Christian missionary contribution to language and Press in Coastal Karnataka

The first printing press in India was started by the foreign missionaries in Goa. It was the Jesuit missionaries who began a printing press in 1556 in India. It is a well-known fact that even as the missionaries came to India to spread the gospel of Christian faith, they have contributed much to the growth of many Indian languages and the press. In coastal Karnataka, Christian missionaries were responsible for starting the first Kannada newspaper called ‘Mangaluru Samachara’. It was started by the Basel missionaries from Germany in 1843. In fact, the Basel Mission printing press in Mangalore contributed much to the printing of several journals and books. The contribution of Christian missionaries to language and press in coastal Karnataka is quite significant and it can be said with certain historical basis that the growth of languages and journalism in coastal Karnataka in the last century is a fruit of the firm foundation laid by these foreign missionaries to begin with, and the work continued by their Indian counterparts.In this paper, using historical method, a trace of the contributions of Christian missionaries to languages - Kannada, Tulu and Konkani - and the press in coastal Karnataka is made. An attempt is made to analyse through secondary sources the impact of the missionary contribution on the growth of languages and the press in subsequent decades leading to its present state.