The 1000-year-old language finally got a script. The Karnataka Beary Sahitya Academy has introduced an independent script and numerals in Beary which is said to be spoken by about 20 lakh people all over the world.
Mangaluru: The Karnataka Beary Sahitya Academy has introduced an independent script and numerals in Beary on Friday.
Beary which is said to be more than a thousand years old is said to be spoken by about 20 lakh people all over the world.
For several hundred years the Beary language was dependent on the Kannada script and numerals for written communication and manuscripts.
For the uninitiated, Beary is an ethnic Muslim society, concentrated largely in coastal Karnataka, with its own distinct traditions and language.
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The language now has 13 vowels, 33 consonants and nine numerals, which was developed by nine-member expert Beary writers.
The script was released by Karnataka Beary Sahitya Academy chairman Rahim Uchil in Mangaluru on Friday.
Rahim Ucchil said that the script has been developed in such a way that it will sync with the Unicode and there are plans to launch an app to download the script in mobile phones shortly.
The chairman further added that nearly 20 lakh people across the world speak Beary language and it serves as a vital link for Tulu, Malayalam, Kannada, Konkani, Kodava, and other languages.
The academy is also planning to publish a Beary calendar titled ‘Naalkanakk’ for the year 2021.