View source for Kurukh language

{{Short description|Dravidian language of eastern India}}
{{Infobox language
| name             = Kurukh
| altname          = Kurux, Oraon, Uraon
| nativename       = कुँड़ुख़, কুড়ুখ্, କୁଡ଼ୁଖ୍
| image            = Kurukh in Kurukh Banna and Tolong Siki.png
| imagealt         = 'Kuṛux' or 'Kuṅṛux' in Kurukh Banna alphabet (top) and Tolong Siki alphabet (bottom)
| imagecaption     = 'Kuṛux' or 'Kuṅṛux' in Kurukh Banna alphabet (top) and Tolong Siki alphabet (bottom)
| states           = [[India]], [[Bangladesh]], and [[Nepal]]
| region           = [[Odisha]], [[Jharkhand]], [[West Bengal]], [[Chhattisgarh]], [[Assam]], [[Bihar]], [[Tripura]]<ref name="Kurux"/>
| ethnicity        = {{unbulleted list|[[Kurukh people|Kurukh]]|[[Kisan people|Kisan]]}}
| speakers         = 2.28 million
| date             = 2002–2011
| ref              = <ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.censusindia.gov.in/2011Census/Language_MTs.html|title=Statement 1: Abstract of speakers' strength of languages and mother tongues - 2011|publisher=Office of the Registrar General & Census Commissioner, India|website=www.censusindia.gov.in|access-date=2018-07-07}}</ref><ref name="Kurux">{{Cite news|url=https://www.ethnologue.com/language/kru|title=Kurux|work=Ethnologue|access-date=2018-07-11|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.ethnologue.com/language/kxl|title=Kurux, Nepali|work=Ethnologue|access-date=2018-07-11|language=en}}</ref>
| familycolor      = Dravidian
| fam2             = [[Northern Dravidian languages|Northern Dravidian]]
| fam3             = Kurukh–[[Malto language|Malto]]
| dia1             = Oraon
| dia2             = Kisan
| dia3             = Dhangar
| script           = [[Devanagari]]<br/>[[Kurukh Banna]]<br/>[[Tolong Siki]]
| lc1             = kru
| ld1             = Kurux
| lc2              = xis
| ld2              = Kisan
| glotto           = kuru1301
| glottorefname    = Kurux
| nation           = {{flag|India}}
* [[Jharkhand]] (additional)
* [[West Bengal]] (additional)
| map              = Kurukh language distribution.svg
| mapcaption       = 
}}
'''Kurukh''' ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|k|ʊr|ʊ|x}} or {{IPAc-en|ˈ|k|ʊr|ʊ|k}};<ref>{{OED|Kurukh}}</ref> [[Devanagari]]: कुँड़ुख़, {{IPA|kru|/kũɽux/}}), also '''Kurux''', '''Oraon''' or '''Uranw''',<ref>{{cite web |url=http://glottolog.org/resource/languoid/id/nepa1253 |title = Glottolog 4.5 - Nepali Kurux}}</ref> is a [[North Dravidian]] language spoken by the [[Kurukh people|Kurukh]] (Oraon) and [[Kisan people|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]]. The most closely related language to Kurukh is [[Malto language|Malto]]; together with [[Brahui language|Brahui]], all three languages form the [[North Dravidian]] branch of the [[Dravidian language family]]. It is marked as being in a "vulnerable" state in UNESCO's list of [[endangered language]]s.<ref name=guardian-unesco-list>{{cite web|last1=Evans|first1=Lisa|title=Endangered Languages: The Full List|url=https://www.theguardian.com/news/datablog/2011/apr/15/language-extinct-endangered|work=The Guardian|date=15 April 2011 }}</ref> The Kisan dialect has 206,100 speakers as of 2011.

