Mannan

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A language of India

ISO 639-3
mjv
Alternate Names
Inavan petch, Mannan Pasha, Manne, Mannyod
User Population

7,850 (2001 census). 7,760 in Kerala, 82 in Tamil Nadu. Ethnic population: 12,000 (Shaw 2008).

Location

Kerala state: Idukki district, Devikulam, Pirmed, and Udumpanchola sub-districts; Tamil Nadu state: scattered in Madurai district.

Language Maps
Language Status

6b (Threatened).

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

Little variation between varieties with 92% intelligibility, 70% intelligibility of Malayalam [mal]. Lexical similarity: 86%–96% between varieties, 57%–61% with Tamil [tam], 56%–64% with Malayalam [mal].

Language Use

Home, village, religion. Some young people, all adults. Positive attitudes. Interest in language development. Also use Malayalam [mal], with many youth shifting, especially the educated and those having contact with outsiders (Shaw 2008).

Language Development

Literacy rate in L2: 50% for Kerala, 84% for Tamil Nadu (2001 census). Grammar. NT: 2018.

Language Resources
OLAC resources in and about Mannan
Writing

Malayalam script [Mlym].

Other Comments

A Scheduled Tribe in Kerala and Tamil Nadu. Not the same as the Scheduled Caste Mannan in Trivandrum and other adjoining districts of Kerala and Tamil Nadu who speak Malayalam. Romanized spelling is the same but the Scheduled Caste name is pronounced with retroflex double n. Hindu, traditional religion.