· learn 70 essential kannada words for greetings, directions, food and more. Kannada language, member of the dravidian language family and the official language of the state of karnataka in southern india. Kannada is also spoken in the states that border karnataka. Kannada, like malayalam and tamil, is a south dravidian language and a descendant of tamil-kannada, from which it derives its grammar and core vocabulary. Kannada first appeared in writing as words in tamil inscriptions dating from the 3rd-1st centuries bc. Speak confidently when visiting karnataka with easy-to-use phrases. Kannada (ಕನ್ನಡ), also referred to as kanarese, is a dravidian language spoken primarily in the indian state of karnataka. It is also known as banglori, canarese, havyaka or kanarese. Kannada is the official and administrative language of karnataka, and was officially designated a classical language of india in 2011. With over 45 million native speakers, kannada is one of india’s 22 scheduled languages and the official language of karnataka.