Paniya language

{{Short description|Malayalamoid language of Kerala, India}}

{{Infobox language

| name = Paniya

| nativename = {{lang|pcg|പണിയ}}

| states = India

| region = Kerala

| ethnicity = Paniyas

| speakers = {{sigfig|22,808|2}}

| date = 2011 census

| ref = e25

| speakers2 = 23% of ethnic population{{cn|date=December 2022}}

| familycolor = Dravidian

| fam2 = Southern

| fam3 = Southern I

| fam4 = Tamil–Kannada

| fam5 = Tamil–Kota

| fam6 = Tamil–Toda

| fam7 = Tamil–Irula

| fam8 = Tamil–Kodava–Urali

| fam9 = Tamil–Malayalam

| fam10 = Malayalamoid

| fam11 = Paniya–Ravula

| ancestor = Old Tamil

| ancestor2 = Middle Tamil

| iso3 = pcg

| glotto = pani1256

| glottorefname = Paniya

| altname = Pania, Paniyan, Panyah

}}

Paniya is one of the Malayalamoid languages spoken in India. It is spoken by the Paniya people, a scheduled tribe with a majority of its speakers in the state of Kerala. The language is also known as Pania, Paniyan and Panyah. It belongs to the Dravidian family of languages. According to the 1981 Census, there were 63,827 speakers of Paniya which includes 56,952 in Kerala, 6,393 in Tamil Nadu, 482 in Karnataka.{{cite web|url=https://censusindia.gov.in/nada/index.php/catalog/28122|title=A Hand Book of Population Statistics - Census 1981|date=1988|publisher=Registrar General & Census Commissioner, India}} Most of its speakers are found in the Wayanad, Kozhikode, Kannur and Malappuram districts of Kerala, and to the west of the Nilgiri Hills in Tamil Nadu.