Kannada is one of the major Dravidian languages spoken in the state of Karnataka, which is situated in the southern part of India. According to 2001 census 52,733,958 people are speaking this language. Karnataka is also popularly known as "Kannada Nadu" and the people who speak Kannada are known as "Kannadigas".

Kannada has a very rich tradition of literature, culture and grammar. The language has 2000 years of history. The literature has 1500 years of varietable tradition. The great epics, grammatical treatise, rhetorics, indigenous knowledge compendiums were the great creations. Great poets like Pampa, Ranna, Harihara, Raghavanka, Kumaravyasa, Kuvempu, Bendre, Shivarama Karantha immortalized the place of Kannada in world literature. Great social reformers and Bhakti Poets like Basavanna, Allma Prabhu, Purandara Dasa, Kanaka Dasa have an indelible imprints.

Kannada language came in contact with many other languages like Prakrit, Sanskrit, Perso-Arabic and English at different times and enriched its repertoire. In the true tradition of assimilation as can be seen in all spheres in India, Kannada and Kannadigas have always welcomed virtues from all directions. Karnataka is, then, the land of varietable arts and artifacts. This can be seen in the language, literature and in the performing arts in a more pronounced manner. The most astounding fusion of northern and southern style of temple architecture found its base in this land.

Modern Kannada exhibits potentiality of expressing itself in any subject, in any manner. Learning Kannada means enriching one self with the new experience.