==Classification==
Kurukh belongs to the Northern Dravidian group of the [[Dravidian languages|Dravidian]] family languages,<ref>{{cite book
 |last=Stassen
 |first=Leon
 |title=Intransitive Predication
 |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]]
|series = Oxford Studies in Typology and Linguistic Theory
 |year=1997
 |isbn=978-0199258932
 |page=220
}}</ref> and is closely related to Sauria Paharia and Kumarbhag Paharia, which are often together referred to as [[Malto language|Malto]].<ref>PS Subrahmanyam, "Kurukh", in [[ELL2]]. ''[[Ethnologue]]'' assigns Nepali Kurux a separate iso code, ''kxl''.</ref>
[[File:DravidianTree.png|thumb|Dravidian language tree]]

==Writing systems==
{{multiple image
| align             = left
| total_width       = 320
| image1            = Kurukh Banna script chart.png
| alt1              = 
| caption1          = Kurukh Banna script chart for the Kurukh language
| image2            = Tolong_Siki_Narayan_Oraon.jpg
| alt2              = 
| caption2          = Tolong Siki script (bold), next to Devanagari and Latin script
| footer            = 
| direction         = horizontal
}}

Kurukh is written in [[Devanagari]], a script also used to write [[Sanskrit]], [[Hindi]], [[Marathi language|Marathi]], [[Nepali language|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.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Mandal |first1=Biswajit |title=Kurukh Banna |url=https://omniglot.com/writing/kurukhbanna.htm |website=Omniglot}}</ref>

In 1999, Narayan Oraon, a doctor, invented the [[alphabet]]ic 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.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Ager |first1=Simon |title=Tolong Siki alphabet and the Kurukh language |url=https://www.omniglot.com/writing/tolongsiki.htm |website=Omniglot |access-date=19 December 2019}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1=Pandey |first1=Anshuman |title=Preliminary Proposal to Encode the Tolong Siki Script in the UCS |url=http://www.unicode.org/L2/L2010/10106-n3811-tolongsiki.pdf |access-date=19 December 2019 |date=8 April 2010}}</ref>

For Grignard’s and Hahn’s classifications,"'''Tolong Siki''' is the better fit because it is ''inherently designed to represent the unique phonetics and phonology'' of the Kurukh language as identified by these linguists."

Kurukh Bana (Devanagari), though practical, requires significant modifications to achieve the same level of phonetic precision.

If linguistic fidelity is the priority, Tolong Siki aligns better with both Grignard’s and Hahn’s classifications. However, for widespread adoption, Devanagari can be adapted but will need careful phonetic mapping to respect these classifications.

==Geographical distribution==
{{Pie chart
|caption=Distribution of Kurukh language in the state of India, 2011 census
|value1 = 47.89
|label1 = Jharkhand
|value2 = 25.99
|label2 = Chattisgarh
|value3 = 8.65
|label3 = West Bengal
|value4 = 6.84
|label4 = Odisha
|value5 = 4.43
|label5 = Bihar
|value6 = 3.69
|label6 = Assam
|other = yes
|other-color = pink
}}
In India, Kurukh language mostly spoken in [[Raigarh district|Raigarh]], [[Surguja district|Surguja]], [[Jashpur district|Jashpur]] of [[Chhattisgarh]], [[Gumla district|Gumla]], [[Ranchi district|Ranchi]], [[lohardaga district|Lohardaga]], [[Latehar district|Latehar]], [[simdega district|simdega]] of [[Jharkhand]]; [[Jharsuguda district|Jharsuguda]], [[Sundargarh district|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.<ref name="Kurux">{{Cite news|url=https://www.ethnologue.com/language/kru|title=Kurux|work=Ethnologue|access-date=2018-07-11|language=en}}</ref>

==Speakers==
It is spoken by 2,053,000 people from the [[Oraon people|Oraon]] and [[Kisan tribe]]s, 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 language|endangered]].<ref>Daniel Nettle and Suzanne Romaine. ''Vanishing Voices: The Extinction of the World's Languages''. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2000. Page 9.</ref> 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.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.jagranjosh.com/current-affairs/west-bengal-grants-official-language-status-to-kurukh-1488780574-1|title=Kurukh given official language status in West Bengal|date=2017-03-06|website=Jagranjosh.com|access-date=2019-05-12}}</ref> Bangladesh also has some speakers.

