Kadar

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A language of India

ISO 639-3
kej
Alternate Names
Kada
Population

1,960 (2004 survey), decreasing.

Location

Kerala, Thrissur district, Palakkad district, Chittoor taluk; Tamil Nadu, Coimbatore district.

Language Maps
Language Status

6b (Threatened).

Classification
Dravidian, Southern, Tamil-Kannada, Tamil-Kodagu, Tamil-Malayalam, Malayalam
Dialects

Phonology related to Tamil [tam] and vocabulary related to Malayalam [mal] (Menon 1996). Lexical similarity: 56%–62% with Tamil [tam], 62%–65% with Malayalam [mal], 67% with Mala Malasar [ima], 61%–63 % with Kanikkaran [kev].

Language Use

Some language shift to Malayalam [mal] observed in Kerala. Home, village, religious services. Some use Malayalam [mal] or Tamil [tam].

Language Development
Literacy rate in L1: Below 1%. Literacy rate in L2: 51% in Kerala, 56% in Tamil Nadu (2001 census).
Language Resources
OLAC resources in and about Kadar
Other Comments

A Scheduled Tribe. 3 groups named Kadar in Kerala and Tamil Nadu. The Kadar who use the Kadar language live primarily Palakkad and Thrissur hills, and Coimbatore. A second group lives in Wayanad District and use Malayalam [mal]. A third Kadar (Kadir) group is in Tamil Nadu, Triuchirapalli and Tanjavur districts. They have nothing in common with Western Ghats Kadar. Seen as less developed than other tribes of Chittoor. Hindu, traditional religion.