In the former South Kanara or south coastal Karnataka region, the presence of overlapping languages, mainly Tulu and Kannada, posed prolonged dilemmas in the nineteenth century for the Basel Mission. The choice of language was important for their evangelical work, supported by important language-related activities such as dictionary making, grammar writing and translations. Since language use was intertwined with caste hierarchy, this raised issues over the position of lower castes, mainly Billavas, for the native elites and upper castes. This article argues that the prioritisation of Kannada, and relegation of Tulu to a secondary position, was an outcome not only of missionary perceptions of the larger Kannada context, but also more importantly can be traced back to elite representations regarding the subaltern Tulu culture and lifeworld. As missionary intervention in education and native language use challenged the status quo of social hierarchy among local communities, this sparked efforts by the native elites to reclaim and restore the earlier hierarchy. In the process, the native elite representations of Tulu language and culture became at the same time an effort at dismissal and appropriation.

中文翻译：

---

语言、种姓和等级制度：19 世纪卡纳塔克邦沿海地区的巴塞尔使命

在前南卡纳拉或卡纳塔克南部沿海地区，重叠语言的存在，主要是图卢语和卡纳达语，在 19 世纪为巴塞尔传教团带来了长期的困境。语言的选择对他们的福音工作很重要，并得到与语言相关的重要活动的支持，例如词典制作、语法编写和翻译。由于语言的使用与种姓等级制度交织在一起，这就引发了关于低种姓（主要是比拉瓦人）对于本土精英和高种姓的地位的问题。本文认为，卡纳达语的优先排序和图卢语的次要地位不仅是传教士对更大卡纳达语语境的看法的结果，而且更重要的是可以追溯到关于底层图卢文化和生活世界的精英代表。 . 由于传教士对教育和母语使用的干预挑战了当地社区的社会等级现状，这引发了当地精英们努力收回和恢复早期等级的努力。在这个过程中，土鲁语言和文化的本土精英代表同时成为一种排斥和挪用的努力。