Manda language (India)

For other uses, see Manda (disambiguation).
Manda
Native toIndia
RegionOrissa
Native speakers
4,000 (2000)[1]
Dravidian
  • South-Central
    • Gondi–Kui
      • Manda–Pengo
        • Manda
Language codes
ISO 639-3mha
Glottologmand1413
ELPManda (India)
Manda is classified as Critically Endangered by the UNESCO Atlas of the World's Languages in Danger[2]

Manḍa is a Dravidian language of Odisha, spoken in the highlands of Thuamul Rampur block of Kalahandi district. It only became known to Western academia in 1964.[1] Its speakers are generally known as 'Khond Parjas' by outsiders but self-identify as Manda Khonds. In the late 1970s and early 1980s, the language was spoken in around 60 villages and the total number of speakers was estimated to be at 4000-5000. However the language is facing endangerment from Odia, which all speakers are bilingual in.[3]

A dictionary of Manda was published in 2009.[4]

  1. ^ a b Manda at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015) (subscription required)
  2. ^ Moseley, Christopher; Nicolas, Alexander, eds. (2010). Atlas of the World's Languages in Danger (PDF) (3rd ed.). Paris: UNESCO. pp. 46–47. ISBN 978-92-3-104096-2. Archived from the original on 23 July 2022.
  3. ^ B., Ramakrishna Reddy (2009). Manda oral literature. Central Institute of Indian Languages. OCLC 926844057.
  4. ^ B., Ramakrishna Reddy (2009). Manda-English Dictionary. Central Institute of Indian Languages. ISBN 8173421854.