Korwa

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A language of India

ISO 639-3
kfp
Alternate Names
Ernga, Singli
Population

34,600 (2001 census). Few monolinguals.

Location

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

Language Maps
Language Status

6a (Vigorous).

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.

Language Development
Literacy rate in L1: Below 1%. Literacy rate in L2: 26% for Chhattisgarh (2001 census).
Language Resources
OLAC resources in and about Korwa
Other Comments

A Scheduled Tribe in Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Bihar, West Bengal. Also a Scheduled Caste in Uttar Pradesh speaking Hindi as mother tongue (Singh 1995). Korwa divided into two groups: Pahadi (hill dwellers) and Dihari (plains dwellers). No intermarriage. Hindu, Muslim.