Kuvi language

{{Short description|Dravidian language spoken in India}}

{{Infobox language

| name = Kuvi

| altname = Kuwi, Kuvinga, Kond, Khondi, Jatapu

| nativename = କୁଭି, କୁୱି

| states = India

| region = Odisha, Andhra Pradesh

| ethnicity = 1,627,486 Khonds (2011 census)

| speakers = 155,548

| date = 2011 census

| ref = {{Cite web|url=http://www.censusindia.gov.in/2011Census/Language_MTs.html|title=Census of India Website : Office of the Registrar General & Census Commissioner, India|website=www.censusindia.gov.in|access-date=2018-07-05}}

| familycolor = Dravidian

| fam2 = South-Central

| fam3 = Gondi–Kui

| fam4 = Kuvi–Kui

| script = Odia

| iso3 = kxv

| glotto = kuvi1243

| glottorefname = Kuvi

}}

Kuvi is a South-Central Dravidian language spoken in the Indian state of Odisha. The language is one of two spoken by the Kandhas, with the other being the closely related and more dominant Kui language. According to the 2011 Indian census, there are around 155,000 speakers. The orthography is the Odia script. The grammatical structure of this language is comparable to other similar languages such as Kui which all fall under the classification of a Dravidian language.

Background information

According to a study regarding population structure of tribal populations in central India, information was collected from the Koraput district of Odisha about the Kuvi Kandhas. There were 325,144 people in the district according to the 1971 census. The Kuvi Kandhas are agriculturalists, and their physical appearance is similar to other Kandha groups.DAS, K., MALHOTRA, K., MUKHERJEE, B., WALTER, H., MAJUMDER, P., & PAPIHA, S. (1996). Population Structure and Genetic Differentiation among 16 Tribal Populations of Central India. [https://www.jstor.org/stable/41465514 Human Biology], 68(5), 679-705.

Phonology

Within a study done by A.G. Fitzgerald and F. V. P. Schulze, they spent some time interrogating Kuvi speakers in Araku in Andhra Pradesh. Their information came from a village called Sunkarametta. They also went to Gudari to study the Kuttiya dialect of Kui, and found a Kuvi speaker. It was found that the speakers location influenced their speech. The Kuvi speaker described himself as a Parja Kandha, so some of his dialect is abbreviated by P, while the dialect studied at Araku was indicated by Su. The following vowels and consonants are necessary for the language.BURROW, T., & BHATTACHARYA, S. (1963). NOTES ON KUVI WITH A SHORT VOCABULARY. [https://www.jstor.org/stable/24646681 Indo-Iranian Journal], 6(3/4), 231-289.

class="wikitable" style="text-align: center"

|+Vowels{{harvp|Krishnamurti|2003|pp=[https://books.google.com/books?id=54fV7Lwu3fMC&q=grantha+script 72]}}

! rowspan="2" |

! colspan="2" |Front

! colspan="2" |Central

! colspan="2" |Back

short

!long

!short

!long

!short

!long

align="center"

!High

|{{IPAlink|i}}

|{{IPAlink|iː}}

|

|

|{{IPAlink|u}}

|{{IPAlink|uː}}

align="center"

!Mid

|{{IPAlink|e}}

|{{IPAlink|eː}}

|

|

|{{IPAlink|o}}

|{{IPAlink|oː}}

align="center"

!Low

|

|

|{{IPAlink|a}}

|{{IPAlink|aː}}

|

|

class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"

|+Consonants{{cite book|last=Krishnamurti|first=Bhadriraju|title=The Dravidian languages|year=2003|publisher=Cambridge University Press|location=Cambridge|isbn=978-0-511-06037-3|pages=56|edition=null}}

colspan=2|

!Labial

!Dental

!Retroflex

!Palatal/
P.alv

!Velar

!Glottal

colspan=2| Nasal

| {{IPAlink|m}}

| {{IPAlink|n̪}}

| {{IPAlink|ɳ}}

|

| {{IPAlink|ŋ}}

|

rowspan=2| Plosive/
Affricate

! {{small|voiceless}}

| {{IPAlink|p}}

| {{IPAlink|t̪}}

| {{IPAlink|ʈ}}

| {{IPAlink|t͡ʃ}}

| {{IPAlink|k}}

| {{IPAlink|ʔ}}

{{small|voiced}}

| {{IPAlink|b}}

| {{IPAlink|d̪}}

| {{IPAlink|ɖ}}

| {{IPAlink|d͡ʒ}}

| {{IPAlink|ɡ}}

|

colspan=2| Fricative

|

| {{IPAlink|s}}

|

|

|

| {{IPAlink|h}}

colspan="2" |Approximant

| {{IPAlink|ʋ}}

| {{IPAlink|l}}

|

| {{IPAlink|j}}

|

|

colspan=2| Rhotic

|

| {{IPAlink|r}}

| {{IPAlink|ɽ}}

|

|

|

Grammar

All Central Dravidian languages are unified in gender and number distinctions. There is the distinction of masculine vs non-masculine (or feminine and non human) both in singular and plural. There is a simplex negative tense consisting of verb base + negative suffix + personal ending present in all Dravidian languages.Krishnamurti, B. (2005). M. B. Emeneau, 1904-2005. [https://www.jstor.org/stable/20064422 Journal of the American Oriental Society], 125(4), 481-497.

class="wikitable"

!Kuvi

!English

va:ha

|having come

hi:ha

|having given

to:sea

|having shown

Kuvi language also contains a past negative tense with the structure- verb base + negative suffix + past suffix + personal ending.

class="wikitable"

!Kuvi

!English

hi: -?a-t-e?

|I did not give.

= Past tense =

border="1" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" style="border:1px solid #aaa; border-collapse:collapse; text-align: center;"

! colspan="2" |Past Tense Examples{{Cite book|title=A grammar of the Kuvi language, with copious examples|last=Schulze|first=F. V. P.|place=Madras|year=1911|pages=12|url=https://archive.org/details/grammarofkuvilan00schurich}}

English

!Kuvi

I was

|nānu mazzee

style="width:50px"

|You were

|nīnu mazzi

style="width:50px"

|He was

|evasi mannesi

style="width:50px"

|She was

|ēdi manne

We were

|mambu mannomi

You were

|meeru manjeri

They were

|evari manneri

We are.

|Maambu mannomi

= Present tense =

border="1" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" style="border:1px solid #aaa; border-collapse:collapse; text-align: center;"

! colspan="2" |Present Tense Examples

English

!Kuvi

I am

|nānu mai

style="width:50px"

|You are

|nīnu manzi

style="width:50px"

|He is

|evasi mannesi

style="width:50px"

|We are

|mambu mannomi

You are

|mimbu manzeri

They are

|evari manneri

See also

References

{{reflist}}

Further reading

  • Burrow, T. (1943). Dravidian Studies III. Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London, 11(1), 122-139. Retrieved from https://www.jstor.org/stable/609208

{{Languages of India}}

{{Dravidian languages}}

Category:Dravidian languages

Category:Endangered languages of India

Category:Languages of Odisha

Category:Languages of Andhra Pradesh