Kurukh language

Classification

Kurukh belongs to the Northern Dravidian group of the Dravidian family languages, and is closely related to Sauria Paharia and Kumarbhag Paharia, which are often together referred to as Malto.

Writing systems

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 use it widely in books, magazines and other material. The alphabet is also used by Oraon people in the states of Chhattisgarh, West Bengal, Jharkhand and Assam.

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, 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.

Geographical distribution

In India, Kurukh is mostly spoken in Raigarh, Surguja, Jashpur of Chhattisgarh, Gumla, Ranchi, Lohardaga, Latehar, Simdega of Jharkhand; Jharsuguda, Sundargarh and Sambalpur district of Odisha.

It is also spoken in Jalpaiguri district of West Bengal, as well as Assam and Tripura states by Kurukh who are mostly tea-garden workers.

Speakers

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. 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. Bangladesh also has some speakers.

Phonology

Vowels

Kurukh has five cardinal vowels. Each vowel has long, short nasalized and long nasalized counterparts.

Consonants

The table below illustrates the articulation of the consonants.

• 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".
• 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:/).

Morphology

Kurukh, like other Dravidian languages, is an agglutinative language. The sentence structure is Subject-Object-Verb (SOV). In its morphological construction, there is suffixation but there are no infixes or prefixes.

Pronouns

The pronominal system of Kurukh is highly regular, agglutinative, and strongly preserves ancient Proto-Dravidian structures, remaining free from neighboring Indo-Aryan grammatical influences. In Kurukh grammar, personal pronouns change based on singular and plural numbers, and their basic nominative forms historically feature long vowels. A complete structural analysis of these forms, including full case declension tables, internal increments, and sound changes, is documented on the dedicated pronouns sub-page.

The language maintains a strict clusivity distinction in the first-person plural, separating the exclusive form ēm (we, excluding the listener) and the inclusive form nām (we, including the listener). Structurally, because an inclusive meaning naturally requires a group of speech participants, an inclusive singular form is morphologically impossible. Furthermore, personal and reflexive pronouns do not take case suffixes directly onto their nominative forms. Instead, the language uses a systematic sound mutation where the underlying long vowels undergo shortening, and specific internal consonants are added based on number; singular forms add a nasal velar augment -ṅ(g)-, while plural forms undergo nasal labial gemination -m(m)- to act as an oblique base buffer before case markers are attached.

Third-person references function entirely through a five-vowel demonstrative system inherited from Proto-Dravidian, as the language lacks independent third-person roots. This system coordinates physical distance using distal , proximal , and medial bases, while handling conversational awareness through interrogative and relative bases. Additionally, the reflexive pronouns tān (singular) and tām (plural) serve a dual purpose. Beyond normal self-reference, they function as logophoric pronouns in reported speech to track identity across long narratives, eliminating any syntactic ambiguity about whether a speaker is referring to themselves or someone else.

Nouns

Kurukh nouns have three grammatical genders, namely masculine, feminine and neuter. To the Kurukh only men are masculine; women and goddesses (evil spirits) are feminine; all others are neutral. Masculine nouns of the third person singular have two forms, the indefinite and the definite. The indefinite is the simplest form of the noun, thus āl man. The definite form is made by adding -as for the singular, thus ālas, ("the man").

There are only two grammatical numbers, the singular and the plural.

The following is an example declension table for a masculine noun "āl", meaning "man"

The feminine declension is almost identical to the masculine, but lacks a definite form. The following example is for "mukkā" ("woman").

The neuter declension for "allā" ("dog") shows almost identical singular forms, but a difference in pluralization.

Education

The Kurukh language is taught as a subject in the schools of Jharkhand, Chhattishgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Odisha, West Bengal and Assam.

Sample phrases

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

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 tamhai 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 rate of decline of 12.3% from 1991 to 2001.