Mangalore is a unique city. It can be called a true cosmopolitan city, as people who speak different languages stay here for decades and there is a cultural mix. It has six names in six different languages, and most people identify with one particular name. The city that originally came up between the Nethravathi river, Gurpur river and the Arabian sea in coastal Karnataka, is called Kudla in Tulu, Maikal in Beary, Kodiyal in Konkani, Mangalapuram in Malayalam, Mangalore in English and Mangaluru in Kannada.
#TuluOfficialinKA_KL @JaiTulunadOrg pic.twitter.com/DJ6OhQFetY
— Jaii Tulunad (@jaiitulunad) June 11, 2021
Incidentally, Tulu itself has two dialects one spoken by the Shivalli Brahmins and the other spoken by all other Tulu-speaking communities and other local communities. The language broke all religion and cultural barriers and is most spoken by people all over Tulunadu. We see many youngsters whose mother tongue is different, but they interact with each other in Tulu. Such is the love for this wonderful language. Tulu dramas and skits have a special place in the heart of Tuluvas, which have helped in popularising the language.
Konkani speakers have their own history of settling down in this region. While GSB community settled here after Portugese invasion in Goa, there are many Catholics here. Both these communities speak Konkani, which varies a bit. Konkani language has a big place in Tulunadu. They are spread across Tulunadu and their Car Street festival is very popular.
Bunder is the old port area of Mangalore. The word Bunder has Persian roots. The reason for the region’s linguistic diversity is that it was a port town, having historical links with south-west Asia and west Asia since at least the 7th century AD. Jewish and Arab traders from this region have been known to have lived in the city for a number of years even settling down with families. This cultural exchange gave rise to the Beary community – local Muslims who speak a language that bears the name of their community. Linguistically, the language is closely related to Tulu and Malayalam. But the community’s culture is distinct from the cultures of all other communities living there.
Even until the 1960s, Kannada was hardly spoken in this region. It was only with the introduction of formal education that Kannada began to be spoken. Today we find many Kannadigas who have settled here from other cities of the state due to good infrastructure and education. Kannada speakers are also found in huge numbers here due to labourers from North Karnataka settling here for work due to good wages paid.
There are many Malayalis in Tulunadu, especially in Mangalore. The reason is Mangalore is just 30 Kms from North Kerala. Many Malayalis travel on a daily basis here for work. Due to the excellent education system here, Malayalis also prefer to study here, due to which we see Malayalam speaking people.
These are five languages majorly spoken here. Along with this, there are some who speak Hindi, Gujarathi, Marwaru, Urdu, Tamil and Telugu. These people have settled here for many years. All in all, we can say Mangalore is a true cosmopolitan city with so many languages. If we compare languages with the body parts, we can proudly say that Tulu language is the heart.