==Phonology==

=== Vowels ===
Kurukh has five cardinal vowels. Each vowel has long, short nasalized and long nasalized counterparts.<ref name=":1">{{Cite book|title=The Kurux language : grammar, texts and lexicon|author=Kobayashi, Masato|isbn=9789004347663|location=Leiden|oclc=1000447436|date = 2017-09-21}}</ref>
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align: center"
|+
Kurukh simple vowels
!
![[Front vowel|Front]]
![[Central vowel|Central]]
![[Back vowel|Back]]
|-
![[High vowel|High]]
|{{IPA link|i}}
|
|{{IPA link|u}}
|-
![[Mid vowel|Mid]]
|{{IPA link|e}}
|
|{{IPA link|o}}
|-
![[Low vowel|Low]]
|
|{{IPA link|a}}
|
|}

=== Consonants ===
The table below illustrates the articulation of the consonants.<ref name=":1" />
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align: center"
|+Kurukh consonants
! colspan="3" |
! [[Labial consonant|Labial]]
! [[Dental consonant|Dental]]/<br />[[Alveolar consonant|Alveolar]]
! [[Retroflex consonant|Retroflex]]
! [[Palatal consonant|Palatal]]
! [[Velar consonant|Velar]]
! [[Glottal consonant|Glottal]]
|-
! colspan="3" | [[Nasal consonant|Nasal]]
| {{IPA link|m}}
| {{IPA link|n}}
| ({{IPA link|ɳ}})
| {{IPA link|ɲ}}
| {{IPA link|ŋ}}
|
|-
! rowspan="4" | [[Plosive]]/<br />[[Affricate]]
! rowspan="2" | {{small|voiceless}}
! {{small|plain}}
| {{IPA link|p}}
| {{IPA link|t}}
| {{IPA link|ʈ}}
| {{IPA link|tʃ}}
| {{IPA link|k}}
| {{IPA link|ʔ}}
|-
! {{small|aspirated}}
| {{IPA link|pʰ}}
| {{IPA link|tʰ}}
| {{IPA link|ʈʰ}}
| {{IPA link|tʃʰ}}
| {{IPA link|kʰ}}
|
|-
! rowspan="2" | {{small|voiced}}
! {{small|plain}}
| {{IPA link|b}}
| {{IPA link|d}}
| {{IPA link|ɖ}}
| {{IPA link|dʒ}}
| {{IPA link|ɡ}}
|
|-
! {{small|aspirated}}
| {{IPA link|bʱ}}
| {{IPA link|dʱ}}
| {{IPA link|ɖʱ}}
| {{IPA link|dʒʱ}}
| {{IPA link|ɡʱ}}
|
|-
! colspan="3" | [[Fricative]]
|
| {{IPA link|s}}
|
| ({{IPA link|ʃ}})
| {{IPA link|x}}
| {{IPA link|h}}
|-
! colspan="2" rowspan="2" | [[Rhotic consonant|Rhotic]]
! {{small|plain}}
|
| {{IPA link|ɾ}}
| {{IPA link|ɽ}}
|
|
|
|-
! {{small|aspirated}}
|
|
| {{IPA link|ɽʱ}}
|
|
|
|-
! colspan="3" | [[Glide consonant|Glide]]
| {{IPA link|w}}
|{{IPA link|l}}
|
| {{IPA link|j}}
|
|
|}

* 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".{{sfnp|Kobayashi |2017|p=35}}
* 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:/).{{sfnp|Kobayashi |2017|p=36}}

==Education==
Kurukh languages is taught as a subject in the schools of [[Jharkhand]], [[Chhattishgarh]], [[Madhya Pradesh]], [[Odisha]], [[West Bengal]] and [[Assam]].<ref>{{Cite news |last=Singh |first=Shiv Sahay |date=2017-03-02 |title=Kurukh gets official language status in West Bengal |language=en-IN |work=The Hindu |url=https://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/kolkata/revitalising-a-language/article17395995.ece |access-date=2022-05-02 |issn=0971-751X}}</ref>

==Sample phrases==
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Phrases !! English Translation
|-
| Nighai endra naame? || What is your name?
|- আপনার নাম কি?
|Neen ekase ra'din? || How are you? (Girl)
|- আপনি কেমন আছেন?
|Neen ekase ra'dai?
 || How are you? (Boy)
|- আপনি কেমন আছেন?
|Een korem ra'dan.
 || I am fine.
|- আমি ভালো আছি।
|Neen ekshan kalalagdin?
 || Where are you going? (Girl)
|- আপনি কোথায় যাচ্ছেন?
|Neen ekshan kalalagday?
 || Where are you going? (Boy)
|- আপনি কোথায় যাচ্ছেন?
|Endra manja? || What happened?
|- কি হইছে?
|Ha'an|| Yes
|- হ্যাঁ।
|Malla || No
|- না।
|Een mokha Lagdan. || I am eating.
|- আমি খাচ্ছি।
|Neen mokha.|| You eat.
|-
|Neen ona. || You drink
|- তুমি খাও।
|Aar mokha lagnar. || They are eating.
|- তারা খাচ্ছে।
|Daw makha 
|Good Night
|}

