SaraWong at 16:38, 14 April 2026

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{{Short description|Dravidian language spoken in southern India}}
{{distinguish|Koromfe language}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=February 2021}}
{{Infobox language
| name = Kurumba
| states = [[India]]
| region = [[Tamil Nadu]], [[Karnataka]], [[Kerala]]
| ethnicity = 88,750 [[Kurumbar (tribe)|Kurumbar]]
| familycolor = Dravidian
| fam2 = [[Southern Dravidian languages|Southern]]
| fam3 = [[Tamil–Kannada language|Tamil–Kannada]]
| script = [[Tamil script]], [[Kannada script]], [[Malayalam script]]
| iso3 = kfi
| glotto = kann1253
| glottorefname = Kurumba, Kannada
| mapcaption = Major distribution of native Kurumba or Kuruba language speakers in India
| map2 = Lang Status 20-CR.svg
| mapcaption2 = {{center|{{small|Kurumba or Kuruba is classified as severely endangered by the [[UNESCO]] ''[[Atlas of the World's Languages in Danger]]''}}<ref>{{Cite UNESCO Atlas|pages=205}}</ref>}}<ref>{{Cite web | publisher=UNESCO | author1=Moseley, Christopher | author2=Nicolas, Alexandre | title=CC BY 3.0 | url=https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0 | via=Wikimedia Commons}}</ref>
}}

'''Kurumba''' (also known as Kuruba in Karnataka and Kuruma in Kerala, {{ipa|xua|kuru(m)bɐ, kurumɐ|ipa}}), refers to a group of languages within the Southern Dravidian branch of the [[Dravidian languages|Dravidian language]] family<ref name="auto2">{{Cite web|url=https://sanchika.ciil.org/communities/f471779a-3400-4462-981d-c95b041550b4|title=Betta Kuruba|via=sanchika.ciil.org}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web | url=http://www.cds.ac.in/krpcds/report/mokeri.pdf | title=Adivasi-Kurumba corpses perform their own burial | website=www.cds.ac.in}}</ref> These languages are spoken by the Kurumba communities, who inhabit [[Nilgiri Mountains|Nilgiri Hills]], in Tamil Nadu and nearby areas including of Coimbatore, Pudukottai etc.<ref name="auto1">Srinivasa Varma, G.. Kurumba Kannada: Pudukkottai Kurumba Dialect. India: Annamalai University, 1978</ref> The cultural identity of the Kurumba people is expressed extensively through oral traditions, folklore, and music.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://glottolog.org/resource/languoid/id/mull1244 | title=Glottolog 4.8 - Mullu Kurumba }}</ref>

==Etymology==
Several etymological explanations appear in Dravidian linguistics including Tamil classical works. The term Kurumba (also found as Kuruba, or Kuruma) is believed to derive from early Dravidian roots associated with hill-dwelling and shepherd. The root also derived the terms [[Kurup]], [[Kurichiya]], [[Kurava]], and [[Koraga (disambiguation)|Koraga]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://dsal.uchicago.edu/cgi-bin/app/burrow_query.py?qs=ku%E1%B9%9Fam&searchhws=yes&matchtype=exact|title=A Dravidian etymological dictionary.|first1=T. (Thomas)|last1=Burrow|first2=M. B.; 1904-; (Murray Barnson)|last2=Emeneau|date=26 December 1984|website=dsal.uchicago.edu}}</ref>
{{Explain|reason=Etymology unexplained|date=December 2025}}

==Classification==
'''[[Kannadoid]]'''
* [[Alu Kurumba language|Alu Kurumba]]
* [[Betta Kurumba language|Betta Kurumba]], also known as Urali Kurumba or Kadu Kurumba
* [[Jennu Kurumba language|Jennu Kurumba]], also known as Ten Kurumba or Kattunaika
Together they are known as Kannada Kurumba as they are similar to [[Kannada]].<ref>{{cite web | url=https://glottolog.org/resource/languoid/id/kann1253 | title=Glottolog 4.8 - Kurumba, Kannada }}</ref>

'''Iruloid'''
* [[Attapady Kurumba language|Attapady Kurumba]] - also known as Palu Kurumba, a dialect of [[Muduga language|Muduga]] as they are mutually intelligible.
'''[[Malayalamoid]]'''
* [[Mullu Kurumba language|Mullu Kurumba]], also known as Mullu Kuruma

==Language preservation and Documentation==
[[File:ISBN 9789231040962 UNESCO Atlas of the world's languages in danger - Third edition 2010 - 187026eng.pdf|page=205|400px|thumb|alt=Page 205 of UNESCO Atlas of the World's Languages in Danger (2010)|Page 205 of UNESCO’s Atlas of the World’s Languages in Danger]]

