->John of Reading at 15:05, 7 September 2021

2021-09-07T15:05:00Z

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{{distinguish|Koraku language}}

{{Infobox language
| name = Korku
| nativename = कोरकू
| region = Central [[India]] ([[Madhya Pradesh]], [[Maharashtra]])
| ethnicity = [[Korku people|Korku]]
| speakers = 727,133, 73% of ethnic population
| date = 2011 census
| 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>
| familycolor = Austro-Asiatic
| fam2 = [[Munda languages|Munda]]
| fam3 = North
| script = [[Devanagari script]]([[Balbodh|Balbodh style]])<ref name=":0">{{cite book|title = Current Trends in Linguistics|publisher = [[Walter de Gruyter]] |pages = 425|editor-first = Thomas Albert|editor-last = Sebeok|editor-link = Thomas Sebeok|year = 1971|url = https://books.google.com/books?id=JqYMTdBws40C|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20141207082534/https://books.google.com/books?id=JqYMTdBws40C&q=balbodh|archive-date = 7 December 2014}}</ref>
| iso3 = kfq
| glotto = kork1243
| glottorefname = Korku
}}
[[Image:Munda-Sprachen.png|thumb|Distribution of the [[Munda languages]] in [[India]], with Korku the leftmost in central India]]

'''Korku''' (also known as ''Kurku,'' or ''Muwasi''<ref name=":2" />) or is an [[Austroasiatic languages|Austroasiatic]] language spoken by the [[Korku people|Korku tribe]] of central [[India]], in the states of [[Madhya Pradesh]] and Maharashtra. It is isolated in the midst of the [[Gondi people]], who are [[Dravidian languages|Dravidian]], while its closest relatives are in eastern India. It is the westernmost Austroasiatic language.

Korkus are also closely associated with the [[Nihali]] people, many of whom have traditionally lived in special quarters of Korku villages.<ref>{{ethnolink|nll|Nihali}}</ref> Korku is spoken by around 700,000 people, mainly in four districts of southern [[Madhya Pradesh]] ([[Khandwa District|Khandwa]], [[Harda District|Harda]], [[Betul District|Betul]], [[Hoshangabad District|Hoshangabad]]) and three districts of northern [[Maharashtra]] (Rajura and [[Korpana]] [[tahsil]]s of [[Chandrapur district]], Manikgarh pahad area near [[Gadchandur]] in [[Chandrapur district]]) ([[Amravati district|Amravati]], [[Buldhana district|Buldana]], [[Akola district|Akola]]).

The name Korku comes from ''Koro-ku'' (-''ku'' is the animate plural), ''Koro'' 'person, member of the Korku community' (Zide 2008).<ref>Cust, R. N. "Grammatical Note and Vocabulary of the Language of the Kor-ku, a Kolarian Tribe in Central India." The Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland. no. 2 (1884): 164 - 179. {{jstor|25196986}}</ref>

==Sociolinguistics==
The [[Census of India|Indian national census]] of 2011 reported 727,133 people claiming to speak Korku, which is an [[Languages with official status in India|unscheduled language]] according to the Indian system.<ref>Sengupta, Papia. "Endangered Languages: Some Concerns." Economic And Political Weekly. no. 32 (2009): 17-19. {{jstor|25663414}}</ref> However, Korku is classified as “vulnerable” by [[UNESCO]], the least concerning of the levels of [[Endangered language|language endangerment]] nonetheless.<ref name="UNESCO2">{{Cite web|title=Korku|url=http://www.unesco.org/culture/languages-atlas/en/atlasmap/language-id-1210.html|access-date=2018-03-18|website=UNESCO Atlas of the World's Languages in danger|publisher=[[UNESCO]]|language=en}}</ref> Most adult men are bilingual in [[Hindi]], or multilingual in Hindi and the local Dravidian languages (Zide 2008: 156). [[Literacy]] in the language is [[Literacy in India|low]].<ref>{{Cite web|title=Korku|url=https://www.ethnologue.com/language/kfq|url-status=live|website=[[Ethnologue]]}}</ref>

