Kurukh language

Kurukh
Kurux, Oraon, Uraon
कुंड़ुख़, কুড়ুখ, କୁଡ଼ୁଖ
'Kuṛux' or 'Kuṅṛux' in Kurukh Banna alphabet (top) and Tolong Siki alphabet (bottom)
Native to	India, Bangladesh, and Nepal
Region	Odisha, Jharkhand, West Bengal, Chhattisgarh, Assam, Bihar, Tripura
Ethnicity	Kurukh Kisan
Native speakers	2.28 million (2002–2011)
Language family	Dravidian Northern Dravidian Kurukh-Malto Kurukh
Dialects	Oraon Kisan Dhangar
Writing system	Devanagari Kurukh Banna Tolong Siki
Official status
Official language in	India Jharkhand (additional) West Bengal (additional)
Language codes
ISO 639-2	kru
ISO 639-3	kru – inclusive code Individual codes: xis – Kisan kxl – Nepali Kurux
Glottolog	kuru1301
ELP	Nepali Kurux

Kurukh (; Devanagari: कुंड़ुख़), also Kurux, Oraon or Uranw, is a Dravidian language spoken by the Kurukh (Oraon) and Kisan people of East India. It is spoken by about two million people in the Indian states of Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, Odisha, West Bengal, Assam, Bihar and Tripura, as well as by 65,000 in northern Bangladesh, 28,600 of a dialect called Uranw in Nepal and about 5,000 in Bhutan. Some Kurukh speakers are in Andaman and Nicobar Islands. It is most closely related to the Malto language. It is marked as being in a "vulnerable" state in UNESCO's list of endangered languages. The Kisan dialect has 206,100 speakers as of 2011.

Classification

Kurukh belongs to the Northern Dravidian group of the Dravidian family languages, and is closely related to Sauria Paharia and Kumarbhag Paharia, which are often together referred to as Malto.

Writing systems

Kurukh Banna script chart for the Kurukh language

Tolong Siki script (bold), next to Devanagari and Latin script

Kurukh is written in Devanagari, a script also used to write Sanskrit, Hindi, Marathi, Nepali and other Indo-Aryan languages.

In 1991, Basudev Ram Khalkho from Odisha released the Kurukh Banna script. In Sundargarh district of Odisha the Kurukh Banna alphabet is taught and promoted by Kurukh Parha. Fonts have been developed and people are using it widely in books, magazines and other material. The alphabet is also used by Oraon people in the states of Chhattisgarh, Bengal, Jharkhand and Assam.

In 1999, Narayan Oraon, a doctor, invented the alphabetic Tolong Siki script specifically for Kurukh. Many books and magazines have been published in Tolong Siki script, and it saw official recognition by the state of Jharkhand in 2007. The Kurukh Literary Society of India has been instrumental in spreading the Tolong Siki script for Kurukh literature.

Geographical distribution

Kurukh language spoken mostly in Raigarh, Surguja, Jashpur of Chhattisgarh, Gumla, Ranchi, Lohardaga, Latehar, simdega of Jharkhand, Jharsuguda, Sundargarh and Sambalpur district of Odisha.

It is also spoken in Jalpaiguri district of West Bengal, Assam and Tripura states by Kurukh who are mostly Tea-garden workers.

Speakers

It is spoken by 2,053,000 people from the Oraon and Kisan tribes, with 1,834,000 and 219,000 speakers respectively. The literacy rate is 23% in Oraon and 17% in Kisan. Despite the large number of speakers, the language is considered to be endangered. The governments of Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh have introduced the Kurukh language in schools with majority Kurukhar students. Jharkhand and West Bengal both list Kurukh as an official language of their respective states. Bangladesh also has some speakers.

Phonology

Vowels

Kurukh has five cardinal vowels. Each vowel has long, short nasalized and long nasalized counterparts.

Consonants

The table below illustrates the articulation of the consonants.

• Medially voiced aspirates and voiced plosives + /h/ contrast, there are some minimal pairs like /dʱandha:/ "astonishment" and /dʱandʱa:/ "exertion". Clusters of voiced aspirates and /h/ are possible too as in /madʒʱhi:/ "middle" and /madʒʱis/ "zamindar's agent".
• Of the nasals, /m, n/ are phonemic; [ɳ] only occurs before retroflex plosives; /ŋ/ mostly occurs before other velars but can occur finally with deletion of previous /g/, there are cases where /ŋg/ and /ng/ contrast; /ɲ/ mostly occurs before post alveolars but /j/ can become /ɲ/ around nasal vowels as in /paɲɲa:/ (or /pãjja:/).

Education

Kurukh languages is taught as a subject in the schools of Jharkhand, Chhattishgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Odisha, West Bengal and Assam.

Sample phrases

Sample text

English

All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood.

Devanagari script

होरमा आलारिन हक गहि बारे नू मल्लीन्ता अज़ादी अरा आण्टेम मन्ना गही हक़ ख़खरकी रई। आरिन लूर अरा जिया गही दव बउसा ख़खकी रई अरा तम्हैं मझी नू मेल-प्रेम गही बेवहार ननना चही।

Latin script

Hormā ālārin hak gahi bāre nū mallintā azādi arā aṅṭem mannā gahi haq xakharki raī. Ārin lur arā jiyā gahi dav bausā xakhakī raī arā tumhēṅ majhī nū mel-prem gahi bevhār nannā cahī.

Alternative names and dialects

Kurukh has a number of alternative names such as Uraon, Kurux, Kunrukh, Kunna, Urang, Morva, and Birhor. Two dialects, Oraon and Kisan, have 73% intelligibility between them. Oraon but not Kisan is currently being standardised. Kisan is currently endangered, with a decline rate of 12.3% from 1991 to 2001.