Kadar

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A language of India

ISO 639-3
kej
Alternate Names
Kada, Kadir
User Population

1,960 (2004 SIL), decreasing.

Location

Kerala state: Thrissur district; Palakkad district, Chittoor sub-district; Tamil Nadu state: Coimbatore district.

Language Maps
Language Status

6b (Threatened).

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

None known. 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 young people, all adults. Also use English [eng]. Also use Malayalam [mal]. Also use Tamil [tam].

Language Development

Literacy rate in L2: 51% in Kerala, 56% in Tamil Nadu (2001 census). Grammar.

Language Resources
OLAC resources in and about Kadar
Writing

Unwritten [Qaax].

Other Comments

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.