Throughout recent history, the use of the Korku language has been heavily influenced by larger hegemonic languages, especially Hindi. A few Korku-speaking groups have had relative success in increasing the viability of their dialect, specifically the Potharia Korku from the [[Vindhya Range|Vindhya Mountains]].<ref>[[Stephen Fuchs|Fuchs, Stephen]]. "Thirty Korku Dancing Songs." Asian Folklore Studies. no. 1 (2000): 109-140. {{jstor|1179030}}</ref>

=== Dialects ===
Zide (2008:256) lists two [[dialect]]s for Korku, a Western and an Eastern one. The Western Dialect, which has a handful of subdialects is also called ''Korku.'' Among the Western varieties, the one spoken in Lahi is notable for its loss of the [[dual (grammatical number)|dual]] number.
*'''Western''' (aka ''Korku'') '''dialect:''' spoken in the districts of [[Melghat]], [[Betul district|Betul]]-[[Hoshangabad district|Hoshangabad]], and [[Hoshangabad district|Hoshangabad]].
*'''Eastern ('''aka ''Muwasi/Mowasi/Mawasi'', or ''Kurku''''')''': spoken in the [[Chhindwara district]] of northeastern [[Maharashtra]].
[[Glottolog]] lists four dialects for Korku:<ref>{{cite web|title=Glottolog|url=https://glottolog.org/resource/languoid/id/kork1243|url-status=live|access-date=2021-03-24}}</ref>

* '''Ruma (Korku)'''
* '''Bondoy'''
* '''Bouriya'''
* '''Mawasi'''

===Geographical Distribution===
Korku is spoken in the following regions (Zide 2008:256):
*South-central [[Madhya Pradesh]]
**[[East Nimar district]] (Khandwa district)
**[[Betul district]]
**[[Hoshangabad district]]
**[[Chhindwara district]] (Mawasi speakers)
*Northeastern [[Maharashtra]]
**[[Amravati district]] (majority of speakers in Maharashtra)
**[[Buldana district]]
**[[Akola district]]

== Phonology ==

=== Vowels ===
Korku has 10 [[Phoneme|phonemic]] [[vowel]]s, which can occur short or long (e.g. /aː/), plus one mid vowel that only occurs as a short segment /ə/.<ref name=":1" />
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align: center;"
!
![[Front vowel|Front]]
![[Central vowel|Central]]
![[Back vowel|Back]]
|-
![[Close vowel|High]]
|i iː
|
|u uː
|-
![[Mid vowel|Mid]]
|e eː
|ə
|o oː
|-
![[Open vowel|Low]]
|
|a aː
|
|-
|}

=== Consonants ===
Korku has a large [[consonant]] phoneme inventory,<ref name=":1">{{cite book|last=Nagaraja|first=K.S.|url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/1035920730|title=Korku language : grammar, texts, and vocabulary|date=1999|publisher=Institute for the Study of Languages and Cultures of Asia and Africa, Tokyo University of Foreign Studies|isbn=4872977459|location=Tokyo|oclc=1035920730}}</ref> in which stops occur in several places of articulation. Like many [[languages of India]], Korku stops distinguish between [[Voice (phonetics)|voiced]], plain voiceless, and [[Voiceless aspirated velar occlusive|voiceless aspirated]] consonants.

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
! colspan="2" |
![[Bilabial consonant|Bilabial]]
![[Alveolar consonant|Alveolar]]
![[Retroflex consonant|Retroflex]]
![[Palatal consonant|Palatal]]
![[Velar consonant|Velar]]
![[Glottal consonant|Glottal]]
|-
! rowspan="2" |[[Stop consonant|Stop]]
!<small>voiceless</small>
|p pʰ
|t tʰ
|ʈ ʈʰ
|c cʰ
|k kʰ
|ʔ
|-
![[Voice (phonetics)|<small>voiced</small>]]
|b bʱ
|d dʱ
|ɖ ɖʱ
|ɟ ɟʱ
|g gʱ
|
|-
! colspan="2" |[[Fricative consonant|Fricative]]
|
|s
|
|
|
|
|-
! colspan="2" |[[Nasal consonant|Nasal]]
|m
|n
|
|ɲ
|
|h
|-
! colspan="2" |[[Approximant consonant|Approximant]]
|
|l
|ɭ
|j
|
|
|-
! colspan="2" |[[Flap consonant|Flap]]
|
|ɾ
|ɽ
|
|
|
|}
Word-finally, all stops are unreleased.<ref name=":1" />

