{{unblock reviewed|reason=Old kannada is also called halle kannada and it differs to present kannada. the words are entirely different and you cannot compare with tamil since tamil has copied words from several other languages so please remove tamil from the hierarchy and oblige.  

 Kannada is as old as Tamil and has influenced Tamil literature (Sangam period) 
 Amongst the South Indian Languages, there is written data available for Tamil, Kannada and Telugu languages. Whereas, Tamil Shaashanaas (records) have been found dating from 3rd century B. C.; in Kannada, the first shaashana is the 450 A.D. Halmidi shaashana. Ancient books like Vaddaaraadhane (800), Kaviraja Marga (850) are also available. 
 Though written literature appeared later, there are many other sources and proofs to prove Kannada’s antiquity: 
 1. 450 B.C. paaNini’s “aShTaadhaayi” has a reference to a “karnaadhaka” gOtra 
 2. 250 B.C. King Ashoka’s shaashana has a reference to name called “isila” which is said to be Kannada origin 
 3. 80 B.C. In the Prakrit shaashana of Madhavpur-Vadagavi, the word “NaaTapati” is a word of Kannada origin 
 4. 150 A.D. Ancient Greek historian Ptolemy’s book “Pappyrus” Kannada towns “kalligere”, “baadaami”, “mudugal” find mention. 
 5. 150 A.D. In the ancient Greek comedy “Aksirinkas Pappyri” there has been an attempt to understand Kannada words 
 6. 150 A.D.In a Prakrit shaashana, there are Kannada words like “maTTapaTTi” (maLavaLLi) 
 7. There is an abundance of Kannada in many Prakrit shaashanas: 
 a. Words “nagipa”, “saMkapa” found in the 100 B.C.Prakrit shaashana have a Kannada form 
 b. Usage of words like “manaaLi” originates in the union of two Kannada words “mun” + “paLLi” 
 c. Kannada towns have been named in constructs like “saMbalIva oora vaasinO” 
 d. “mooDaaNa” a word used in different languages to represent the Eastern direction is of Kannada origin 
 8. 150 A.D. In the Prakrit book “gaathaa saptashati” written by Haala Raja, Kannada words like “tIr”, “tuppa”, “peTTu”, “poTTu” have been used. 
 9. 250 A.D. On the Pallava Prakrit shaashana of Hire Hadagali’s Shivaskandavarman, Kannada word “kOTe” transforms into “koTTa” 
 10. 250 A.D. In the Tamil mega tome “shilappadikaaraM” written by Ilango Adi, there is reference to Kannada in the form of the ! word “karunaaDagar” 
 11. 350 A.D. In the Chandravalli Prakrit shaasana, words of Kannada origin like “punaaTa”, “puNaDa” have been used. 
 12. 250 A.D. In one more Prakrit shaasana found in Malavalli, 
 13. Kannada towns like “vEgooraM” (bEgooru), “kundamuchchaMDi” find reference. 
 In the recent 2003 Harvard publication “Early Tamil Epigraphy” authored by Iravatam Mahadev has important substance in the current discussion. This publication provides a new direction and paradigms to the question of Kannada’s antiquity. It extends the antiquity of Kannada to older times than presently known. It also presents a new thought that Tamil came under the Kannada influence in the years of B.C. timeframe. Some Tamil shaasana’s beginning in the 3rd century B.C. shows a marked Kannada influence. 
 In the 1-3 B.C. Tamil shaashanas, words of Kannada influence “nalliyooraa”, kavuDi”, “posil” have been introduced. The use of the vowel “a” as an adjective is not prevalent in Tamil, its usage is available in Kannada. Kannada words like “gouDi-gavuDi” transform into Tamil’s “kavuDi” for lack of the usage of “Ghosha 
 svana” in Tamil. That is the reason Kannada’s “gavuDi” becomes “kavuDi” in Tamil. “posil” (Kannada “hosilu”) is another Kannada word that got added into Tamil. Colloquial Tamil uses this word as “vaayil”. 
 In the 1 A.D. Tamil shaasana, there is a personal reference to “ayjayya” which is of Kannada origin. In another 3 A.D. Tamil shaasana, there is usage of the words “oppanappa vIran”. The influence of Kannada’s usage of “appa” to add respect to a person’s name is evident here. “taayviru” is another word of Kannada influence in another 4 A.D. Tamil shaasana. We can keep growing this list citing many such examples of Kannada’s influence on Tamil during the B.C.-A.D. times. 
 Kannada’s influence on ancient Tamil as depicted by the language of these shaasana’s is of historical importance. There are no written data available in Kannada from the times when these Tamil records show a marked Kannada influence. Moreover, there have been no findings/ discussions of this face of Tamil till now, that of a deep Kannada influence on it. 
 In the ambit of the current discussion in the country about “Classical Languages”, this influence of the influence of Kannada on ancient Tamil is of significance. In the Central Government’s announcement of “Tamil Language literature is of antiquity. It has grown independent of the influence of other languages’ literature. This is the reason that Tamil is being accorded the ‘Classical language’ tag”, t