Mangaluru : The Beary-Kannada-English dictionary is a symbol of communal harmony as it shows the close links of Beary with Kannada, Tulu, Malayalam and English, said writer Aravind Malagatti on Monday.

He was speaking at the launch of the dictionary brought out by the Karnataka Beary Sahitya Academy. Mr. Malagatti said language was the soul of community culture and by bringing out a Beary dictionary, the academy had shown the vast reach of the language. “A dictionary is like a dam of knowledge. It is for the people to make use of the knowledge,” he said, adding that dictionaries were necessary to retain the identity of various languages.

Commending the work of Beary, Tulu, Kannada and English scholars involved in bringing out the 874-page dictionary, Mr. Malagatti said the efforts were akin to that put in by Reverend Ferdinand Kittel on the Kannada-English dictionary.

The editorial team, Mr. Malagatti said, has brought out the close links of Beary with other languages. “No language can be independent. A language grows in association with other languages,” he said. Beary language has elements of Tulu, Kannada, Malayalam, Kodava, Hindi and Persian, he said.

Dakshina Kannada district in-charge minister B Ramanath Rai released the Beary-Kannada-English dictionary and conveyed his best wishes.

Academy president B A Mohidin Bava, MLA J R Lobo, mayor Kavita Sanil, state cashew development corporation president B H Khader, Mangaluru taluk panchayat president Mohammed Monu, MUDA former president Ibrahim Kodijal were present as guests of honour.

Journalist B M Hanif briefed about the dictionary. Minister U T Khader released ‘Belkiri’ special edition.

Professor B A Vivek Rai, Journalist B M Hanif, retired Professor Surendra Rao and Rohara Abbas who worked on Beary dictionary advisory committee and English translation were felicitated on the occasion.

B.A. Mohammed Hanif, president of the Karnataka Beary Sahitya Academy, whose three-year term ends on August 13, said the academy spent Rs 35 lakh on the dictionary. It has 20,000 Beary words and their meanings in both English and Kannada. The academy has priced the dictionary at Rs 700, he said.