Tulu-English Dictionary published in 1886:
Indeed its a pleasant surprise to see a Tulu-English Dictionary which was published way back in 1886. It give a different kind of thrill to see our language dictionary which was recorded by basil mission. Typically many young generation thinks Tulu is not a classical language and revelations of such artifacts changes this myth.
This work originally published in 1886. Tulu Language one of the Dravidian Family is spoken in the central part of south india. Tulu (Tulu: ತುಳು ಭಾಷೆ Tuḷu bāse [ˈt̪uɭu ˈbɒːsæ]) is a language spoken by around 2 million native speakers mainly in the southwest part of Indian state of Karnataka and a small part of northern Kerala, which is known as Tulu Nadu. It belongs to the Dravidian family of languages.
The Tulu language, is one of the Dravidian family, is spoken only by million of people, inhabiting the central part of South-Ganara. Until recently there was no literature in this language, except some legends written on palm-leaves in the Malayalam character, in the possession of Brahman families. It was only after the arrival of the Basel Missionaries in this district(1834) that some books were written and printed in the Basel Mission Press, the most important being a translation of the New Testament, which was completed in 1847, and of which a new typographical edition was issued in 1859. Other publications intended for the use of the church and schools followed in course of time, and in 1872 Eev. J.Brigel compiled a Tulu Grammar, which we recommend to those interested in that language. For writing, a modification of the Malayalam alphabet was in vogue till the Basel Mission Press employed Canarese characters in printing.2. The compilation of a vocabulary was commenced some 30 years ago. The Rev. G.Kammerer, who died in 1858, left a manuscript containing about 2000 words. The author took this vocabulary in hand and continued adding to it from all available sources, without in the least contemplating the printing of the same. In 1883, however, the question of printing a Tulu Dictionary was first mooted, and further steps having been taken in the matter, the Government of Madras was pleased to defray the cost of its publication.
You can download a copy or view them online, take a look at the following links and spread the word among st Tulu loving people.