Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Wisconsin--Madison, 1971. / Typescript. Vita. Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Texas at Austin, 2008. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references.

In India, the 1.7 million speakers of Tulu, a language mainly spoken in the South Kannara region of the South Indian state of Karnataka, have largely been linguistically subsumed by the larger number of Kannada speakers (38 million) around them. In February 2005, Namma TV (‘Our TV’), a new television channel started broadcasting local programs in Tulu in the region. The channel represents one of first instances where Tulu is used by the media in the region. This study looks at how the channel, by consciously choosing to broadcast largely in Tulu, can potentially change language attitudes in the region. From being a language that was used only in family settings at home, Tulu is now, potentially, seen as being capable of use in non-personal settings. This study looks at the impact of the channel on the language politics of the region and also at how the channel by stressing on Tulu language and culture reinvigorates and sustains the ideal of the land of Tulunadu (the land where Tulu is spoken). More specifically, this study looks at the interactions on a Tulu call-in TV show called Pattanga where callers call in with their opinions on a chosen aspect of Tulu culture and language. This study is the result of fieldwork in the Tulu-speaking South Kannara region over a period of two years from 2005 to 2007 and is based on recorded episodes from the show, interviews with audience members who watch and call in to the show, and with the moderators of the show. Through a linguistic analysis of the interactions on the TV show, I look at how the media is used by Tulu-speaking elites in the construction of a Tulu identity. I also look at how narratives on the call-in show are used by callers, not only to construct gender, caste, and social class identities, but also to de-construct and de-center those identities. Finally, based on the view that culture and society is constituted through interactions between participants in particular contexts, I examine how the interactions on the show evoke the socio-cultural worlds Tulu speakers live in and draw conclusions about the potential impact of the show on language attitudes and practices. / text

This thesis investigates three different so-called “past tense forms” in Tulu, a Dravidian language spoken in the south-western Indian states of Karnataka and Kerala. Through fieldwork material collected by the author, this thesis provides a comprehensive analysis of the usage and functions of the three forms in Tulu. It expands upon previous research, which has acknowledged the forms’ existence but not described their functions or provided examples of their usage. Previous research has also often referred to the forms with contradictory names; for example, one form has been called both “immediate past” by one source (Bhat, 1998:166) and “distant past” by another (Krishnamurti, 2003:334), with little explanation of the choice of these labels. In this thesis, they are called Past1, Past2 and Past3 as they all refer to events that have already happened, but the study shows that the distinction between them is one of aspect and validity of results and not of remoteness in tense. The investigation also shows that the three forms have differentiating and contrasting functions and can, in most cases, not be replaced by the others. Past1 is favoured to express perfectivity, event-focused actions, and consecutiveness. Past2 is used for continuous statives, states resulting from past events and events that have happened at least once, as well as introducing a new topic in a narrative. Past3 refers to both punctual or completed events and states that can hold for some time with other events happening in between, and it is commonly used to mark a situation or result not holding anymore. When events in the past are within the same scope, or an event is elaborated upon, the Past3 is also used, as well as when referring to events completed or started before a time reference in the past. The description of these forms' functions will fill a knowledge gap in the description of Tulu, providing a comprehensive understanding of the tense and aspect system in the language. Furthermore, the analysis and data can advance future Tulu and general typological studies about tense and aspect systems. Tulu has several unique features compared to other Dravidian languages. The so-called past tense forms have been claimed as one of them (Subrahmanyam, 1971; Krishnamurti, 2003). By describing them and including a brief comparison with other Dravidian languages, this thesis contributes to understanding the Dravidian language family. It provides material for the study of language change and the family's genealogy. In addition, the data released with the thesis includes sentences from Tulu and basic vocabulary lists from various Dravidian languages that can likewise be used in historical research of the family.