==Morphosyntax==
Korku is a highly [[Agglutinative language|agglutinating]], [[suffix]]ing language. It has postpositions, a case system, a two-gender system, and three numbers. The verb phrase can be complex in Korku; functions that in English and other languages may be encoded in by the use of auxiliary verbs and of prepositions may be expressed in Korku through suffixation.

=== Word order ===
Korku, as all [[Munda languages]], shows a strict Subject-Object-Verb ([[Subject–object–verb|SOV]]) [[word order]].<ref name=":0w">{{cite book|last=Anderson|first=Gregory D. S.|url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/607263871|title=The Munda verb : typological perspectives|date=2007|publisher=Mouton de Gruyter|isbn=978-3-11-092425-1|location=Berlin|pages=19|oclc=607263871}}</ref>
{| class="wikitable"
|+
!Subject
! colspan="2" |Object
!Verb
|-
|''iɲɟ''
|''dukanaʈen''
|''saːkaɾ''
|''sasaːba''
|-
|I
|store-from
|sugar
|bring.will
|-
| colspan="4" |“I will bring sugar from the store”
|}
Adjectives are expressed verbally - as intransitive verbs - with the exception of a few cases in which a separate word occurs before the noun they are modifying.<ref name=":2" />
{| class="wikitable"
!
!Numeral
!Adjective
!Noun
|-
|''ɖiɟaʔ''
|''apʰai''
|''kenɖe''
|''simku''
|-
|her/his
|three
|black
|chickens
|-
| colspan="4" |“Her/His three black chickens”
|}

=== Morphology ===
Nouns in Korku are assigned one of two [[grammatical gender]]s: [[Animacy|animate, and inanimate]], and inflect for several different [[grammatical case]]s.

==== Grammatical number ====
Korku distinguishes three [[grammatical number]]s: singular, dual (two of X), and [[plural]] (three or more of X) for nouns in the animate class. Nouns in the inanimate class are rarely marked for number.<ref name=":1" /><ref name=":0" />
{| class="wikitable"
|+
!Singular
!Dual
!Plural
|-
|''konɟe-Ø''
‘daughter’
|''konɟe'''-kiɲ'''''
‘two daughters’
|''konɟe-'''ku'''''
‘daughters’
|-
|''koɾo''
‘man’
|''koɾo'''kiɲ'''''
‘two men’
|''koɾo'''ku'''''
‘men’
|-
|''siʈa''
‘dog’
|''siʈa'''kiɲ'''''
‘two dogs’
|''siʈa'''ku'''''
‘dogs’
|}

==== Case system ====
In Korku, the function of participants in a sentence (e.g. [[Agent (grammar)|agent]], [[Patient (grammar)|patient]], etc) is expressed through grammatical case markings on nouns. Additionally, ideas that are expressed via [[List of English prepositions|prepositions]] in English (e.g. ''towards, from, with,'' etc.) are also expressed via case markings in Korku. The table below illustrates the different cases and the suffixes used to express them.<ref name=":1" /><ref name=":2" />
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Case
! Marker
!Example<ref name=":2">{{Cite book|last=Anderson|first=Gregory D. S.|url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/907525916|title=Munda Languages.|date=2015|publisher=Taylor and Francis|isbn=978-1-317-82886-0|oclc=907525916}}</ref>
! Function
|-
! [[Nominative]]
| ''-Ø''
|''ɖiɟ''
‘s/he’

''siʈa''

‘the dog’ (subj.)
| Subject
|-
![[Accusative case|Accusative]]-[[Dative case|Dative]]
|''-kʰe(ʔ)''
|''ɖiɟ'''kʰeʔ'''''
‘her/him’

''siʈa'''kʰeʔ'''''