==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===
{{lang|kru|होर्मा आलारिन् हक् गहि बारे नू मल्लिन्ता अजादि अरा आण्टें मन्ना गहि हक़् ख़खर्कि रै। आरिन् लुर् अरा जिया गहि दव् बौसा ख़खकि रै अरा तम्है मझि नू मेल्-प्रें गहि बेव्हार् नन्ना चहि।}}

===Latin script===
Hōrmā ālārin hak gahi bāre nū mallintā azādi arā aṅṭēm mannā gahi haq xakharki raī. Ārin lur arā jiyā gahi dav bausā xakhakī raī arā tumhē majhi nū mēl-prēm gahi bēvhār nannā nā cahi.

==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.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web|url=http://www.censusindia.gov.in/Census_Data_2001/Census_Data_Online/Language/Statement8.aspx|title=Census of India: Growth of Non-Scheduled Languages-1971, 1981, 1991 and 2001|last=ORGI|website=www.censusindia.gov.in|access-date=2017-10-15}}</ref>

==References==
{{reflist}}Book- Tribal Cultural Society, Jamshedpur. An Etinicity Wing of Tata Steel Foundation. https://tolongsiki.com/

==Further reading==
* Andronov, M. S. “Elements of Kurux Historical Phonology”. In: ''Anthropos'' 69, no. 1/2 (1974): 250–53. {{jstor|40458519}}.
* Kobayashi, Masato. "[http://gengo.l.u-tokyo.ac.jp/masatok/JAOS_140_2_Kobayashi.pdf Review of Viewing Proto-Dravidian from the Northeast, by Martin Pfeiffer]". In: ''Journal of the American Oriental Society'' 140, no. 2 (2020): 467–81.
* Perumalsamy, P. (2002) “ Kisan ” in [https://censusindia.gov.in/nada/index.php/catalog/34817/download/38505/LSI_ORISSA.pdf Linguistic Survey of India: Orissa volume], New Delhi: Office of Registrar General, pp: 497-515.

==External links==
{{incubator|kru}}
*{{cite book|author=Ferdinand Hahn|title=Kuruḵh̲ (Orā̃ō)-English dictionary|url=https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_frNJAQAAIAAJ|access-date=25 August 2012|year=1903|publisher=Bengal Secretariat Press|pages=[https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_frNJAQAAIAAJ/page/n133 126]–}}
*{{cite book|author=Ferdinand Hahn|title=Kuruḵẖ grammar|url=https://archive.org/details/kurukhgrammar00hahnuoft|access-date=26 August 2012|year=1900|publisher=Bengal Secretariat Press}}
*{{cite book|title=Kuruk̲h̲ folk-lore: in the original|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ZbS5AAAAIAAJ|access-date=25 August 2012|year=1905|publisher=The Bengal Secretariat Book Depot}}
* {{citation |last1=Kobayashi |first1=Masato |title=The Kurux Language: Grammar, Texts and Lexicon |year=2017 |publisher=BRILL |isbn=9789004347663 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=v9BCDwAAQBAJ}}
*[http://starling.rinet.ru/cgi-bin/response.cgi?root=new100&morpho=0&basename=new100\drv\ned&limit=-1 Kurukh basic lexicon at the Global Lexicostatistical Database]
*[https://www.unicode.org/L2/L2023/23024-tolong-siki.pdf Proposal to encode Tolong Siki]
*[http://omniglot.com/writing/tolongsiki.htm Omniglot's page on Tolong Siki]

{{Languages of India}}
{{Dravidian languages}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kurukh Language}}
[[Category:Agglutinative languages]]
[[Category:Dravidian languages]] <!-- for Kurukh -->
[[Category:Languages of India]]
[[Category:Languages of Jharkhand]]
[[Category:Languages of Odisha]]
[[Category:Subject–object–verb languages]]
[[Category:Brahmic scripts]]
[[Category:Languages written in Devanagari]]