Ravula (IPA: , known locally as Yerava IPA: in Karnataka and Adiyan IPA: in Kerala), is a Dravidian language of Karnataka and Kerala spoken by the Adiyar. It is classified under the category Malayalamoid languages in both the linguistics and the Census of India. However their language exhibits a number of peculiarities which marks it off from Malayalam as well as from other tribal speeches in the districts of Kodagu and Wayanad. It is spoken by 25,000 Ravulas (locally called Yerava) in Kodagu district of Karnataka and by 1,900 Ravulas (locally called Adiyan) in the adjacent Wayanad district of Kerala. The term 'Yerava' is derived from the Kodava Language or Kannada word Yeravalu meaning borrow.