‘the dog’ (obj.)
|(In)Direct object
|-
! [[Genitive]]
| ''-a(ʔ)''
|''ɗiʄ'''aʔ'''''
‘her/his'

''ɟikɽa'''aʔ'''''

‘of a porcupine’
| Possession
|-
! [[Locative case|Locative]]
| ''-en''
|''uɾag'''en'''''
‘in the house’

''Nagpuɾ'''en'''''

‘in Nagpur’
| Spatio-temporal location
|-
! [[Comitative case|Comitative]]
| ''-gon/-gella''
|''konɟe'''gon'''''
‘with a daughter’
| Company, togetherness
|-
! [[Instrumental case|Instrumental]]
| ''-ten''
|''kolom'''ten'''''
‘by/in pen’
| Means
|-
! [[Allative]]
| ''-ʈae''
|''Acalpur'''ʈae'''''
‘towards Achalpur'
| Direction at/towards
|-
! [[Ablative]]
| ''-(a)ten''
|''uɾag'''aten'''''
‘from the house’
| Source, spatial origin
|-
|}
Additionally, Korku regularly marks direct object on the verb, as in other Munda languages.<ref name=":2" /> In the sentence below, the suffix /eɟ/ on the verb compound /senɖawkʰen/ indicates that it was someone else who was given permission to go.
{| class="wikitable"
!Subject
!Object
!Verb
|-
|''iɲɟ''
|''ɖikʰeʔ''
|''senɖawkʰen'''-eɟ'''''
|-
|I
|her/him
|allowed.to.go-obj
|-
| colspan="3" |“I allowed her/him to go”
|}

==== Pronouns ====

===== Personal pronouns<ref>{{cite book|last=Anderson|first=Gregory D. S.|title=Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Linguistics: Munda Languages|date=2017-03-29|url=http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/acrefore/9780199384655.013.37 |publisher=Oxford University Press|doi=10.1093/acrefore/9780199384655.013.37|isbn=978-0-19-938465-5|access-date=2021-03-23}}</ref><ref name=":1" /> =====
Personal pronouns in Korku show different number and gender patterns depending on the person. The first person (“''I, we”'') distinguishes not only the three numbers but also whether the hearer is included (“''all of us”'') or excluded (“''us, but not you''”) in the communicative context. The second person (“''you, you all”'') only encodes number, whereas the third person (“''s/he, they”'') distinguishes gender, and number for animate nouns.
{| class="wikitable"
! colspan="2" | 
!Singular
!Dual
!Plural
|-
! rowspan="2" |1st person
!Inclusive
| rowspan="2" |iɲɟ
|alaŋɟ
|abuɲ
|-
!Exclusive
|aliɲɟ
|ale
|-
! colspan="2" |2nd person
|aːm
|apinɟ
|ape
|-
! rowspan="2" |3rd person
!Animate
|ɖic ~ in
|ɖikinɟ
|ɖiku
|-
!Inanimate
| colspan="3" |ɖiː
|}

==== Demonstratives ====
In Korku, demonstratives (e.g. “''this, that, those”'') encode not only distance (e.g. ''“here and there”'') but also gender and number. Unlike English, which only distinguishes between a single proximal (this) and distal (that) spatial references, Korku demonstratives encode four levels of proximity to the speaker (i.e. ‘very close’ vs. ‘close’ vs. ‘far’ vs. ‘very far’), plus a fifth distinction, when one is pinpointing.<ref name=":1" /> The table below illustrates the forms used in Korku.
{| class="wikitable"
|+
! rowspan="3" |Gender
! rowspan="3" |Number
! colspan="5" |Distance
|-
! colspan="2" |Proximal
! colspan="3" |Distal
|-
!Very close
!Close
!Far
!Very far
!Pinpointing
|-
!Inanimate
!Singular
|ni
|ini / noːɟe
|ɖi
|ha / hu / ho
|huɟɟe
|-
! rowspan="3" |Animate
!Singular
|nic
|inic
|ɖic
|huc / huɟ / huɟe
|hoːɟe
|-
!Dual
|niɲɟ
|inkiɲɟ / noːkiɲɟ
|ɖikiɲɟ
|huɟkiɲɟ
|hoːkiɲɟ
|-
!Plural
|niku
|inku / noːku
|ɖiku
|huɟku
|hoːku
|}

