Kurukh (/ˈkʊrʊx/or/ˈkʊrʊk/;[4] Devanagari: कुँड़ुख़, Kurukh pronunciation: [/kũɽux/]), also Kurux, OraonorUranw,[5] is a North 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. The most closely related language to Kurukh is Malto; together with 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 languages.[6] The Kisan dialect has 206,100 speakers as of 2011.
| Kurukh | |
|---|---|
| Kurux, Oraon, Uraon | |
| कुँड़ुख़, কুড়ুখ্, କୁଡ଼ୁଖ୍ | |
'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[1] |
| Ethnicity |
|
Native speakers | 2.28 million (2002–2011)[2][1][3] |
| |
| Dialects |
|
| Devanagari Kurukh Banna Tolong Siki | |
| Official status | |
Official language in |  India
|
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-3 | Either:kru – Kurukhxis – Kisan |
| Glottolog | kuru1301 |
| ELP | Nepali Kurux |
Kurukh belongs to the Northern Dravidian group of the Dravidian family languages,[7] and is closely related to Sauria Paharia and Kumarbhag Paharia, which are often together referred to as Malto.[8]
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.[9]
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.[10][11]
Kurukh language spoken mostly in Raigarh, Surguja, JashpurofChhattisgarh, Gumla, Ranchi, Lohardaga, Latehar, simdegaofJharkhand, Jharsuguda, Sundargarh and Sambalpur districtofOdisha.
It is also spoken in Jalpaiguri districtofWest Bengal, Assam and Tripura states by Kurukh who are mostly Tea-garden workers.[1]
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.[12] 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.[13] Bangladesh also has some speakers.
Kurukh has five cardinal vowels. Each vowel has long, short nasalized and long nasalized counterparts.[14]
| Front | Central | Back | |
|---|---|---|---|
| High | i | u | |
| Mid | e | o | |
| Low | a |
The table below illustrates the articulation of the consonants.[14]
| Labial | Dental/ Alveolar |
Retroflex | Palatal | Velar | Glottal | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nasal | m | n | (ɳ) | ɲ | ŋ | |||
| Plosive/ Affricate |
voiceless | plain | p | t | ʈ | tʃ | k | ʔ |
| aspirated | pʰ | tʰ | ʈʰ | tʃʰ | kʰ | |||
| voiced | plain | b | d | ɖ | dʒ | ɡ | ||
| aspirated | bʱ | dʱ | ɖʱ | dʒʱ | ɡʱ | |||
| Fricative | s | (ʃ) | x | h | ||||
| Rhotic | plain | ɾ | ɽ | |||||
| aspirated | ɽʱ | |||||||
| Glide | w | l | j | |||||
Kurukh languages is taught as a subject in the schools of Jharkhand, Chhattishgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Odisha, West Bengal and Assam.[17]
| Phrases | English Translation |
|---|---|
| Nighai endra naame? | What is your name? |
| Neen ekase ra'din? | How are you? (Girl) |
| Neen ekase ra'dai? | How are you? (Boy) |
| Een korem ra'dan. | I am fine. |
| Neen ekshan kalalagdin? | Where are you going? (Girl) |
| Neen ekshan kalalagday? | Where are you going? (Boy) |
| Endra manja? | What happened? |
| Ha'an | Yes |
| Malla | No |
| Een Mokha Lagdan. | I am eating. |
| Neen mokha. | You eat. |
| Neen ona. | You drink |
| Aar mokha lagnar. | They are eating. |
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.
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।
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.
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.[18]
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