author is the Director of Neeleshwaram branch of Kannur University and Head of Department of Malayalam.

It took him four years to compile the words into a dictionary. He visited places where Tulu was the prominent language, to collect words, observe the customs and tradition followed by the people there.

Sreedharan said, Tulu has around 16 lakh native speakers across the country. Udupi, Mangaluru and parts of Kasargod are the prominent places among them. Tulu was once considered to be a language with no script.

"Tulu is a dead language. Once people were unaware that Tulu had a script. It was only in recent years that the script of this strong language was re-discovered. My aim is to dwell deep into the language and revive its literature," he said.

The dictionary also shows the race, family, clan and name of the rituals practised by the people of the Tulu-speaking regions.

Sreedharan says, the influence of Kannada during Tipu’s time dominated over the Tulu, which was one of the seven Dravidian languages.

The Tulu-Malayalam dictionary is the author’s second piece of work, the first being the Byari-Malayalam dictionary released in 2012, that won him the Byari Sahitya Award and the Kerala Sahitya Award.