| Beary | |
| Also Known As: | Byari |
| Nativename: | ಬ್ಯಾರಿ/ബ്യാരി |
| Pronunciation: | [bjaːɾi] |
| States: | India |
| Region: | South Karnataka, North Kerala |
| Ethnicity: | Beary |
| Speakers: | 1,500,000 |
| Familycolor: | Dravidian |
| Fam2: | Southern |
| Fam3: | Southern I |
| Fam4: | Tamil–Kannada |
| Fam5: | Tamil–Kota |
| Fam6: | Tamil–Toda |
| Fam7: | Tamil–Irula |
| Fam8: | Tamil–Kodava–Urali |
| Fam9: | Tamil–Malayalam |
| Fam10: | Malayalamoid |
| Fam11: | Malayalam |
| Ancestor: | Old Tamil |
| Ancestor2: | Middle Tamil |
| Ancestor3: | Old Malayalam |
| Ancestor4: | Middle Malayalam |
| Script: | Kannada script, Malayalam script, English script |
| Minority: |  India |
| Agency: | Karnataka Beary Sahitya Academy (Karnataka Beary Sahithya academy) |
| Notice: | IPA |
Beary or Byari (ಬ್ಯಾರಿ ബ്യാരി) is a geographically isolated dialect of Malayalam spoken by the Bearys who are part of the Muslim community in Tulu Nadu region of Southern Karnataka and Northern Kerala (Dakshina Kannada, Udupi, and Kasargod districts). The community is often recognized as Bearys or Beary Muslims.[1] [2] Beary is influenced by Tulu phonology and grammar. Due to the trading role of the community, the language acquired loan words from other languages of Tulu, Kannada, and from Perso-Arabic sources.[3]
The language uses the Arabic and Kannada alphabets for writing. Being a distant cousin of other dialects of Malayalam and surrounded by other linguistic groups for centuries, mainly Tulu, the dialect exhibits ancient features as well as modern innovations not seen in other well-known dialects of Malayalam.[4] Surrounded by Tulu-speaking populations, the impact of Tulu on the phonological, morphological and syntactic structure of the dialect is evident.[5]
Sounds peculiar to Malayalam such as 'ḻ', 'ṇ', 'ṟ' are not found in this dialect.[6] 'ḷ' and 'ṇ' are merged with l and n, respectively.[6] 'ṟ' is merged with r and tt, 'tt' to t.[7] This resembles Tulu.[7]
| Beary Bashe | Kannada | Malayalam | English | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| sante | sante | canta | 'market' | |
| ēni | ēṇi | ēṇi | 'ladder' | |
| puli | huḷi | puḷi | 'tamarind' | |
| kāt | gāḷi | kāṯṯu | 'wind' | |
| cor | anna | cor | 'rice' |
The initial v of standard Malayalam corresponds to an initial b in Beary Bashe.[7] The same change has taken place in Tulu, too.
| Beary Bashe | Malayalam | Tulu | Kannada | English | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| bēli | vēli | bēli | bēli | 'fence' | |
| bitt | vittu | bitte | bitta 1 | 'seed' | |
| bādige | vāṭaka 2 | bādai | bādege | 'rent' |
The final 'a' of standard Malayalam corresponds to the final 'e' in Beary Bashe.[7]
| Beary Bashe | Kannada | Malayalam | English | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| āme | āme | āma | 'tortoise' | |
| cēre | kere | cēra | 'rat snake' | |
| mūle | mūle | mūla | corner |
The word final 'n' and 'm' of standard Malayalam are dropped in Beary Bashe.[7]
| Beary Bashe | Malayalam | Kannada | English | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ādya | ādyam | (modalu) | 'first' | |
| kalla | kaḷḷan | kaḷḷa | 'thief' | |
| cattae | kuppāyam(catta) | (batte) | 'cloth' |
Geminated consonants occurring after a long vowel and also after a second short vowel of a word in standard Malayalam get degeminated in Beary Bashe.[8]
Almost all lexical items in Beary language can be related to corresponding lexical items in Malayalam, Tulu or Perso-Arabic origin.[9] However, some equivalents can only be found in Mappila dialects of Malayalam in Kerala.[9]
Verbs in old Dravidian languages did not have any person marking.[10] Person endings of verbs observed in modern Dravidian languages are later innovations.[10] Malayalam is the only Dravidian language that does not show any verbal person suffixes,[10] so Malayalam verbs can be said to represent the original stage of Dravidian verbs (though Old Malayalam did have verbal person suffixes at some point).[10] Person suffixes in Beary Bashe closely resemble those of Tulu,[10] although the past tense in this dialect agrees with that of standard Malayalam in shape as well as in the distribution of allomorphs.[10]
Beary Bashe is strongly influenced by the Arabic language.[11] Nativised Arabic words are very common in everyday speech, especially in coastal areas. Beary Bashe also has words related to Tamil and Malayalam. Tamil and Malayalam Speakers can understand Beary up to an extent of 75%.
| Beary | Arabic | English | |
|---|---|---|---|
| saan | ṣaḥn صحن | Plate | |
| pinjhana | finjān فنجان | Bowl/cup | |
| kayeen | nikāḥ نكاح | Nuptials | |
| Seithaan | Šayṭān شيطان | Evil spirit | |
| patthre | faṭīra فطيرة | Bread | |
| Kalbu | qalb قلب | Heart | |
| Rabbu | rabb رب | God | |
| Supra | sufra سفرة | Dining Mat | |
| Kubboosu | ḵubz خبز | Bread |
The first Beary-language feature film Byari shared the award for the best feature film at the 59th Indian National Film Awards.[12]