Several Kurumba varieties are considered endangered, with ongoing language shift posing a threat to their linguistic heritage.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.elararchive.org/dk0002/|title=Documentation of Betta Kurumba | Endangered Languages Archive|website=www.elararchive.org}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web | author=Coelho, G. | year=2015 | title=Documentation of Betta Kurumba | website=Endangered Languages Archive | url=http://hdl.handle.net/2196/00-0000-0000-0000-E051-B}}</ref><ref name="auto2"/> The Central Institute of Indian Languages (CIIL) has initiated efforts to document and preserve these languages as part of broader revitalization measures.<ref name="auto">{{Cite web | url=https://www.pib.gov.in/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID=2198869&reg=3&lang=2| title=Preservation of tribal culture | website=www.pib.gov.in}}</ref> Kurumba languages are distinct from Malayalam, Tamil, and Kannada, and linguistic analyses indicate that they retain several features characteristic of Proto-Dravidian.<ref name="auto3">Burrow T. Dieter B. Kapp: Ālu-Kurumbaru Nāyan: die Sprache der Ālu-Kuṟumbas. Grammatik, Texte, Wörterbuch. (Neuindische Studien, Bd. 7.) xxxiii, 442 pp. Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz, 1982. DM 220. Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies. 1984;47(2):368-369. doi:10.1017/S0041977X00037691</ref>

The Scheme for Protection and Preservation of Endangered Languages (SPPEL), implemented by the [[Central Institute of Indian Languages]] (CIIL) under the [[Government of India]], includes Kurumba among the [[endangered language]]s targeted for systematic documentation.<ref name="auto"/> The programme undertakes the preparation of primers, bi-/trilingual dictionaries (in electronic and print formats), grammatical sketches, pictorial glossaries, and detailed ethno-linguistic profiles of the community.
In addition, the Centre for Endangered Languages of Kerala (CELK) at the [[University of Kerala]] is developing a primer for three tribal languages of the region: Irula, Muduga, and Kurumba.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.newindianexpress.com/states/kerala/2025/Aug/01/kerala-university-unveils-tribal-language-primer-to-aid-indigenous-education|title=Kerala University unveils tribal language primer to aid indigenous education|first=Aswin Asok|last=Kumar|date=1 August 2025|website=The New Indian Express}}</ref>

==Literature and dictionary==
{{ill|Dieter B. Kapp|de|Dieter B. Kapp}}, a German Indologist and linguist from the University of Heidelberg, made significant contributions to the study of Kurumba languages.<ref>Kapp, Dieter B. “The ‘Ālu Kuṟumba Rāmāyaṇa’: The Story of Rāma as Narrated by a South Indian Tribe.” Asian Folklore Studies 48, no. 1 (1989): 123–40</ref><ref>Kapp, D. B. (2006). Ālu-Kuṟumba-Texte. Harrassowitz</ref> His work includes the compilation of a comprehensive grammar and an etymological dictionary of the Alu Kurumba language, supplemented with specimen texts and German translations. Kapp’s research supports the classification of Alu Kurumba as an independent South Dravidian language.<ref name="auto3"/>

In addition, Srinivasa Varma of [[Annamalai University]] compiled a dictionary of the [[Pudukkottai]] Kurumba dialect, which was published in 1978, providing one of the earliest systematic lexical resources for this variety.<ref name="auto1"/>

==Movies on Kurumba language==
The Kurumba-language film ''[[Mmmmm]]'' ('Sound of Pain'), directed by Vijeesh Mani, was included in the list of 366 films deemed eligible for the Academy Awards by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.thehindu.com/entertainment/movies/actor-semmalar-annam-on-playing-a-tribal-woman-in-an-upcoming-malayalam-film/article33645586.ece|title=Actor Semmalar Annam on playing a tribal woman in an upcoming Malayalam film|first=K.|last=Jeshi|date=23 January 2021|via=www.thehindu.com}}</ref> The film, which features former Indian footballer I. M. Vijayan in the lead role, portrays the life of a Kurumba tribesman who collects honey for his livelihood and the challenges he faces as environmental degradation leads to a decline in honey availability.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.onmanorama.com/sports/football/2021/05/15/i-m-vijayan-interview-movie-shoot-lockdown-days.html|title=Jamming with Nanjiyamma, cricket with kids: Vijayan shares lockdown experiences|website=Jamming with Nanjiyamma, cricket with kids: Vijayan shares lockdown experiences}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.imdb.com/news/ni63210495/|title=Kerala tribal language film 'Mmmmmm (Sound of Pain)' eligible for Oscar race|website=IMDb}}</ref>

==Geographical distribution==
Kannadoid Kurumba languages are spoken at the Karnataka-Tamil Nadu border. Irulic and Malayalamoid Kurumba languages are spoken in [[Wayanad]] district of Kerala.

==References==
{{reflist}}

*{{cite web
|title=The Tribes of Palakkad, Kerala A Sociolinguistic Profile
|url=https://www.sil.org/system/files/reapdata/12/30/35/123035517420667367799205409945550701297/silesr2015_028.pdf
|date=2015 |orig-year=2004}}

{{Dravidian languages}}

[[Category:Dravidian languages]]
[[Category:Languages of Tamil Nadu]]
[[Category:Languages of Karnataka]]
[[Category:Languages of Kerala]]

{{Dr-lang-stub}}

Kurumba languages - Revision history

SaraWong at 16:38, 14 April 2026