Insight Guides South India

Insight Guides

• Publisher: Insight
• ISBN:
  9781786716927
• Edition: 3
• Topic: Personal Development
• Subtopic: Travel

South India is a land apart, at once the cradle of ancient Dravidian civilisations and a powerhouse of the new India, with the high-tech rubbing shoulders with ancient temples, all against a tropical and varied backdrop. Be inspired to visit by this major new edition of Insight Guide South India, a comprehensive full-colour guide to Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and Karnataka.

Inside Insight Guide India: A thoroughly overhauled new edition by our South India expert author. Stunning photography brings this lush region and its people to life. Highlights of the region's top attractions, including Kerala's backwaters, the Gallic flavours of Puducherry and the unearthly landscape of Hampi. Descriptive region-by-region accounts cover the whole region from the bustling high-tech cities of Bengaluru and Hyderabad to Gokarna's beaches and the Malabar Coast. Detailed, high-quality maps throughout will help you get around and travel tips give you all the essential information for planning a memorable trip.

About Insight Guides: Insight Guides has over 40 years' experience of publishing high-quality, visual travel guides. We produce around 400 full-colour print guide books and maps as well as picture-packed eBooks to meet different travellers' needs. Insight Guides' unique combination of beautiful travel photography and focus on history and culture together create a unique visual reference and planning tool to inspire your next adventure.

'Insight Guides has spawned many imitators but is still the best of its type.' - Wanderlust Magazine

Understanding the Language

Introduction

With 18 official languages, hundreds of others and countless dialects, India can present a linguistic minefield. Luckily for the traveller, English is often understood and it is usually possible to get by. However, attempts to speak the local language are always appreciated. The language most widely spoken in the North is Hindi, while in the South Tamil has the highest profile (it is a source of considerable regional pride) and has recently been given official status as a classical language.

Of the other South Indian languages, Malayalam (a south Dravidian language spoken in Kerala) is closely related to Tamil, though with more influence of Sanskrit. The two central Dravidian languages, Telugu (spoken in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana) and Kannada (spoken in Karnataka) are also both closely related and, again, display a greater influence of Sanskrit than is evident in Tamil. All the Dravidian languages, however, show distinct similarities and many basic words are common or...