The Koraga Language

Title: The Koraga Language Author: D. N. S. Bhat (D. N. Shankara Bhat) Language: English (academic) Year: 1971 Publisher: Deccan College Postgraduate and Research Institute, Poona Pages: 123 Website: dnshankarabhat.net (archived snapshot available) Google Drive: the-koraga-language.pdf Archive.org: Not yet found — check koraga language.pdf in Books folder

Description

Koraga is a Dravidian language spoken by about a thousand Koragas of the South Kanara and Udupi districts of Karnataka. It was earlier considered to be a dialect of Tulu, but this study clearly shows it needs to be regarded as a distinct language.

The study covers:

  • Short grammatical sketches of three Koraga dialects: Onti (Udupi), Tappu (Hebri), and Mudu (Kundapur)
  • A comparative study of the three dialects
  • The position of Koraga in the Dravidian language family
  • Texts in the three dialects with English translation
  • A comparative vocabulary giving cognate words in other Dravidian languages
  • A short sketch of Belari — a related Dravidian language spoken in the Western Ghats east of Kundapur (showing similarities with Tulu and Koraga)

Linguistic Significance

This is one of DNS Bhat’s early English-language academic works, documenting an endangered Dravidian language. It establishes:

  1. Koraga as a distinct language (not a Tulu dialect)
  2. Dialect differentiation within Koraga itself
  3. Koraga’s position in the broader Dravidian tree
  4. Documentation of Belari, another potentially endangered language

Contents (from book description)

  1. Introduction
  2. Phonology — Onti dialect
  3. Phonology — Tappu dialect
  4. Phonology — Mudu dialect
  5. Morphology — Noun system
  6. Morphology — Verb system
  7. Comparative study of dialects
  8. Position in Dravidian family
  9. Texts with translation
  10. Comparative vocabulary

Collection Status

  • PDF available in Google Drive (DNS-Bhat/the-koraga-language.pdf)
  • Full text extracted from PDF
  • Vocabulary index created