Korwa

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A language of India

ISO 639-3
kfp
Alternate Names
Ernga, Erngga, Singli
User 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 Maps
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.