== Lexicon ==

=== Numerals ===
The basic cardinal numbers from 1 to 10 (transcribed in IPA) are:
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! 1
| miɲaʔ
|-
! 2
| bari
|-
! 3
| apʰai
|-
! 4
| apʰun
|-
! 5
| monoe
|-
! 6
| tuɾui
|-
! 7
| ei
|-
! 8
| ilaɾ
|-
! 9
| aɾei
|-
! 10
| gel
|}

Numbers after 11 are mainly of Indo-Aryan origin.<ref>{{cite book|last=Paul.|first=Sidwell|url=http://worldcat.org/oclc/1058188885|title=The handbook of Austroasiatic languages|date=8 December 2014|isbn=978-90-04-28357-2|oclc=1058188885}}</ref>

=== Kinship terms ===
As with many Austroasiatic languages, Korku has several words to refer to members of one's family, including the extended family and in-laws. There are often separate terms for people depending on their gender and seniority, for instance /bawan/ “wife's older brother” and /kosɾeʈ/ “elder brother's son”. In the tables below, words that include the suffix -/ʈe/ refer to someone else's family member, so that /kon/ means “my son”, whereas /kon'''ʈe'''/ is used when talking about someone else's son, for instance /ɖukriaʔ konʈe/ “the old woman's son”.<ref name=":1" />
{| class="wikitable"
|+Immediate family<ref name=":1" />
! mother
| anʈe / maːj
|-
! father
| baːʈe / aba
|-
! daughter
| konɟaj / konɟeʈe
|-
! son
| kon / konʈe
|-
! younger sister
| bokoɟe / bokoɟeʈe
|-
! older brother
| ɖaj / ɖajʈe
|-
! younger brother
| boko
|}

Korku has words to refer to pairs or groups of people in the family.
{| class="wikitable"
|+Pairs or groups of family members
! parents
| anʈebaːʈe
|-
! children
| baːlbacca
|-
! children and wife
| konkuɟapaj
|-
! mother and son
| ajomkokoɲa
|-
! father and son
| baːkokoɲa
|-
! siblings
| bombuku
|}

{| class="wikitable"
|+In-laws (Wife's side)<ref name=":1" />
|-
! wife
| ɟapaj
|-
! wife's elder sister
| ɟiɟikaɲkaɾ(ʈe)
|-
! wife's younger sister
| bewanɟe(ʈe)
|-
! wife's sister's husband
| saɽgi(ʈe)
|-
! wife's elder brother
| baːw(ʈe)
|-
! wife's younger brother
| bawan(ʈe)
|}

==Writing system==
The Korku language uses the [[Balbodh|Balbodh style]] of the [[Devanagari script]], which is also used to write the [[Marathi language]].<ref name=":0" />

==References==
{{reflist}}

==Further reading==
*Anderson, Gregory D. S. (ed.), ''The Munda languages.'' Routledge Language Family Series 3.New York: Routledge. {{ISBN|0-415-32890-X}}.
*Nagaraja, K. S. (1999). ''Korku language: grammar, texts, and vocabulary''. Tokyo: Institute for the Study of Languages and Cultures of Asia and Africa, Tokyo University of Foreign Studies.
*Zide, Norman H. (1963). ''Korku noun morphology''. [Chicago: South Asian Languages Program, University of Chicago.
*Zide, Norman H. (1960). Korku verb morphology. [S.l: s.n.]
*Zide, Norman H. (2008). "Korku". In Gregory D. S. Anderson (ed.), ''The Munda languages'', 256–298. Routledge Language Family Series 3. New York: Routledge. {{ISBN|0-415-32890-X}}.

==External links==
* [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zIrl9toicTE Ae... kalaavati... a korku song] at YouTube.com

{{Languages of India}}
{{Austro-Asiatic languages}}

[[Category:Munda languages]]
[[Category:Endangered languages of India]]
[[Category:Endangered Austroasiatic languages]]

Korku language - Revision history

->John of Reading at 15:05, 7 September 2021