Page Type: languageKorwa | Ethnologue

KFP ISO 639-3

Korwa

A language of India

ISO 639
kfp
Alternate Names
Ernga, Erngga, Singli
Population
28,500 (2011 census). Few monolinguals.
Location:
Bihar state; Chhattisgarh state: Bilaspur, Jashpur, Korba, Raigarh, and Surguja districts; Jharkhand state: Gumla, Garhwa, and Palamau districts; Odisha state: Mayurbhanj and Sundargarh districts; Uttar Pradesh state: Mirzapur district; Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, and West Bengal states.
Language Status
6b (Threatened).
Classification
Austro-Asiatic, Munda, North Munda, Kherwari, Mundari
Dialects
Majhi-Korwa. Lexical similarity: 71%–92% between dialects, 50%–70% with Kodaku [ksz], 26%–36% with local Sadri [sck] spoken by Dihari Korwa. Lexical similarity with Sadri (an Indo-Aryan language) shows noticeable influence of Sadri on Korwa.
Language Use
Some Pahadi Korwa are shifting to Sadri [sck]. Dihari Korwa of Jashpur speak a local variety of Sadri as mother tongue. Some Korwa speak Chhattisgarhi [hne] as mother tongue. Some of all ages. Also use English [eng]. Also use Sadri [sck].
Language Development
Literacy rate in L2: 26% for Chhattisgarh (2001 census). Dictionary.
Language Resources
OLAC resources in and about Korwa
Writing
Devanagari script [Deva], used since 2005.
Other Comments
A Scheduled Caste in Uttar Pradesh speaking Hindi [hin] as mother tongue (Singh 1995b). Korwa divided into two groups: Pahadi (hill dwellers) and Dihari (plains dwellers). No intermarriage. Hindu, Muslim.

Also Spoken in

Map

Location: Bihar state; Chhattisgarh state: Bilaspur, Jashpur, Korba, Raigarh, and Surguja districts; Jharkhand state: Gumla, Garhwa, and Palamau districts; Odisha state: Mayurbhanj and Sundargarh districts; Uttar Pradesh state: Mirzapur district; Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, and West Bengal states.