A Comparative Study of Honorific and Ultra Honorific Pronouns– Kannada and Telugu

                   A Comparative Study of Honorific and Ultra Honorific Pronouns– Kannada and Telugu

                                                                                    D. Amba

                                          Ph.D. Scholar, Sarala Birla University, Ranchi, Jharkhand, India

                                                                         Dr. Ria Mukherjee

                       Assistant Professor/HoD, Department of English Sarala Birla University, Ranchi, Jharkhand, India

 Abstract:

Language is the identity of the particular region. This paper compares the honorific and ultra honorific pronouns used in two Dravidian Languages Kannada and Telugu.  French and English languages will be used to compare the pronouns and understand them in greater detail.  Dravidian languages among themselves vary in the usage of subject pronouns, the same is with the languages English and French, though both belong to the same language family, there is a difference in their usage.  Dravidian Languages also have ultra honorific pronouns in addition to honorific pronouns.  Honorific pronouns are used when one talks to someone elder to him in age, is a stranger or a respectable person.  It is a sign of respect.  The same word is used to address a group of people as well, that is for a plural number. English does not have honorific pronouns.  It also does not differentiate between second person singular and second person plural.  French has different pronouns for second person singular in the familiar category and second person singular in the formal category.  The second pronoun is also used to express plural form.  But it does not have an honorific pronoun for the third person.  It is the same word that is used in formal and informal category.  Here we have the Dravidian languages which have honorific pronouns for the second person and third person as well.  Apart from the honorific pronouns, it also has ultra honorific pronoun for the second person.  These concepts will be dealt with using two of the Dravidian languages, Kannada and Telugu.

Keywords:  Pronouns, honorific, ultra-honorific, language family, Dravidian